YB meets Shakhtar Donetsk in the Champions League on Wednesday. The people of Bern have fond memories of their only duel so far.
Legend: The foundation for the turnaround Yuya Kubo celebrates his goal to make it 1-0 in the second leg. Keystone / MANUEL LOPEZ
The starting point? Difficult to impossible on paper. The main rehearsal? Completely failed. The crowd? More than modest.
When the Young Boys last met their next CL opponent Shakhtar Donetsk, only a few fans believed in a coup. In the third round of the Champions League qualification, the Bernese were drawn against the Ukrainian series champions 8 years ago. He was a regular guest at the concert of the big players and has always been there in the group phase of the “premier class” since 2010. Anyone who wanted to enjoy Champions League football in Bern had to pay a visit to their unpopular rivals from Basel.
Live notice
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The game between Shakhtar Donetsk and YB will be broadcast live on SRF on Wednesday. The broadcast on SRF Zwei starts at 6:00 p.m., kick-off is at 6:45 p.m. You can see all games and all goals from Wednesday as part of “Champions League – Highlights” from 11 p.m. on SRF two.
The first leg in Ukraine went as expected. The Young Boys barely put one foot in front of the other and were visibly overwhelmed against Donetsk. The best thing about the guest appearance was the result. Thanks to a strong performance from goalie Yvon Mvogo, the Bernese were able to limit the damage and went into the second leg with a 0-2 defeat.
But instead of gaining courage for the reprise, YB suffered a bitter 1-2 defeat against Lugano the weekend before. This obviously also gnawed at the faith of the fans. Not even 10,000 spectators found their way to Wankdorf, a sad number for the people of Bern even at the time.
Miracle thanks to double Kubo
But despite all the prophecies of doom, YB outgrew itself that evening. Within six minutes, Yuya Kubo made up for the loss from the first leg with two goals (54,/60). After the goalless extra time, the decision was made in a penalty shootout. Substitute Milan Gajic decided this in favor of the Bernese.
However, YB did not get to the honey pots of the “premier class” that year either. In the playoffs, Borussia Mönchengladbach proved to be too strong an opponent.
Eight years and six championship titles later, YB is taking part in the Champions League for the fourth time this year. The role of favorite in the third duel with Shakhtar is no longer as clearly divided as it once was. Like YB, the Ukrainians have not yet scored a goal in the league phase. In addition, the team has to compete in exile in Gelsenkirchen because of the war at home. The chances of another Bernese coup could well be worse.
