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Luca Zuffi, how does it feel to be back at the Schützenwiese in Winterthur after eleven years with Thun, Basel and Sion?
Luca Zuffi: Very nice. It is like coming home to my family, to FC Winterthur. There, where everything started with the E-Juniors. I went through all levels here up to the first team, where I also played almost a hundred games before switching. I wonder how many more will come.
What has changed here in eleven years?
a lot of. League membership, of course. It has more employees, a new office. The new artificial grass was then still a sand court, the opposite stand had been pimped. But I’m still finding my way, some things have stayed the same. What makes me especially happy is that there are still a few employees from that time.
One of them is the assistant coach.
Precisely.
Your father Dario was your coach in the U21s and also an assistant when you were a first-team player. What is it like working with the father?
It wasn’t a problem for me then and now it’s even more relaxed. I am now 33 and have gained a lot of personal experience. Of course I like to take advice from my father, he still has a very good eye for football. But in the past, we’ve certainly discussed and analyzed a lot more together. Now we both see the whole thing very relaxed and we are happy to be able to work together again.
As a father of three, you probably need your dad off the football field a lot more often.
That’s true. The Nonno must be ready when called. He’s doing great. But not only him, the whole family lends us a hand. We had twins in April. The two were born two and a half months premature and had to go to neonatology. Her life hung by a thread. It was an extremely difficult time, very stressful for our family. All five of us are now home together for a few days and are completely relieved. And now, of course, all family members are harnessed. It is very nice to have everyone around us.
The twins in the hospital in Zurich, your wife with their three-year-old daughter Luna in Winterthur and you in Valais with Sion in the relegation battle. The past few weeks must have been extremely stressful?
I was always going back and forth. In March I toyed with the idea of canceling my contract and moving to my family in Winterthur. But we have decided that I will persevere and give everything until summer. For my family and for Zion. If you are going through a difficult time privately, a positive, sporty distraction would of course have been all the more important. But that was not really the case at FC Sion.
Do you agree that Sion was individually better than Winterthur, for example, but lacked the team spirit?
It’s definitely like we had quality. But you also have to bring these on the field and also bring them on the field as a team. And we failed to do that. You’re right. We lacked the team spirit, we were not united. We noticed that ourselves in the team. There are small groups in each team, that’s normal. But it was different with Zion: they kept pointing at the others. Therefore, the descent was somehow the logical consequence. We hoped until the end that we could still turn it around with our quality. It’s a pity for the club and the great fans that it wasn’t enough.
You also find it difficult to act as a unit when everyone knows that one player earns almost three million francs and hardly ever runs.
That’s what you said now.
One of your former teammates recently praised Mario Balotelli, describing the Italian as helpful and exemplary. Would you draw that as an experienced player?
I wouldn’t necessarily call Mario a role model for young players. But in the locker room he was a funny, good guy, always cracking jokes. As a football player, he has incredible qualities. It’s a pity, he could have done much better in Valais. But mentally it wasn’t easy for him either, he certainly thought it would be easier at FC Sion.
How happy are you to be back at the quiet FC Winterthur after seven years at FC Basel and two years at FC Sion?
To be honest, I’m very happy to be back here. I like it quieter and don’t like being the center of attention. And now I have my whole family close to me again. It is unusual – unusually beautiful!
And what role do you want to play at FC Winterthur?
I try to fulfill the leadership role assigned to me. I want to take my responsibility and support the young players. But I have never been a speaker and never will be. How it turns out remains to be seen. I am positive.
Source : Blick
I’m Emma Jack, a news website author at 24 News Reporters. I have been in the industry for over five years and it has been an incredible journey so far. I specialize in sports reporting and am highly knowledgeable about the latest trends and developments in this field.
