EV Zug has made a miserable start to the new year with five defeats. Michael Liniger's team lacks consistency. In the midst of the crisis, they are trying to regain their footing on the European stage.
13.01.2026, 04:30
13.01.2026, 07:21
SDA
EV Zug is in the semi-finals of the Champions Hockey League for the second time since the 2022/23 season. On Tuesday, the team from central Switzerland will host Swedish champions Lulea in the first leg and want to put themselves in a good starting position ahead of the second leg in the far north. In sporting terms, the duel is also a clash between two teams that have impressed internationally but have fallen far short of their own standards in the domestic championship.
EVZ's path to the last four was anything but a matter of course. In the quarter-finals, Zug escaped a clash with a Swedish team, which in hindsight turned out to be a stroke of luck. Michael Liniger's team also had their fair share of trouble with Lukko Rauma and had to respond to a 3:1 defeat in Finland with a 3:0 win in the second leg. But in the three other quarter-final duels, the Swedish superiority prevailed impressively. With Lulea, Brynäs and Frölunda, only teams from the SHL made it to the semi-finals.
While Lulea has moved closer to the top 6 in the SHL in seventh place after two recent wins, EVZ is stuck in a crisis in the National League. Zug currently only occupy 8th place and are already eight points behind a direct play-off place. The start to the new year has been a complete failure. The team suffered five defeats in five games, with a goal difference of 5:19. The 7:0 defeat in Lausanne at the start of the year in particular left its mark, and the team was unable to turn things around after that.
Consistency remains the big problem
The lack of consistency remains a key problem. This season, the EVZ has never managed to string together more than two wins in the National League. New problems emerge from game to game. Sometimes the defense isn't right, sometimes the offense lacks punch. Head coach Michael Liniger speaks openly of a frustrating situation because everything rarely works at the same time. "It's very frustrating that we can't get everything together."
The situation was recently made worse by the fact that the offensive key players, of all people, failed to get going. Dominik Kubalik and Tomas Tatar were largely ineffective in the first five games of the year and were only involved in a single Zug goal. Zug's captain Jan Kovar spoke of a mental problem on Saturday after the fifth defeat in a row (2:3 n.V. against the ZSC Lions). His self-confidence had suffered and his decisions with the puck were too slow. At the same time, the Czech made it clear that the team stands behind the coach and has to take responsibility.
The situation is particularly challenging for Michael Liniger. The 46-year-old is the head coach in the top Swiss league for the first time and took over from two-time Zug champion coach Dan Tangnes this season after two years as an assistant. Liniger will not accept any excuses: "We don't have to look for excuses, but for solutions. The situation is what it is. We have to come to terms with it and find ways to deal with it."
Bright spot with a heavy workload
The semi-final in the Champions Hockey League comes at just the right time. A different competition, a new opponent, a new starting position. Internationally, the EVZ has shown a much more stable face so far. With strong performances, the Zug team secured a place in the last four in Europe. Lulea can also look back on a successful history in the European club competition. The team from the north of Sweden won the first edition in 2014/15 (with Swiss national defender Dean Kukan) and has since reached the semi-finals three more times.
However, the European heights are also an additional burden for EVZ. The program is extremely tight. In January alone, the team from Central Switzerland has 15 games to play, and this week there are four games within five days. On top of that, there are major absences such as that of veteran Raphael Diaz, whose return after a vestibular organ injury suffered at the end of September is still open, or offensive artist Lino Martschini, whose season has come to an early end after tearing his cruciate ligament. The coming weeks will therefore be a physical and mental test.
Nevertheless, the Zug team has a special sporting opportunity. They could become the third Swiss club after Genève-Servette and the ZSC Lions to reach the final of the Champions Hockey League. However, the prospect of playing the final in front of a home crowd, like the victorious Geneva (2024) and Zurich (2025), is now only theoretical. This makes it all the more important to create a starting position in their own arena on Tuesday that nurtures hope. In a season full of contradictions, the Champions Hockey League is both a ray of hope and a burden for the EVZ.
