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You might as well have overlooked it. Or at least try. It would not have been surprising, understandably, so soon after the game was over. Instead, however, Ciriaco Sforza, Fabian Frei and Silvan Widmer choose very clear and honest words. Independent from each other, but united in their point of view. They all say: that was wrong. And above all: That was anything but good.
This is what FC Basel shows on Thursday night from minute 30, but especially after the break, in the game against Anorthosis Famagusta. But not only: at the same time, it is also about the second half of the Basler against Osijek before the week or the second round in the first match of the championship against Vaduz. In the previous three competitive matches, FCB collapsed after the break at the latest. Solid. And each time this bad streak continued, which was always characterized by indifference, after a strong first half with an advantage. It seems to be a new and unsightly pattern: strong, alert, start to play good football, dominate the opponent, and then almost cease operations. The consequence: against Famagusta it suddenly became unnecessary and incredibly exciting. Nerves weren’t that tight against Vaduz, but it cost a point in the end. And against Osijek, the FCB escaped.
A strong team, with buts and yes
Although this new character trait has cost “only” a point and a lot of nerves so far, the question of why is inevitable. Although Frei does not find the definitive reasons after the end of the game, but places them in the mental area, his coach becomes a little clearer: “It has to do with attitude and discipline. It can’t go on like this. Attitudes toward combat behavior must change. Everyone has to think about their performance, ”says Sforza. It is a strong criticism of the coach to his players. The next day, after a short but good night’s sleep, he says: “If everyone starts with themselves and ends with themselves and everyone invokes what they have already demonstrated, then we have a strong team. which is very interesting in the long run. “
Sforza’s statements make it clear where he will take action most urgently. The 50-year-old saw that the team can play soccer and the team impressively showed in the first 30 minutes against Anorthosis. “We barely left the enemy breathing,” says Silvan Widmer, adding: “But then they made us nervous and we couldn’t calm down anymore.”
A first starting point is that at least all parties, ie the coach, as well as Frei and Widmer, representing the entire team, identify the problem in the same place. Widmer says: “We don’t have to think that we can give a small percentage less if we are leaders. Otherwise. “Because in the end it could be precisely these two or three percent losses that can have serious consequences.” It was enough against Famagusta. But that will not always be the case. We have to stop this immediately. Because I am not agreeing. humor for us to lose points so unnecessarily. “
No condition issues, just a few in your head
For Sforza it will be the first challenge, very big, and even the first touchstone in his role as coach. You have to show that you can psychologically pack your team there so they can stop this behavior. After so little time together and with a game plan that doesn’t leave much room for individual discussions or in-depth analysis, it’s not easy at all. If the problems were conditional, it would be easier. But the fitness level is fine. “It is no longer as if we no longer run. Instead, the will to play it neatly is lost. This is how those second halves come up that bother me, ”Frei says bluntly.
One can only speculate about the cause of these attitude problems. The FCB already fought last season against supposedly smaller opponents with similar obstacles. Then, as now, no funny solutions could be found in the field. Sforza explains that he mentions this every day. In training, before the game. FCB could show their first progress against Servette on Sunday. Or much more: it has to be shown in Geneva. Because the Servettiens are likely to be a team that benefits from this appearance.
