When the two-time world champion coach Rikard Grönborg gave up his job at the Swedish Association in 2019 and negotiated with clubs in Switzerland, he made it clear: Not without my video coach. This is how Johan Andersson, with whom he has been working for eleven years, ended up with the ZSC Lions.
And in the last few weeks it has paid off. In the last three wins, the 36-year-old saved Zurich from a goal. As the? The video coach follows the games from the stands and can assess hot scenes on his laptop at lightning speed. If a goal was conceded by a goalie handicap, an offside, a high stick or a hand pass, Andersson transmits this to Grönborg’s new assistant Peter Popovic, who has a button in his ear so that the Lions can register a coaches challenge. The referees then look again at the scene on the monitor – and cancel the hit if they get the same view.
Since this season, the referees are only allowed to search for goalie disabilities or offsides after a challenge.
“Everything has to happen very quickly”
A challenge is not risk-free: Those who do not succeed receive a 2-minute penalty. «We have to be absolutely sure and make the decision: Challenge? Yes or no. Communication has to be short and clear, ”says Andersson. And he emphasizes that he is not alone up in the stands, but judges the scenes together with goalie coach Stephan Siegfried (39), who did this before Andersson’s arrival. «It’s good that there are two of us. Everything has to happen very quickly. We only have about 10, 15 seconds. And we have to stay as calm as possible. “
In the last three ZSC victories, the duo was able to delete one goal. In the 5: 2 against SCL Tigers they prevented the 3: 4 connecting goal, in Ambri (2: 0) they intervened in the alleged equalization and against Servette (7: 5) they also ensured that the 1: 1 from the scoreboard disappeared.
“I think we have a 100 percent success rate this season,” says Andersson, who first worked as a video coach 15 years ago during an internship at the Swedish Association.
With the Lions, he not only takes care of arguments for a coaches challenge, but can also point out tactical subtleties thanks to the bird’s eye view. He also creates videos and works with the players on the details.
ZSC-Star on the construction site: Here Andrighetto raves about the new hockey temples(01:19)