The Basel team is at a high level at the moment, although YB is still looking for its old strength. Picture: keystone
When FC Basel visit YB on Wednesday (8:30pm), a team in form will meet a team in search of form. At FCB, coach Fabio Celestini talks about the best weeks of his tenure, while in Bern the captain counts his teammates. Does this give FCB their first win over Bern in eight years?
Céline Feller / ch media
When Fabio Celestini arrives home early Thursday morning, he will have something to celebrate.
No matter how his FC Basel fared against Bernese Youth in Wankdorf. Because on October 31, the Basel coach not only celebrates his 49th birthday, but also his one-year anniversary as FCB head coach.
He signed in Basel on his 48th birthday, just one day before the big cup match against SC Kriens, which the Basel team won with a bang.
Fabio Celestini has been coach at FC Basel for a year tomorrow.Picture: keystone
A lot has happened since then. Celestini stabilized the team, brought it out of the bottom of the table, survived two transfer periods in which the squad was restructured and readjusted his team each time. He suffered a bitter cup out, a cursed reprimand, he suffered an unnecessary defeat, and yes, he had to face the initial questions about how long he would be in this position.
Before the champions take on the former league champions on Wednesday evening, Celestini is asked to stock up the day before the game. What was his most beautiful moment from almost 365 days at FC Basel? “Honestly, the last three weeks have been really nice,” says Celestini. Three weeks in which the Basel team won the first YB 1-0 at home, then they won 2-1 in the last second against St.Gallen in Joggeli and finally a big win 6-1 in Winterthur last Saturday.
Pulling together after the St Gallen win
If he had to choose a moment, a game, it would be the win over St.Gallen: “In terms of emotions, it was the best game. This was the first time the stadium exploded. And it was also important for the relationship with the team. Everyone ran to the corner and bowed together.”
The Basel team is celebrating after the winning goal against St.Gallen.Picture: keystone
From this moment of awakening, the people of Basel seem to be in the drift. There is a certain brilliance that has not been felt in and around FC Basel for a long time. An atmosphere that Celestini had never experienced in his year as FCB coach.
This satisfaction, which Celestini showed in front of the media on Tuesday, is not based on three wins from three games. Not just in numbers. It’s about what and how, because of the way the final victory came.
Immediately after Saturday’s game, Celestini talked about the fun his team had. Fun to play together and fun to play football in general. “That’s the best thing for a coach,” he said.
Desire for football Celestini
Even three days later, Celestini is still enthusiastic about his team’s performance. “They let me know they’re interested.” Not just football, but Celestini football. “This is the first time in my year in Basel that the players have accepted my idea, my football philosophy and their interpretation on the pitch. That’s nice to see.”
A day before the duel with the champions, many things in Basel seem to be pointing in the right direction. Step by step. FCB has the best offense in the league, has the best defense in the league – and seems to have moved closer together.
All the facts that very few people thought about three and a half weeks ago. Back when the Basel team beat YB last time. There was talk of “Entlassico”, that the coach who would lose the duel between Basel and Bern had to go. In fact, Patrick Frame had to resign from his job in Bern. 24 days later, hardly anything remains of one of Celestini’s cheerful chairs.
Surprising values of the game Winterthur
The world seems different in Basel. The two wins against Zurich and Lucerne that came before YB’s last game seem to have been shelved as part of the process. Even if Celestini says: “That 0-1 loss in Lucerne was the worst moment of my year here.”
He sees his team elsewhere now. Also when it comes to mentality. This feels confirmed as his team continued to play even after the 3-0 and 4-0 wins in Winterthur and were never satisfied. And: “Because the last 30 minutes of this game have some of the best values in terms of intensity and sprints,” as he explains. Which is not normal with a 5-0 lead.
Shaqiri was determined against Winterthur.Picture: keystone
All good signs for a match in Bern where the host come across like a wounded deer. After the change of coach and the supposed turnaround with the win against Lucerne and the strong performance despite the defeat against Inter Milan, Bern is already on alert again.
The 0-2 win against Lugano on Sunday was YB’s sixth win of the season – in the whole of last season, the Bernese side only managed seven nil.
Benito and his colleagues scolding him
But just as Basel coach Celestini is happy with the way Winterthur was beaten, YB captain Loris Benito is angry after the game in Lugano at how the next blow in the neck came.
“We have to do more, we have to show more resilience,” he said into the SRF microphone after the final whistle and then included his teammates: “We have players who grind when they are not play, and when they play. get a chance, they don’t show it.”
Clear words. The Bernese captain is said to have felt the lack of fire before the game and tried to get his teammates involved in a speech and release the handbrake. Without success.
Loris Benito criticized his teammates recently.Picture: keystone
“We really know how to do it, but we don’t show it,” he sums up aptly. The fact that the Bernese can grow beyond themselves was shown not only in the game against Inter, but also in the two playoff games against Galatasaray Istanbul.
European appeal, national with a lack of fire – the Bernese situation is reminiscent of the Basel team in the 2022/2023 season. During the European peak, which only ended in the semi-finals of the Conference Series, FCB floundered in the league and only reached 5th place on the final match day. This intrinsic motivation – or lack thereof – cannot be trained.
The last victory was over eight years ago
Celestini also says when asked about Wednesday’s opponent. “That is impossible. Lugano or Yverdon are not Inter Milan. “No video or anything else helps,” said the FCB coach, adding: “They are missing something. As has been the case with us in recent years.”
The Basel team go to Bern as favorites in terms of form and table position. A situation that has not existed for a long time. Fabio Celestini points out that YB are still the best team in the league and that they were not as successful as a team from the bottom of the table in the last duel on 6 October.
And yet you get the feeling that FC Basel have rarely had a chance to beat the Bernese Young Boys in Wankdorf over the last eight years. It’s been a long time since Bern was completely successful. That was on 22 May 2016, and Matías Delgado and Jean-Paul Boëtius were the scorers for Basel twice. Since then there have been three draws and 13 wins, the latest 1:5 in March of this year.
Delgado was one of the goal scorers in Basel’s final away win against YB. Picture: KEYSTONE
Fabio Celestini is not a fan of such statistics. Or better: He is a fan of stop dynamics. In January, FCB, under the leadership of Celestini, managed to achieve their first home win against YB in three and a half years. And abroad?
Fabio Celestini may only be able to celebrate his birthday and service anniversary early Thursday morning. (riz/aargauerzeitung.ch)
Ng wait since Basel last secured a victory against YB in their own stadium, making this upcoming match particularly significant for the team and fans alike. The dynamics have certainly shifted, with Basel appearing to have regained their confidence and momentum after a series of strong performances. Their position as league leaders, both offensively and defensively, adds to the anticipation surrounding the match.
On the other hand, YB faces their own struggles despite a brief resurgence after a coaching change. Captain Loris Benito’s frustration highlights the challenges the team is grappling with—stemming from a lack of resilience and consistency among players. His call for more commitment from teammates suggests that there is a need for a mentality shift within the squad if they hope to compete effectively in the league.
As Basel heads to Bern, the expectations are high, fueled by their recent successes and the current state of YB. The potential for breaking the long-standing winless streak at Wankdorf could be a defining moment in the season for Basel, while YB will be eager to prove they can rise to the occasion and reclaim their standing as one of the top teams in the league. The match will undoubtedly be pivotal, with both teams eager to assert their dominance and shift the narrative of their respective seasons.
