St. Gallen attacker Christian Witzig is one of the most attractive players in the Super League. Nevertheless, there is no danger of him taking off.
29.03.2025, 05:01
29.03.2025, 08:22
SDA
8 March 2025, 66 minutes into the home match against Grasshoppers, Christian Witzig scores a magnificent 3:1 after a beautiful combination from around 18 meters. He has already shone with dream goals in the Super League this season. In total, he has scored seven times and provided seven assists. Only three players have more scoring points than Witzig in the current championship - the clear number one is Xherdan Shaqiri with nine goals and twelve assists.
In the 2021/22 season, the 24-year-old Witzig still mainly played in the 1st Division Classic, the fourth-highest league in Swiss football. Nevertheless, he does not want to talk about a major development. "It went forward step by step," he says in an interview with the Keystone-SDA news agency. "That comes with the trust of the club. It means I can bring my qualities to the pitch. At the beginning, I still lacked a bit of light-heartedness."
Two-footed and dynamic
Witzig describes his unpredictability as his greatest strength. This is no coincidence. Even as a child, he would try things with the ball that others wouldn't do. In addition, his two-footedness was important to him and he is a strong runner. In an analysis of 30 different leagues worldwide carried out by SkillCorner, he came second in the "most dynamic midfielder" category behind Denmark's Oliver Sörensen. The measurement was based on who covered the most running meters at a speed of over 20 km/h.
Witzig attributes this to the fact that, as a professional, he has learned not to think only offensively. He now goes full throttle in both directions. "Then I'm a player who runs deep a lot, even if I don't receive the ball, and who does a lot of pressing," says Witzig, who says of himself that he is not naturally mega fast. "However, I always try to give 100 percent, even in training."
Making the most of a difficult season
He also made the most of the difficult 2021/22 season. Before the start of preparations for this season, he fell ill with mononucleosis. He caught coronavirus in January and injured his knee in March, which resulted in a two-month break. Witzig made a virtue of necessity and put on a lot of muscle mass. "I used to be very thin. You can still compensate for that in the youth ranks if you're better. But in the Super League, that's no longer possible," he says.
Witzig started playing football at the age of four. His first club was FC Tägerwilen, before he joined St. Gallen via FC Münchwilen and Wil in 2015. He dreamed of a professional career from an early age: "As a little boy, I told my three sisters that I would one day earn so much money that I would give them all a million or so. As you get older, it becomes more unrealistic again. It was an up and down."
His parents - he is the son of a pastor - always supported him in football, but it was just as important for them to have a plan B. It was therefore clear to Witzig that he would finish his four-year apprenticeship as a design engineer. He then attended a vocational baccalaureate school for another year. He is now a full-time professional, although he could definitely imagine studying at a distance. He lives in a shared flat with a good colleague from high school who is studying in St. Gallen. "It helps me to get away from football," says Witzig. He also enjoys going for walks on his own. Music also helps him to switch off.
Childhood dream come true
Thanks to his strong performances, he was called up for the national team for the first time last October and made his international debut in the home match against Denmark - he came on as a substitute in the 89th minute. This was a childhood dream come true for him. What made it even more special was that the match took place in St. Gallen.
"It couldn't have been better," says Witzig. He soaked up everything he could in this match. "It was exciting for me to be with such stars." Did he learn anything from Granit Xhaka? "I'm of the opinion that there's no point in copying anything. Every player has his qualities." However, he was impressed by Xhaka's aura and serenity.
Where does he still see the greatest potential for improvement? "I want to be more consistent. I certainly still have room for improvement in terms of passing accuracy. And that I'm more focused throughout the game, that I always do the simple things right." Witzig is aware of how fast-moving football is and therefore says: "I'm not imagining that things have been going so well recently."
In any case, one of the most important values for him is to stay grounded, to always know where you come from. "My upbringing has given me stability in life," says Witzig. His older sisters, who all work in social professions, have also had a strong influence on him.
If change, then well-considered
It is therefore no coincidence that the environment in which he works is very important to him. In Switzerland, no other club than St. Gallen comes into question for him. His contract with the eastern Swiss club runs until 2027. How strong is his dream of playing abroad? "Very much so. My goal has always been to play in a top 5 league. But a lot of things have to fall into place for that. It's not my intention to take too big a step for the sake of status. The most realistic option in the near future would probably be a move to the Bundesliga."
For now, however, his full focus is on St. Gallen. Their next opponents on Saturday are the defending champions Young Boys away from home. The team from eastern Switzerland are dependent on points to make it into the top six and thus qualify for the championship round. FCSG currently occupy 8th place in the table, three points behind sixth-placed FC Zurich. "At the moment, anyone can win against anyone," says Witzig. All the more important would be more beautiful goals from him.
