]9 Dec Basel - FCSG 3-0 Sion - Thun 2-3 10 Dec FCZ - Luzern 1-2 Lugano - LS 1-2 YB - GCZ 1-1 YB goes into the break with an advantage of only 2 points. YB dropped 5 points over the last two rounds. YB 37 Basel 35 FCZ 28 GCZ 24 FCSG 24 LS 22 Thun 21 Luzern 20 Lugano 19 Sion 17
Leading goalscorers 9 -Jean-Pierre Nsame YB 9 - Simone Rapp Thun 8 - Albian Ajeti Basel 7 - Ricky van Wolfswinkel Basel 7 - Roger Assale YB 7 - Marvin Spielmann Thun 7 - Miralem Suljmani YB Leaders in assists 10 - Matteo Tosetti Thun 9 - Mohamed Elyounoussi Basel 8 - Samuele Campo LS 7 - Davide Mariani Lugano Attendance 26,671 (9) - Basel - 232 19,401 (9) - YB - 407 11,756 (9) - FCSG 11,783 (9) - FCZ -382 9,830 (9) - Luzern 9,022 (9) - Sion -272 8,288 (9) - GCZ - 5,800 (9)- Thun 3,841 (9) - LS 3,650 (9) - Lugano - 129
St. Gallen's board have appointed SRF Sport TV personality Matthias Huppi as their new President. Huppi is from St. Gallen, and does have a law degree. Apparently, no one saw this coming, and the St. Gallen fans in my twitter feed seem incredibly skeptical over this. There are rumors that the club is mired in some debt and they need it slashed, and they believe that Huppi will be the one to do it. A very bizarre choice to say the least.
For all the bizarre actions of FCSG over time, they have some of the most dedicated fans in Switzerland.
Markus Babbel is out at Luzern, and reports out of Switzerland have said that Luzern is in trouble financially. Babbel last week said that he would be leaving at the end of the season because there was a bad atmosphere around the club, and then he proceeded to trash the club's president and board. It's also reported that around a dozen people from the offices of Luzern have left in the last year, and that extreme budget cuts are hitting the squad, including players that Babbel had targeted to bring in. Babbel's assistant was also let go, so they don't really have an interim manager yet. It's looking likely that Luzern could be the team that drops at the end of the year if this turmoil continues.
In an effort to build a stronger team unity, FC Sion has spent the past few days going through a French Boot Camp/Commando Camp. Lots of pictures of the "excited" players are on their website.
Luzern have signed Gerardo Seoane to be their new manager. Seoane was the Luzern U21 coach. He was with the club as a player from 1990-97, and then from 2007-2010, so Luzern fans should know him pretty well.
3 Feb Luzern - LS YB - FCSG 4 Feb Basel - Lugano FCZ - Thun Sion - GCZ To say that YB needs to defeat FCSG is an understatement.
Really bizarre first week back. Basel lost to Lugano? Sion falls 6 points behind 9th in the table. YB moves ahead. 3 Feb Luzern - LS 2-1 YB - FCSG 2-0 4 Feb Basel - Lugano 0-1 FCZ - Thun 2-4 Sion - GCZ 1-3
Leading goalscorers 9 -Jean-Pierre Nsame YB 9 - Simone Rapp Thun 9 - Miralem Suljmani YB 8 - Albian Ajeti Basel 8 - Benjamin Kololli LS 8 - Roger Assale YB 8 - Marvin Spielmann Thun Leaders in assists 11 - Matteo Tosetti Thun 9 - Mohamed Elyounoussi Basel 8 - Samuele Campo LS 8 - Davide Mariani Lugano Attendance 26,388 (10) - Basel - 283 19,126 (10) - YB - 275 11,677 (10) - FCSG 11,447 (10) - FCZ -336 9,777 (11) - Luzern - 53 8,890 (10) - Sion - 43 7,820 (10) - GCZ - 468 5,629 (10)- Thun - 171 3,820 (10) - LS -21 3,650 (9) - Lugano
CC has publicly expressed that he is under the impression that Sion is headed to the Challenge League due to their extremely poor season.
10 Feb Lugano - Sion Thun - Basel 11 Feb GCZ - Luzern LS - YB FCSG - FCZ Who knows what Sion will do this weekend. Some good match-ups.
10 Feb Lugano - Sion 1-0 Thun - Basel 0-2 11 Feb GCZ - Luzern 1-2 LS - YB 1-4 FCSG - FCZ 1-2 YB 46 Basel 41 FCZ 31 Lugano 28 GCZ 27 FCSG 27 Luzern 26 LS 25 Thun 24 Sion 17 Sion is 7 points adrift.
Leading goalscorers 10 - Miralem Suljmani YB 9 -Jean-Pierre Nsame YB 9 - Simone Rapp Thun 8 - Albian Ajeti Basel 8 - Benjamin Kololli LS 8 - Roger Assale YB 8 - Marvin Spielmann Thun Leaders in assists 11 - Matteo Tosetti Thun 10 - Mohamed Elyounoussi Basel 8 - Samuele Campo LS 8 - Davide Mariani Lugano Attendance 26,388 (10) - Basel 19,126 (10) - YB 11,826 (11) - FCSG +149 11,447 (10) - FCZ 9,777 (11) - Luzern 8,890 (10) - Sion 7,491 (11) - GCZ - 329 5,627 (11)- Thun - 2 3,854 (11) - LS + 34 3,688 (10) - Lugano +38
17 Feb Basel - FCSG Lugano - GCZ 18 Feb FCZ - Luzern Sion - LS YB - Thun Two derby's, the Bernese Oberland and the Romandie Derby. If Sion wants a chance, they have to get something from LS.
17 Feb Basel - FCSG 0-2 Basel looked disinterested in the match. Lugano - GCZ 1-0 YB 49 18 Feb FCZ - Luzern 1-1 Sion - LS 3-1 Sion horrible streak ends and they drew within 4 points of Thun. YB - Thun 3-1 YB finally wins a Bernese Oberland match. They had lost 2 previous matches this season. They now have an 8 point lead over Basel. YB 49 Basel 41 FCZ 32 Lugano 31 FCSG 30 Luzern 27 GCZ 27 LS 25 Thun 24 Sion 20
Leading goalscorers 10 - Miralem Suljmani YB 9 -Jean-Pierre Nsame YB 9 - Simone Rapp Thun 9 - Roger Assale YB 8 - Albian Ajeti Basel 8 - Benjamin Kololli LS 8 - Marvin Spielmann Thun Leaders in assists 11 - Matteo Tosetti Thun 10 - Mohamed Elyounoussi Basel 8 - Samuele Campo LS 8 - Davide Mariani Lugano Attendance 26,078 (11) - Basel - 309 19,023 (11) - YB -102 11,826 (11) - FCSG 11,159 (11) - FCZ -290 9,777 (11) - Luzern 8,982 (11) - Sion +88 7,491 (11) - GCZ 5,627 (11)- Thun 3,854 (11) - LS 3,660 (11) - Lugano -28
24 Feb LS - Basel YB - Sion 25 Feb GCZ - FCZ Luzern - Thun FCSG - Lugano If Basel continues its funk, and YB defeats Sion (again in Bern) there will be a 11 point gap at the top.
24 Feb LS - Basel PPD YB - Sion 1-0 25 Feb GCZ - FCZ 1-0 Luzern - Thun 2-1 FCSG - Lugano 3-0 YB 52 Basel 41 * FCSG 33 FCZ 32 Lugano 31 Luzern 30 GCZ 30 LS 25 * Thun 24 Sion 20 For the moment, YB moves 9 points clear.
FCZ fired Uli Forte, and it did nothing for them in the derby. Luzern has had a strong start to the second half. They're close to the European places. St. Gallen are punching above their weight. There could be a European place in their future. It's going to be a 3-horse race between Lausanne, Thun, and Sion for relegation. I still think that Sion will find a way to stay up and Thun will go down, but it's still too soon to make that call.
If Thun does go down, I think that Servette will go up the following season. They seem to be the one that is hanging by a thread, and relegation might finish them off. Not that I want that, but they seem to have financial issues each spring.