i like it though. looks like he's gonna be coach for germany next summer. so thank you for letting him go.
I always liked Ralph Krueger and what he has done for Swiss hockey. Would be nice to see him at the WC again.
If so: congrats to Germany, you're bound to become the new Number Eight. And with the looming decline of Slovakia, who knows what the pecking order will look like in 2020. The Big 6 - Germany - the Rest?
In the beginning of the 90's the Swiss team had some success in international tournaments, but generally the 90's were not a very successful decade until 1998 when Krueger arrived. In his first tournament with the Swiss national team he led them to the 4th place in the home tournament of that year. In the following 11 years as national coach the Swiss national team had
not once to go to the Relegation Round. In fact, the worst position under his reign was the 9th place (4 times).
The last decade was by far the best for the Swiss hockey since the 50's (which can hardly be compared) [1]. He became famous in Switzerland for his motivation tricks (He even wrote books about it and was invited for workshops). In the 2000 World Championships in St. Petersburg, the team had a very mediocre tournament start, only by making points against Russia on their home ice would avoid going to the Relegation Round. On the evening before the showdown, Krueger sent each team member a SMS with the content "Glaube an das Unmögliche und das Unmögliche wird möglich". (Believe in the impossible and the impossible becomes possible). Switzerland won 3-2 against Russia and finished the tournament on the 6th place. From 1998 to 2010, the Swiss won against teams from Russia, Canada and the Czech Republic, filled with NHL superstars and had some very close calls against other top-8 teams.
So, is Krueger a magic man, who can transform any mediocre hockey nation into a medal contender? I don't think so! He gave the the Swiss national team solid, defensive oriented tactics, which allowed them to demoralize superior players in inferior teams and lot of hope and self-confidence. The only thing Swiss hockey didn't need him to give to them was something they already had: A lot of young, talented and hungry players. Krueger was the spark, which allowed them to explode.
He finally had to leave because of several reasons:
- Krueger often selected controversial rosters. He always justified them with the statement that he aims to have the best team, which does not necessarily include the best players. But, he started to have more and more personal problems with key players. Either he refused to call them up or they refused to play for him (He had a fallout e.g. with Hollenstein, Jenni, von Arx, Riesen, Jenni again, Forster, Vauclair and as recently revealed Gardner)
- The effect of the motivation tricks seemed to fade out. While they seemed to be very effective in the beginning, the results became worse. While it was often possible to upset one or the other big team, these wins were often at a stage in the tournament were it actually didn't help much. Once the Quarter Finals started, an upset seemed to be impossible. The Swiss team didn't play up to it's full potential anymore once the important part of the tournament starts. At the same time he was speaking of medals already in 1998: "Es ist nicht unrealistisch, mit der Schweiz mittelfristig einmal eine WM-Medaille zu gewinnen." (It is not unrealistic to win a World Championship medal in the medium term) [2]. Unfortunately there are no medals to win in Qualifying Round. Clearly, we never even came close. ("Close" means to me: One win away from a medal)
Let me make this perfectly clear: Nobody in their right mind expects the Swiss team to win medals regularly. What was however expected was that team should once in 10 years time be able to step up when the Quarter Finals begin. Then with a little luck, a good day a team which is ready to play the game of their live it might have been possible. Yet, often the contrary happened. It's is a nice thing to beat Canada and the Czech Republic at the Olympic games in 2006. But if these are the only games you are able to win, it's exactly that: nice. Nothing more.
- The defensive style of hockey Krueger let the team play was not exactly attractive. I do not claim the Swiss hockey will now be the most attractive in the world with any other coach, when the Swiss play against top-8 teams the team will also in future be the team which plays more defensive of the two. But I daresay that the pool of talented Swiss players has never been as deep as it is at the moment and I think it is time to try to make a step forward and play more offensive and take greater risks. Of course Switzerland could have continued to play like under Krueger for another 10 years. Maybe it would really have been possible to once have the perfect tournament and win something. But maybe it would have just continued like the last 5 years: A lot of 8th and 9th places with one or the other upset against a big team. I think it was time to try something new. A new coach with new tactics and ideas. Maybe it will make no difference at all in the end and everything will continue for the next years as it has for so many years now. Maybe there will be a new spark allowing the next generation of players to step up and finally come closer to the top-7. If the new ideas lead to one or another trip to Relegation Round (which I really don't hope), then so be it! Nothing ventured, nothing gained! And if this change leads to the down fall of the Swiss team and the rise of the German team, we at least know where we stand. We will see.
Lange Rede, gar kein Sinn:
Krueger is no Harry Potter, just a very good motivator and a good coach. He's mere presence does not transform a team to anything. He can however create a team with great spirit, which is able to play at it's best (just not always at the right time) and achieve a turn around in very dire situations ("Das Wunder von St. Petersburg"). This team spirit combined with a solid, defensive oriented system was in my opinion one of the big, not the
sole, reasons the Swiss team was able to establish itself in the top-8. The inability to make the next step combined with the problems he seems to have with leader figures in the team, who are, of course, usual highly skilled veterans (didn't make him really popular in the fan base of some clubs or the media) is probably the reason he is not coaching the Swiss anymore. I can however not imagine a better coach for the German national team at the moment and I am most thankful for what he has accomplished in the last 10 years. I wish Ralph Krueger and the German team all the best (well the second best after Switzerland of course
)!
[1]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Switzerland_men's_national_ice_hockey_team#World_Championship_record
[2]
http://www.tagesanzeiger.ch/sport/hockey/WMMedaille-Jetzt-oder-nie/story/17266870
