FC Zurich have had to deal with a summer of strife after losing their manager and top scorer.
The Swiss outfit are potential Europa League playoff opponents for Hearts after being paired with the Jambos in yesterday’s draw. Robbie Neilson's men await the outcome of the third qualifying round tie between Zurich and Northern Irish champions Linfield. The winners will host the capital club later this month before the return leg at Tynecastle for a place in the group stage of the competition.
The Gorgie boys have retained most of their main men after cruising to third place in the Scottish Premiership last season, while going all the way to the Scottish Cup final in a run that guaranteed them European group stage football until at least November. Craig Gordon, Craig Halkett, Stephen Kingsley, Barrie McKay, Michael Smith and Peter Haring all penned new deals, with only John Souttar opting to move on at the end of his contract, joining Rangers.
It’s a different story for Zurich, however. Winning the Swiss title meant previous boss Andre Breitenreiter was a man in demand. He was poached by Bundesliga outfit Hoffenheim in May. He was replaced by Franco Foda. The German left his role with the Austrian national team after failing to qualify for the 2022 World Cup. Foda was in the dugout as Scotland won 1-0 in Vienna last September thanks to a Lyndon Dykes penalty. He announced his resignation just before the Scots returned for a friendly in March.
Perhaps of more interest to Hearts fans is the sale of last season’s top scorer Assan Ceesay. The Gambian international struck 22 times in 35 appearances. He was second only to Young Boys’ Thomas Siebatcheu in the race for the Swiss Super League’s Golden Boot.
But his antics in front of goal meant interest was high. Ceesay opted to see out his contract with Zurich, and joined Serie A side Lecce on a free transfer this summer.
He’s one Neilson won’t have to worry about if Zurich progress to play Hearts. However, Swiss-Italian attacking midfielder Antonio Mascherano will be a threat. He plundered 17 goals from a deeper position and provided seven assists. Spanish midfielder Adrian Guerrero was another creative force, laying on 12 goals for his teammates.
To replace Ceesay, Zurich brought in Croatian forward Ivan Santini from Saudi Arabian outfit Al-Fateh. At 33, he’s no spring chicken but at 6 ‘2, will provide a physical presence to be reckoned with.
Zurich’s other addition at the top end of the pitch will be well known to Hearts fans. Donis Avdijaj was Daniel Stendel’s first signing of his ill-fated reign in January 2020. The former Schalke wonderkid arrived on loan and was confident of continuing his record of scoring in “every city” he’d played in. He departed the Scottish capital quietly after just three appearances without getting his name on the scoresheet.
Despite losing major influences in the dugout and on the pitch, Zurich are still their country’s league champions when all is said and done. They are heavy favourites to see off Linfield and the expectation is they’ll be the ones standing between Hearts and the lucrative group stage.
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