The Swiss field hockey heroes are duly celebrated by the fans in Zurich's Volkshaus one day after their bitter defeat in the final against Finland. On blue News, Hischier, Genoni, Biasca and Cadieux explain how they are coping with the defeat.
Nico Hischier
I feel a lot of gratitude for the way the fans have supported us throughout the World Championship. That's something you'll never forget as a player. You could feel the support throughout Switzerland, not just from those in the stadium. On the other hand, you also feel a bit disappointed and guilty that you couldn't give the fans what we had hoped for in terms of play. We know that we tried everything, everyone gave 150 percent. But it just wasn't enough again. We were all convinced that this would be our year.
The fact that Switzerland is now number one in the world rankings certainly shows the progress we have made in ice hockey. It's also not a matter of course that we've now reached the final three times. But it's difficult to find any consolation at this moment.
I always had goosebumps at the end of the game. We're human too and when you hear that in the stadium while you're still on the ice, those are memories that will stay with you forever. Sorry, we couldn't make it to the end.
Leonardo Genoni
Last night in particular was extremely painful. We talked about this World Cup for quite a long time. Not that I was scared, but there was a certain respect to come here. Then we start so well and the whole country goes with us. The drop was then quite high. Everyone was expecting the title or at least the final. And it's not a given that you'll get there. And when you're in the final and lose in extra time, it hurts extremely badly. I can't even imagine what would have happened if we had scored that goal.
Attilio Biasca
It's still very hard now, still very fresh. You really want to change it, but you just can't. That's the reality, but it's going to take a while to accept it. A month ago I saw the other side (champions with Fribourg, the ed.) and I wanted to experience it again all the more. It was so cool to play here. Not just because of the wins, just because of the atmosphere, it was so much fun to play in front of the people.
The way we had it off the ice also had an impact on the ice: we had such a team spirit. You knew that if you made a mistake, someone else could fix it for you. That's a very cool and important culture that will also be important in the future. I want to adopt that too.
In the stadium, I sometimes felt like I was a little boy playing around in the garage and then you think: Wow, is this really real? But it was also very tough to see the sad people at the end of the final.
Jan Cadieux
I was very proud of the team and in the end I was sorry that I couldn't lead them to the last step. I'm also proud of the Swiss public and grateful for the energy they gave me. A World Championship is always special for the host, but I think we raised the level again and showed the whole world what kind of ice hockey audience we have in Switzerland.
We were never really able to play our field hockey in the final. If you want something too much in life, you might put yourself under pressure. It was a shame we couldn't score in the 5-on-3. It might have helped the players a bit and would have been a step towards gold.
Over the next few days, even if it hurts, I'll look at this game again to think about what we could have done differently. I also have to question whether everything was good in the match preparation.
