The fairytale rise of FCZ striker Gnonto

Friendly, almost shy, Wilfried Gnonto stands in front of the TV camera on June 4th. It was “beautiful,” he says remarkably calm and in German, it was a moment that he will never forget because he’s always dreamed of it. “But unfortunately we didn’t win.” In the 1-1 draw of the Italian national team against Germany in the Nations League, Gnonto set up Lorenzo Pellegrini’s 1-0 lead five minutes after coming on – with a quick run down the right side and a precise cross.

It was like a summary of Gnonto’s season, who had often impressed immediately as a fast-paced substitute at FC Zurich. At 18 he is one of Italy’s youngest debutants, the football country has been in Willy fever since this action against Germany, the gazettes outdo each other with headlines and hymns of praise. And in Zurich, too, they are very proud of Gnonto. “I sat almost feverishly in front of the television,” says FCZ President Ancillo Canepa. He describes Gnonto as an intelligent, modest, hard-working person – and as a talent for languages.

Nobody expected that the young striker would make his debut in Italy’s A team this summer. He was actually invited to a sighting course for talented footballers. Gnonto did well in training, national coach Roberto Mancini surprisingly called up the attacker for the four matches in the Nations League.

He is already being compared to the likes of Sancho, Sterling and Sané

And because Italy’s team is in a deep crisis eleven months after winning the European Championship and missed the World Cup, Gnonto is suddenly and much earlier than expected the great hope for a better future. At Inter Milan he once did not progress fast enough, the Italian top club had doubts about the just under 1.70 meter tall striker. And so Gnonto switched to FCZ in 2020 at the age of 16.

“Willy from the Wonderland”, wrote the “NZZ am Sonntag” in February 2021, when Gnonto had just turned 17. At home, the media compared him early on with Jadon Sancho, Raheem Sterling, Leroy Sané, even with Kylian Mbappé, not only “La Gazzetta dello Sport” and the “Guardian” ranked him among the top talents worldwide, at the U-17 World Cup he excelled for Italy.

In FCZ’s championship season, Gnonto scored eight goals and also overcame difficult moments. In November he came on as a substitute in the win against Servette in Geneva and was substituted again after an unlucky performance, he was still crying bitterly on the pitch. Shortly thereafter, Gnonto – as a substitute – scored the 1-0 winning goal in the top fight against YB with a header.

When he was signed two years ago, Gnonto was an exciting bet by FC Zurich on his development. He grew up on the shores of Lake Maggiore as the son of immigrants from Côte d’Ivoire, and perhaps in a few years it will be said that Gnonto’s great career began in Switzerland.

Like those of Ivan Zamorano, Giovane Elber and Mohamed Salah.

Gnonto took a detour that turned out to be a shortcut. Marinko Jurendic sees it that way too. “Willy is not only a fascinating footballer, but also a good person,” says the FCZ sports director. “He has both feet on the ground.”

Ancillo Canepa has already put a price tag in the double-digit millions on Gnonto

In the past few days, however, Willy-Mania has taken on some bizarre features. Gnonto’s father was quoted as saying his son dreams of playing again at Inter, the club he joined when he was eight. Numerous clubs are traded as interested parties, from Lyon to Anderlecht, PSV Eindhoven and Hoffenheim with FCZ master coach André Breitenreiter to almost every Italian club. As a precaution, FCZ President Canepa has already put a price tag on Gnonto with a “double-digit million sum”. And the international appearances have increased Gnonto’s value again.

At the weekend, the Italian transfer expert Gianluca di Marzio, who is usually well informed, reported that SC Freiburg were favorites to sign Gnontos. It would be a smart career move for the 18-year-old, because he could continue to mature in peace in the tranquil Breisgau under coach Christian Streich.

The explosion of Gnonto’s market value is breathtaking. On the specialist website “transfermarkt.ch”, the striker increased its value from 3 to 10 million francs within five months. He is already the most valuable footballer in the Super League ahead of his team-mate Becir Omeragic, YB’s Fabian Rieder and Servette’s Kastriot Imeri (8 million each). And among all players worldwide born in 2003, Gnonto is in the top 10.

A player consultant says that Gnonto’s transfer fee could be at least twice as high if his contract with FCZ lasted two or three more years and not just until 2023. And he thinks that the market value would be many times higher if the Italian were with an English player play club.

At FC Zurich they are preparing for a departure of the jewel. FCZ sports director Jurendic says that it would be ideal for Gnonto’s development to play another season in the Super League and first become a regular player. But staying is only realistic if Gnonto is loaned to Zurich for a year by the new club.

The FCZ is also looking for successors for Doumbia and Ceesay

For the time being, Gnonto is on vacation for a few days; he is expected back in Zurich on June 27th. FCZ recently resisted Gnonto’s participation in the U-19 European Championship, which the player would have liked to have completed. “With four international matches, Willy had a big burden in June. It is therefore also a matter of preventively protecting him from possible injuries,” says Jurendic.

Gnontos camp has trouble accepting the decision. “Willy is even angrier than I am,” the father told Italian radio station RAI 1. His son was very, very disappointed because he worked hard for the tournament and would have been captain. “We all tried to convince FCZ, but the club simply refused.” The U-19 European Championship is a tournament for which clubs do not have to release their players.

Meanwhile, hectic times await FCZ on the transfer market. He also has to find successors for key players Ousmane Doumbia (to Lugano) and Assan Ceesay (to Serie A promoted Lecce), who left FCZ on a free transfer. Costly Lausanne striker and Switzerland U-21 international Zeki Amdouni is also a contender, he would be a top transfer for FC Zurich, who lost in July in the second qualifying round of the Champions League to the winner of the clash Lech Poznan (Poland) against Karabakh (Azerbaijan) meets.

Wilfried Gnonto will then probably no longer be in FC Zurich. Last Tuesday he scored his first goal in his fourth international match for Italy, 5-1 in the 5-2 defeat in Germany. After the game, he gave a friendly, almost shy interview in German to ZDF and said it was a shame that his team had lost so badly – and that he too had to keep working hard.