On a sporting level, GC and Basel are two struggling Super League giants

Meanwhile, things are looking increasingly bleak on the other side of the tracks. GC does not play a bad match against FCZ, but they do not take their chances and are punished mercilessly for it. After eight games, the Hoppers have only achieved one victory and are already looking into the abyss of the Super League. Again.

Identification missing

The record champions are currently missing in every corner, but especially the identification figures in the club are missing. Apart from Captain Amir Abrashi, who won the Cup with GC in 2013, none of the players seem to have GC DNA and want to tear themselves up for the logo on the chest.

A look at the squad also shows this: only two players have been with the club for more than three years and almost the entire squad is replaced every summer. Compared to the last Zurich derby in May, only three players were in the starting lineup on Tuesday evening.

Bruno Berner also mentioned his team’s lack of identification. After a defeat against promoted Lausanne-Ouchy, he said in a post-match interview: “When you put on the classification jersey, you have to show your heart. And some players didn’t do that.” Berner knows what he’s talking about. During his playing days he played for the Hoppers for five years and became Swiss champions twice.

None of the splendor of previous years

Those days are miles away now. I only know the club’s dominant years from my father’s stories. I personally experienced the best ranking team of the 2012/2013 season. When Uli Forte’s young team won the cup and finished second behind Basel. A team that burst with enthusiasm and completely thrilled me as an 8-year-old boy. It was the perfect mix of leading players like Vero Salatic and Stéphane Gricht and young, hungry talents like Roman Bürki, Izet Hajrovic and Steven Zuber.

Since then, GC has not been able to win any more titles, and the sellout of this golden generation would mean a long period of suffering for the fans. From persistent internal unrest to relegation in 2019 to the takeover by the Chinese. And this season too, there seems to be no end to the suffering.

FCB has also fallen deeply

FC Basel’s start to the season was just as bad as in the rankings. The low point so far: Last weekend the Bebbi lost at newly promoted Yverdon, six of the first four games were lost. Plus the embarrassing European exit in Kazakhstan. For the once proud Croesus competition, it is the worst start to the season in almost three decades.

After the sell-out in the summer, FCB has many new players in the starting line-up, the newly formed team still needs some time. But with Basel’s management team not exactly known for its patience, new coach Timo Schultz’s seat is already getting hotter and hotter. Missing the ‘Championship Group’ when the competition is divided in the spring would be a catastrophe for the Bebbi. Because this would also mean that European business will be missed out next season.

GC and Basel. Two former Super League giants who are currently recovering. But I still don’t see FCB taking a similar path to the Zurich team. The financial possibilities, the stadium, the number of spectators and also the infrastructure are too good compared to the Hoppers.

Yverdon surprises

At Yverdon-Sport it goes the other way. I must admit I was quite skeptical when the club was promoted and returned to the top Swiss league in May. But the people of Vaud have taught me otherwise and have been completely convincing so far. Coach Marco Schällibaum is doing excellently with his team: in addition to the victory over Basel, they also defeated runner-up Servette and took points from YB.

In addition, the promoted team can now play in its own Stade Municipal. A nice little stadium that makes the hearts of football fans beat faster and will probably be the scene of one or two surprises this season. For me, as a small goalkeeper (as tall as Yann Sommer), there is another point that makes Yverdon sympathetic: with the 1.80 m tall Kevin Martin, they have the smallest goalkeeper in the competition between the posts – in Yverdon they outgrow themselves.