Football Season Guide

Young Boys Bern

In


Marco Bürki (def) (Thun - back from loan), Christian Fassnacht (att) (Thun), Jordan Lotomba (mid) (Lausanne), Djibril Sow (mid) (Borussia Mönchengladbach/GER), David von Ballmoos (gk) (Winterthur)

Out


Michael Frey (sp) (att) (Zürich), Milan Gajic (mid) (Vaduz), Jan Lecjaks (r) (def) (Dinamo Zagreb), Yvon Mvogo (r) (gk) (Leipzig), Linus Obexer (sp)(def) (NE Xamax), Alain Rochat (r) (def) (Lausanne), Denis Zakaria (r) (mid) (Borussia Mönchengladbach)

Young Boys have established themselves as the country's second-best club over the recent years and nothing that happened over the summer suggests that this is about to change. The Berners have lost several players during the summer but the two genuinely significant departures are the ones of Denis Zakaria and Yvon Mvogo, two talented full Swiss internationals who will continue their careers in Germany. Jan Lecjaks and Alain Rochat did feature a lot last season but, with the emergence of youth team players and the return of Marco Burki to the club, their playing minutes would have gone down in the upcoming campaign had they stayed. The most eye-catching new face in the squad is Christian Fassnacht, who signs after having a superb season with regional rivals Thun, while Jordan Lotomba and Djibril Sow have both been signed due to their potential, rather than current ability, with both players being under 20. It needs to be pointed out that Roger Assale only joined the Berners in February and showed glimpses of true quality. With additional time to get acquainted with the country and the club, the Ivorian striker will be expected to continue banging in the goals and form a lethal strike duo with Guillaume Hoarau. All things considered, the Berners are among the sides who changed the least this season. This is unlikely to be enough for them to threaten Basel's position as the league's rulers supreme but they still look better than any other side in the division.

Target


Apart from finishing second, they will aim to reach the group stage of a European competition and/or finally enjoy a good Swiss Cup run, having made a habit of being eliminated by minnows over the recent years.