The Grasshoppers back in the relegation battle

Shqiprim Berisha is sitting in the stands of the swissporarena before the GC game in Lucerne and is angry. Articles appeared in the Sunday press that the Managing Director of the Grasshopper Club did not like. Among other things, it was about how the Chinese club investors deal with the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine, because China is politically close to Russia.

And anyway: the mood in the club is strained, one hears, Berisha, for example, no longer speaks to sports director Seyi Olofinjana. That’s not true, says Berisha, he’s in contact with Olofinjana every day. But how fruitful the cooperation is and how competently the Nigerian representative of partner club Wolverhampton Wanderers works in Switzerland is another story. “We want to be successful and we’re not all satisfied with developments in recent weeks,” says Berisha. But it bothers him that everything at GC is criticized again in the first sporting crisis.

The early GC own goal

These are complicated times for the Grasshoppers. President Sky Sun has been in China for months and is not due to return to Zurich until the end of March. This makes communication more difficult and does not promote the credibility of the project, which is controversial for many.

And while the promoted team appeared relatively fresh in the preliminary round and settled into the midfield of the Super League, things have not been going well on the pitch since the winter break. There was the win in Lausanne, there was the lucky 2-2 win against YB, but above all there were five defeats before the match on Sunday in Lucerne – most recently three in a row within eight days with a total of eight goals conceded.

This is the record of a team struggling for stability. In January, footballers were signed from China, Japan and Portugal, from England and France. Most of them are capable of development, apart from the 29-year-old Chinese left-back Li Lei. But the country, language and culture are foreign, and it takes time to get used to them.

This GC lacks identity anyway. The home games are poorly attended, most recently against Lugano (1:2) and Servette (2:4) there were less than 4,000 spectators in the Letzigrund. The club still does not have a main sponsor, and according to insiders, the loss should amount to around ten million francs at the end of the season. Thanks to the investors from China, you can also look at it that way, but the Grasshopper Club’s existence is not threatened.

In the Super League, however, GC is in danger of being involved in the relegation battle after the series of defeats. For FC Luzern, which has improved significantly with the new coach Mario Frick, Sunday is the opportunity to further reduce the gap to the Grasshoppers.

And once again GC fails to start a game. Hayao Kawabe received a warning after thirty seconds, after eighty seconds goalkeeper André Moreira prevented the early deficit with a strong intervention. But less than two minutes have been played before Lucerne takes the lead. GC striker Léo Bonatini, who didn’t score in the opponent’s penalty area, deflected a cross into his own goal.

Sène has still not renewed

The performance of the Grasshoppers in Lucerne is at least halfway acceptable in terms of fighting. However, one does not offend any player if one suspects that apart from the passionate captain Amir Abrashi, hardly anyone is very interested in the future of the club.

The young, agile attacker Kaly Sène would have the potential to become a crowd favorite and a top performer, even if the 20-year-old scored once in the second half of the season. But GC has still not been able to agree on a contract from the summer with the nine-time goal scorer. There are people who see this as a failure by Olofinjana because the head of sport did not negotiate a follow-up contract with Sènes on loan before the season.

The sovereign coach Giorgio Contini is not to be envied in this restless construct. In Lucerne, for the fourth time this season, he relies on a back four, which strengthens the defence. Going forward, however, his team remained decidedly uninspired in the 1-0 defeat against a by no means irresistible FC Luzern.

With ten rounds remaining, the FCL are only five points behind the Grasshoppers, who are next up against the top teams Basel and Zurich. Suddenly GC is threatened with the unpleasant barrage against the second in the Challenge League, currently FC Winterthur. But as Shqiprim Berisha said about the investors’ ambitious five-year plan, which should lead back to the top of the league: “This season, for us, it’s all about not relegating.”