The 87-time Swiss national player Tim Braillard is ending his floorball career. For two years, the player from UHC Alligator Malans has never been able to play without pain due to knee complaints and has therefore decided that he no longer wants to continue playing under these circumstances.
Tim Braillard’s career ascent was steep: In his first season with Alligator Malans, he won the Cup in 2012 and the championship one year later. Right from the start, Braillard was one of his team’s busiest scorers. In 2015, he won the Cup again with Malans, and in the 2016/17 season, Braillard was named the league’s “Most Valuable Player”. Not surprisingly, his first World Floorball Championships call-up followed during this time and he also developed into a key player in the national team. In 2016, he took part in the finals for the first time and won the bronze medal with Switzerland, as he did two years later in Prague. His golden goal in 2018, when he redeemed Switzerland in extra time against Norway in the quarter-finals, remains unforgettable. “The World Championships in Prague was certainly a highlight alongside the World Games in Poland in 2017, when we arrived with few expectations and won silver,” says the 30-year-old.
In 2018, Braillard ventured into the SSL with Mulljsö. In Sweden, the Swiss made a name for himself and was voted centre of the year in the SSL in his first season. But already in the north, the injury problems began. First he had complaints with his back, after his return to Switzerland in 2020 the problems with his knee started, which later turned out to be tendonitis on the inside of the left knee. Thus Braillard, who was known for his diligence and determination, could not play pain-free at the last two World Championships in Helsinki and in Switzerland and had to support his team partly from the bench. The same fate befell him at Malans. “I couldn’t get the knee complaints under control. For me it was extremely nerve-racking and not satisfying not to be able to help the team and to support it from the bench. I never really felt comfortable in that role.”
Photo: Fabrice Duc
Aggravation after surgery
He had undergone surgery after the 2022 World Championships, but the situation has worsened since then. “When I realised that, the first thoughts of retirement came up.” In recent months, he trained individually in cooperation with the Bad Ragaz medical centre. He gave himself until the end of July to get the knee problems under control. Now he had to make a decision and it has now been made. “I miss the energy of always being at the training sessions and games but not being able to play. At the same time, I completed the build-up programme and went from one specialist to the next – that also cost energy and time.” After 87 international games and 85 scorer points for Switzerland, he is therefore ending his career. “In the end, the decision affected me more than I expected. In a way, however, it’s also a nice development, because I’ve dedicated practically my whole life to floorball.”
Source: Swiss Unihockey
