FC Zurich is sticking with Franco Foda in the deep crisis

If FC Zurich had parted ways with their coach on Monday, nobody would have been surprised. It would not have been a day too late; this step had actually been expected several weeks ago. But as of Monday evening, Franco Foda is still in office.

Even if the Swiss champions are still waiting for their first win of the season in the Super League after eight rounds and are already 15 points behind the leader YB with only two draws. Even if FCZ is bottom of the group in the Europa League with two defeats in two games. And even if he lost in the Swiss Cup on Sunday after extra time at second-rate FC Lausanne-Sport.

It’s a horrible record that can only have one consequence in the football business: the release of the coach. But those responsible for FCZ protest week after week that they want to stick with Franco Foda. Even after the defeat in Lausanne, Ancillo Canepa appealed directly to the football gods. It’s all unbelievable, said the President, he has no more explanations for this downward spiral.

But Canepa also said: “What can the trainer do about it? He chose the right line-up. He made the right changes.” Individual mistakes by the players were again decisive for the defeat. And anyway: The Challenge League top club Lausanne was the toughest lot for a Super League club in the second round of the cup.

Players have not been convinced of Foda for a long time

Ancillo Canepa avoids the problems. It’s not bad luck if players keep making the same mistakes. And it is not fate when Aldin Turkes, who was injured for almost two years and was once considered not good enough at FCZ, becomes the match winner with two goals. Turkes said his coach, Ludovic Magnin, told him before he was substituted on in the 89th minute that a cross would definitely go into the box and then he had to be ready for a header.

What can the trainer do about it? Turkes was very ready when the cross came. It wasn’t the FCZ players.

Eight pillars of the Zurich championship team were in the starting line-up in Lausanne. In addition: Ole Selnaes for Ousmane Doumbia, who has switched to FC Lugano, in midfield and up front the new strikers Ivan Santini and Donis Avdijaj instead of Assan Ceesay and Blaz Kramer. It reads splendidly on paper. On the artificial turf, however, FC Zurich never looked like the enthusiastic team from last season. The defensive players gambled, as they have done several times in recent weeks, on the offensive a lot remained random.

The Zurich performance lacked power, enthusiasm and conviction. The match went for the guests. At 1-0 they benefited from an own goal, at 2-1 Antonio Marchesano scored one of his rare header goals because he was forgotten in the Lausanne penalty area. And when the alleged equalizer by Gianluca Gaudino was denied for offsides far into injury time because FCZ goalie Yanick Brecher was allegedly blocked from view, it actually looked as if there were a football god, and one who is well disposed towards the people of Zurich this time.

Alone: ​​This last high ball flew into the Zurich penalty area. And again the opponent met with a late head goal. Like Lugano at 2-1 in the Letzigrund. Like Servette in the 3:2 against FCZ. And later, in extra time, the experienced Selnaes decided on a loose chip ball from a free kick deep in the opponent’s half, which the Lausanne team used for a fine, rapid counterattack and the winning goal.

FCZ lost again on Sunday by one goal, for the fifth time in a row. Everything was not insufficient in these encounters. But that’s of little interest in football’s results business. The body language of the FCZ players has been revealing for weeks, too often there is a lack of passion and unity. The Lausanne team, on the other hand, celebrated their goals on Sunday as if they had just won the cup final, with all the substitutes running onto the field cheering.

There have long been clear signals from the Zurich team that the players are not convinced of their boss. His manners are criticized, his tactical measures, his statements in the media. Some malicious stories are circulating.

And that’s why you’ve been wondering for a long time: Why the heck is the FCZ sticking to Franco Foda?

It’s also a question of money – and alternatives

On Monday, those responsible for the club debated for hours, they were not available for the media all day, and nothing was communicated until the evening. There has long been something degrading about how Foda’s fate is negotiated. Game after game, the coach appeared more at a loss to the journalists. He has to listen to questions like whether he’s really still hot for his job. And when he says in Lausanne on Sunday that it’s not about him, it’s about better results, that he’s still highly motivated, those are perseverance slogans. It’s all about him. One almost wishes that Foda would soon be redeemed – during the two-week international break.

In Lausanne, for once, it was Antonio Marchesano and not, as usual, Captain Yanick Brecher, who appeared before the media after a defeat. Marchesano reacted snotty and emotional to questions. Who can blame him? And what should he say? “We have a high quality, this team became champions,” he said. And shortly afterwards: “We don’t have to talk, we have to win games.”

It’s hard to imagine that the FC Zurich footballers would have the mental strength to believe in a turnaround under Franco Foda. The German will hardly resign voluntarily, his contract and the working papers of the two assistants are dated until 2024. A dismissal would cost the FCZ a lot of money. That’s one explanation why the club is so hesitant. In addition, the President Canepa would have to admit a mistake, which he found difficult with other coaches.

And last but not least, it is a question of alternatives. There are trainers on the market that would be readily available. At first glance, no one seems to fit perfectly. One may be too expensive, the other may be too complicated, the next recently failed at another club. But it can’t get any worse for FC Zurich.