He felt sadness, says Mario Kogler, after he followed his former team from the stands for the first time. “When I saw the fans, I thought: I would have loved to have seen that too. It would have been cool to prepare a season, to build something. “
In December, the 34-year-old rose from U20 to head coach after the wrong selection of Don Nachbaur. And led the team to the playoffs despite quarantines and a mammoth program. “I had high demands on myself, I was in the arena at six in the morning and left at six in the evening. When the pressure eased at the end of the season, I noticed that my body and head had done more than was actually possible. I fell into a hole. “
Now Kogler is coaching Bern’s juniors again. SCB co-owner Mark Streit stood up for the Carinthian. Nevertheless, he was no longer offered a job in the staff of the new coach Johan Lundskog. Kogler was in contact with Olten and was in conversation as an assistant in Biel. But nothing happened.
“Many protect themselves with a name”
«It takes courage to hire a young coach. Many protect themselves with a name. If it doesn’t work out with a 65-year-old who once won the Stanley Cup, you can still say you have brought in a top man, ”says Kogler. “But you can’t blame anyone for that.”
While the professionals do not move from the spot, Kogler wins eight out of ten games. He raves about the team, is happy that some of them are allowed to train with the first team and is proud that Joshua Fahrni made it. “A beautiful thing. For me too, ”he says.