The new coach Bo Henriksen spreads a good mood

FC Zurich finally managed to win again. At least that’s how President Ancillo Canepa felt. For days there had been wild speculation about who would become the new FCZ coach, but the club managed to keep the name secret. Until Monday morning, when the Danish media wrote that Bo Henriksen had boarded a plane in Copenhagen bound for Zurich.

At 3 p.m. Henriksen was already in charge of FCZ training, two hours later he was presented to the media. He has signed a contract until the summer of 2024 and is initially relying on the FCZ coaching staff. The newcomer left a decidedly optimistic impression, laughed a lot, spoke enthusiastically, and uttered one motivational slogan after the other. “I’m crazy about winning,” he said. And: “One of my strengths is creating a good atmosphere. You get what you give.”

Ancillo Canepa sat next to Henriksen. The FCZ President said: “We urgently need this positive energy that Bo radiates throughout the club.” Canepa emphasized that he did not want to scolding the media, but emphasized in a pithy media scolding that a lot of fake news had been circulating in the last few days. “We did not receive any cancellations from coaches. Bo Henriksen is our absolute dream solution.»

Bo Henriksen’s people skills are praised

FC Zurich is in a deep crisis. He provided the last proof of this on Sunday in the dismal 0-0 at home against the modest newly promoted FC Winterthur. After ten rounds, the champions are without a win and with four points at the bottom of the table, in the cup he was eliminated by the lower league Lausanne, in the Europa League he suffered three defeats at the start – with the embarrassing 1: 5 against PSV Eindhoven on Thursday as the low point . If the last encounters had been a casting show for a football team called “Erste Allgemeine Verunsicherung”, the FCZ players would have successfully applied for it.

Now Bo Henriksen should solve the blockades. If you talk to people in Denmark about the 47-year-old, you get the picture of a coach who is unconventional. Henriksen is described as a “type”, also as a “character”, famous in his homeland for active coaching, excessive body language, exuberant jubilation.

Football journalist Martin Davidsen says Henriksen touches a lot of people because he’s one of them, has stayed normal, has a rural flair and is sometimes available for a beer. He never wears a suit, but prefers to stand on the sidelines with jeans and a T-shirt, is free from vanity. “He’s very honest, very direct, very emotional,” says Davidsen. The long hair would underline the irrepressible, wild demeanor.

Bo Henriksen must be a good guy if you listen to people like that. It is said that he is very Danish, embodies Denmark’s hygge lifestyle, this cosy, warm atmosphere and being with loved ones. And somewhere in the living room a candle burns.

Lighting candles could also help the FCZ.

In Denmark, Henriksen has already been compared to Liverpool coach Jürgen Klopp because of his passionate nature. For years he worked excellently as a coach at the small clubs Brønshøj and Horens, the teams played well beyond their potential. When Henriksen left, both clubs were immediately relegated. “He’s a strong trainer for outsider teams,” says journalist Davidsen, who is also a correspondent for the German specialist magazine “Kicker”. Henriksen manages to organize his teams excellently.

Of course, the big Danish clubs took notice of Bo Henriksen. And so he moved to FC Midtjylland in 2021. There the results were right again, the team finished second last season, won the cup and wintered in the European Cup – but those responsible were of the opinion that Midtjylland was not doing enough to dominate. After just two rounds this season, Henriksen was released at the end of July. He reacted without understanding and said at the time that maybe he would work in the youth field in the future.

Now the Dane is at FC Zurich. Like last year’s Zurich champion coach André Breitenreiter, he is a friend of the back three in defence, but is not seen as dogmatic, but as a pragmatist. Henriksen has not earned his reputation as a tactical genius, but rather because of his strong people skills. He once said: “Footballers need a lot of love.”

The FCZ players could use love after the uncomfortable weeks under Franco Foda. Happy Henriksen is an alternative to the grumpy predecessor Foda, the Dane spread more happiness in twenty minutes at the press conference on Monday than his predecessor in almost three months combined. President Canepa said the profile had been adjusted when looking for a coach. From this point of view, the FCZ has radically corrected its mistake with Foda.

Henriksen has to master three difficult encounters to make his debut

As a footballer, Bo Henriksen said he wasn’t particularly gifted with talent. But the striker has had a respectable career, being part of surprise Danish champions Herfølge’s winning team in 2000, playing for lower-league teams in England and Iceland and even a few months in the Maldives. The father of three describes himself as a family man who likes to have good people around him. stop hygge

An intensive program awaits Henriksen at FCZ. It starts on Thursday with three games within a week at PSV Eindhoven in the Europa League, against YB and at FC Basel. “We will be successful,” Henriksen said several times on Monday. His first task is to create a culture in which everyone feels comfortable and the players want to die for each other on the pitch. And he said: “As a coach, I have exceeded expectations everywhere.”

At FCZ, you don’t know exactly what the expectations are at the moment – certainly somewhere between the championship title and 10th place.