Football Season Guide

With nobody really in a position to dominate Swiss football and a talented squad in front of Zeidler, St. Gallen might just fancy themselves as dark horses to win the title this season. It’s a big ask but they’ve got the squad for it, and have done some really good business pre-season, including keeping key players like Quintilla and von Moos. The only big departure pre-season was star striker Duah, which was somewhat inevitable. With only one good campaign under his belt though, St. Gallen really should be able to replace him. Akolo was their biggest pre-season recruit, and although he’s more accustomed to wide roles, it may well be him that fill’s Duah’s boots through the middle, especially following Babic’s departure, although young Besio has shown a lot of promise for the team so should not be discounted. Another new recruit - Latte Lah - may yet be in the discussion too. They’ve recruited Schneider from Aarau to keep their energy levels in midfield up. Guindo has arrived from RB Salzburg on loan, which is an interesting one as Schmidt excelled there as a stand-in last season. Kempter is back from injury so should start there anyway, but it’s possible Schmidt will be played further forward; he’s more than good enough to be a winger or inside forward. He’s rapidly becoming a very important player for them too. Ordinarily, defence would be a weak spot for this team but Stergiou and Maglica are an ironclad pairing that have thrived for all of 2022. Kempter and Luchinger alongside them are usually great, although what the future holds after lengthy injuries is unclear. Lüchinger, for example, has been loaned out. GK Ait-Zigi had his best season to date last year too. Their midfield has a lot of everything too. With the proviso that somebody settles in as a regular goal-scorer, this team should do very, very well this season. Key players - Maglica, Quintilla, von Moos, Gortler.