Thierno Barry is not in the FC Basel squad for the first home game of the new season. In an interview with blue Sport, coach Fabio Celestini explains the reason behind the surprising move.
No time? blue News summarizes for you
- Five months ago, FCB coach Fabio Celestini left Thierno Barry and Renato Veiga on the substitutes' bench for the all-important Cup quarter-final against Lugano. The reason: the two were late for training on the day of the match.
- Celestini made it clear at the time that he could not tolerate such incidents and would act in the same way in future. Who would have thought that Barry would make the same mistake again five months later against the same opponent?
- Once again, Celestini shows no mercy and removes the striker from the squad for the first Super League home game of the season.
The all-important Cup quarter-final against Lugano awaited FC Basel last February. The first surprise from FCB's point of view came even before kick-off. Both striker Thierno Barry and midfielder Renato Veiga are only on the substitutes' bench. The plan promptly backfires.
FCB were eliminated in the penalty shoot-out after Barry, who had come on as a substitute during the break and was obviously fired up, saved FCB with a brace in extra time. And coach Fabio Celestini had to ask himself after the final whistle why he benched the in-form key players at the start. The reason: they were late for training on the morning of the match.
"We are a team and we have rules. On match day, it's particularly important to stick to them," Celestini explained at the post-match press conference, not regretting his decision at all. On the contrary: he would do it again. "They are still young and make mistakes. The important thing is that they learn from them now," Celestini said at the time.
The same game five months later
Who would have thought that five months later, the FCB coach would have to crack down again against the same opponent? This time, however, Barry is not even in the squad and will not play against FC Lugano. "It's the same disciplinary measure," Celestini said curtly in an interview with blue Sport. But not only Barry, but also Benjamin Kololli, who was still part of the starting eleven at the season opener in Lausanne, is not in the squad for disciplinary reasons, according to the coach.
blue Sport expert Rolf Fringer makes it clear in the Super League studio: "I don't understand it. It's clear that he has to react as a coach." But there were other options to punish the players. "You weaken your own team if I take out a player who scored two goals in the last match," says Fringer, adding: "I would put a knife to their neck and expect a defiant reaction - and punish them after the game."
