Feyenoord now has to deal with FC Luzern after FC Drita on the way to the group stage of the Conference League. Those Leuchten finished fifth in the Super League last season, but qualified as the winner of the Swiss cup tournament for European football. Alex Schalk, who plays for Servette FC in Switzerland, predicts in the run-up to the first leg in the Swissporarena (Thursday evening at 8.30 pm) that Feyenoord will have a hard time at the ‘strong, tough’ Lucerne.
By Chris Meijer
The Swiss Super League is already two games under way and the start of Lucerne with one point after a defeat against Young Boys (3-4) and a draw against FC Sankt Gallen (2-2) does not look great. “I am convinced that there is certainly no crisis,” warns Schalk in conversation with Football zone. Young Boys – 31 points ahead of closest pursuer FC Basel, the unapproachable champion last season – trailed 3-1 against Lucerne, but narrowly brushed that off with a winning goal in the 93rd minute. In the second league game, Lucerne itself came back from a 2-0 deficit against Sankt Gallen in the final phase, with an equalizer in the 96th minute. “That also reflects their mentality. Never give up, there are always opportunities and possibilities. Their game is just good. There is a lot of positivity and they are ready to play against Feyenoord.”
The pieces of the puzzle have come together at Lucerne in the calendar year 2021. With the start of the winter break in the previous season, the single Swiss champion was in ninth place, which is obliged to a play-off against relegation at the end of the season. Lucerne recovered in the second half of the season, moved up to fifth place and finally won the Swiss Cup for the third time in club history at the expense of Sankt Gallen. “Last season it was a bit of our fear gegner,” Schalk points out to Servette’s balance sheet against Lucerne. Of the total of four mutual matches against the number three of the previous Super League season, Lucerne won three. “I think that’s mainly due to the difference in mentality.”
“Luzern is a Swiss-German team, it just clicks very well with the trainer who has a bit of the mentality of sturm and urge has. The mentality in French-speaking Switzerland is calmer, building up football, with less intensity and energy. It is not always necessary for a team like Lucerne to play football, they can also just give a long ball to Pascal Schürpf. They just head it through and then they have fast wing attackers, which they take advantage of. We haven’t found a way to properly defend that yet,” Schalk admits. He points out the importance of goalkeeper Marius Müller, who was missing against Sankt Gallen last weekend. “The keeper is quite good with the feet, she puts them on the tie at the back over fifty meters. They play easily under the pressure, so we are already in front of the ball with five men. Maybe it would be better for us to use a different tactic, sink to the halfway line and let Lucerne take care of the build-up. But yeah, that’s not our style.”
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Schalk points trainer Fabio Celestini to the great architect of the game and the institution of Lucerne. “He is a bit of the Diego Simeone of Switzerland,” says Schalk about the former midfielder of Olympique Marseille and the Swiss national team, who has been at the helm of Lucerne since January 2020. “Really a man who wants grinta, he has been a great player himself and wants to see his own style in the team. Pressure, energy after regaining the ball, trying to win back immediately after losing the ball: they play matches with a lot of intensity. When you see their first league games, it actually reflects their vision. spectacle. Lucerne has quite a fanatical following. In the first match against Feyenoord, they will clap the crowd in the first fifteen minutes. That’s their style. The defense is their weak spot. They like to play attacking football, with pressure and energy. As a result, they leave some spaces behind the defense and Feyenoord must try to take advantage of that.”
Lucerne managed to keep last season’s selection fairly intact for the time being. Captain Christian Schwegler ended his career, while Stefan Knezevic was sold to Charleroi and Louis Schaub returned to 1.FC Köln after a loan period. On the other hand, the definitive arrival of mercenaries Jordy Wehrmann (from Feyenoord) and Varol Tasar (from Servette), while the selection was further supplemented with Christian Gentner (from Union Berlin), Vaso Vasic (from Mouscron), Samuele Campo (from FC Basel ) and David Domgjoni (of Menemen Spor). Patrick Farkas was taken over from Red Bull Salzburg as a replacement for Schwegler, while Knezevic’s successor is a big name: Holger Badstuber. The 32-year-old center defender won the Champions League, the World Cup for club teams and six league titles with Bayern Munich, but suffered many injuries after a promising start to his career. Lucerne took over the 31-time German international transfer-free from VfB Stuttgart, where he had been under contract for the past four years. “He is not completely fit yet, he has only recently been training with the group and has come in on his own for the time being. That boy needs some time.”
Lucerne’s line-up in last weekend’s match against Sankt Gallen.
According to Schalk, Lucerne’s strength lies mainly in the collective, but he does pick a few players whom Feyenoord should pay attention to. “Marvin Schulz is a very good player. He is now in the back, normally he is a controlling midfielder. Pascal Schürpf is a very experienced, useful boy, really a German trained player who is the driving force behind the squad. I don’t know if Dejan Sorgic is fit, because he didn’t play last weekend. But that’s a very cunning point. Filip Ugrinic is a bony midfielder. Not very refined, but it does a lot of useful work and walks through closets and walls.” For Feyenoord, Wehrmann is known as the great known at Lucerne. The 22-year-old midfielder went through the youth academy at Varkenoord and made 23 official matches for Lucerne in the past six months. This season, Wehrmann played less than a minute, which has to do with an injury.
“I am especially curious what Lucerne can achieve against such a team, because it is also a good indication for Swiss football and for us. To see where we stand in Europe”, says Schalk. Servette also stranded in the second preliminary round of the Conference League against Molde FK. A 3-0 defeat in the first leg was almost made up for in Geneva, but Servette did not come closer than a 2-0 victory. “Normally Feyenoord should be able to win this on paper, because they have more individual qualities. But if you look at how Feyenoord has played in recent weeks… Well, pff. Then Lucerne becomes a different cake than the jars they have had. And if you look at how Lucerne started the competition… That’s just very strong. I’m really curious about how the game will be played tactically. It will be an interesting game. Feyenoord should not think that it can be done just like that.”
Schalk is still in daily contact with former teammate Varol Tasar, with whom he played for Servette for two years. He also immediately said: ‘We are going to Feyenoord!’ Then I joked, after Feyenoord had played 0-0 at Drita: it may be more favorable for you, then you go to Drita. That has been there for quite a long time. Fortunately, Guus Til saved the Dutch honour. It is for Lucerne a great poster to play in De Kuip, considering the match against Drita, they now smell opportunities.” Has Schalk Tasar given a tip towards the diptych with Feyenoord? that mainly depends on Feyenoord. If the puzzle pieces suddenly fall into place, they can step off the field with 0-3 in Lucerne. That is also possible, isn’t it. I predict a draw in Lucerne and in De Kuip Feyenoord will have the longest end.”