The Swiss Season Begins!

July 19th, 2008 | by: Jan | Comments(2)

With yesterday’s opening game (which will be reviewed in a separate post) the Swiss Super League has officially begun.

The transfer market has been very active and what follows will be a short review of the 10 teams that will fight for national (and european) glory!

FC Basel
One generally begins with the champions and thus I will follow suit.
Certainly the giants of Swiss football, the transfer market has been very interesting for the city on the Rhine. Despite losing Swedish linchpin Majstorovic to AEK Athens the arrival of talented Argentinian defender David Angel Abraham from Gimnastic Tarragona should be sufficient to strengthen the defence further. The president of Basel, Oeri, believes that this is the strongest team of this last decade and she expects the double victory (Championship and National Cup) together with qualifying for the Champions’ League group.
FC Basel can count on Switzerland’s greatest talents, Stocker and Derdiyok who will play at least another season in the Super League. The midfield has been strengthened with the arrivals of Gelabert and Gjasula from relegated St. Gallen. Certainly, coach Gross will have plenty of choices for the midfield considering he also has Australian veteran Chipperfield, young talent Fabian Frei, Australian Ivan Ergic and portuguese magic-maker Carlitos.
Due to Streller’s injury, Gross has asked his president to buy another striker. The new player is Eduardo Rubio Kostner on a one-year loan from Chilean First Division side Colo Colo.
Goalkeeper Costanzo is the new captain of a team where perhaps most goals will come from the talented midfield.

(players with no nationality in brackets are Swiss)

Basel 2008-2009 FULL TEAM:

Goalkeepers: Franco Costanzo (Argentina), Louis Crayton, Jason Leutwiler
Defenders: Ronny Hodel, Michel Morganella, David Angel Abraham (Argentina), Behrang Safari (Sweden), François Marque (France), Beg Ferati, Reto Zanni.
Midfielders: Marcos Agustin Gelabert (Argentina), Jurgen Gjasula (Germany), Benjamin Huggel, Marko Perovic (Serbia), Scott Chipperfield (Australia), Valentin Stocker, Fabian Frei, Ivan Ergic (Australia), Cabral, Daniel Unal, Carlitos (Portugal)
Forwards: Marco Streller, Eduardo (Brasil), Orhan Mustafi (Macedonia), Eren Derdiyok, Eduardo Rubio Kostner (Chile)

European Campaign: Basel will certainly defy IFK Goteborg in the second round of the Champions’ League (the Swedish side won the first leg against San Marino’s Murata 5-0) and if they win succeed, they will be a “tete de serie” in the final qualifying round (thus avoiding the BIG teams).

Young Boys Bern
Coach Martin Andermatt doesn’t believe that the departure of last year’s top scorer Hakan Yakin to Qatar will weaken the Bernese side. According to him now the players will have to be responsible for themselves and no longer count on the talent of the Nati midfielder. The transfer market hasn’t been an extraordinary one for Andermatt’s men but the return of Ivory Coast Doubai and the talent of Hochstrasser will give them the opportunity to make it harder for FC Basel. The most interesting arrivals are those of the talented German youngster Felix Bastians from Nottingham Forest who has played for all of the German National youth teams and might become a regular starter for the Swiss team and Brasilian Eudis from FC Zurich.

BSC Young Boys 2008-2009 FULL TEAM:

Goalkeepers: Marco Wolfli, Paolo Collaviti, Roman Burki
Defenders: Saif Ghezal (Tunisia), Aaron Liechti, Marc Schneider, Kamil Zayatte (France), Miguel Alfredo Portillo (Argentina), Christian Schwegler, Felix Bastians (Germany)
Midfielders: Baykal Kulaksizoglu, Yapo Gilles Yapi (Ivory Coast), Tapé Moussé Doubai (Ivory Coast), Mario Raimondi, Carlos Varela (Spain), Xavier Hochstrasser, Alberto Regazzoni, Sven Luscher
Forwards: Seydou Doumbia (Ivory Coast), Eudis (Brasil), Thomas Haberli, Lucien Dénervaud, Marco Schneuwly, Kwabena Asamoa Frimpong (Ghana)

FC Sion
The new coach Uli Stielike has an impressive palmarès: apart from being Swiss coach from 1989 to 1991, was runner-up at the 1982 World Cup as a player for Western Germany and has won the Spanish Championship and the UEFA Cup as a Real Madrid player. The international experience of this German coach will of great use to an FC Sion team that had higher expectations fuelled by the energy of president Costantin. FC Sion was also the team with the biggest deal of the season, French star Olivier Monterrubio from RC Lens. The other major transfer is that of midfielder Serey Die from Algerian side Sétif. However, the most interesting aspect will be whether the transfer of Egyptian star goalkeeper Essam El Hadary will prove to have been a useful one, the player has failed to convince up until now.

FC Sion’s 2008-2009 FULL TEAM:

Goalkeepers: Essam El Hadary (Egypt), Germano Vailati, Nicolas Beney
Defenders: Kali (Angola), Obinna Nwaneri (Nigeria), Stéphane Sarni (Italy), Jamal Alioui (France), Paito (Portugal), Vilmos Vanczak (Hungary), Bastien Geiger, Arnaud Buhler
Midfielders: Serey Die (Ivory Coast), Virgile Reset (France), Beto (Portugal), Olivier Monterrubio (France), Didier Crettenand, Jocelyn Ahoueya (Benin), Goran Obradovic (Serbia), Alvaro Jose Dominguez (Colombia), Michele Morganella, Kamil Grosicki (Poland), Damien Germanier, Julien Brellier (France), Florian Berisha
Forwards: Alvaro Alberto Saborio (Costa Rica), Saidu Alade Adeshina (Nigeria), M’Futi (Congo)

FC Zurich:
The injury of Yassine Chikahoui might be a decisive aspect that will affect FC Zurich’s season. Certainly Bernard Challandes’ most dangerous player, who was on the point of being transferred to big Bundesliga teams, he will certainly miss out the beginning of the Championship. The arrivals of youngsters Philippe Koch and Admir Mehmedi cannot compensate for the losses of Eudis (to Young Boys) and Orhan Mustafi to FC Basel. A very poor transfer market for this ambitious team who, nevertheless, can count on the solid performances of Finnish defender Tihinen, forward Alphonse and defender Stahel.

FC Zurich 2008-2009 FULL TEAM:

Goalkeepers: Johnny Leoni, Orlando Lattmann, Andrea Guatelli (Italy)
Defenders: Veli Lampi (Finland), Adan Jonathan Vergara (Chile), Florian Stahel, Daniel Stucki, Philippe Koch, Alain Rochat, Heinz Barmettler, Hannu Tihinen (Finland)
Midfielders: Oumar Kondé, Silvan Aegerter, Andre Javier Vasquez (Sweden), Onyekachi Donatus Okonkwo (Nigeria), Adrian Nicki, Dusan Predrag Djuric (Sweden), Yasin Chikahoui (Tunisia), Almen Abdi, Luca Ladner, Martin Buchel (Liechtenstein), Remo Staubli
Forwards: Emra Tahirovic (Sweden), Alexandre Alphonse (France), Silvio (Brasil), Admir Mehmedi (Serbia), Marco Schonbacher, Eric Hassli (France)

Grasshopper-Club Zurich
No big names are among Grasshopper’s summer transfer but certainly the two Challengue League Stars Lulic (Bellinzona) and Sabanovic (Wil) are two important players that will contribute to Grasshopper’s National and International campaign.
The other major signings are Davide Calla (from St. Gallen) and Massimo Colomba from Aarau. Grasshopper can count on a young and promising (albeit unexperienced) attack yet has some weaknesses for what concerns the goalkeeping.
Grasshopper will play the last round of the Intetoto against Bulgarian side Burgas.

Grasshoppers 2008-2009 FULL TEAM:

Goalkeepers: Eldin Jakupovic, Massimo Colomba
Defenders: Kay Voser, Scott Sutter, Guillermo Juan Vallori (Spain), Boris Smiljanic, Yassin Mikari, Fabio Daprela, Rolf Feltscher
Midfielders: Josip Colina, Senad Lulic (Bosnia), Davide Calla, Ricardo Cabanas, Rinaldo (Peru), Antonio Carlos Dos Santos (Brasil), Leonel Romero, Veroljub Salatic
Forwards: Demba Touré (Senegal), Gonzalo Eulogio Zarate (Argentina), Machado (Brasil), Samel Sabanovic (Serbia), Raul Marcelo Bobadilla (Argentina)

FC Luzern:
With former Swiss International Ciriaco Sforza as coach, Luzern can count on several promising young talents including the likes of Claudio Lustenberger, David Chiumiento and several experienced players like Gerardo Seoane and Michel Renggli. The only big loss is that of Swiss International forward Lustrinelli who left for Bellinzona. Will new arrival Goran Karanovic compensate for this loss?

FC Luzern 2008-2009 FULL TEAM:

Goalkeepers: David Zibung, Swen Konig
Defenders: Roland Schwegler, Claudio Lustenberger, Christophe Lambert, Boubacar Diarra (France), Dusan Veskovac (Serbia), Elsad Zverotic (Serbia)
Midfielders: Michel Renggli, Gerardo Seoane, David Chiumiento, Djamel Mesbah (France), Nelson Ferreira (Portugal), Burim Kukeli (Serbia), Enrico Schirinzi (Italy), Alain Wiss, Paquito (Italy)
Forwards: Goran Karanovic, Jacopo Ravasi (Italy), Jean-Michel Tchouga (Cameroon), Janko Pacar

Neuchatel Xamax:
After a difficult season last year where the Neuchatel team almost faced relegation, the new season under Nestor Clausen hasn’t seen a great deal of transfers.
Biggest and most promising deal concerns Saudi legend Hussein Sulimani, who has been capped over 100 times for his homeland team. Will he be the first Saudi player to succeed in a European Championship? Only time will tell whether the Argentinian coach has made the right choice. Another promising new arrival is that of William Edjenguele who has been capped almost 60 times at Le Mans.
Other than the new arrivals Neuchatel can count on the talent of Argentinian forward Julio Hernan Rossi who has scored more than a 100 goals in the Swiss Championship, Moroccan midfielder Tariq Chihab and experienced defender Alexandre Quennoz.

Neuchatel Xamax 2008-2009 FULL TEAM:

Goalkeepers: Laurent Walthert, Guillaume Faivre, Luca Ferro (Italy)
Defenders: Ivan Alejandro Furios (Argentina), Mickael Facchinetti, Stéphane Besle (France), Alexandre Quennoz, Selver Hodzic, Pascal Jenny, Thierno Bah, William Edjenguele (France), Mike Gomes
Midfielders: Tariq Chihab (Morocco), Steven Lang, Rodrigo (Italy), Ifet Taljevic (Germany), Johnny Szlykowicz (France), Baye Ibrahima Niasse (Senegal), Raphael Nuzzolo, Richmond Rak, Stéphane Garcia, Sébastien Wutrich, Maxime Vuille, Mickael Niçoise (France)
Forwards: Joao Paulo (Brasil), Martin Steuble, Ideye Aide Brown (Nigeria), Matar Coly (Senegal), Julio Hernan Rossi (Argentina)

FC Aarau
Following an excellent 5th place in last year’s season will FC Aarau manage to cope with the rise of Bellinzona, Vaduz and Neuchatel Xamax and thus avoid relegation?
Perhaps the weakest team in the league following the loss of Gurkan Sermeter and Massimo Colomba, Aarau bought plenty of players from lower leagues and youth teams. Will this be sufficient in the new season?
Among the new entries keep your eyes open for Macedonian champion Ivan Pejčić who won the Macedonian championship with FK Rabotnički and defender Frédéric Schaub who comes from FC Wohlen and has played 35 games in last year’s Challenge League.
Polish coach Ryszard Komornicki can count on the experience of midfielder Daniel Tarone and the quality of Kosovar midfielder Kristian Nushi.

FC Aarau 2008-2009 Full Team:

Goalkeepers: Ivan Benito, Joel Mall, Sascha Studer
Defenders: Paulo Menezes (Brasil), Jonas Elmer, Mario Mutsch (Luxemburg), Frédéric Schaub, Giuseppe Rapisarda, Frédéric Page, Giuseppe Aquaro (Italy), Michael Ludascher
Midfielders: Carlinhos (Brasil), Sandro Burki, Kristian Nushi (Kosovo), Sergio Jose Bastida (Argentina), Daniel Tarone, Emir Sinanovic
Forwards: Francisco Gabriel Guerrero (Argentina), Christian Florin Ianu (Romania), Goran Antic, Patrick Alphonse Bengondo (Cameroon), Rogerio (Brasil)

AC Bellinzona
The only team from the Italian-speaking canton Ticino, Bellinzona can count on Lustrinelli’s goal. THe veteran striker has chosen to go back to his homeland and is, together with Sermeter from Aarau, Bellinzona’s biggest transfer. The losses of Lulic (who went to Grasshoppers) and Pouga (who went to Seville). The latter had scored 18 goals in the last season. Another promising transfer is that of Emanuele Di Zenzo from FC Sion. Bellinzona has plenty of Italian players because of the various friendship deals it has with Italian teams (including AS Roma).
Playing both the UEFA Cup (where it has won the first leg against an Armenian team) and the Super League might be a demanding task for Schallibaum’s men. Perhaps Lustrinelli on his own won’t be sufficient to achieve an extraordinary feat. This is Bellinzona’s first Super League season in 19 years!

AC Bellinzona 2008-2009 FULL TEAM:

Goalkeepers: Lorenzo Bucchi (Italy), Matteo Gritti (Italy)
Defenders: Davide Belotti (Italy), Henry Siqueira, Alessandro Mangiaratti, Angelo Raso (Italy), Giuseppe Miccolis (Italy), Iacopo La Rocca (Italy)
Midfielders: Alessio Ferrazza (Italy), Gurkan Sermeter, Andrea Conti (Italy), Shkelzen Gashi, Adewale Dauda Wahab (Niger), Genc Mehmeti, Rivera, Emanuele Di Zenzo
Forwards: Neri (Brasil), Mauro Lustrinelli, Jocelyn Roux

FC Vaduz
The Liechtenstein team knows that in no way it can win the Super League. Even if it does win it, not being a Swiss team, it can only aim for a UEFA Cup berth, will this knowledge discourage the players?
A very active team on the market, Vaduz has signed Swiss defender Damian Bellon from Aston Villa and Venezuelan midfielder Miguel Mea Vitali from Maracaibo (who has played over 70 games for his national team).
Heinz Hermann’s team can count on the quality of young keeper Yann Sommer, forward Gaspar and defender Dzombic.

FC Vaduz 2008-2009 FULL TEAM:

Goalkeepers: Yann Sommer, Gabriel Wuthrich, Orkan Avci (UK)
Defenders: Diren Akdemir, Stefan Iten, Thomas Reinmann, Damir Dzombic, Marco Ritzberger (Liechtenstein), Pascal Cerrone
Midfielders: Mea Vitali (Venezuela), Damian Bellon, Sehar Fejzulahi, Christian Wieczorek (Germany), Michele Polverino (Liechtenstein), Bruno Sutter
Forwards: Gaspar (Brasil), Tim Grossklaus (Germany), Willian Saroa (Brasil), Maxi (Argentina), Benjamin Fischer (Liechtenstein)

Predictions
What will the final standings be? Below you’ll find my predictions.

1. FC Basel (Champions’ League)
2. FC Sion (UEFA Cup)
3. Young Boys (UEFA Cup)
4. FC Zurich (Intertoto)
5. Grasshopper Club
6. Neuchatel Xamax
7. AC Bellinzona
8. FC Luzern
9. FC Vaduz (Playoff with a ChL team)
10. FC Aarau (Relegated)

On 20min.ch, German-speaking Swiss people were asked to select who would win the Championship.
Here are the results:
1. FC Basel (1079 votes)
2. FC Aarau (527) this must be a joke
3. Young Boys (393)
4. FC Zurich (325)
5. Grasshopper (317)
6. FC Sion (192)
7. FC Luzern (181)
8. AC Bellinzona (53)
9. FC Vaduz (52)
10. Neuchatel Xamax (34)