Football Season Guide

St.Gallen have had a fairy tale of a season last time around. The youngest team in the division, they were even tipped to get drawn into the relegation fight, but their players went on to play beyond their years and pushed Young Boys all the way in the fight for the title. Their success has come at a price, with skipper Silvan Hefti and top scorer Cedric Itten tempted away by other clubs, while Ermedin Demirovic has had his loan from Alaves end and has since joined Freiburg. What needs to be noted is that the Green-Whites will get Boris Babic back from injury relatively soon - the forward was among their best players before suffering an injury midway through the previous campaign and will be like a brand new signing. Among the list of news arrival, the only truly eye-catching name is that of Basil Stillhart, who joins from relegated Thun after having an excellent season with the Oberlanders. Florian Kamberi returns to Switzerland after a spell in Scotland, while forward Bouba is another man who signs as a potential replacement for Demirovic and Itten. What is certain is that the Green-Whites have vastly overperformed last time around and will likely find things difficult far less now, with a considerably weaker attacking line than in the previous season. However, they still have a young side, a decent defence, a strong midfield and have really bought into Peter Zeidler's philosophy. They will therefore be hoping for another good campaign, although it is perhaps unrealistic to repeat what they did last time around.