A year and a half ago, Christian Fassnacht fulfilled his dream of playing in England. There, however, he was confronted with a harsh reality. The YB returnee talks to blue Sport about his experiences on the island.
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- After a year and a half in England, Christian Fassnacht is back at YB. The 19-time national team player talks to blue Sport about his time in Norwich and his return to Bern.
- After a good start, things got difficult for Fassnacht at Norwich: "It's true: Nobody was waiting for the little Swiss guy," he says. "And you might have a bit more trouble as a Swiss player."
- At some point, it was clear that they would have to part ways: "I realized that I was in a situation that I could no longer influence," says the 31-year-old.
It is a comeback that is causing romantic feelings among the fans of Bernese Young Boys and himself: Christian Fassnacht (31) is wearing the yellow and black kit again a year and a half after leaving for Norwich in England - and he scored twice in his first three games. In the process, the Bernese team secured their first three wins of the second half of the season and the first under new coach Giorgio Contini (51). The champions are on the move - also thanks to Fassnacht.
However, the attacker has also had a time full of lessons and hardship. "Fasi", popular and successful in Bern, had to fight his way through the Championship, the tough second division in England. The country, people, culture and languages were new - and he was still a blank slate.
"It's like that: Nobody was waiting for the little Swiss boy," says Fassnacht. "And as a Swiss, you might have a little more difficulty." He believes that clichés play a role in this: "You're the nice Swiss, you come from a small country. That makes business abroad tough as nails," says Fassnacht.
"I'm probably the picture-book Swiss"
In addition, Fassnacht actually embodies a lot of what is attributed to Swiss people abroad - especially the reserved nature. "I'm probably a bit of a picture-book Swiss in that respect," he says. According to the principle: "You perform first before you open your mouth," says Fassnacht.
"Sometimes it would be better to be a bit more brash. But that's my personality." This also manifests itself off the pitch: "Even in private, I'm not the one who says: Hey, here I am now, listen to me, I'm the boss." Even if he stays as he is, Fassnacht says he has taken a lot with him in England. "I learned a lot and was able to develop further."
"At some point there was a negative cut"
Despite his rather reserved nature, Fassnacht made 50 competitive appearances and was a regular in his first season. And he scored six goals, the first in just his second league game. Fassnacht came on as a substitute in the away game at Southampton - and scored the goal to make it 4:3 (final score: 4:4).
"That was incredible. Right in front of the visitors' goal. I showed that I was there, that the little Swiss can do something after all," said Fassnacht. And: "It started very well in general. I scored a goal in the very first test match." At some point, however, things went downhill. "Looking back, that's the confusing thing for me: the start was perfect, and then suddenly there was a negative cut," says Fassnacht.
A lot came together in a short space of time: Fassnacht was plagued by injuries, particularly to his Achilles tendon. Coach David Wagner, who knew him from YB, was sacked. The team went into a negative spiral. Suddenly, others were preferred to him - including younger players. Fassnacht says: "At some point I realized that it was getting weird. I was no longer in the squad. And I found it difficult to classify that."
"Something broke with Wagner"
But that had nothing to do with Wagner's departure. On the contrary: "I really appreciated my time with Dave and him as a person anyway. But at some point, the moment came when something broke in the coach/player relationship and I was glad that something new was coming."
The new coach was called Johannes Thorup and had other plans - he also pushed for youth development at the club's instigation. Fassnacht was also often injured in the fall of 2024. Momentum was not on his side, especially as his contract would have expired in the summer.
Talks then took place before Christmas. Fassnacht says: "I realized that I was in a situation that I could no longer influence." In the end, a return to YB was in the offing, which now makes everyone happy.
However, Fassnacht does not see himself as a failure despite his premature departure. "When you look back on everything, you realize: I played 50 competitive games, scored my goals, we only just missed out on promotion in the play-offs. And I was a regular for a long time. I think failure is different."
On Saturday evening, Fassnacht and Young Boys will face bottom club Winterthur away from home. blue Sport will broadcast the game live, kick-off is at 8.30pm.
