From sixth tier to Swiss Cup final: Biel-Bienne ready for time of their lives
They come from a special town too. Biel/Bienne is the biggest bilingual city in Switzerland – Biel is the German name and Bienne is the French one. Until 2005 they were used separately until it was decided to unite them, true to the spirit of the community.
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The town is famous for being the watch capital of Switzerland. The Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry is based there, as is the Swatch headquarters and the Rolex factory. The stadium is named the Tissot Arena, sponsored by the luxury watch brand owned by the Swatch group. It is multi-purpose and unique, combining a football stadium and an ice hockey arena.
Ice hockey is more popular in the city than football, as EHC Biel-Bienne play in the top division and FC Biel-Bienne do not. Gone are the days when they were a major force, winning the title in 1947 and finishing second in 1948 and 1960.
'We were established in 1896 and are one of the oldest football clubs in the country,' says the FC Biel-Bienne president, Dietmar Faes. 'The traditions are great, and we used to have patrons from the watch industry. But things changed during the last 50 years and it became difficult to raise money and compete with a very successful ice hockey team that leads the sponsorship market in our area.'
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The club went bankrupt in 2016 and very nearly disappeared from the football map. 'We started over in the sixth division, and had nothing,' the FC Biel-Bienne financial director, Mauro Ierep, says. 'No balls, no shirts, no sponsors, nothing at all. A local entrepreneur gave us €20,000 to start the season and cover initial expenses. The goal was to reach the fourth division in two years and it was achieved. Three more years were needed to get promoted to the third division
'The budget gradually increased to €1m thanks to the arrival of Core Sports Capital, whose Swiss owner, Ahmet Schaefer, is also the president of Clermont Foot in France. Nevertheless, most of the management team are volunteers, and we only have eight professional footballers. The rest are students or have other jobs and all training sessions take place in the evening so that everyone can take part.'
The coach is inexperienced as well. The 35-year-old Frenchman Samir Chaibeddra worked as an assistant at a magnificently named Goal FC in his homeland, before joining Biel-Bienne in March 2023 and saving them from relegation to fourth division. He has proven himself a sound tactician and motivator and the team finished third last term. This season, returning to the second division was the main goal.
At first the cup run was just an unexpected bonus. Biel-Bienne surprisingly won against second-tier Neuchâtel Xamax in round one, and then overcame a couple of minnows to reach the quarter-finals. 'We wanted to get a big game at home to have a nice boost for our finances, and got one,' the sporting director, Oliver Zesiger, says.
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'Lugano led the top division at the time. We defended deep, didn't concede many chances and scored on a counter. We were later told it was offside, but there was no VAR and the referees allowed it to stand. In injury time, Lugano sent their goalkeeper up and we made it 2-0 into the empty net.'
Young Boys, the reigning champions, awaited in the semi-finals. 'They are our geographical rivals, at least as we are concerned,' says Zesiger. 'People from Biel/Bienne don't like those from Berne. We really wanted to play them and the tickets went extremely fast.
'Young Boys were clear favourites, of course. We lost 6-0 against them in a friendly in the winter. We face their reserve team in the third division twice a season. And yet, we were quietly confident that we could surprise them.'
Every effort was made to prepare the players for something they had never experienced. 'We played fan chants loudly during the training sessions, so that the guys would learn how to communicate in a noisy environment,' adds Zesiger.
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There was also a major novelty as VAR was installed at the Tissot Arena for the first time. That was symbolic because Biel-Bienne had an old score to settle. 'In 2019, we played against Young Boys in the first round and the referee stole the win from us,' says Faes. 'We led in injury time and he mistakenly awarded the corner from which they scored the equalising goal. That was devastating.'
This year's fixture was not without controversy either. A penalty for Biel-Bienne was ruled out by VAR because the contact took place outside the area and the game ended goalless at 90 minutes. In extra time, another penalty was awarded when the Biel-Bienne striker Loïc Socka, on loan from Clermont, collided with the goalkeeper. Well, maybe. The touch was questionable, but VAR could not rule it out and chose not to intervene.
Malko Sartoretti, a young striker on loan from Lausanne, stepped forward. 'Strangely, I didn't feel nervous,' he says. 'I told myself that it only could be a good outcome if I score.' It went in and Biel-Bienne managed to keep a clean sheet until Young Boys equalised with the last kick of the game.
Everyone was shocked, only to be relieved when VAR disallowed the goal for handball. The celebrations were so wild that Zesiger was injured while jumping and hugging the press officer. 'I ruptured a ligament in my knee, but will go to the final nevertheless,' he says, smiling.
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The following day, the team watched the other semi-final between Basel and Lausanne. Sartoretti wanted to face the club he belongs to, but the newly crowned champions Basel sealed a dramatic win, and now the amateurs of Biel-Biennemeet Xherdan Shaqiri and co in the final in Berne on Sunday. The 33-year-old veteran has been in superb form, but the underdogs are ready for the greatest day of their lives.
The excitement and attention was difficult for the team to deal with and Biel-Bienne lost crucial games in the third division, missing out on a promotion. 'Mentally and physically that was too much for us,' Zesiger says. They would find themselves in the Conference League if they produce another sensational result.
'The only secret is that we have a very united group,' says the captain, Anthony de Freitas, who played for Port Vale between 2016 and 2018. 'We are courageous, and make efforts for each other. There is a lot of serenity, calmness and confidence in the dressing room. We were compact at the back against two top division rivals and there is no reason not to try and beat Basel too.
'We have shown that everything is possible, so why not this time?' says Sartoretti. Biel-Bienne fans think the same – in German and French – and their watches are ticking in unison.
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