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BasketballHow Switzerland got back into the race for the Euro
With two matches remaining in qualifying, the Swiss are still dreaming of the next European Championship. Two meetings and a new coach have changed a lot of things.
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- Jeremy Santallo
François Gomez, on the left, the players of the selection and the assistant Romain Gaspoz on the right.
IMAGO/Gerry Schmitt“I set myself the goal of qualifying our team for one of the next European Championships.” This is what the new coach of the Swiss senior women’s team François Gomez declared when he took office at the end of March. We’re not there yet, but it could happen as early as 2025, for a country that hasn’t had this honor since 1956.
The two big successes in Bosnia and Luxembourg at the end of last week completely relaunched the Swiss selection in the race for the Euro. “For ten days, everyone was pulling on the same rope, it was very pleasant to experience,” relishes Besserat Temelso, new video assistant. The staff and especially François ensured that the atmosphere was good, that everyone understood their role. He put us in the best possible position and no one ever left the project.”
Coudray dismissed
A year ago, the Swiss got off to a possible start with two defeats, one at home against Luxembourg and the other in Montenegro. Five days after returning home, the federation decided to remove Hervé Coudray – without mentioning him – from his duties as coach. “Swiss Basketball was informed of language discrepancies by one of the executives of the senior women’s national team towards a major athlete for which he immediately apologized,” she wrote at the time.
To replace Coudray, who is still the technical director at the federation, Swiss Basket favored an internal solution in the person of François Gomez, who signed a three-year contract. Already head coach of the U20 women’s selection since the summer of 2022, the Frenchman has carved out a reputation as a coaching powerhouse in his country. Twice coach of the year (2009 and 2018), he is currently that of Tarbes, in the first division, and managed the Swedish women’s selection from 2017 to 2019.
The only survivor of the “Coudray era”, Romain Gaspoz, one of the deputies, was marked by his arrival. “He made strong choices, like keeping me. He wanted to surround himself with people who knew Swiss basketball (editor’s note: Emilie Duvivier, coach at Troistorrents is the other assistant). There is a bond in this staff and I like their personality, admits the Elfic Friborg coach. His high-level mark is to have clarified things. A team structure quickly emerged and this rubbed off on the girls’ state of mind. We felt real support. The other thing he did very well was the connection between the old and new generations. It empowered young people while allowing more experienced girls to find their place.”
Summer gatherings
Historical executive of the group, Nancy Fora is well placed to talk about François Gomez. She evolves under his orders in Tarbes. “He plays simple basketball. The girls really liked it, they told me so.” The 27-year-old guard didn’t really recognize the man she meets every day in the southwest of France. “I discovered a different, calmer Francis. He shouted less, and you could see he had confidence in us. He told us this several times. Just believe it.”
A former Elfic player, the Ticino has been there for a lot of years. But she had never seen this selection at such a party. “It’s perhaps the most beautiful window we’ve made,” she continues. What happened a year ago, I think it united the girls, united the group. It must also be said that the federation allowed us to meet for a few days for an internship, at the end of June, to get to know François. We also had two friendly matches in August, in Greece. These gatherings weren’t huge. But it’s already better than before, when we had nothing.”
Buoyed by a more aggressive defense last week and an offensive game that advocates risk-taking, the women’s selection is currently 3rd in its group with 6 units, one point less than Luxembourg and Montenegro. Only the first and the four best second places from the nine groups will go to the Euro. “We fulfilled the mission in this window and put the chances on our side for the future,” notes Besserat Temelso. With the staff, we will work over the next few months on the areas that we can still improve to bring these two matches at home.
Switzerland will host Montenegro and Bosnia on February 6 and 9. These two meetings could be contested not at the Saint-Léonard hall in Friborg but in German-speaking Switzerland. “Discussions are underway,” indicates the federation.
