Only on one subject was he unsatisfactory: that is the testimony of Alain Sutter

Under Sutter, St. Gallen finished second once and reached the cup final twice. That’s a pleasant read and is significant considering the financial possibilities. But what is missing is the dot on the cake. Because both cup finals (against Lucerne and Lugano) were lost, and in Europe they twice missed qualifying for a group stage. But a 4 wouldn’t be enough. Because Sutter, together with chairman Matthias Hüppi (65) and coach Peter Zeidler (61), ensured that the club in Eastern Switzerland is alive again. This is at least as important as mere sporting success.

Blick rating: 4.5

In the summer of 2018, Sutter chose his first coach after a wild first half of the year (with Giorgio Contini and Boro Kuzmanovic). The choice fell on Zeidler. Six years later, the German is still in power. Anyone who works with the same coach for so long in their first position as team leader has done a lot of good. Sutter always stayed with Zeidler. Even when, just like last season, things went very badly in the second half of the season. Others would have pulled the rip cord. Not Sutter. That courage and confidence seems to be paying off this season.

Blick rating: 5

Sutter signed approximately 70 players during his time in Eastern Switzerland. The conclusion is mainly positive. Besides a few transfer flops, many players have gone on to become top performers in the long term. One of them is the current captain Lukas Görtler. But a good sports director must also sell well. But because Sutter brought in many players on loan, he was unable to make a profit. He failed to sustainably increase transfer income.

Blick rating: 4

If you compare FC St. Gallen in this category with FC Luzern, it quickly becomes clear that only a few homegrown players in Eastern Switzerland have made it to the professional team in recent years. There is Christian Witzig, Leonidas Stergiou, Betim Fazliji and Patrick Sutter. But compared to the FCL there are clearly fewer. This is somewhat in contrast to the fact that the club is so strongly anchored in the region.

Blick rating: 3.5

Compared to the boisterous President Hüppi, Sutter is known for his calm demeanor, for which he is appreciated internally. This made him close to the players. He wanted to feel the players, he always said. He barely missed a workout. And when he appeared before the media, he did so without any problems. Anyone who doubted at the start of his term that Feingeist Sutter was afraid to take a clear position has been proven wrong.

Blick rating: 5

Sutter received a more than satisfactory overall score of 4.4 from Blick.