Ex-FCZ player goes uphill: this unknown Swiss enchants Portugal

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A look at the scorers list in Portugal. In first place is Simon Banza (27), striker of Champions League participant Braga. Second place goes to Viktor Gyökeres (25), who moved to Sporting Lisbon this summer for 20 million euros. And then there, in third place with eight goals from ten games: Maxime Dominguez (27), a Swiss employed by Gil Vicente. Mind you, as an attacking midfielder.

The Geneva native is not really known in this country. Because he never left a big mark on local football. He played more than 100 games in the Challenge League. But he did not make his breakthrough in the Super League, neither at FC Zürich, for whom he was active for a year and a half from 2015, nor at Lausanne-Sport.

A rocky detour through Poland

But he didn’t give up on his dream of a great career. And was prepared to take difficult detours to achieve this. In 2021, after a mediocre year in the Challenge League at Xamax, an offer came from Poland’s second highest league. Dominguez accepted it and pulled himself out of his comfort zone and entered the big, wide world of football. At his new club Miedz Legnica he quickly became an important player as a creative mind and game designer.

In his first season he helped the Lower Silesian club to promotion and in his second to stay in the league. The reward came this summer: the newly crowned champion Rakow Czestochowa came knocking – and brought him over on a free transfer. But Dominguez played only one game for Rakow. As soon as he signed, another club contacted him.

Gil Vicente, a midfielder from Barcelos, a city in the north of Portugal, met the French-speaking Swiss. And made him an offer just three weeks after the completion of his move to Rakow. Domínguez agreed. Two transfers in one summer. Unconventional, but the right decision, as it soon turned out.

Explosion in Portugal

Because: In Portugal, Dominguez quickly reached a new level. He also quickly made himself irreplaceable for Gil Vicente. With technical class, overview and a lot of humor, he has become an X-factor behind the top. Five goals – two of which came against top clubs Benfica and Braga – and three assists make up the excellent record he has to show after just ten appearances.

The numbers speak for themselves. But the reviews are good too. ‘A Bola’, Portugal’s largest sports newspaper, ran the headline almost a month after his arrival: ‘A new maestro from Barcelos.’ Dominguez is Gil Vicente’s organizer, but he also has other qualities that go beyond game design: “He retrieves a lot of balls and is a goal threat. He is well on his way to making a name for himself in the competition.”

Anyone who stands out in Portugal – the seventh best league in Europe according to the UEFA coefficient – ​​undoubtedly has great class. High-end technician Dominguez is currently showing that even an unusual career path can be rewarding for Swiss players.

And who knows: if his development continues this quickly, he could one day become an issue for the national team as a late bloomer. The SFV number is probably still somewhere in the address book. Dominguez eventually progressed through all Swiss junior levels up to U20 from 2011 to 2016.

Source : Blick