“You could have waited with that”

The season ends on Sunday after nearly 14 months with the cup final between defending champion Basel and champion YB. It is also the farewell game for Marcel Koller, who expresses criticism of the FCB management.

The sporting aspect of Sunday’s upcoming Cup final was also a problem on Friday afternoon at a press conference in Basel. The presentation of the new coach Ciriaco Sforza the day before was also something to talk about. Outgoing coach Marcel Koller criticizes the timing of this presentation, after which preparation was interrupted once again. This is not easy, especially for younger players.

“I asked myself, ‘How can you hold this press conference before such an important match?'” Says Koller, explaining: “From my point of view, you could have waited until next week when everything is over. But okay, you didn’t do that. That’s. “

It’s not easy for his team to focus on the cup final under these circumstances, says Koller. “Actually, we should receive a medal for what we have achieved. And for what we had to endure and endure. “

Koller: “We are more than face to face”

It is indeed a strange ending to a strange season: just as the Young Boys have a special sequence of games from different seasons and competitions, FC Basel is also in a double life. On Thursday, Ciriaco Sforza was introduced as coach for the upcoming season. Actually, he should have been on the field with the team a long time ago to prepare for next season.

But on Friday, as mentioned, Marcel Koller was back in the chair Sforza had been sitting in the day before, and he was talking about the upcoming Cup final as a current former coach. With a victory he wants to “set an example for the next season”, which he will not see even then in Basel.

But maybe the FCB doesn’t even need that (sports) poster. Despite all the criticism, he has held up well in top games with Koller in recent months. The record against YB was positive last season. Or as Koller says: “We have shown that we are more than face to face.” As for the balance of the Cup in recent years, this is the case anyway. Since the Young Boys’ last triumph in 1987, FC Basel have won the Cup eight times.