Basel is currently on a high, while YB is still looking for its former strength. Image: trapezoid
A team in form will meet a team in form when FC Basel visit YB on Wednesday (8:30pm). At FCB, coach Fabio Celestini spoke of the best weeks of his tenure, while in Bern the captain counted his colleagues. Does this give FCB a chance of winning in Bern for the first time in eight years?
Celine Ferrer/ch media
Fabio Celestini will have something to celebrate when he returns home early Thursday morning.
It didn't matter how his FC Basel side performed against Young Boys of Bern in Wankdorf. Because on October 31, the Basel coach not only celebrated his 49th birthday, but also his first anniversary as FCB head coach.
He signed for Basel on his 48th birthday, just a day before a major cup match against SC Kriens, which Basel won resoundingly.
Tomorrow, Fabio Celestini will become head coach of FC Basel for one year.Image: trapezoid
A lot has happened since then. Celestini stabilized the team, led it out of the bottom of the standings, and went through two transfer periods that reorganized the team, making adjustments to the team each time. He endured a painful elimination, reprimanded latecomers, suffered needless defeats, and yes, he had to endure initial questions about how long he would stay on the job.
Celestini was asked to take stock the day before the game before the champions faced off against the former series champs on Wednesday night. What was his most beautiful moment during his nearly 365 days at FC Basel? “Honestly, the last three weeks have been great,” Celestini said. In the past three weeks, Basel first defeated YB 1-0 at home, then beat St. Gallen 2-1 at the last moment in Jögli, and finally won 6-1 in Winterthur last Saturday.
United after St. Gallen victory
If he had to choose one moment, one game, it would be the win against St. Gallen: “Emotionally speaking, it was the best game. It was the first time the stadium exploded. It was also important for the relationship with the team . Everybody ran to the corner and cheered together.”
Basel celebrates after scoring the winning goal against St. Gallen.Image: trapezoid
Since this moment of awakening, people in Basel seem to be on the move. It's been a long time since a certain sense of relief has been felt in and around FC Basel. This atmosphere is something Celestini has never experienced in his one year as FCB coach.
This satisfaction that Celestini expressed in front of the media on Tuesday was not just based on three wins in three games. It's not just numbers. But it's about what and how, about how the final victory is achieved.
Immediately after Saturday's game, Celestini spoke of the fun his team was having. It’s fun to play football together and it’s fun to play soccer. “That's the best thing for the coach,” he added.
Desire for Celestine Football
Even three days later, Celestini remains enthusiastic about his team's performance. “They expressed their interest to me. Not only in football, but also in Celestine football. “This is the first time in my year at Basel that the players have accepted my ideas, my football philosophy and interpreted it on the pitch. It's great to see that.”
A day before their showdown with the champions, a lot of things in Basel seemed to be pointing in the right direction. step by step. FCB has the best offense in the league and also has the best defense in the league — and they seem to be getting even closer.
All facts that few would have thought of three and a half weeks ago. Back to when Basel last saw YB. There is talk of an “Entrassico”, where the coach who loses the duel between Basel and Bern has to step down. In fact, Patrick Frame had to resign from his post in Bern. After 24 days, almost nothing remains of one of Celestini's allegedly rickety chairs.
Amazing value for the Winterthur race
The world seems different in Basel. The two defeats against Zurich and Lucerne before the last YB game appear to have been put on hold as part of this process. Even Celestini said: “The 0-1 defeat in Lucerne was the worst moment of my year here.”
He sees his team in a different position now. There is also the aspect of mentality. He was determined about this because even after winning 3-0 and 4-0 at Winterthur, his team continued to play and never felt satisfied. And: “Because the last 30 minutes of this game have some of the best values in terms of intensity and sprint,” he explained. That's not normal when you're leading 5-0.
Shaqiri was convincing against Winterthur.Image: trapezoid
This all bodes well for a game in Bern where the hosts looked a bit like a wounded deer. Bern is already on alert again after a change of coach, a strong showing against Lucerne and a loss to Inter Milan.
Sunday's 2-0 loss to Lugano was YB's sixth defeat of the season – the Bernese side managed just seven zeroes in all of last season.
Benito and his colleagues scolded him
But just as Basel boss Celestini was delighted with the win at Winterthur, YB captain Loris Benito felt how the next blow to the neck came after the game in Lugano anger.
After the final whistle, he said into the SRF microphone: “We have to do more, we have to show more resilience.” They were given the chance and they failed to show it. “
Speech is clear. The Bern captain was said to have sensed a lack of firepower before the game and tried to get his colleagues to speak and release the handbrake. No success.
Loris Benito has criticized his team-mates recently.Image: trapezoid
“We actually know how it works, we just don't show it,” he aptly concluded. The fact that the Bernese were able to outdo themselves was evident not only against Inter Milan, but also in the two playoff games against Istanbul Galatasaray.
Europe is attractive, the country lacks firepower – the situation in Bern is reminiscent of that of the Basel team in the 2022/2023 season. At its peak in Europe, which only ended in the semi-finals of the Division League, FCB stumbled through the league, finishing only 5th on the final matchday. This kind of intrinsic motivation—or lack thereof—cannot be trained.
The last victory was more than eight years ago
Celestini said as much when asked about Wednesday's opponent. “That's impossible. Lugano or Yverdon are not Inter. “Video or anything else doesn't help,” said the FCB coach, adding: “They are missing something. As has been the case for us in recent years. “
Basel heads to Bern as the favorites both in form and in the standings. A situation that hasn't happened in a long time. Fabio Celestini has warned that YB are still the best team in the league and don't look like a bottom team in their final showdown on October 6.
Yet you get the sense that FC Basel's chances of beating Juniors Bern in Wankdorf have rarely been so good in the past eight years. It’s been a long time since the last time we had a complete success in Bern. It was May 22, 2016, and Basel's goalscorers were Matias Delgado and Jean-Paul Boétis twice. Since then, the team has achieved 3 draws and 13 losses, the most recent being 1:5 in March this year.
Delgado was one of the scorers in Basel's last away win against YB. Image: KEYSTONE
Fabio Celestini is not a fan of statistics like this. Or better yet: He's a fan of stopping power. In January, FCB achieved its first home victory in three and a half years under the leadership of Celestini. What about abroad?
Fabio Celestini may not only be able to celebrate his birthday and service anniversary on Thursday morning. (riz/aargauerzeitung.ch)
