Which coach is hotly tipped for the most coveted coaching job in Swiss club football? blue Sport checks candidates and distributes flames based on a realistic requirements profile for the new YB coach. Who is your favorite candidate?
Even if Joël Magnin (52) wins the title with YB, he will take over the U21s again after the season. YB already communicated this when Raphael Wicky was dismissed.
So the big question is: who will get the most attractive coaching job in Swiss club football? According to information from blue Sport, the requirements profile for Wicky's successor looks something like this:
Winning titles, of course! But victories alone are no longer enough in Bern; after all the successes, the public has become demanding and also wants to be entertained. And the strong management team around co-owner Christoph Spycher, head of sport Steve von Bergen, chief scout Stéphane Chapuisat and head of training Gérard Castella have clear ideas on how to achieve this: It should be Red Bull football. Aggressive, intense, fast, dominant and spectacular. The aim: to create a goal-scoring opportunity within ten seconds of winning the ball. Being able and willing to develop young players is also part of the requirement profile.
Knowledge of French would also be an advantage, as YB is traditionally francophone. International experience also helps. In addition, a decent demeanor, charisma, composure and calmness on the touchline. The new manager should also be a team player, as the sporting management around Spycher is very present. A one-man show is unthinkable. If the character is too strong, the potential for conflict is high.
Which coach is hot for the YB bench and why? blue Sport plays YB management and checks out candidates. It is not guaranteed that the new coach will be among them. But the chance is certainly there.
FC St.Gallen
Peter Zeidler (61) 🔥🔥🔥
No coach in Switzerland sets up his team more offensively than Zeidler. The 61-year-old has been at St. Gallen since 2018 and still has a contract until 2027. However, his longstanding contact, sporting director Alain Sutter, recently left the club. YB wants Zeidler's football. What else speaks in his favor: he knows the Super League inside out and was once even a French teacher. Eloquent off the pitch, but a constant source of unrest on the touchline. Spycher & Co. would probably like to see a little more composure.
Without a club
Lucien Favre (66) 🔥
Favre has been without a club for 15 months since leaving Nice. Of course, a coach of his stature should be on the list at the league's top club. However, the chances are likely to be slim. According to information from blue Sport, Favre is currently no longer interested in the job of club coach. But perhaps the 66-year-old from Vaud will change his mind again. Could happen.
FC Lugano
Mattia Croci-Torti (41) 🔥🔥🔥
Under the authentic Ticino man with his cult cap, Lugano has matured into a top team within two and a half years. With the Cup victory in 2022, Croci-Torti also proved that he can win titles. He speaks the players' language, can communicate his ideas and is considered an excellent motivator. Croci-Torti knows that he will have to leave Ticino at some point if he wants to develop further. As far as the squad is concerned, YB is probably the only club in the Super League that represents a step forward for the Lugano coach. Questions that can be asked: How much will he have to bend in the capital? Does his mentality suit Bern? And is his German good enough?
FC Lucerne
Mario Frick (49) 🔥🔥
He knows how to inspire the fans with his football. In Lucerne, more people are going to the stadium again than before the Frick era. What's more, the Liechtenstein native is not afraid to throw youngsters in at the deep end. Many young players have made the leap under him. What might speak against Frick: in the end, he missed out on both the Cup and the league with FCL. He is also rather impulsive on the touchline and more than once recently did not stand in front of his players after defeats.
FC Winterthur
Patrick Rahmen (55) 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥
Everyone in Basel has long since agreed that Rahmen's dismissal in February 2022 was a mistake. Since then, things have gone downhill at FCB - and uphill at Rahmen. At Winterthur, he is doing an outstanding job, taking the relegation candidates Winti into the Championship Group and also reaching the Cup semi-finals. Former Bayern star Markus Babbel recently told blue Sport about his former assistant coach at FC Luzern: "If he hadn't attracted the attention of bigger clubs, it would have been stupid." Rahmen is experienced, rhetorically strong and usually calm on the touchline. He is also considered a great team player. There is ... almost nothing. At most that the football he plays with Winterthur is not quite Red Bull-like.
Servette
René Weiler (50) 🔥🔥
Attractive football, international experience, knowledge of French and very successful. Weiler has a lot of what the YB bosses want from their new coach. He is also eloquent, speaks plainly and has a good manner. Weiler is self-confident, he gives a lot, but also demands a lot. Is there anything against him? Most likely his character. He has high standards and likes to make his own decisions. Not so easy in Bern, with this influential sporting management team behind him. Weiler had already negotiated with YB in 2018, when Seoane got the job.
National team assistant coach
Giorgio Contini (50) 🔥🔥🔥
Contini had already negotiated with YB. But in the summer of 2021, the Bernese opted for David Wagner. A mistake, as it turned out in retrospect. Contini is a multilingual, eloquent and loyal team player. He recently showed at GC and Lausanne that he can also deliver under difficult conditions. Contini would fulfill many criteria. His current job speaks against him. He recently signed on as assistant coach to Murat Yakin - until and including the European Championship in Germany. Does YB want to wait that long for the new head coach? Hardly.
Estonia
Thomas Häberli (50) 🔥
If YB is looking for a coach with a great YB past, Thomas Häberli could also become an issue. After his playing career, the former top striker (288 games for YB) worked for several years as a coach for the Bernese youth team, where he impressed. His only previous stint as a Super League coach in Lucerne ended unhappily after just ten months. Häberli has been national coach of Estonia for three years and his contract runs until the end of 2024.
SC Freiburg II
Thomas Stamm (41) 🔥🔥
In the summer, the 41-year-old from Schaffhausen will leave SC Freiburg after nine years. Stamm was considered a hot candidate for the coaching job at FC Basel a year ago, but decided against it. He is still on the list of several clubs, including 1. FC Kaiserslautern, where he is being considered as the successor to fireman Friedhelm Funkel. Stamm has long been predicted to have a great coaching career, but so far he has only worked with the next generation.
Lausanne
Ludovic Magnin (44) 🔥🔥
Has been convincing with Lausanne throughout the season in terms of his style of play, and recently the results have also been convincing. Magnin knows the YB management team very well and speaks perfect French and German. Was already among the candidates for YB coach after winning the cup with FCZ in 2018. Was considered too impulsive at the time. Although he has become calmer, that is probably still true today.
Without a club
Bo Svensson (44) 🔥🔥🔥
The Dane would be the international solution. And he represents the Red Bull school, having coached at farm team Liefering and briefly at RB Salzburg before taking over Mainz in January 2021. Svensson first sensationally managed to keep Mainz in the Bundesliga with them, even coaching them to 8th place in 2022 and 9th place in 2023. He was already a player at Mainz - his coaches there were Jürgen Klopp and Thomas Tuchel. After his dismissal last November, he is without a club.
FC Thun
Mauro Lustrinelli (48) 🔥
The former U21 national team coach - he is good with boys - is in a hot race with relegated Sion for promotion to the Super League. He has already secured a place in the barrage with Thun. Even if promotion doesn't work out, coach Lustrinelli is considered a hot contender for the Super League. Meticulous in his work, good in his performance. The fact that he has not yet coached a team in the Super League speaks against him.
Without a club
Urs Fischer (58) 🔥🔥🔥
In November, Union Berlin parted company with Urs Fischer with a heavy heart after five and a half years. The contract of Union's coaching legend runs until the summer of 2025. According to information from blue Sport, Fischer did not want to take on a new club immediately after parting ways, but things should look different from the summer. It is clear that YB is thinking about Fischer, who dominated the league for two seasons with FC Basel before his successful time at Union. But how realistic is a Fischer appointment? That would depend mainly on Fischer. Can he even imagine returning to the Super League? And: Can and will YB afford Fischer? He is by far the candidate with the highest market value on the list. In other words: YB should be hot for Fischer. But how hot is Fischer?
Without a club
Alain Geiger (63) 🔥🔥🔥
Geiger's rucksack is well filled, the man from Valais has been in the coaching business for 27 years. He recently proved at Servette that he is far from being an old hand. In his five years at Geneva, he led the club back to the Super League and even to a European place. Nevertheless, he was replaced by René Weiler last summer. Geiger has also coached in Algeria, Egypt and Saudi Arabia - and would be available on a free transfer.