Grasshopper Club Zürich can reach the cup final on Saturday for the first time since 2013. In an interview with the Keystone-SDA news agency, Alain Sutter talks about the season so far.
18.04.2026, 05:01
18.04.2026, 08:37
SDA
Alain Sutter, a big weight must have been lifted from your heart after last Saturday's 2-0 win in the basement duel in Winterthur, which increased your lead over the bottom club in the table to eight points?
"Yes, because of the constellation before the game. We had a difficult dynamic, we were in a downward spiral, while Winterthur were in an upward spiral without having won all their games. Then we were playing away in a stadium where the fans were pushing. The pressure was high and you never know how the team will react to such conditions. That's why the relief was even greater. You could see that the team was still alive, that the players understood what was at stake and that they took responsibility. Football-wise, the performance wasn't brilliant, but that's normal. The players did what they needed to do at this stage, fought, played as a team and supported each other."
Before the game, you had chosen clear words and appealed to the players. How strong is the identity with a club today?
"I was often confronted with this question at St. Gallen, as I did a lot of loan transfers there. There are certainly exceptions, but everyone here identifies with the club, everyone is wholeheartedly involved and wants the team to stay up - even those who left in the summer. That was never the problem. Everyone pulls together and tries to do what is required. If everything goes well, that's enough. In our situation, however, it takes an extra effort from everyone. The players think they're giving 100 percent, but it's often only 80 or 90 percent. You have to push yourself to the limit, squeeze everything out of yourself to earn the momentum. Those few percent make the difference. They understood that against Winterthur."
Gerald Scheiblehner was signed last summer as a beacon of hope. He received a lot of goodwill for a long time, even though the team was always behind in the table. What was missing?
"Up until the winter, we were on schedule and everything went as we expected. After all, many new players had to be integrated and a new style of play had to be adapted. If you look at our season, there were three or four games that could have led to a flow. But instead of catching up with the midfield, we lost all these games. We weren't ready to win them yet. We never managed to be stable enough, there was too much volatility in the performances within the games, but also from game to game. We have to get that right if we want to play in this league and avoid relegation. We have to put in the performance we did against Winterthur for 90 minutes every week. That will be crucial. So far, the team has failed to prove that it can do that. Not much has been missing in various phases, but always something."
The team is very young. Are the fluctuating performances also due to inexperience?
"I don't think it can be reduced to one point, as there are many factors as to why things have gone this way so far. One decisive reason is certainly that we've practically never been able to play with the same team for two or three weeks. There were injuries, suspensions. As a result, nothing could ever really grow together, there was a lack of automatism and the naturalness that everyone knew exactly what the others were doing. Then many of the youngsters had never played at this level before. The fact that there is never just one reason, but many different pieces of the puzzle are crucial, is what makes the whole thing so difficult. Otherwise it would be relatively easy."
You praised Scheiblehner's work even after his dismissal. This must have been incredibly difficult for you?
"This step had nothing to do with his work. He was also very good with the players and our relationship was based on trust. That's why it made me sad and I found it particularly difficult to break the news to him. But at some point I just had the feeling that we needed a new impetus so that we could make a difference in our development. Whether it was the right thing or not, we'll see."
You have appointed the inexperienced Gernot Messner, previously coach of the U21 team, as Scheiblehner's successor. That is a courageous decision in the current situation. Why do you think he is the right man for the job?
"It's always about what you want to achieve. It wasn't all bad what was being done, so a 180-degree turnaround wasn't necessary, but it was about creating momentum without destroying everything that had already been built up. Gernot was very close to the first team and was present at a lot of training sessions. He knew the players, knew how they trained and played. So he was able to take a lot of what he had learned and then add his own ideas. He has also experienced a lot in his coaching career. Nevertheless, he brings a bit of freshness. That can be an advantage, that can be a disadvantage, in the end you don't know. I had the feeling that it was the only right constellation, because you need a certain sustainability to build something up. That's why firing the coach wasn't an issue for me for a long time."
But then the pressure was too much?
"No, no. I will never make decisions under pressure from inside or outside, but only those that I am convinced are right for the club. It's not about individuals, and it's not about pleasing anyone."
You said before the season that you don't want to be bored, you want to see attractive and dominant football.
"We're a long way from that. It would also be presumptuous of me to expect that at the very beginning of the project. At St. Gallen, we also needed time for it to take hold. It's a process. I've also always said that it will take three or four transfer periods until we have a group together that slowly but surely plays the kind of football we want."
The constant unrest at the club, such as the recent departure of Christoph Urech as Chief Business Officer, is also likely to be a problem in building something sustainable. He was a red rag with the fans.
"There are also many things at play here. The fact that there has never been peace and quiet until now also has to do with the sporting results. When success has been lacking for decades, it is clear that there is unrest. Then there have been changes of ownership. In recent years, everyone has never pulled in the same direction - this one against that one, that one against that one. That costs everyone here energy. However, you can only get to grips with that if you are successful in sporting terms. That's the only way to unite everyone, I'm aware of that."
Relegation is still a realistic scenario. Will the American investors remain with the club in the Challenge League? And what about you?
"Well, I can't speak for others. But I'm very confident that the owners will stay even if the club is relegated. We feel the long-term commitment. It's clear to me that I won't give up myself. I knew that this could be a possible scenario in a project like this. If I hadn't included this in my considerations before I started, then I would have misjudged the reality. That's why relegation would be a 'huge mess', but no reason to throw in the towel. However, we are far from resigning ourselves to our fate because we know what is at stake for the club as a whole. That's why it's important to focus on the present and do everything we can to stay in the league. That's hugely important for the overall project."
Finally, the game on Saturday. The team has a great opportunity to qualify for the cup final for the first time since 2013 against Stade Lausanne-Ouchy from the Challenge League. Is that a welcome change from everyday league life?
"No, because it's always the same: You go into a game wanting to win, whether that's in the league, in the cup quarter-final or in the semi-final, it doesn't change anything. The pressure is high because there's a lot at stake. As we're not brimming with confidence at the moment, it will be all the more hard work. We're up against a very good opponent who has already knocked out two teams from the Super League, and not by luck, but deservedly so. We have to at least match our performance against Winterthur if we want to stand a chance. Everyone has to be aware of that. We're looking forward to the game, it's a very good opportunity for us to achieve something big."
