Match Review: Swiss FC vs German-Swiss All Stars

• DF Nice De Mello
• DF Cyrill Binder
• MD Paul Le Helloco
• -- Andrew Koechie
• -- Herwan Nulhaqiem
• -- Ivan Gomez
• -- Roy Lloret
• -- Felix Reike
• -- Mohamed Aly
• -- Heinz Braegger
• -- Mostafa Alzyat

• DF Laurent Brutsch
• -- Matty Mbuale
• -- Urs Brutsch
• -- Sebastian Kendrick
• -- Takayasu Yamamoto
• -- Talant Begaliev

Merry Christmas

The last chance to get points on the board in 2017 for Swiss FC was over after 30 minutes. The Germans put three goals clinically past the Swiss and a red card all but ended the contest. Swiss started well, and it looked as if the new 4-2-3-1 formation would give the team a better balance. But on 12 minutes our defenders hoped for an offside call which never came (and which should not have come!) and the finishing was clinical. Barely two minutes later and from a free-kick it was only the Germans who contested for the ball - all men in red remained rooted to the ground. But the most annoying goal clearly came on 21 minutes: Swiss were given a freekick about 25 metres from goal, and instead of floating the ball into the box, we decided to play it short, only to lose it - and the ball is in the back of the net 10 seconds later. On 30 minutes frustration pure: Mostafa was mowed down from behind for a freekick (and no yellow card). Predictably, Mostafa was excited and felt that injustice was done. And 5 seconds later he himself lashed out at the German player and now the card came out. Red. The kick can be seen as a red-card offence, but if the referee had shown the German player the yellow card (which was not really debatable, it was crystal clear), then Mostafa would have felt that justice was done - and Swiss FC could have played with 11 players. Interestingly, it was from this moment on that Swiss FC raised their game. No further damage until half-time. The coach raised his voice and challenged the players to show some pride. And that's what they did. Incredibly, for the next 20 minutes Swiss FC were the better side, and suddenly created chances. First it was Andrew who came close, then Paul hit the post and Andrew's follow-up ended up in the arms of Thommy. But that was some very good football played by the Swiss. The Germans scored a bit against the run of play at that point on 65 minutes and 2 goals in the last 4 minutes for a 6:0 scoreline. Once again, we had good spells during the game, but we can't put it together for 90 minutes. That is something we have to work on in January. We had again 7 players aged 17 or younger in the squad, and the commitment of the boys is superb. It's tough to get beaten every Saturday, but they come back again next week. I hope that they learn a lot in the process, and that they all become better players. They deserve it. The results surely hurt, but I can't fault the current bunch of players for lack of commitment. We will be in the transfer market over Christmas and look forward to the second half of the season. A big thank you to the committee and the officials for running the league so smoothly. Great job!

• Thomas Suess --
• Victor Walz --
• Arnaud Houles --
• Thommy Lim --
• Benny Sattelmaier --
• Jan Wiechmann --
• Florian Gädke --
• Bastian Wolff --
• Teo Premto --
• Bastian Keller --
• Phillip Von Pein --

• Daniel Grueber DF
• Marius Teich DF
• Martin Hadrian --
• Fumiaki OGURO --
• Mauricio Roa --

White Xmas

The much anticipated derby was finally upon us and the team was more than eager to treat itself early for Christmas in an encounter that had so many legendary moments in the last decade. Despite a very solid and attacking minded GAS first 11 and the odds seemingly in favour of us, we knew we had to give it a 100% as lack of concentration or physical presence cost us dearly this season on a number of occasions. We started well with good passing and intensity and a few minutes into the game, our superb midfield of Jan and Basti W. sliced open the Swiss defence only for Betze Basti to finish it off with utter coolness. We kept pushing forward, attacking early and after an inch perfect cross into the box, Benny rose above the rest and fearlessly nodded in the ball from close range, giving the much needed comfort to Benny Junior on the bench. We pledged not to sit back and lose our intensity, but once again, this is exactly what happened. Our passing deteriorated, aggressiveness in the 1-on-1s faded and Swiss started to gain momentum. A little against the run of play, a long diagonal pass from GAS, and Mr Süss, who recently suffered a significant drop in market value on Transfermarkt.de, looked up, seemingly uninterested, finally decided to run for it and with minimum effort, he lobbed the ball from 30 metres above the keeper in a Zlatanesque fashion, restoring his market value back to 325k Euro. After a silly retaliation foul by the sound Swiss midfielder, the game appeared pretty much over, however, Swiss showed great morale and unleashed a few counter attacks that could and should have resulted in at least a consolation goal. For some reason, Swiss played better with 10 men and with more intensity and control in midfield, however, the final pass or shot was lacking and GAS continued to be somehow solid, yet unimpressive. At half time, captain Basti Wolf returned himself to the front line as he was still hungry for goals. 2nd half and Germans decided to sit back and after a beautiful through-ball to Betzebub, our German Shaqiri unselfishly squared it passed the keeper to Daniel, who finished his run with a simple tap-in. On a side note, both 2nd half additions Daniel and Mauricio deserve special mention, as they clearly showed intent and some excellent runs on the wings. Swiss now understandably exhausted but never giving up, special credit to their young and bright midfield as well as left winger who challenged our defence more than we had hoped for. Especially after Betze Basti left the pitch for yet another pulled muscle, GAS showed little aggressiveness, except for Basti W., who stepped up a gear and finished off two beautiful attacks in his typical fashion in the dying minutes of the game. 6:0, a solid performance throughout the team although at times we were slacking and far too passive, with a lot more high balls than necessary. If we can keep up our aggressiveness and focus for 90 minutes, we should continue to climb up the table after the xmas break. Credit to Swiss, who never let their heads down and their young players can only be applauded for what seemed to be a slightly uneven contest, especially from a physical perspective. A few more workouts in the gym and lotsa xmas Turkey should do the job. MOM to the Swiss keeper, who stood his ground well and fought till the end with cramping legs. GAS MOM to Basti Wolf, as he clearly showed what leadership means and he gave it all till the last minute while some of his team mates were already eying the beer box. Great finish to the end of the year and let’s keep up the positive momentum for a successful 2018! Phrase of the Day: "Isch habbs mer net raus g'suchd en Pälzer zu soi! Isch habb äfach brudaal Gligg ghabbd!"