Contrary to predictions and thanks to a historic victory over Sweden, the Swiss women's floorball national team wins the World Championship title in the Czech Republic. TV expert Seraina Hofbauer sorts things out.
15.12.2025, 20:00
SDA
24 hours after their sensational 6:3 victory over Sweden, the Swiss women were unstoppable. Coach Oscar Lundin's team won the final in Ostrava against hosts the Czech Republic 2:0 - tellingly with a shutout from Lara Heini, the best goalkeeper of our time. Because the path to the second title led via Sweden, the triumph carries even more weight than the one 20 years ago in Singapore, when the two teams never crossed paths.
Seraina Hofbauer (formerly Ulber), who made 105 appearances for the national team between 2008 and 2020, calls it a "huge story". The "miracle of Neuchâtel", the crazy turnaround in the semi-final of the home World Cup against the Czech Republic from 1:6 to 7:6 n.V. from the 52nd minute onwards, has been replaced, says the 35-year-old from Graubünden.
Seraina Hofbauer, the 6:3 win over Sweden in the semi-final was the Swiss women's first ever victory over the Scandinavians at a World Championships and culminated in their second World Championship title since 2005. Where do you rank this success?
It's a huge coup - historic! I mean, the Swedes haven't lost a game at a World Cup for 18 years, and Switzerland had never beaten them at a World Cup. So of course that's a huge story, really amazing. And then there's the power with which the Swiss women blew the Swedes away. Yes, this team has achieved something that we haven't managed in many years, even though we've also had good years and good years. So you can't rate this success highly enough. The "miracle of Neuchâtel" with the crazy comeback in the final phase against the Czech Republic has been replaced.
What impressed you most?
The cheeky style of play, the naturalness with which the Swiss women played. That was very convincing. You could see that the young players lacked the respect for the Swedes that often held us back when we lost ten years in a row. Without diminishing the success, I have to say that I've never seen such a bad Sweden. The Swiss were so good, the Swedes so bad.
Which was quite surprising.
Indeed. Even though you could now see that Sweden was only the fourth strongest team at the World Championships. By Swedish standards, there was very little in the semi-final. It's almost tragic that this is a Swedish national team. Four years ago at the World Championships in Uppsala, I thought that their dominance was assured for years to come with players like Wilma Johansson and Maja Viström. We always said that the day would come when Sweden would weaken, when they would be vulnerable. But then you have to be ready, and the Swiss were more than ready. I wasn't surprised that they went on to win the final.
What makes this Swiss team so special?
For me, the number one building block is Lara (Heini - the ed.), who simply closes things down at the back. You can't get a better feeling than with a bench like that in goal. Then there's Seraina Fitzi and Co. For me, Fitzi was the player of the match against Sweden alongside Lara. The two of them were on fire and made sure the team could fly. That was awesome.
Two years ago, Oscar Lundin had an unfortunate debut as Switzerland's national coach, finishing fourth in Singapore. Things didn't look any better in the following international matches either. Now the association's trust in the Swede has paid off. What makes him stand out?
I think Oscar Lundin and his assistant Kari Koskelainen in particular have the necessary coolness. They have the self-confidence and the cool-headedness to say that it doesn't matter what happens at a four-nation tournament a year and a half before a World Cup, where there are a lot of players who have only played one World Cup or none at all and you still have to find your feet. Oscar himself knows that he is an absolute expert, as does everyone who knows anything about the game. Now the coaching staff has also succeeded in forming this team into an absolute unit. If you manage to have such a good spirit, you can move mountains and win titles. I'm impressed and also a little proud that I played with one or two of the players in this team and was able to give them something.
