Football: Alessandro Mangiarratti reacts: “I have always protected Yverdon”

Alessandro Mangiarratti wanted to do this according to the rules. Officially, he is still under contract with Yverdon Sport. So, to express himself, he wanted to wait until the club gave him the opportunity, rather than doing it behind his back. Lematin.ch was able to contact him early Wednesday, the day after his ouster.

The 46-year-old Ticino, returned home, has little to reproach those who are still his employers, but who released him from his coaching duties on Monday. “I always protected the club,” he recalls. Because it was also Yverdon who allowed him to discover the Super League, a little less than fourteen months ago.

“When you are a coach, you have to be quite stable and sovereign in each situation,” he accepts. It was a very intense fourteen months, and I have to thank Yverdon for the opportunity that was given to me. It will have been very interesting as a coach, with a lot of situations to manage. Even if, in the end, everything goes very quickly: we take match preparation after match preparation, problem after problem. It was also about developing the club. I take this experience quite positively.”

The speech is almost fatalistic. No resentment. Any regrets? “I think we may have missed two wins at home in recent weeks. I don’t want to make excuses.” The Yverdon leaders cited a lack of results to justify their decision.

“The club has its objectives, I don’t want to go against that,” eludes Mangiarratti. But I think the second part of the season will be quieter, because the players who arrived this summer were able to adapt. These are not puzzle pieces that you can put on and take off and it fits together. But that’s the reality of Yverdon Sport.”

In other words, at the Municipality, you have to do according to the conditions imposed. Depending on the players available, in particular. With choices dictated by management, as has often been assumed? There, Mangiarratti firmly sweeps away: “I did what I wanted in my team compositions”. As if to remind us that he was the sole decision-maker of what happened on the ground. Behind the scenes, on the other hand, we can imagine that his power was less in the transfer window.

Whatever. Mangiarratti has always made do, acting as an interface between the followers, not always convinced by the path followed, and the club. “The negativity always came from outside, internally, things were going well,” emphasizes the former Vaduz coach. Which has had to face the growing revolt of supporters in recent times.

First there was a “Mangiarratti Basta” banner, which the ultras had gotten into the habit of deploying. Before a heated protest after the elimination in the Swiss Cup against Lugano at the beginning of December, where the coach was expected to leave the locker room. And then, on Saturday, during Mangiarratti’s last match against Sion (1-0 defeat), another message from the fans: “Papa Noël, a new coach please!” He was heard.

“I can’t really explain what happened with the supporters,” recalls the coach. I think the first banner appeared after four or five matches, when we had played Zurich, Servette, Winterthur, YB and Basel. It wasn’t that easy, although I understand the fans wanted hits. They tried to target me, but I always protected the players and the club.

Enough to leave with a little bitterness, all the same. No doubt Mangiarratti inherited a somewhat poisoned gift, succeeding the popular Marco Schällibaum. Presented as a modern and proactive coach, he also had to make do with the means at hand.

Even if he won’t say it. “I will remember the moments I had with the players,” he said positively. Like when we won 3-2 in the last minute in Lucerne, or the victory in the derby against Lausanne last season. Without forgetting the maintenance acquired at home.

That was part of the goal. Task his successor to do the same. Nothing obvious.