After the party is before planning: there will be major personnel changes at champions FC Zurich. The squad is to be strengthened, further well-known departures are imminent. Coach André Breitenreiter should switch to Hoffenheim.
André Breitenreiter is in demand on the transfer market.
FC Zurich has been in celebration mode since May 1st and the victory in Basel. On Sunday evening, after the 3-2 defeat in the home game against the Barrage participants Lucerne, he received the championship trophy in the sold-out Letzigrund, on Monday he will be heading to several communities on a boat trip across Lake Zurich.
The big frenzy will be followed by disillusionment and a lot of work for those responsible for the club in the next few days. It has long been said that the championship team could break up. President Ancillo Canepa says: “We want to have an even better team next season.” And sports director Marinko Jurendic says: “There will be changes, but we are prepared for them.”
Breitenreiter and Hoffenheim – that could fit
Thanks to his excellent work in Zurich, master maker André Breitenreiter has risen to become one of the most sought-after coaches in the German Bundesliga. He has been traded at several clubs in recent weeks, and according to insiders, he will now move to Hoffenheim. Hoffenheim finished the last championship in ninth place – and parted ways with Sebastian Hoeness a few days ago after very poor results towards the end of the season.
FCZ captain Yanick Brecher carries the championship trophy in the crowd in the Letzigrund.
Hoffenheim don’t want to go into the future with a young, up-and-coming coach, but with an experienced footballer. Breitereiter fits the profile ideally. And Hoffenheim, as a relatively quiet location with European Cup ambitions, fits perfectly with the conditions under which Breitenreiter can imagine returning to his homeland. According to the German media, the transfer fee to release Breitenreiter from the FCZ contract, which runs until 2023, is a little less than half a million francs. It’s not an amount that deters prospects.
Breitenreiter’s departure will be communicated soon. It would be a bitter loss for the FCZ. The club created facts in the squad at the weekend. In addition to Blaz Kramer (probably to Legia Warsaw), Moritz Leitner and Salim Khelifi, the employment relationship with Ousmane Doumbia, perhaps the most valuable FCZ player this season, will not be extended. Doumbia is likely to switch to FC Lugano, where, according to various sources, he should receive almost twice as much wages as in FCZ. “We cannot and do not want to break our salary structure,” says Marinko Jurendic.
There are people who are disappointed by Doumbia’s decision because the club brought the then relatively unknown footballer from FC Winterthur to the big national stage in autumn 2020. But to expect gratitude would be naïve. Doumbia turned thirty on Saturday and has the opportunity to sign a well-paid contract for the first and probably last time of his career.
Ousmane Doumbia (right) still played against Lugano here, but he could soon be in the Ticino squad himself.
FCZ is still hoping for a contract extension with Assan Ceesay. But the striker is not only traded by league competitors, but above all by clubs from abroad. Ceesay could allegedly earn over a million francs a year in the Arab world. Like Doumbia, this is his first opportunity to make big money. Jurendic says FCZ did not want to extend Doumbia and Ceesay’s contracts prematurely a year ago in order to give the new coach the opportunity to have a say in personnel planning.
The club is also in negotiations with the young players Becir Omeragic and Wilfried Gnonto, whose contracts expire in 2023. If the heavily courted footballers do not extend their contract early this summer, they would be sold. Also in the conversations with them the master cannot argue with economic aspects. Omeragic, however, could probably take better advantage of his chances of participating in the World Cup with Switzerland in FCZ than with a club in a top league.
And Gnonto is only 18. Staying in the Super League for another season should make sense for his development. He was recently even called up for a sighting course for the Italian national team and is considered one of the most exciting talents in Europe – and sensible advice. “We show the players our way, with the conviction that they want to go with it,” says Jurendic.
FCZ championship celebration at Helvetiaplatz.
Zeki Amdouni from relegated Lausanne is a candidate for the storm
Participation in the Champions League lures with the FCZ. “Of course we’re aiming for a European group stage next season,” says Jurendic, “but our squad planning is primarily aimed at competitiveness in the Super League.” If the qualification for the Champions League, Europa League or Conference League has been realized at the end of August, the squad can be adapted to the needs.
So there are some question marks in the FCZ – and one stands for how things will continue with Ante Coric. The people of Zurich are in contact with their owning club AS Roma. Sports director Jurendic says the challenging personnel situation doesn’t make him nervous, he’s looking forward to putting together a powerful team again. “We talk to interesting players who suit us.”
Attacker Zeki Amdouni is considered a top candidate for FC Zurich in advisory circles. The highly regarded Swiss U-21 international has scored 12 goals for relegated Lausanne this season. Apparently he still wants to stay in the Super League. However, it is unclear whether the transfer fee for FCZ can be financed – and YB and FC Basel could also be interested in Amdouni.
