FC Luzern is the team of the moment in Swiss football

Pascal Loretz actually wants to give an interview. But as we all know, festivals should be celebrated as they fall. And so Loretz, FC Luzern’s goalie, celebrates a bit. Just as the supporters behind him demanded.

FC Luzern has just defeated FC Basel 1-0, although actually they have rather beaten them down. He remains what he hasn’t been for 13 years: leader of the Super League. Things are correspondingly high after the game in the Lucerne stadium. Everything is dancing, everything is cheering, everything is jumping and jumping. From Loretz, the goalie, to Mario Frick, the coach.

FC Lucerne sends central Switzerland into a frenzy, 15,680 spectators stream into the stadium against FC Basel, sold out, for the first time in almost a year. After their recent victory in the Super League, the Central Swiss have been undefeated for seven matches and have won five of these games. They are currently the team of the moment in Swiss football.

A separate junior in each line

You didn’t see that coming because Lucerne lost their leader and best player in Ardon Jashari in the summer and had to cope with other important departures, such as Max Meyer, the German midfielder with the fine feet, or Martin Frydek, the experienced full-back .

Against FC Basel, Aleksandar Stankovic takes the position in front of the defense in Lucerne’s midfield. Stankovic, the loanee from Inter Milan, has a prominent father, Dejan, but he had no experience as a professional. He only turned 19 at the beginning of August. Before he came to Lucerne in the summer, he played in the Inter Milan youth team.

Stankovic is now taking on a responsible position in Lucerne’s midfield, and he is doing it with astonishing composure. Stankovic always demands the ball against Basel and he always shines with his passes. The Serb represents Lucerne’s courage to rely on young players, but he also represents an exception. Otherwise it is the local talents that shape the team.

Against FC Basel, after 78 minutes, Luca Jaquez climbed high into the air and headed in to make it 1-0. The goal had been announced beforehand; the locals had already besieged the Basler Tor for a few minutes. Then Jaquez scored. And secured FC Luzern’s leadership position.

So Jaquez, the 21-year-old defender who is making such rapid progress. And behind him Loretz, the safe goalie. And in front of him: Tyron Owusu, who always causes unrest in the Basel defense with his runs. And first and foremost: Lars Villiger, the angular striker who knows how to use his body so cleverly.

They all come from our own offspring, and there are a few more of them in the Lucerne squad. And they all embody the path that the people of Lucerne have taken in recent years and which has earned them the reputation as the best talent factory in the country. No other club gives its own young players so much playing time. FC Luzern has been leading the corresponding table for a long time.

Frick puts the brakes on euphoria

And now he is also the leader of the Super League. He probably won’t stay that way forever. But for the moment, the Lucerne team is a suitable leader for the Super League, 2024/25 edition, early stage. Things are getting tight in Swiss football right now because the Young Boys have said goodbye to their role as dominators. Behind them the field had been wide for a long time and the qualitative differences were small.

Lucerne is currently tied at the top with Lugano and Zurich; The lead over fifth-placed St. Gallen is only four points. You can find it any way you want, but it’s also entertaining. Qualities like those that the Lucerne team showcased against FC Basel now have particular weight. Team spirit. Discipline. fighting spirit. Concentration. Resilience too, as the Lucerne team showed in their 3-2 win in St. Gallen last weekend. They were 0-2 behind. And turned the game around. It wasn’t Lucerne’s first comeback of the season.

Even against Basel, Lucerne just didn’t let up, hit corner after corner – and finally scored with the twelfth attempt. Afterwards, the people of Lucerne cheered so exuberantly that coach Frick later felt compelled to address the euphoria. You are at the highest limit, says the Liechtensteiner. But outside, in the stadium, nobody wants to hear that.

Super League. Saturday: Servette – Lausanne-Sport 1:0 (1:0). Yverdon – St. Gallen 1:0 (0:0). Young Boys – Grasshoppers 0:1 (0:1). – Sunday: Zurich – Sion 1:0 (1:0). Lugano – Winterthur 2:1 (0:0). Lucerne – Basel 1:0 (0:0). – Ranking: 1. Lucerne 8/17. 1. Zurich 8/17. 3. Lugano 8/17. 4. Servette 8/16. 5. St. Gallen 8/13. 6. Customs 8/11. 7. Basel 8/10. 8. Grasshoppers 8/8. 9. Yverdon 8/8. 10. Lausanne Sport 8/7. 11. Young Boys 8/6. 12. Winterthur 8/4.