Switzerland's Flying Angels Bern is taking an unusual approach to Worlds: development. The team will hope to recreate its 2010 run, when they took home a European championship after using Worlds as prep.
August 2, 2014 by Charlie Eisenhood in Preview with 0 comments
Most teams seeded outside the top eight are open that their goal is not to win a World Championship. But using the World Club Championships as a development tournament? That’s not something you would expect to hear.
But that is how Switzerland’s Flying Angels Bern (or FAB) are approaching this year’s WUCC. The 2nd elite team out of Switzerland (right there with Freespeed; the two always battle for the National title), FAB is hoping to use this week to develop some younger players, gaining them valuable experience to use at this year’s European Championships.
“We’ve been trying to bring in new players, younger players,” said FAB captain Severin Ris. “Which is hard, because if you come into a team like ours, you can really feel like a rookie.”
The team has packed with experienced players who have been on the field together for years. Like for many European elite teams, adding young talent has been crucial, but at times challenging.
That’s what this week is about for FAB. They are aiming for a deep run at EUCF this fall; the last time around (2010) they won their second European Championship after using the same development approach at WUCC in Prague.
“We want to profit as much as possible from those big match ups against teams we might not playing against again until the next WUCC,” said Ris.
The team’s rookies and younger players will see a lot of the field this week.
Still, even with a focus on development over winning, FAB will still be a tough out. Led by players like Nasser M’Bae Vogel, Marco Pfister, veteran Jan Tenger, and U23 standout Ris, the team will have plenty of firepower. They may not be gunning for a spot in the top eight, but it wouldn’t be a shock to see them in the Championship bracket later this week.
