Football Season Guide

Franco Foda brought in as new manager to replace Andre Breitenreiter, who moved to TSG Hoffenheim. It’s an interesting call on their part as many Austrians believed that his defensive football at Euro 2020 actually held them back from achieving their true potential, and he was often accused of playing boring football. Breitenreiter was excellent tactically last season; that’s why FC Zurich won the title. Anything but that from Foda will make things very challenging because they don’t have as many match-winners as FC Basel or Young Boys Bern. Lost two key players pre-season; Doumbia and Ceesay. Doumbia was part of their elite midfield trio - Mascherano-Doumbia-Dzemaili - and will be sorely missed, even after the signing of Selnaes to replace him. Ceesay was their star striker, although it should be noted that goal-scoring had generally evaded him for a long time before that campaign so cashing in on him made sense. They’ve also lost backup striker Kramer too, and thus have brought in Santini to replace him, and Okita to replace Ceesay. On paper, the moves make sense but it’s a big gamble with Okita because if he doesn’t turn out to be a ruthless finisher, then it’s hard to see where their goals will come from. Tosin will contribute too, of course, but he’s already proven he’s not a consistent finisher. Importantly, key CB Omeragic has resumed training after a bad injury prematurely ended his last campaign. Ironically, that’s most likely all that stopped him from a big move abroad. Their defence should be more solid and reliable under Foda this season; no cause for concern there. They look a little lightweight when it comes to creativity in midfield though. Mascherano is amazing but, if he’s out, it’s difficult to see who will step up, especially after Coric and Leitner left and have not been replaced. It’s hard to imagine FC Zurich losing many games with this squad but it’s possible they’ll fall into the trap of not winning enough of them. That, fused with the pressure of being the reigning champions, may make this campaign really hard. A top three finish should still be on the agenda either way, but winning the title again looks like it might be a bridge too far right now. Key players: Mascherano, Dzemaili, Omeragic