Loris Benito misses the Champions League clash with Barcelona. The YB captain explains how he has learned to deal with disappointment and what Ukeireru has to do with it.
01.10.2024, 05:00
01.10.2024, 18:05
SDA
The media interest in YB seems to be greater than usual on this non-match day. At least that's the opinion of the stadium employee, who spots another journalist at the Marathon Gate, who looks around hesitantly. She wants to know what's going on. However, the answer that Loris Benito has returned to the team is of little use to her. With raised eyebrows, she replies: "Loris never left."
A statement that everyone in the team would probably confirm. Although he tore his cruciate ligament at the beginning of February and was out for the rest of the season, Benito always sought to be close to his teammates. "He has a very important role in this team," says coach Patrick Rahmen about the captain. "And as long as he couldn't live it out on the pitch, he did it in the dressing room."
Saying hello every now and then would not have been enough for Benito during his injury break. He wants to know what's going on in the team, wants to get involved and pass on his experience. He wants to feel the pulse of the team with whom he has already celebrated so many successes. It is precisely because of this identification that he is held in such high esteem throughout the club.
Rivaldo as a childhood idol
When Benito is asked about his encounter with the stadium employee, he is visibly pleased with her reaction. "It's nice that people took such an active interest in me, even during my injury." He has always tried to spread "good energy". "But of course that's not the same if you can't get involved in the game." He was all the more pleased that this was finally possible again.
On September 14, Benito made his first appearance for the senior team since February 3 in the Cup against Vevey (4:2). Apparently just in time for a special highlight. On Tuesday, YB will face the great Barcelona away from home, the team that awakened his love of football. As the son of Spanish parents, he has always been close to La Liga. At Barcelona, he was particularly inspired by the Brazilian Rivaldo, who played for the Catalans from 1997 to 2002 and became Benito's great childhood idol.
That's why the game is something very special for him and he's looking forward to being fit again, says Benito. What he doesn't know at this point is that he will suffer a muscle injury in his left thigh in the 1-0 defeat against GC on Saturday. On Sunday, the club announced that Benito would not be able to make the trip to Spain. It is the next bitter disappointment after a long period of suffering.
Japanese attitude internalized
However, there is no need to worry about the defender's mental state. Benito has learned to accept things over the course of his career. This was also the case in February, when he immediately realized in the match against Lausanne-Sport that he had torn his cruciate ligament. As a result, he not only missed the rest of the season at YB, but also the chance to go to the European Championships in Germany with Switzerland. Instead of wallowing in self-pity, he said to himself after the diagnosis: "This is day one of my return."
Benito has since had a tattoo on his upper arm to help him get over the disappointment: Ukeireru. Ukeireru is a Japanese art of acceptance, which involves accepting external circumstances as they are. "To be able to deal with a situation, it's important to accept it first," explains Benito. This is sometimes easier said than done. "Then it's about looking forward and focusing on what you can influence."
An attitude that Benito has learned and had to learn over the years. Because the man from Aarau knows all about setbacks. Back in 2016, he tore a cruciate ligament and was out for almost a year. Shortly after his comeback, he broke his metatarsal and had to take another break. Or in 2021, when he terminated his contract with Bordeaux but was unable to find a new club and was out of work for six months. He has learned to accept such difficult phases "as a gift". "Football defines my life, but football is not everything in my life." So he enjoyed having more time for friends and family during the breaks.
Almost becoming a Bernese
Benito has been studying Japanese culture since he moved abroad for the first time in 2014 (Benfica Lisbon) and was suddenly on his own. In philosophies of life such as Ikigai or Ukeireru, he finds the necessary calm and composure in an otherwise turbulent footballer's life. It is also thanks to this equilibrium that he is an important and reliable leader for the Bernese, who sorely missed their defensive boss in the difficult early phase of the season.
Benito is currently playing his seventh season with YB, with more to come; the 32-year-old recently extended his contract until the summer of 2026, with an option for a further year. The man from Aargau feels very much at home in Bern, enjoys swimming in the Aare in his free time and can sometimes be found at the Gurten Festival.
Benito does not yet know exactly what comes next. Football is his specialty, but he can't imagine a job as time-consuming as his current one as a player, i.e. coach. And Benito prefers to live in the present rather than the future. Even if the present holds another "day one of his return" instead of a trip to Barcelona.
