Not long ago, FCL shooting star Luca Jaquez (21) was still dreaming of making it as a striker. Then Michel Renggli became his coach and turned him into a central defender. Here Renggli explains why.
No time? blue News summarizes for you
- Luca Jaquez (21) is putting in strong performances in central defense for Lucerne, game after game. It feels like his market value is climbing from week to week.
- Jaquez has a lot to thank current FCL U21 coach Michel Renggli for. The FCL legend coached Jaquez at U15 level and turned the striker into a central defender at U18 level.
- In blue, Renggli explains why he thought Jaquez was capable of more as a defender and reveals why he was very worried about the 14-year-old Jaquez at a training camp in Rome in 2017.
Luca Jaquez, 21-year-old defender jewel at FC Luzern, was a striker or attacking midfielder throughout his time in the FCL youth academy. Until former FCL star Michel Renggli converted him into a central defender at U18 level.
What initially caused Jaquez a lack of understanding quickly became a great stroke of luck for him. Within a year, his estimated market value on transfermarkt.ch has more than quadrupled: from CHF 600,000 to CHF 2.5 million. If he continues like this, his value is likely to continue to climb rapidly.
Renggli tells blue why he took Jaquez to the back, how he took it and what he thinks he can do in the future.
Michel Renggli, why did you switch Luca Jaquez from striker and attacking midfielder to central defender at U18 level?
He played as a striker for FC Luzern for years and scored a lot of goals. But his physical development went in a different direction. He became tall and robust and had the ideal attributes for a defender.
«Jaquez was the only one not to get off the metro at the Colosseum in Rome.»
How do you tell an ambitious young striker that he might have better career prospects as a central defender?
In a private conversation. The most important thing is to be honest. My job as a coach is to show him his strengths and try to recommend the best path, the best position for him. The player, for his part, must be prepared to deal with this and be willing to give it a try. In the end, it's always the player who has to take the final step.
How did Jaquez take it?
Of course it didn't suit Luca at the beginning. He needed two more games in attack before he was ready to give it a go. Then it clicked for him and he really got stuck in.
You already coached Jaquez at U15 level. Did you already know then that he would make it?
You never know with anyone, there are too many factors involved. But Luca was already an interesting player back then, very intelligent, technically strong and always keen to get stuck in. We always counted him among the talents, but not always among the top talents. After the U16s, he didn't make the cut for the U18s and had to take a detour via the U17s. But he eventually made it into the 1st team relatively quickly.
What is your most formative memory of him?
The fact that he was the only one at the training camp in Rome in 2017 who didn't get off the metro at the Colosseum in time and had to travel one stop further. He was the youngest in the team. I was very nervous for a short time. Fortunately, we quickly found him again.
Where do you think he still has the most room for improvement?
He's doing very well. When I see him on the pitch, I sometimes wish he would come out of his shell even more. He's a down-to-earth, very good guy. I think a bit more cheekiness would do him good sometimes. He can also use his great technique even more and drive the ball forward even more than he already does.
What else do you think your former protégé is capable of?
If he continues to perform so consistently, a lot. Then he will certainly also be of interest to bigger clubs abroad.
