Coach Foda is fired at FC Zurich

Franco Foda no longer works for FC Zurich. On Wednesday afternoon, the club announced the release of the coach, and the contract, which ran until 2024, was terminated. With this, the FCZ puts an end to a serious and expensive misunderstanding not a day too late.

The record of the Swiss champions, who were so proud just a few months ago, is miserable in all competitions: two points after eight rounds in the Super League, two defeats in the Europa League to start with, on Sunday being eliminated from the cup at second-rate FC Lausanne-Sports. President Ancillo Canepa initially stood in front of Foda in Lausanne after the sixth loss in a row and asked: “What can the coach do if the players make so many mistakes?”

In view of the worrying development, Canepa has now come to the conclusion that the dismissal of the German coach is the logical consequence. The FCZ thus corrects a gross misjudgment. When Foda was hired, many critical comments could be heard from Austria as to whether the FCZ had really found out how Foda worked. It was said that the former national coach of Austria was difficult to deal with, a trainer for outsider teams and that he spread little happiness.

FC Zurich underestimated the upheaval in the summer – and overestimated itself. And he replaced André Breitenreiter, who was lucky enough to join Hoffenheim in the Bundesliga, with a coach who is different in many ways.

Foda never conveyed the cordiality that Breitenreiter had distinguished. From day one, he exuded a tightness that irritated players and staff alike. In internal discussions, it was often about the fact that the coach should not have introduced himself to all the employees of the club who Foda greeted at all, how unapproachable and tough he could be. Journalists also noticed the harsh manner surprisingly early on, when Foda was not yet under pressure to produce results.

The masterful spring feelings are far away in autumn

Foda failed to convince the team, the club and the public. He too overestimated himself – and underestimated the task in Zurich. It already started in the preparation when he announced that the FCZ would be set up much more variably. It was puzzling why Foda didn’t first rely on the 3-5-2 system that worked so well under Breitenreiter. At the beginning he changed personnel and tactical orientation almost arbitrarily and thus unsettled the team.

Foda was the wrong coach in the wrong place at the wrong time. And certainly it was also unfortunate for the FCZ. On the first day of the Super League, Antonio Marchesano missed a penalty in Bern against YB after the break. It would have been 1-0 for Zurich, in the end the champions lost 0-4 in Wankdorf. It went on and on, the downward spiral gripped the club, team and coach.

Narrow defeats, goals conceded late, dismissals shaped the last appearances, there was a lack of passion, solidarity, joy of playing. Marchesano looked helpless in Lausanne on Sunday evening when he said: “Last season it was the other way around. Back then we didn’t know why we were winning all the tight games.”

And so the FCZ is looking for luck again – and a new coach. There are some interesting possibilities. But also some question marks: Would it work with the alpha characters Ancillo Canepa and René Weiler? Is Aaraus Stephan Keller ready for the Super League? Did Maurizio Jacobacci deserve a chance at a bigger club? If there is enough money, why not another German coach with a Bundesliga past – just more wide riders, less Foda? Or: Wouldn’t a collaboration with Fabio Celestini be appealing? In the end, things worked out great with Lucien Favre and with that a sometimes complicated but experienced coach from western Switzerland.

After the international break, FC Zurich will continue with the derby at GC on October 1st. And above all, remarkably quickly, it is no longer about preserving masterful spring fever, but about finding sporting stability. He is familiar with that, it is the fairway of many years before.

The FCZ’s mistakes in squad planning

With the exception of last season’s brilliant outlier, the FCZ has presented itself for a decade as a club that has experienced turbulence, disillusionment and crises and often acts too emotionally. It was perhaps André Breitenreiter’s greatest achievement that he succeeded in exemplifying calm, serenity and restraint and spreading it throughout the club.

The Foda case reveals that the FCZ has not driven out the old spirits.

This summer, Ancillo Canepa said the squad is even stronger than last season. Even if that were true, that brash statement put unnecessary pressure on the team. Canepa also said several times that young striker Wilfried Gnonto would not be sold for less than CHF 10m in transfer fee – eventually Gnonto moved to Leeds United for about half.

Anyway, FC Zurich doesn’t always make a good impression on the transfer market. Far too often he has to let top performers go free of charge, most recently Ousmane Doumbia and Assan Ceesay. The FCZ apparently only offered Doumbia, the most valuable player in the championship team, a small increase in his salary. The offer came as an insult to Doumbia, say people close to the player. Doumbia would have liked to stay in Zurich, now he plays for FC Lugano. This scenario threatens again for the highly traded Becir Omeragic, the defender’s contract expires at the end of the season.

FCZ thought they could easily replace Doumbia. That also turned out to be a wrong judgement. In addition, before this season the club signed some players like Ole Selnaes, who could not be at their best after a long break from competition. Those responsible rated the quality of the team too highly, especially in view of the strict program at the start of the season.

However, FC Zurich is not threatened with relegation to the Challenge League like in 2016. On the one hand, FC Winterthur lacks the Super League quality, on the other hand, there are no direct relegations due to the forthcoming increase in the league to twelve participants.

After the release of the coach, the players who had lost faith in Foda early on are also required. The body language of team leaders like Blerim Dzemaili has recently been questionable. The team can no longer hide behind the criticism of the unloved coach. She has some things to make up for.

Because it looks like the championship title of FC Zurich was a much bigger sensation than the deep fall this season.