Saturday Thun - Servette Wil - Zurich Sunday Grasshoppers - Xamax Young Boys - Basel 1. Grasshoppers (42) 2. Basel (40) 3. Young Boys (28) 4. Xamax (27) 5. Servette (25) 6. Zurich (21) 7. Thun (18) 8. Wil (18) Who will it be? Grasshoppers... ...or Basel?
I think that the biggest mover will be Servette. Three more points are possible at Thun, which would give them 28. GC should win in Zurich, while I think there will be a draw in Bern. That would give GC 45, Basel 41, YB 29, Servette 28 and Xamax 27. Anything but three points from Thun by Servette would put them in a very difficult position to get the last UEFA Spot.
I like your thinking. I mean, the above graphic can't be wrong, and it clearly shows GC getting the better of Basel I don't like the fact that GC has to travel to the Stade de Geneve the week after. Servette will be very motivated for that one, especially if they beat Thun.
Only problem is that there will probatly be about 6k at the game. If only Geneva was a better football city. Good point on the Servette-GC game. That could be big for both teams. That game really should have a big impact on the final standings. But that is next week. On the other hand, Go Aarau and Vaduz!!!
I actually think they will top 10k for this game. What Geneva needs is a big event to get them more excited about football. Something like Servette qualifying for the Champions League. Next season, with 2 available spots, it could be possible. Basel can sit out one year Maybe a win over Italy with the national team will spark the passion in Geneva.
Charmilles used to be a great place, albeit very small, but the crowd really got into games. By the way one can buy a piece of the turf from Charmilles on the Servette website. Hopefully a UEFA Cup birth would help jumpstart the fanbase. There are about 300k in the surrounding area, but many follow French or Italian football, not the LNA. If Servette were to do well in th UEFA Cup, and have a solid team, the fans would come. Hopefully the Italy match will generate interest. Another problem that plagues all of Switzerland is with so many non-Swiss in the nation, many maintain ties to the league of their home country. Sounds a lot like the MLS! Those from Portugal live and die with Benifica, Porto or Sporting Lisbon, but have probatly never seen a game of LNA. I understand that is a broad statement, and those are dangerous but... By the way Yverdon finally won this past weekend!!!!
Great news for GC. Tararache does not have to operate. He will be out for 2 weeks however. On the downside, Fernando Gamboa also got a minor injury against Xamax. Good thing Castillo is back... That is probably true. I attended the GC-Porto Champions League qualifier in 2001 and the U-21 Switzerland-Portugal Euro Cup match last summer, and both times we (the Swiss fans) were nearly outnumbered. I hate to rain on your parade, but there is nothing to play for in the NLB right now. There is no relegation this year, so the only thing to play for is pride. Wait a minute, I just saw that you beat FC Basel's little brother Concordia... In that case - Congratulations!
I know that the is nothing to play for, but still, finally a win. They hve played terrible this spring. How many 1st Leage teams are coming up this year? It my math is correct, 10 team LNA + 16 team LNB = 26 teams. There were 24 teams between the two this year. So it would normally be two, but with FC Lugano going the eay of the dodo, do three come up?
I think Meyrin is assured on of the spots. The other two seem to be up in the air the last time that I checked.
1st Division: Group 1: 1. FC Meyrin 26 61 2. Servette FC U-21 26 47 3. FC Echallens 26 44 4. Etoile-Carouge FC 26 43 5. FC Bulle 26 43 Group 2: 1ère ligue - Groupe 2 1.SC YF Juventus 26 15 7 4 53 :24 52 2.FC Biel-Bienne 26 12 11 3 46 :26 47 3.FC Wangen b.O.27 13 8 6 54 :30 47 4.FC La Chaux 26 12 10 4 38: 22 46 Group 3: 1. FC Malcantone Agno 26 51 2. FC Tuggen 26 50 3. FC Chiasso 26 49 If I remember correctly, the top two from each group qualify for a round robin playoff. With this year the top three qualfying for LNB. Come on Meyrin,and FC Chiasso (Melchor Arnold's team)
If you look at football.ch the website for the FA, there are lines in the standings after the top two teams in the three groups. http://www.football.ch/1L/start.asp?sp=2 In other instances that signifies promotion, relagation, or UEFA spots. I am assuming that since all three groups have two teams above the line that there will be some sort of play-off. Mabye it is just between the two teams from each group, I am not sure.
A weekend with many surprises... Grasshoppers - Xamax 2:2 (0:2) 6. Oppliger 0:1, 45. Rey 0:2, 65. Schwegler 1:2, 91. Baturina 2:2 Young Boys - Basel 2:0 (0:0) 60. Magnin 1:0, 90. Vonlanthen 2:0 Wil - FC Zurich 1:0 (0:0) 68. Lustrinelli Thun - Servette 3:1 (2:1) 25. Bratic (penalty) 0:1, 28. Rama 1:1, 42. Aegerter 2:1, 65. Streller 3:1 1. Grasshoppers (43) 2. Basel (40) 3. Young Boys (31) 4. Xamax (28) 5. Servette (25) 6. Thun (21) 7. Wil (21) 8. Zurich (21) Race for European Spots CL: Grasshoppers UC: Basel, Young Boys, Xamax UI: Servette, Thun I am a bit frustrated that GC wasn't able to take advantage of Basel choking, but then again Xamax could've won against GC. From what I could gather in reports, GC yet again dominated - but it was Xamax once again that scored the goals. I'm just glad we don't have to play Xamax anymore this season. Basel on the other hand still gets to play 'em twice. Also, looks like Servette missed its chance to contend for the Uefa cup spot with YB.
Pro/Rel Aarau - St. Gallen 1:0 (1:0) Luzern - Sion 1:1 (0:1) Delémont - Kriens 2:2 (0:2) 1. Aarau (7/16) 2. Kriens (7/10) ----------------- 3. Vaduz (6/9) 4. St. Gallen (7/9) 5. Luzern (7/9) 6. Delémont (7/6) 7. Sion (7/5) Bad weekend for St. Gallen & Luzern. The goal scored by Aarau was one of the strangest goals ever. It was a kick by Aarau goalie Colomba that somehow flew across the field and bounced into the goal.
Switzerland round-up: Grasshoppers remain on course: http://www.uefa.com/footballcentral/news/Kind=16/newsId=66458.html Notes - H. Yakin was sent off and might miss more than one game (threw his jersey at the ref). - M. Yakin picked up another yellow and will miss the next game @ Wil as well. - There were some hooligan troubles in Bern between YB and FCB fans, mostly at the train station. - Michel Renquin won't be back as Delemont coach next season.
GC-Xamax 2-2. GC did dominate play as Cabanas and Eduardo both showed well on day the day. GC's problem remains its atrocious marking in the penalty area as they can't seem to decide who is marking whom and their switches are uncoordinated. Both Xamax goals could have been prevented by a better organized back line. They were not the result of any fancy give-and-go play, tight dribbling, or numbers advantages...just crap defensive teamwork. They need to get it together before the FCB game or they stand to blow the championship.
From this weekends results there are a few things which have come into focus. 1. Servette is going to have a really hard time catching YB. 2. Xamax is good. 3. H. Yakin has a pretty bad temper. Throwing your sirt at someone is never allowed, unless you are Tatu and you play indoor soccer for the Dallas Sidekicks! 4. Basel is vulnerable. I am still not convinced that GC will win, but with the upcoming game at Zurich, GC should be able to put some distance between them and Basel. 5. YB is good. 6. FC Zurich is bad. 7. Rama is very good.
Chris, did you catch the game at the Hardturm? Yes, our defence worries me as well. Injuries have been tough on our backline. I sometimes also wonder if the young players like Lichtsteiner are up for the task...