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BLICK: Mario Frick, do your muscles hurt?
Mario Frick: You mean he was helping to clear the snow at the stadium?
I agree.
Not at all. Actually, that suited me. It has become my ritual to do a little strength training before every game to clear my mind. And before Servette’s game (0: 2, ed.) I needed all hands due to the large amount of snow …
President Patrick Burgmeier said that after this effort, the team would have deserved a victory against Servette. It turned out different … emblematic of the season so far?
Absolutely. If we fight something, it’s because we were actually always on par with our opponents and yet only a little bit of attention. But…
…and?
Clearly I have the feeling that we have reached this league. The table is still narrow and is always distorted due to all the changes. Certainly now we will not bury our heads in the sand. This team has an incredible mentality.
That was demonstrated last season with the advancement from ninth place in the Challenge League to second place, and promotion. In the top league, the team, which has barely changed, has many more problems.
We wanted to keep trusting the team. However, I have to be honest: we didn’t think we would be the last after nine games either.
While other coaches would have to fear for their job with just a nine-game win, the pressure on Vaduz is more manageable. I agree?
In general, that is true, yes. With the promotion, I certainly have a bonus too. Besides Thun, who no longer plays in the Super League, Vaduz is probably the best place for a young coach because here you can work in peace.
It is said that he used to be nervous before school performances, but today his locker room speeches would be “emotionally gripping” and “moving,” as fitness coach Alex Kern once revealed. How did this development come about?
Well, I don’t know how it went. I just didn’t enjoy doing things like that in school. But I have changed that with a lot of work during my career.
What role does your wife Isabelle, who is a mental coach, play in this?
A great! 100 percent. She helped me a lot. Now I can say: I have enormous confidence in myself, in my idea of the game and in my team. I am convinced that we can continue in the league this season. And I have to set an example.
Could your sons Yanik (22, Energie Cottbus) and Noah (19, Xamax) have also benefited from this professional help in your own home?
Absolutely. In this way you can better cope with pressure situations and injuries. They also learn from my professional experiences.
Yanik was born in Liestal in 1998 when he played for FC Basel, his current rival. Back then you were the crowd favorite in Rotblau …
I was lucky enough to score a couple of important goals. (Laughter) For example, in the promotion / relegation round in 1998 (six hits in the last four games, editor’s note), so we avoided relegation.
A year later, however, the change came to his archrival FCZ.
Yes, I had a difficult six months in Basel, but it was my fault.
You say.
I announced from the beginning that I was going to Zurich. So of course they would whistle at me every time I hit the ball. Then-president René C. Jäggi actually wanted to build a team around me, so he offered me a five-year contract. But I didn’t feel valued enough, when it came to numbers. But I definitely learned from it.
Which way?
I never re-signed for the money. In hindsight, switching from FCB to FCZ was the biggest mistake of my career. However, the later change of Italy would not have come about in this way.
What about Vaduz against FCB today?
Basler has established himself and made a superior transfer with Pajtim Kasami. Turns out, he’s a different player in this league. But we play at home. We have a chance, I know.
Mario Frick is 125 caps for Liechtenstein and is the Principality’s top scorer with 16 goals. The former striker played for GC, St. Gallen, Basel, Zurich, Arezzo, Hellas Verona, Ternana and Siena. He ended his active professional career in 2011 with the Hoppers. Prior to his coaching work at FC Vaduz, he was coach of the first division team Balzers, as well as the youth team of the Liechtenstein Football Federation. He is married to Isabelle and has three children: daughter Alessia Giovanna and sons Yanik (Energie Cottbus professional) and Noah (Xamax).
