The ZSC Lions will play the Champions League final against Färjestad in Zurich on Tuesday. Marco Bayer could win his first trophy just seven weeks after his appointment as head coach.
18.02.2025, 04:31
18.02.2025, 07:06
SDA
A lot is at stake for the ZSC Lions on Tuesday evening. After winning their tenth championship title, the Zurich club has set itself the goal of winning the Champions Hockey League in addition to successfully defending its title in the run-up to the season. Never before had the club, which is one of the best in Europe in terms of its structural and infrastructural conditions, publicly announced its ambitions in the European Cup so precisely since it triumphed in the previous competition in 2009.
The coming weeks with the final and the upcoming playoffs will be of great importance not only for the organization, but also for Marco Bayer. Following the surprising resignation of championship coach Marc Crawford, the 52-year-old from Dübendorf was given the chance to prove himself as head coach at the highest level for the first time shortly before the New Year with the internal promotion of the GCK Lions farm team, and at an absolute top club at that.
A cold start
Bayer describes his start as ZSC coach as a "cold start". The adjustment period with three defeats at the beginning was anything but pleasant and the first few weeks were intense. With 20 games in the space of 43 days, the Lions recently faced playoff-like conditions - a major challenge for the new head coach and his staff.
"The biggest difficulty was managing the many special situations," explains Bayer. "We had a lot of sick, injured or struggling players. But we managed to manage the workload pretty well." He is therefore confident that all players will be fit again on Tuesday, including Sven Andrighetto, who has a good chance of being named MVP as the Champions Hockey League's top scorer.
How difficult is it to be ready at the push of a button? "That's exactly what characterizes this team," says Bayer. "They know when to flip the switch. The players are experienced enough." It is a "huge opportunity for everyone and for the entire organization to write history together".
Respect and good memories
Färjestad will be a tough opponent for the Lions in the final. The Swedish top team from Karlstad with long-time HCD defenseman Magnus Nygren recently lost four games in a row in the domestic championship, which was also due to the fact that some key players such as the Czech league's top scorer David Tomasek were rested. Last weekend also saw the return of captain Linus Johansson after a month-long injury layoff.
ZSC captain Patrick Geering expects a "very structured team with a lot of speed", especially on offense. "It's not for nothing that they won the qualifiers last year and are playing at the top again this season," says the veteran.
Geering was already there 16 years ago when the Lions sensationally won the decisive final game against Metallurg Magnitogorsk 5:0 in Rapperswil and then lifted the trophy. The then almost 19-year-old defenseman has fond memories. "It was my first season with the ZSC Lions. I got to experience the whole campaign, it was really unforgettable. It would be great if we could do it again, especially at home in our own stadium."
Making the most of home advantage
Like last year's winners Geneva-Servette, who were the first Swiss club to qualify for the final of the Champions Hockey League since it was relaunched eleven years ago, the ZSC Lions also want to make the most of the home advantage they have thanks to their higher points total in the current campaign. The arena in Zurich-Altstetten, which was inaugurated in 2022, will be sold out for the first time in a European Cup game with 12,000 spectators and the atmosphere will be fantastic.
But how big is this home advantage really? In the nine finals to date, the host team has come out on top five times - with a regularity that has always been interrupted by a year. Servette continued this trend in 2024 with a 3:2 home win against the eventual Swedish champions Skelleftea. Now it's up to ZSC to put an end to this cycle.
