BSC Young Boys 4 FC Luzern 2 (14th April 2024)
After two disappointing matches, my hopes were pinned on my my last one, in Bern, being rather better, and it most certainly didn’t let me down. After paying a train fare from Zurich that had me wondering if I was purchasing some kind of season ticket rather than a day return, I had several hours to explore this fine UNESCO listed city, before taking the tram up to the stadium.
As every giggling schoolboy knows, Young Boys play in the Wankdorf Stadium, venue of the 1954 World Cup Final. A fairly large but basic ground, it was impressively rebuilt for Euro 2008, even if it didn’t manage to host more than three group games for that tournament.
That World Cup Final era was also around the start of what used to be regarded as the golden era of Young Boy’s history, winning four league titles in a row from 1957-1960, but they’d then have a drought of just one more in the 1980s until winning again in 2018.
The rebuilt Wankdorf seems to have captured the imagination of the Bernese public, although having a good team no doubt helps too, and crowds are now at unprecedented levels for the club. Looking on course for their sixth title in seven seasons, crowds are now around the 29000 mark, and this game would be listed as a 31500 sell-out, even if there were still clearly some empty seats on the day.
Having visited two struggling clubs in the days before, the difference in visiting a club on the up was stark. There was a buzz and a vibrancy about the place, from a crowd excited about the prospect of the match ahead, rather than just turning up out of loyalty and habit. Supporting a club through the darker times can sometimes feel like looking through a window at a party to which you weren’t invited, but pop along to a game like this, even if nominally as a neutral, and it’s hard not to be taken in by the positivity of it all.
Things may be different in future times, but when the sun is shining, the stands are full, and the team are playing well, this felt like a great ground. It looked good, the view was good, and I got to see six goals. What’s not to like? OK, they could probably have opened a few more turnstiles, but this would be a day when all complaints would be minor. In other times I may have baulked at the price of a fetching Young Boys scarf, but I was used to Switzerland by now, and fully understood why FIFA & UEFA, both based in Switzerland, consider their tournament ticket prices to be completely reasonable.
A great game started with an early goal, with mid-table Luzern surprising table-topping Young Boys with a shot stroked inside the far post after just three minutes. For quite a while they looked the better team, and probably looked more likely to get a second before Young Boys got their first.
There were no grumbles from the home fans though, and their patience was rewarded after 27 minutes, when a cross was firmly headed in to level it up. Just six minutes later though, Luzern were back in front, when a shot from outside the box flew past the home keeper, giving him no chance.
1-2 at the break, but despite how well Luzern had played, belying their mediocre league table place, I still had a feeling Young Boys would win the game. For a top of the league side, they looked subdued, and almost certainly had a few more gears to go up in terms of performance.
I’m not exactly Nostradamus when it comes to predictions, but in this case I was spot on. Two minutes into the second half, and the ball fell kindly to be poked in to level it up at 2-2. Just two minutes after that, and a break into the left side of the area saw the ball hit hard and low at the near post for the 3-2 lead.
And just three minutes after that, a corner was met at the near post and angled into the far corner to put Young Boys 4-2 ahead. The game completely turned on its head in a crazy seven minute spell.
It could, and probably should, have been more, as Young Boys attacked with confidence, but somehow they couldn’t quite add to their tally. In fairness, despite the shock of the rapid change in the game, Luzern did have their moments too, and if they had nicked one to make it 4-3, it could have been a very interesting finish.
Instead it ended 4-2, and it was smiles all round, except for the blue-clad section in the far corner, who seemed content to make their own amusement anyway, singing away in a battle of volume with the home counterparts. Three more points in the quest for another title for Young Boys, who look every inch worth it on this showing, and a thoroughly enjoyable end to the trip for me too.
Stadiums and Cities 