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Jérémy Frick hexed Servette to victory over Ludogorets, but was modest after the game. Rather, he emphasizes team spirit as the key.
After the game, the Geneva team knew who they had to thank for their advance to the round of 16 of the Conference League. In addition to goalscorer Timothé Cognat, goalie Jérémy Frick became the match winner with important saves. The 30-year-old, who has never been between the posts in the Super League this year but has played all European Cup games so far, blocked all 7 shots on goal.
“It wasn’t the most complicated chances, apart from one or two,” says Frick modestly in the SRF interview after the game. He particularly praises the people in front of him, thanks to whom Rasgrad “never really managed to choose the shooting positions”.
Team spirit and mentality are key
Throughout the entire 90 minutes, the people of Geneva defended with great solidarity. Frick highlights this in the interview. The team has a “great atmosphere” and many players have been in Geneva for many years: “This continuity is what makes a team like Servette.” In a match like this you can feel that you have a real team spirit.
Our strength today was not the style of play or tactics, but the mentality and team spirit.
After a tough start to the season and a lot of criticism, the team’s character was formed. This is also thanks to trainer René Weiler. According to Frick, he insists “that we have to be mentally better than everyone else.” This mentality was the key to success: “Our strength today was not the style of play or tactics, but the mentality and team spirit.”
8 possible opponents
The round of 16 in the Conference League takes place on March 7th and 14th. Frick should look after the Geneva goal again. The opponent will be drawn on Friday. It will be one of the group winners from the preliminary round: Lille, Maccabi Tel Aviv, Viktoria Plzen, FC Brugge, Aston Villa, Fiorentina, PAOK Saloniki or Fenerbahce Istanbul.
22 years ago, the Geneva team, coached by Lucien Favre, ended in the round of 16 of the then UEFA Cup against Valencia. This time the path could go even further. At least the form speaks for it: Geneva have only lost two of 22 games in the last almost five months.