On Tuesday in Ambrì, the Zug team was also unable to emerge from its New Year’s slump. A cramped performance culminated in another one-nil defeat. Goalie Leonardo Genoni had to make four saves. After the game, he said: “We have to regain our self-confidence and can only find our way out of this slump together.”
After a short night, which some probably spent rather sleepless, the team meets on Wednesday morning for an open exchange and then goes out on the ice together. Raphael Diaz, who is still struggling with balance problems and has watched the last few games from behind the players’ bench, says: “The lads are standing up for each other and talking openly. The intensity of training was also an issue – we need to do more of that again so that we can take this feeling into the games.”
It’s about doing the simple things right so that the good feeling comes back with small successes, says Diaz. “Shift for shift, winning the duels, playing good first passes. There’s a certain insecurity in our heads – we have to study less again and just play, trust our intuition.” Captain Jan Kovar doesn’t want to sugarcoat things either: “We had a few days to recover over the holidays—we are physically fit. Nevertheless: Defensively and offensively, not much has come together in the last few games. We have to pull the cart out of the mud together, everyone is aware of that.”
