The party in St. Gallen behind him, FC Basel in front of him: Lucerne coach Mario Frick watches his exuberant victory celebrations at kybunpark with blue and reveals why he didn't send a spy to Basel.
No time? blue News summarizes for you
- Mario Frick is surprisingly top of the table with FC Luzern after matchday 7.
- With blue Sport, he looks back at his crazy victory celebration at kybunpark last weekend. "At that moment, everything that had happened over the last few days came flooding back," he says.
- Frick talks about the espionage affair involving his son Yanik, the leader's throne, surfing and FC Basel.
He is definitely not an introverted person. Nevertheless, Mario Frick has not been seen cheering as exuberantly as he did during the 3:2 win in St. Gallen last weekend for a long time. The Lucerne team turned a 0:2 lead into a 3:2 victory, and after the final whistle, he was in full swing at kybunpark.
First Frick glides onto the pitch as elegantly as a telemark landing, calling it "stylistically respectable". Then he runs to the fans, screams and celebrates exuberantly. With blue Sport, he looks back at the emotional images of jubilation and says: "At that moment, everything that has happened over the last few days came flooding back. First the cup defeat in Aarau, then the 'so-called' espionage affair involving my son and then the first victory in St. Gallen after seven unsuccessful attempts. The rivalry with St. Gallen is great, it's a big win for us."
"We want to ride the wave for as long as possible"
And because St. Gallen defeated FC Zurich 4:1 in the supplementary match during the week, Frick and his players are now the leaders after seven rounds. "Of course I'm proud of that," he says, "anything else would be a lie." And he is delighted that there is euphoria around FCL and that the swissporarena will be sold out on Sunday against FC Basel.
However, he nips questions about possible title dreams in the bud at the press conference. "Let others dream. Other teams have more quality than us and a wider squad. Two or three months ago, we were still considered a relegation candidate. We know where we belong. If you fly high, you bounce back hard."
He also uses another image. "Like a surfer, we now want to ride the wave for as long as possible." The focus is now on FCB. "We're also playing to win against Basel," says Frick. If they perform like they did in the second half in St. Gallen, three points are realistic. Frick: "That was the best 45 minutes since I've been coach at FCL - physically, tactically, playfully."
That's why Frick didn't send a spy to Basel
Incidentally, he refrained from sending his son Yanik or another spy to Basel for training. "We only do that two or three times every six months. Especially with new coaches, where we don't know exactly how they work or what tactics they have in mind," he explains. What's more, there would have been no point in sending someone to Basel anyway, Frick continues. "Our former team manager is now in Basel. He's like a bloodhound and keeps a close eye on what's going on. He was also trained by me."
Cup-Out, espionage story, the triumph in St. Gallen. All in the past. Frick prefers to look ahead. "We have a great game against FCB coming up."
And if there are three points against Basel again, how will you cheer this time, Mr. Frick? With a perfect telemark again? "I can't say that. It wasn't planned in St. Gallen either, it came spontaneously."
