Emotional Day at the Credit Suisse Cup Final in Basel

Emotions were running high on the last day of this year's Credit Suisse Cup – both on the pitch and on the sidelines. There was no shortage of cheering at the St. Jakob sports facility, but there were also considerable heated matches and even the shedding of tears among the 295 teams in the final tournament – all of them battling it out for victory in one of 13 categories.

One of the 13 winning teams on the girls side was from Liestal: "It was incredible; we never ever expected such success," said the winners as they danced with joy. The talented team had qualified for the finals for the fourth time in a row, but in the past had always been knocked out in the first round. "This time we wanted to get to the semis," said the ambitious young women. And because of their age, it really was their final opportunity. 

Ambition, team spirit, and talent

The ninth graders accomplished their task with high confidence. Having started off the tournament with a draw, the class went from one victory to another. Then, in the semi-finals as well as the final, luck was on their side with a late goal in the final and in the two penalty shootouts. "We've got ambition, team spirit, and two experienced female footballers," is how the amazed players described their recipe for success.

Little did the winners know that by reaching the final they had done decisively better than their idols. National Team players and Credit Suisse Cup ambassadors Cinzia Zehnder and Florijana Ismaili as well as captain of the national beach soccer team Moritz Jäggy signed countless autographs and recalled their own experiences. Jäggy once made it into the final tournament "but without success – we were knocked out early." The two top female football players didn’ even make that far, and had no personal experience of the final tournament. Ismaili remembers "fun and too many defeats," while Zehnder looks back with regret: "I would love to have been able to make the early-morning trip to Basel from St. Gallen. Unfortunately we never got that far."

Perfect platform

Oliver Zwemmer was likewise caught up in the excitement of the Credit Suisse Cup. The Regional Head for Credit Suisse Northern Switzerland was delighted to see the beaming faces, emotions, and the sheer joy on display. Although attending the awards ceremony in his official capacity for the first time, he was already familiar with the event as godfather and uncle. Describing it as "a great platform for Credit Suisse," he also praised the event itself, its appeal and image, plus "the opportunity to enjoy being on the winning side, but also to know what it feels like to take on defeat." Turning to the many years of support from Credit Suisse, he stressed that "The nicest thing about the development is the growing presence of girls and young women." The winners from Liestal were the finest example of that, he said.