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UEFA is rigid. No contact with the outside world. Car. In its own channel at Bern-Belp airport on the charter plane, which should only contain the minimum of people. The YB-TV team cannot travel, as is executive director Wanja Greuel. Directly from the airport to the car and to the hotel, which can only be left for the final training and the match. No individual interviews before the game. There is no mixed zone after that. Even where there is no risk of infection, Uefa goes one step further. These are terrible times for those who work around a professional team.
Just for the players, it won’t change much for them. “We haven’t done any city trips before,” says Captain Fabian Lustenberger. And goalkeeper David von Ballmoos adds: “We are not on a May tour, we want to go to the Champions League. So I don’t really care if I see something of the city or not. “
A win in Denmark brings five million
Other than that: Von Ballmoos doesn’t miss much if he doesn’t see Herning. Where Midtjylland plays. A city with 50,000 inhabitants (Bern has 134,000 in comparison), which seems very manageable, but also quite picturesque. Everything in perfect order, as usual in Dänemerk. Small row houses. Tranquility as an urban creed. YB has been here before, in 2012 he was in the Europa League playoffs. Andy Rihs, who has since passed away, traveled in a private jet. YB won 3-0 thanks to an outstanding Raúl Bobadilla. And then-CEO Ilja Kaenzig paid fans who had traveled with them at Murphy’s in the Herning pedestrian zone for a few rounds of beer after the game.
It felt like in another world …
YB then took away, by hanging and asphyxia, after a 2-0 draw at the Stade de Suisse, the three to six million francs available for EL’s group stage. There is much more there today. They are five million to reach the Champions League playoffs. At least 25 million, if Slavia Prague should also be eliminated. With a victory in Central Jutland, five million would be sure to reach EL’s group stage.
Back then on the YB team: a certain Michael Silberbauer. When he arrived in Bern as a Danish international, he was never really able to win. At Herning it was used in the final minutes. Today he is a coach at FC Midtjylland academy and says: “YB is making rapid progress. There are no long series of balls, even if they are very strong at that too. That is why they are very flexible. “
Gaudino is not in the YB lineup
Also on the field back then: Today’s YB sporting director Christoph Spycher. He recalls a deceptive 3-0: “It was incredibly difficult even then! We weren’t very good in the first half, we played defense but we defended well. Midtjylland let the ball circulate well. Even then you could see this mix of Danish players, who contributed the physique, and the Africans, who were lively and animated elements. This will also be the case this time, especially since there are South American elements that add quality. The team is formed in a similar way to ours. The Danes also try to combine tough duels and playful elements and play vertically. “
YB’s new forward Jordan Siebatcheu also traveled to Denmark. It is qualified and will act as a wild card. On the other hand, the super coach Gianluca Gaudino is not on the squad. That says a lot about the quality of the current YB team …
