He is happy about the success of the Swiss national team, hopes for the upswing with Arminia and uses his psychology studies to strengthen himself mentally: right-back Cedric Brunneris one of the top performers in Bielefeld.
On Saturday he will congratulate his Swiss compatriots at VfL Wolfsburg, Kevin Mbabu and Renato Steffen, on qualifying for the World Cup. “You couldn’t necessarily assume that Italy would weaken,” says Cedric Brunner. “Somehow it always suits our country when it comes to tickets for the big tournaments. For sure I will congratulate them when I get the chance. Hopefully with something countable in hand, then it will be even easier.”
For Bielefeld, the 27-year-old is hoping for a win against the “Wolves” to give them further breathing space in the bottom of the table. “Wolfsburg have not scored an excessive number of goals so far. If we keep the score at zero for a long time, there is something in it. “ This should succeed, as it did last time in the 1:0 win in Stuttgart, with him as a right-back in a stable back four. Brunner on his team’s preference for this defence: “You can see it and hear it when you talk to each other: many feel more comfortable in this formation. It works, we’re used to it – see last year. “
Quality issue on bad days
Although Arminia are in penultimate place, the Swiss feels that overall things are not going too badly this season. “Often we were really good, only conceding goals at impossible times or not scoring ourselves. That was different last year. We often played worse then, but had more competitive luck.” And we didn’t have as many integration problems as we do now. “We’ve got a lot of young players. The Bundesliga is a different rhythm, a different tempo. Together, we have not yet been able to implement the automatisms completely as we would like.”
This should soon be the case. “We more experienced players have to continue to get everyone on board, otherwise it won’t work. And we always have to have a good day, on bad days the quality is not enough, we know that in Bielefeld. “
Brunner has the tendon “under control “
The Bielefeld club management recently made a very clear commitment to coach Frank Kramer when he came under criticism. “It doesn’t have to affect us players,” emphasises Brunner. “We have to make sure that nobody can accuse us of not always giving our all. Frank Kramer strengthened this mentality again last year, he talked a lot and pushed us. Now we have to go beyond the existing fight, commitment and constant steam and also work together better tactically and playfully. That hasn’t always worked out that way yet.”
Brunner himself was recently paralysed by an inflammation of the peroneal tendon in his foot. “I’ve been dragging it along a bit since the first international break and played two games with pain. Then against Dortmund nothing worked, I had to go out. Now I have it under control. The tendon in my foot was already inflamed once in the summer. A few days off and therapy, everything’s fine so far. “
Arminia without pressure
As a distance student of psychology, the right-back uses his knowledge to strengthen himself mentally. “It helps me to always keep in mind that not everything is completely bad and that you have to consciously keep the belief in your own strengths. We have some in the team who have already experienced real low points in their careers and got over them.” Brunner said that he had his own drastic experience right at the beginning of his professional career, when he was relegated with FC Zurich. “That was comparable in Switzerland to the Schalker crash this year. It gave me a tremendous lift, but in retrospect it also brought me a lot for myself. This was followed by the cup victory and the return to the top with FCZ.”
Arminia’s trump cards in the relegation battle are perhaps precisely these experiences of knowing that things could be much worse. “And there are clubs at the bottom of the table where the pressure and uncertainty is greater than for us, like last year: we didn’t have to, we could and were allowed to. That was a big advantage. “
New contract? “So far I haven’t heard anything from Arminia “
The question of Brunner’s own future is increasingly coming to the fore, with his contract at Bielefeld expiring in 2022. “So far I haven’t heard anything from Arminia. I could imagine that they are quite happy with me and will be in touch soon. My goal remains to play in one of the top five leagues.” Because the dream of playing for the Swiss “Nati” one day is not completely over. “That would be nice, but it’s not my top priority. There is a lot of competition, especially in my position.” It is also questionable whether the leap can be made in Bielefeld. “Maybe if I score more goals or provide more assists here. I thought after the promotion to move more into focus.” But, he adds: “Playing in the Bundesliga alone is not enough, because nothing has changed for me in terms of selection. It will probably be difficult when I look at the national team. After all, I still have more than 20 games to show that there is no getting past me… “
