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Bernhard Alpstaeg wants to continue being Mr. FCL.
While the board of directors of FC Luzern is staying with the club in Marbella these days, majority shareholder Bernhard Alpstaeg invites you to a meeting at the luxurious Hotel Schweizerhof – in the middle of Lucerne. The dishes at the FCL have long been broken. A peaceful outcome to the power struggle has been out of the question since the General Assembly shortly before Christmas.
Mr. Alpstaeg, the last picture we have of you is on December 21st when you leave the inn at the Schützenhaus in a rage.
It was like a slap in the face and felt like the last judgment. Without any warning, I found myself facing 90 other shareholders all by myself.
That hurt quite a bit…
Absolutely. I have never experienced something like that. I feel hurt in my pride. The red line has definitely been crossed since then.
Why didn’t you just run out of the hall?
I was informed an hour before the AGM that the board of directors would take away 25 percent of my shares and that they would file a criminal complaint against me, which by the way has not been filed to date. Then I asked my lawyers if I even had to do this to myself. For legal reasons, however, they advised me to participate anyway.
Seen from the outside, the question arises as to why you are still doing this to yourself at the age of 77?
You must be asking me how old I feel.
You’re welcome …
I feel 50 years old. But in the end it’s very simple. I am involved with the FCL solely for emotional reasons: because it is close to my heart. That’s why I’ve made over 20 million Swiss francs in the last ten years or so.
So you couldn’t just throw down the beg and retire?
No chance.
But you are also aware that you are partly responsible for the messy situation.
Clear. My interview from the beginning of October in the Sunday Blick was not good. In it I made statements about the management of FC Luzern that I shouldn’t have made in public. That was a mistake and I’m sorry.
But these are much softer tones from you. Have you changed your mind?
If you make mistakes, you have to own up to them. But it would be wrong to talk about individuals in any other way. The most urgent question now is: How do we save the FCL? I would like to make my contribution to this.
New year, new strategy. Responsible for the fact that Bernhard Alpstaeg strikes a different note than just a few months ago is his new communications consultant, Sacha Wigdorovits. The 71-year-old from Zurich has been supporting the patron of the FCL since shortly before the ordinary general assembly and is well known as a crisis communicator.
Mr. Alpstaeg, the fans have long been on the side of VR. How do you intend to get the fans back on your page?
I want to meet them and explain the situation to them and show how I want to help save the FCL. Because they deserve it just like FC Luzern.
Do you seriously dare to stand in front of the fans and speak to them?
Clear. I’m sure they will then see that everything I’ve done so far – even if I made unhappy comments and provoked justified criticism – only happened because the FCL is just as important to me as they are to me.
And the fans will understand that?
There are quite a few who are reasonable. If I show them in black and white what the board of directors is doing and they are jeopardizing the future of the club, then they will change their minds.
What do you mean specifically?
The current management has itself declared that there is a risk of a total funding gap of 32.8 million for this season and the next two seasons.
But that was only a projection by the board of directors in the event that an “FC Alpstaeg” came about…
That’s not true. This is an untrue protective claim made by the board of directors. The letter written by his lawyers in his name states that I am to blame for the additional costs and lost income totaling 5 to 8 million. But the board of directors put the whole financial hole at 32.8 million. So he himself is to blame for a deficit of 24.8 to 27.8 million.
What do you fear, how things would go on without you?
That would be the death of the FCL. If we can’t plug this gigantic hole quickly, the FCL will no longer exist in two years.
How does the FCL get out of this situation?
I have a precise plan of how to proceed and I am willing to continue to make a financial commitment. In the interest of the club, I’m also willing to swallow a big frog and continue to work with one or the other board of directors, even if I don’t feel like doing it after the last AGM. But in return, all 52 percent of the shares and votes would have to be recognized so that I can have a decisive influence on the restructuring of the FCL.
Alpstaeg is sticking to his plan. He wants to be Mr FCL. How the legal dispute will continue is unclear. The lawyers are responsible for this part. In the worst case, everything could drag on for several years. But the FCL does not have that much time. Because at the beginning of March it is about the license for the upcoming Super League season. And the club urgently needs money for that. It doesn’t matter whether it’s Alpstaeg or the minority shareholder Josef Bieri – someone has to pay.
Credit Suisse Super League
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