Even with successful coach Gerardo Seoane, Young Boys are in a slump. In the Europa League, Christoph Spycher is hoping to progress and qualify for the knockout phase.
22.01.2026, 05:31
22.01.2026, 07:34
SDA
For years he was regarded as the infallible master builder of Bern's success, but now the wind is blowing in Christoph Spycher's face at Young Boys. How does the Chief Sports Officer and co-owner deal with the criticism? A conversation about sleepless nights, the changed mentality of today's generation of players and why he won't allow a discussion about the coach despite the sporting downturn.
Christoph Spycher, the last time YB suffered three league defeats in a row was in 2014. Are you currently experiencing the most difficult phase since you have been in charge of the club as an official?
We've had difficult moments every season, but it's clear that the title years are over. We have to work hard for everything again. We are not where we want to be. But you have to put things into perspective: We qualified for the Champions League last season. Now we're playing in the Europa League. We are not on the verge of dissolving the club. But our demands and ambitions are maximum. For many of our players, it's a new experience to be confronted with as much opposition as we are now. We have to grow from that. We have to build this resilience.
Has success since 2018 almost become a curse because expectations have become so high?
Curse is the wrong word. Before 2018, it was extremely annoying to keep hearing that YB would never become champions anyway. Now the expectations have risen significantly due to our history. Other clubs have also experienced that. People get used to everything, success is seen as the norm at some point. That leads to pressure. But in the end, you have to earn it. I can't influence external expectations, the media or spectators. One of my principles is that we have to invest our energy where we can influence something. We must not allow ourselves to be driven by emotions.
Do you find it easy to maintain this distance?
It's not always easy. When we lose, I'm also extremely disappointed and have a bad night with a lot of thoughts in my head. But you have to take the emotion out of it at some point in order to analyze things objectively. If our goal is to work on the team hierarchy, we have to accept that you can't change everything at the push of a button. Processes take time - time that you don't really have in this emotional business.
Is it more difficult for players who haven't been at the club for so long to deal with the high expectations? Is the YB backpack sometimes too heavy today?
That certainly plays a role. It has been more difficult for the coaches in recent years, but also for the players. But that can't be generalized. Fabian Rieder has come through from the junior ranks. He's someone who gets better when he's under pressure. But there are also players who struggle with it. I experienced it myself as a player when I moved to the Bundesliga: either you put your elbows out or you pack your bags. If that click doesn't happen, you don't make it. The players at YB also feel this with the increased expectations.
In the past, you had the feeling that if a player left, his successor was already waiting in the wings and would fit into the team almost seamlessly. Now you have already reacted several times on the transfer market and signed new players. Have you lost your "golden touch"?
There are many factors at play. There have certainly been some decisions that have not worked out for us. But it's impossible for every personnel decision to be right. The work only starts once the player has signed: Integration, communication, career planning, performance. There are many pieces of the puzzle that have to fit together. Sometimes they are in harmony, sometimes not. Football has also changed. It has become more dynamic and more complex. And players are staying at one club for less time. The new generation is almost always on the move and has less patience. We used to be able to convince a Djibril Sow: "Stay another year, it'll do you good." And he stayed, which helped him a lot in Frankfurt.
And today?
It's more difficult today. Take the example of Zachary Athekame: we would have loved to keep him, we showed him that he could recommend himself as a regular player for the World Cup this summer. But the momentum went in a different direction. I'm not saying that Athekame's decision to move to AC Milan was wrong. You can't make a final judgment on that at this stage. When a club like Milan comes calling, it triggers a lot. In football today, investments are often made in potential. Once a player has reached a certain level of performance, he is gone because bigger clubs have recognized his potential. There is a greater fluctuation and it is therefore more difficult to establish a clear hierarchy in a team.
How long have you been observing this phenomenon? Was it different, for example, when Gerardo Seoane first joined YB in the summer of 2018?
The gap to the top 5 leagues has certainly widened again in recent years. In his first season, Gerry was more or less able to work with the squad that had won the championship with Adi Hütter. But in his second season, he had to replace the entire back four and two central midfielders. Back then, the change was successful. But you also have to accept when it doesn't work, when it takes longer to establish a clear hierarchy in a team.
Speaking of Seoane: was there any nostalgia involved in bringing him back? After all, with three league titles and one cup win, he is one of the most successful coaches in the club's history.
No. We knew that the situation was completely different from the first time. If everything had stayed the same, he probably wouldn't have come back at all. Gerry is a person who loves challenges. We talked about it: It's a new situation, but he has energy and is extremely happy to work for YB. We are taking this path with full conviction. We know how good he is as a coach and how meticulously he works. Now we have to be patient. And we will.
Is he putting his "legend status" at risk in this difficult situation? YB and its fans are not used to often losing with Seoane at the helm.
Nobody can take away the titles he has won. It's a question of mindset. There are two types of people: Some plan career-wise. They say: "There's a big risk of losing now, I have to jump off before things go downhill." If you think like that, you should leave as soon as you win your first title. But that's not how Gerry or I work. For us, it's about: Where can I make a difference? Where can I work with people I trust and who are highly ambitious? Where can I build something in a team? We accept the challenge, even if the drop is high. If you only look at your career, you always look for the employer that is at the bottom, because you can only win there. That's not our approach.
How many more games like Saturday's against Lausanne can you endure in the stands before Seoane also has to fear for his job?
We've changed far too many coaches in recent years, that's not what we want. We are convinced we have the right coach and are pursuing the path with one hundred percent conviction. We will certainly make personnel adjustments, but not in the coaching position.
You used to have leaders like Steve von Bergen, Guillaume Hoarau and Sékou Sanogo. Are such figures missing today?
When we first became champions, the hierarchy in the team was very clear: these three formed the axis and carried the team. And in Miralem Sulejmani, for example, there was a player who probably had the best left foot ever to have played in Switzerland. Although it has to be said: Sulejmani was a playful leader, not someone who talked tough in the dressing room. But times have changed. Hierarchies have become flatter everywhere. Just look at Barcelona: They used to have Puyol, Xavi and Iniesta. Today they have fantastic players like Lamine Yamal or Pedri, but they are not classic leaders. They hardly exist today. Not even at the best clubs in the world.
You brought Grégory Wüthrich back in the summer as a leading player in defense. When you see that YB has the second-weakest defense in the league behind Winterthur and has already conceded 41 goals, it's obvious that he hasn't been able to live up to this claim so far.
Gregy became Austrian champion twice with Sturm Graz, played in the Champions League and was called up for the national team. He certainly didn't have an easy start, but we are convinced that he has what it takes to be a leader. It took Nicolas Moumi Ngamaleu a whole year to go from a supplementary player to a top performer. Sometimes you have to be patient.
Will you be active on the transfer market this winter?
The transfer window is open. But we don't want to replace half the team every transfer window, we have to give them time to grow together. Jaouen Hadjam was injured at the Africa Cup and will be out for several months. Efforts are underway in his position. And if we have the opportunity to inject quality, energy or a new dynamic into the team, we will act.
You were long regarded as the master builder of success and the most important man for the sporting upturn at YB. Are you now often criticized in less successful times?
That is inevitable. But even in the successful phases, I never thought I had achieved something incredible. Success is always a team effort. But of course, success is personalized today, and so is failure. It's normal to look at the people who are in the front row. I can deal with that. I like coming to work - of course, I prefer coming to work after victories rather than defeats. But no job is all sunshine. It also rains from time to time.
Does this headwind also have to do with your role as co-owner? Critics say you now have too much power.
No. I came here as a player in 2010, ready to give everything for YB. That's still the case today, no matter what title I hold. The story about participation is overblown. It was the wish of majority shareholder Jöggi Rihs to cement YB's roots in Bern. That was his idea. But it hasn't changed me at all as a person or in my daily work.
