Arriving in January 2024 in Yverdon, Paul Bernardoni, often impeccable between his posts, completes his first year at the municipal stadium.
Claudio De Capitani/freshfocus
In the collective imagination as well as in the reality of the Super League, Yverdon remains perceived as a small club. This is how it is and will undoubtedly always remain so, despite the efforts made by Jamie Welch, its American owner, to gradually change its size.
This can be its charm when success is there as it has already been; but this can also quickly represent the limits of a system – that of excessive player trading – when it comes to struggling to save what needs to be saved.
Paul Bernardoni (27 years old) is probably aware of all this as the North Vaudois club prepares to begin its perilous operation this Sunday on the banks of the Limmat, against FC Zurich (kick-off 2:15 p.m. maintenance. The goalkeeper of the municipal stadium talks about what must change so that the future of YS is still in the Swiss elite next July.
Paul Bernardoni, what is your state of mind before this recovery? What feeling predominates?
A certain impatience because we all want to be there. Our camp in Portugal allowed us to find ourselves all together. I feel the team is ready, I believe in everyone. This must be the start of a new cycle. We’re all in, it’s great. Now that the terrain will speak, Zurich will be our first battle. Faced with our adversaries, we want to step on them.
“The locker room is healthy (…) Here, I am surrounded by good guys. But perhaps we sometimes behaved like too nice boys”
What will have to radically change so as not to relive such a delicate first part of the season?
Find the right mentality over time. We had it sometimes but we also lost it sometimes. This requires hurting yourself more and convincing yourself that you are not less good than others. The locker room is healthy. Not everyone has a locker room as united as ours. Positive leads to positive. Here I am surrounded by good guys. But perhaps we sometimes behaved like too nice boys.
A united, healthy locker room as you say, isn’t that paradoxically dangerous? This could mean a lack of leadership, strong-mouthed people, right?
Oh, don’t worry, we also know how to say things to each other’s faces when the situation requires it. It’s undoubtedly the most difficult thing to do in this environment but it’s also what allows you to move forward. So yes, we already know things and some truths that have been said several times. And if we have to do it again, we will do it again!
A change of coach (editor’s note: Paolo Tramezzani replaced Alessandro Mangiarratti during the break), it is always an expression of failure. Personally, how did you experience it?
I know that it is part of Football life even if, as players, we are primarily responsible for it. Every change brings new things. I fought for the old coach, I will do the same with the new one. But what I fight the most for is the club. We move forward hand in hand, with a goal shared by all, to maintain Yverdon in order to evolve and grow.
“We pressed reset, we start on a new page, there is everything to create”
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If we had to mention a first sign of this change, what would it be?
Impact in work, quality in commitment. We pressed reset, we start on a new page, there is everything to create.
What do you think will be the key to maintaining this?
Individual quality exists but we must be stronger as a team. What we do well, we will have to succeed more over time. We can no longer afford to miss out on a match, to stupidly let points slip away when every point counts. That said, I prefer to be in our situation than in the place of Grasshopper or Winterthur who are behind us. We have already shown that we can beat everyone. This is proof that we are capable of achieving great things.
“This first year gave me back my taste for football, I rediscovered the notion of pleasure that I had lost”
Last season, Yverdon ensured its home ground, obtaining 40 of its 47 points in front of its home crowd. However, this type of life insurance has since completely disappeared. What happened to get there?
So that, if only I knew… I sometimes felt a moment of despondency when we conceded the first goal, it’s true. We were on a tightrope, accepting too easily what was happening to us. We have to believe in ourselves more, really get on the pitch to win. When you’re in the hallway leading to the field next to the guys from the other team, you shouldn’t be afraid of them. Yes, with the support of our fans, we must find that thing which was our strength at home.
It’s been a year since you arrived in Yverdon. What did you discover about Switzerland and its championship?
I am surprised by the level, including the infrastructure, with great teams. Life in Switzerland is very pleasant. My partner likes it, and that’s important. It’s a small country but with lots of things to visit. On a more personal level, this first year gave me a taste for football again, I rediscovered the notion of pleasure that I had lost. This is all the more true as I identify with the club’s values.
Paolo Tramezzani: “Zion will always be special to me”
At 54, Paolo Tramezzani has not changed. The Mister is still reluctant to express himself in French or to learn it. In the YS conference room, it was while juggling Italian and English that he spoke to the press this Thursday about his arrival in this corner of the country. “I’m happy to be here. I know the situation, there is nothing new, these are situations that I have already experienced elsewhere. I know the importance for Yverdon of saving the League. It won’t be easy but this path exists.” What did he emphasize during preparation, especially during the camp in Portugal? “Commitment, character,” he answers. Talent alone is not enough. The state of mind is more important than the tactics chosen.
The name of Tramezzani, who made himself known at Lugano, remains inexorably linked to FC Sion, which he coached four times. “Three times we ran away. Last time it didn’t work.” Emotion takes over when he talks about these different visits to Tourbillon, the complicity he was able to create with the Constantin family. “Sion will always be special to me, it’s more than a club. I will never forget what Christian (Editor’s note: Constantine) did for us when my wife had cancer.”
On March 29, Tramezzani will meet Tourbillon with Yverdon on the 29th day. “It will inevitably be a special match, full of emotions (…) You know, even if Sion were to find itself one day in the 5th division, I would be ready to come back and coach it!”
