Following a historic championship run, Fribourg-Gottéron hockey coach Roger Rönnberg declared the start of a new era at the club’s media day in a Fribourg ice rink. Leadership emphasized long-term consolidation and building on past progress as the team prepares to hunt for more titles.
The past triumph is officially off the table. At the annual Media Day organized on Monday in the Fribourg ice rink, coaching staff and club executives made it clear that last season’s championship belongs strictly to history. The message from the organization centers on discipline, continuity, and an uncompromising drive for future success. In the preamble to the event, the organization declared that it is the beginning of a new era.
Turning the Page and Managing the Summer Shortened by Success
For the coaching staff, lingering on past achievements offers no competitive value. Head coach Roger Rönnberg set an uncompromising tone for the upcoming campaign, dismissing nostalgia in straightforward terms.
Roger Rönnberg, coach of Fribourg-Gottéron via 20min, said he has seen enough of that Cup and that it should be returned to the Federation.
That sentiment echoes through the executive offices, where newly appointed president Yvan Haymoz emphasized the necessity of honoring what has already been built while steadily reinforcing the foundation, stating that it is simply necessary to respect what has been built and to continue consolidating it. Behind the scenes, the championship run created immediate logistical hurdles for the roster. Sporting director Gerd Zenhäusern, who managed a three-week break over the summer, acknowledged that the shortened offseason left the squad with lost preparation time that required careful, medium-term recovery rather than rushed fixes, noting that the summer was necessarily shorter than others, meaning there was a certain amount of ground to make up in the team’s preparation, a delay that had to be filled in the medium term rather than the long term.
Roster Ambitions and the Chase for More Titles
Despite the condensed preparation window, leadership insists the team enters the new schedule on stronger ground than it did a year prior. Zenhäusern pointed out that last season required an entire roster to adapt to a brand-new coach and tactical framework. Because the team steadily evolved across that campaign, the baseline level of play is demonstrably higher now, as Zenhäusern asserted that last year everyone had to get used to a new coach and a new approach, and since the team progressed throughout the season, the average level is now higher than it was a year ago.
The target for the club is explicit: secure a spot in the top six as quickly as possible, establish the team as a true title contender, and earn a direct qualification for the play-offs to enter the decisive phase in ideal shape. Yet the sporting director remains fully aware that the target on the club’s back is larger than ever, noting that there are many candidates for the title.
Gerd Zenhäusern, sporting director of Fribourg-Gottéron via 20min, stated that they are ready to start hunting for titles again.
That competitive hunger is visible on the practice ice, driven in part by players eager to return to the postseason after missing out previously. Rönnberg pointed specifically to the intensity shown by Andrea Glauser and Sandro Schmid, both of whom missed the final phase of the last championship due to injuries. Rönnberg noted, Quand je vois l’étincelle qu’ont Andrea (Glauser) et Sandro (Schmid… dans les yeux à l’entraînement, je me dis que mes joueurs veulent un autre titre.
Channeling a Legendary Mentality for the Chapters Ahead
Addressing supporters who questioned whether the club would lose its competitive edge after finally breaking through for a long-awaited title, Rönnberg countered with a high-profile sporting parallel to define the team’s philosophy moving forward.
Roger Rönnberg, coach of Fribourg-Gottéron via La Télé, explained that every season is a new chapter and mentioned meeting fans who told him they no longer found interest after waiting so long for this title, but he lives to win matches and titles, noting that Roger Federer did not stop after a single title and that they should be able to improve everything a little bit and develop in every area.
As the club opens this fresh chapter, leadership maintains that every department can still optimize its performance. By treating each match as a standalone challenge rather than resting on past laurels, Fribourg-Gottéron aims to prove that its historic breakthrough was not a singular peak, but the permanent elevation of the club’s competitive standard.
