Swiss Super League Preview

FC Basel:

Prediction: 1st

Ins:

David Angel Abraham (Tarragona), Marcos Gelabert (St. Gallen), Jurgen Gjasula (St. Gallen), Orhan Mustafi (Zurich), Behrang Safari (Malmö), Daniel Unal (Roma B),

Outs:

Papa Malick Ba (?),David Degen (?), Vratislav Lokvenc (Ingolstadt), striker, Daniel Majstorovic (AEK Athen), Koji Nakata (Kashima Antlers), Oliver Stöckli (end of career),

Key players : Costanzo (goalkeeper), Abraham (central defender), Carlitos (winger), Ergic (central midfield), Streller (striker)

Probable formation 4-1-4-1:

Costanzo, Safari, Abraham, Ferati, Zanni, Huggel, Stocker, Gjasula, Ergic, Carlitos, Streller

The current champions and cup winners have this year the qualitative strongest squad of the league. Several players have quit the team, but these will not be heavy missed, except Daniel Majstorovic. He was the big defensive leader of FC Basel, took the penalties and was always dangerous through standards by header. His replacement will be David Abraham, a 22 year old Argentinean, who was already world champion with the U20-squad together with Lionel Messi. Probably he needs time to find himself in Switzerland, but sooner or later he will replace Majstorovic equally.

With Franco Costanzo they have the best goalkeeper and also the midfield is the best in this league. The main problems could be the attack, because if Streller drops out they only have very young and inexperienced, but talented strikers. It's a matter of time when Abraham finds himself in Switzerland, but until then it could be that the defence is a little bit rocky.

Notes:

Marco Streller will be out until end of August.

Grasshoppers Zurich

Prediction: 2nd

Ins:

Davide Callà (St. Gallen), Massimo Colomba (Aarau), Senad Lulic (Bellinzona), Leonel Romero (Wohlen), Samel Sabanovic (Wil)

Outs:

David Blumer (Thun), Dragan Djukic (Wohlen), Frank Feltscher (Lecce), Fabio Klingler (Gossau), Franck Madou (Young Boys), Michel Renggli (Luzern)

Keyplayers : Jakopuovic (goalkeeper), Smilijanic (central defender), Cabanas (offensive midfield), Dos Santos (offensive midfield), Bobadilla (striker)

Probable formation 4-1-4-1

Jakupovic; Voser, Vallori, Smiljanic, Mikari, Salatic, Calla, Dos Santos , Cabanas, Lulic, Bobadilla

Grasshoppers presented themselves very well in the ending of the last season and everything looks like that they can take that drive to this season. They bought good and talented players like Calla and Lulic, two fast wingers and could have held the team together. Only Feltscher is a player, which they would have like to have saved.

They have an excellent mixture from young talents (Calla, Lulic, Bobadilla, and Voser) and experienced players (Cabanas, Dos Santos, Smiljanic). But the squad is very small. The Loss of important players could hit them for six.

Notes:

Dos Santos will be out until mid September

FC Sion 

Prediction: 3rd

Ins:

Uli Stielike (coach),Geoffroy Serey Die (Entente de Sétif), Olivier Monterrubio (Lens)

Outs:

Alberto Bigon (coach)Moustapha Dabo (?), Emanuele Di Zenzo (Bellinzona),David Gonzalez (?),Mirsad Mijadinoski (?)

Key players : Kali (central defender), Monterrubio (midfield), Saborio (striker)

Probable formation 4-2-3-1

El-Hadary; Geiger, Kali, Nwaneri, Paito, Beto, Ahouyea, Reset, Dominguez, Monterrubio, Saborio

Sion starts again with a new coach in the season. This seat is scalding because Sion's president Constanitn controls his club acting like an African dictator.

This time he has engaged Uli Stielike. A German coach who knows Swiss football very well and is a genius in his job. This is also needful, because it's not easy to lead a team with 14 different nationalities and cultures! Already last year Sion was an insider tip for the championship, but there were too many troubles inside the team. If they act as a unit they will be together with Grasshoppers, the toughest opponent of FC Basel, if not they will reach the same place as last year.

The strength of the team is the talented midfield and the very experienced goalkeeper El Hadary. The strikers are very inconsistent. The defence is very slow and tactically not very skilled. Against fast opposites and counter attacking teams they will have problems.

Young Boys:

Prediction: 4th

Ins:

Felix Bastians (Milton Keynes),Lucien Dénervaud (Bulle),Seydou Doumbia (Tokushima Vortis), Eudi Silva «Eudis» (Zürich),Sven Lüscher (Kriens), Franck Madou (Grasshopper), Marc Schneider (St. Gallen)

Outs:

Erhan Kavak (Biel),Franck Madou (Biel),Christian Schneuwly (Biel),Calvano Tiago (Duisburg),Hakan Yakin (Al Gharafa)

Keyplayers: Gilles Yapi (central midfield), Carlos Varela (winger), Häberli (striker)

Probable formation:

Wölfli; Portillo, Zayatte, Ghezal, Schneider, Varela, Yapi, Hochstrasser, Raimondi, Eudis, Häberli

Young Boys fought surprisingly until the last match with Croesus FC Basel, so how on earth do I see them only in the 4th position? There are three reasons: The best scorer of the league, the best preparer of the league and the leader of Young Boys has signed a contract in Qatar. Hakan Yakin. That Tiago quitted the defensive leader, nearly goes under. So the question forces on: Who will be the follower of Hakan Yakin? No one, because in Swiss level you cannot replace him, so they didn't even try to buy one. The Ins, Eudis and Schneider, are solid Super League players, but you can't expect from them marvellous things.

Except the weak goalkeeper Wölfli, the Young Boys haven't a real weakness at all. But they haven't got a player who can make the difference like in the last season. They are a solid team, but without Hakan Yakin they won't fight for the title this year. Their advantage is still that they'll play on artificial turf in their Stade de Suisse, but this home ground could also turn to a handicap in away games.

FC Zurich:

Prediction: 5th

Ins:

Philippe Koch (U21),Admir Mehmedi (U21)

Outs:

Eudi Silva «Eudis» (Young Boys), Orhan Mustafi ( Basel ), Labinot Sheholli ( Biel )

Keyplayers: Tihinen (central defender), Chikahoui (offensive all-rounder), Abdi (midfield)

Probable formation 4-2-3-1

Leoni; Rochat, Barmettler, Tihinen, Stahel, Tico, Aegerter, Chikhaoui, Abid, Djuric, Hassli

Already last season insiders expected a break-in because of the heavy player losses. And in the second half of the season it arrived. They even nearly missed the UEFA Cup Qualification because of the bad results.

But FC Zurich don't react on it. They haven't bought any big players. Only players of their own youth are coming to the first team. So you can't expect them to fight at the top of the table. But they won't either have anything to do with relegation.

Notes:

Chikhaoui is out indefinitely.

Luzern:

Prediction: 6th

Ins:

Nelson Ferreira (Thun), Goran Karanovic (Wohlen), Djamel Mesbah (Aarau), Anderson Luiz Pinheiro «Paquito» (Enosis Neon Paralimni), Jacopo Ravasi (Wil), Michel Renggli (Grasshopper), Enrico Schirinzi (Wohlen), Elsad Zverotic (Wil)

Outs:

Pascal Bader (Aalen), Roland Bättig (Como), Gerardo Clemente (?), Michael Diethelm (Wohlen), Fayçal El Idrissi (?), Sandro Foschini (Gossau), Sascha Imholz (?), Shi Jun ( Chengdu Blades), Mauro Lustrinelli (Bellinzona), Hervé Makuka (?), Rexhep Saqi (?), Ahmad Sharbini (?), Roberto Souto (Kriens)

Keyplayers: Chiumineto (midfield), Tchouga (striker)

Probable formation 4-2-3-1

Zibung; Lustenberger, Diarra, Veskovac, Schwegler, Renggli, Seoane, Ferreira, Chiumiento, Mesbah, Tchouga

Lucerne's top scorer Lustrinelli has gone back to his home town and promoter Bellinzona, but he haven't bee n replaced so far. But on all other positions they are way stronger than last year. With Paquito, Ferreira and Mesbah, they engaged three young talented midfielders who have already survived in the Super League. All in all they have a solid squad with enough depth and skills to bother some stronger teams, especially on the home ground.

Their strength is surely the midfield with a great mixture of good technicians and hard workers. The attack is too young and inexperienced when Tchouga is out. Especially when they are down by one goal the nerves could play a decisive role. Also the defence isn't above reproach, especially the central defenders are very slow.

Notes:

Tchouga is out indefinitely

AC Bellinzona

Prediction: 7th

Ins:

Marco Schällibaum (Trainer), Vincent Bernardet (Gueugnon), Andrea Conti (Roma B), Emanuele Di Zenzo (Sion), Shkelzen Gashi (Schaffhausen), Matteo Gritti (Chiasso), Mauro Lustrinelli (Luzern), Genc Mehmeti (Schaffhausen), Jocelyn Roux (Stade Nyonnais), Gürkan Sermeter (Aarau), Henri Siqueira-Barras (Enosis Neon Paralimni)

Outs:

Vladimir Petkovic (Trainer), Marko Andjelkovic (?), Gabriele Bernasconi (Chiasso), Paolo Carbone (Como), Corrado Grabbi (?), Andrea Locatelli (Chiasso), Senad Lulic (Grasshopper), Ludovico Moresi (Lugano), Gediminas Paulauskas (?), Christian Pouga (Sevilla), Ifet Taljevic (NE Xamax)

Keyplayers: Sermeter (central midfield), Lustrinelli (striker)

Probable formation 4-4-2 :

Gritti; Miccolis, Mangiarrati, La Rocca, Bernardet; Sermeter, Mehmeti, Rivera, Gashi; Lustrinelli, Neri

In the year before last they tried to gain promotion by playoff but they failed in the final against Aarau. This time they reached the aim by kicking out St. Gallen from the Super League. Even if three important players (Lulic, Pouga and Taljevic) has signed new contracts with other teams, they should stay in the league. Their Ins are solid and experienced players (Sermeter, Lustrinelli, and Di Zenzo) and the team is intact and tactically skilled.

Against equal teams they will get their points due to tactical reasons and the patience. But I doubt that they'll have chances against teams with major quality.

FC Vaduz

Prediction: 8th

Ins:

Orkan Avci (Basel U21), Damian Bellon (Aston Villa B), Sehar Fejzulahi (Winterthur), Stefan Iten (Wohlen), Miguel Angel Mea Vitali (Maracaibo), Willian De Souza Saroa (Union Mogi Arasas)

Outs:

Alexandre Da Silva «Alexandre» (?), Giuseppe Aquaro (Aarau), Jamie Harnwell (?), Daniel Hasler (Karriereende), Michele Maggetti (Lugano), Raphael Rohrer (Eschen/Mauren), Florian Sturm (?), Marius Zarn (Chur 97)

Keyplayers: Sommer (goalkeeper), Gaspar (striker)

Probable formation 4-4-2:

Sommer, Cerrone, Dzomic, Iten, Reinmann, Fejzulahi, Fischer, Bellon, Sutter, William, Gaspar

This young team is peppered with young talents, but lacking in experience. And also the Ins are very young and none of them has played for longer than a half season in a highest league. Fejzulahi and Bellon are probably very talented, but I doubt that they can help the team when it doesn't run like they want to. Especially the fact that they won't win the number of games as last year could make inexperienced players nervous.

The strength of this team is surely the goalkeeper and fast striker Gaspar. But most of the teams will act too dominantly in the midfield so they won't be able to create chances for themselves.

Neuchatel Xamax

Prediction: 9th

Ins:

William Edjenguele (Le Mans B), Mickaël Facchinetti (U21), Luca Ferro (Chaux-de-Fonds), Ivan Alejandro Furios (Instituto), Stéphane Garcia (Etoile Carouge), Selver Hodzic (Bnei Yehuda), Ibrahima Niasse (Nancy B), Mickaël Niçoise (Excelsior Mouscron), Martin Steuble (U21), Hussein Sulaimani (Al Ahly Djeddah), Ifet Taljevic (Bellinzona), Rodrigo Tosi (Olten)

Outs:

Mounir El Haimour (Barnsley), Pereira Everson (?), Christophe Jaquet (Fribourg), Nebojsa Joksimovic (?), Milos Malenovic (?), Moreno Merenda (St. Gallen), Pascal Zuberbühler (?)

Keyplayers: Rossi (offensive striker)

Probable formation 4-4-2:

Faivre, Edjenguele, Besle, Sulaimani, Nuzzolo, Lang, Taljevic, Chiahb, Szlykowicz, Rossi, Coly

They imagined to have a much better season that they effectively had last season. So they thought, now we buy some good players and everything will turn to good account.

Fortunately football isn't that easy. This team looks somehow like a conglomerate without a leader. And the chemistry inside the team isn't good at all. The coach Nestor Clausen had several players in mind, but suddenly the manger came and said that they'll have no money because he bought Hussein Sulaimani, a Saudi-Arabian-International. You can imagine how the coach reacts.

This may be the weakest away team of the league.

FC Aarau

Prediction: 10th

Ins:

Giuseppe Aquaro (Vaduz), Patrick Bengondo (Winterthur), Michael Ludäscher (Baden), Joel Mall (Team Aargau U21), Ivan Pejcic (Rabotnicki Skopje), Frédéric Schaub (Wohlen), Emir Sinanovic (Team Aargau U21)

Outs:

Aymen Bouchhioua (?), Sven Christ (Sursee), Massimo Colomba (Grasshopper), Djamel Mesbah (Luzern), Gabor Nagy (APEP Pitsilia), Gürkan Sermeter (Bellinzona), Vahe Tadevosyan (?)

Keyplayers: none

Probable formation:

Benito; Menezes, Rapisarda, Page, Elmer; Tarone, Burki, Bastida, Nushi, Rogerio, Ianu

When somebody could explain the transfer politics of Aarau to me, I'd be grateful. How can you sell Sermeter, the leader of the team and Mesbah, a young talented and always dangerous player to the league concurrents? And what do you buy? Two good Challenge league players (Bengondo and Schaub) who won't help the team in difficult situations.

The offence isn't that bad with Rogerio, Ianu and joker Bengondo, but the defence is never adequate enough to hold the league.

To me relegation candidate number 1.

Please note that the transfer window is open till 31.08.08