FCL legend Zibung on his first year in the Bundesliga shark tank

David Zibung, have you got used to the black and white diamond on your chest by now?

Yes, very quickly indeed. But I've already been here for a year.

You wore the FC Luzern crest on your shirt for a quarter of a century. With 520 games, you are the record player for Central Switzerland and a living legend at Pilatus. What reputation have you built up at Borussia Mönchengladbach?

I can't say, you'd have to ask others. But the roles are not comparable. In Lucerne I was in the spotlight as a goalkeeper, here I'm more active in the background.

You are a licensed sports coordinator. What does this job title entail?

I'm the link between the team, the coaching team and the sporting management led by Managing Director Sport Roland Virkus.

What does your daily routine look like?

My day starts at eight o'clock in Roland Virkus' office with a meeting in which we discuss the previous day and plan everything to do with the licensed team until the coming weekend. After that, I take part in the coaches' meeting and training session before slipping back into the other role and coordinating a lot of things. I'm also involved in scouting meetings and transfer talks.

That sounds extensive and like long days.

It is. But if you have short days in football, you're probably not doing something quite right. The long days are the main reason why my family continues to live in Switzerland. I'm here on my own, I don't have to stress about going home because my wife and children are waiting. So it's not a problem that I work long hours. On the other hand, I'm really at home in Switzerland and not constantly on the phone when I have days off.

How difficult was it for you to move abroad? Not only did you leave the safe haven of Lake Lucerne, which had been your professional home for 25 years, but you also had to leave your family behind.

It was probably the most difficult decision of my life. I never planned to have a long-distance relationship with my wife and move away from my family. But in the football business, you can either keep everything comfortable and stay where you've created a garden. Or you can break away and look for a new challenge. I'm very grateful that my wife supported my decision - that was the prerequisite for me accepting the job in Gladbach.

You also held the same job in Lucerne for two years. Are there any differences in everyday life?

In terms of my work, there is a big difference. In Lucerne, I stood on the pitch in chino trousers and a polo shirt and watched training, whereas here I'm on the pitch in training gear. But I don't lead any exercises.

David Zibung (right) at training in January 2025 with striker Tim Kleindienst (left).

IMAGO/fohlenfoto

What are the biggest differences between FCL and Borussia Mönchengladbach?

Everything is much bigger here. We have many times as many employees. No matter in which department: there is more staff. In Lucerne, there were two employees who took care of social media, here there are twenty in corporate communications. In Switzerland, you play in front of 20,000 spectators in Basel and at YB, whereas here there are 50,000 every weekend. It's simply more and therefore more professional.

In Switzerland, people are always talking about the Bundesliga as a shark tank for the media. With a year's experience, is it really that bad?

As I said, everything is bigger here. Accordingly, there are also more media representatives. We're not talking about a daily newspaper, here the "Rheinische Post" alone has two journalists on site every day, plus "Kicker" and "Bild". The noise is louder, but I can't say whether it's a shark tank. I find the club relatively quiet because people talk to each other rather than about each other.

With the exception of Florian Neuhaus, who drunkenly revealed his salary to Gladbach fans at the Ballermann during the summer break and disparaged manager Roland Virkus.

We addressed this very clearly, sanctioned him and that was the end of the matter for us. Flo has been a fully-fledged member of the team again since the beginning of August ...

... which includes five Swiss players: you, coach Gerardo Seoane, assistant coach Patrick Schnarwiler, central defender Nico Elvedi and goalkeeper Jonas Omlin. There is also Haris Tabakovic, who also has a Swiss connection. Why are Swiss players so well suited to the Lower Rhine?

Because it's a family club with a lot of tradition, whose values are Swiss to a certain extent. Jörg Stiel was the can opener for the Swiss after the turn of the millennium, followed by Granit Xhaka, Yann Sommer, Denis Zakaria and Breel Embolo, national players who have left their mark on the club. Not forgetting Lucien Favre, who took over the team in the relegation battle and led them to the Champions League. That still resonates today.

At Gladbach for a long time: Nico Elvedi .

Imago

Borussia has been far removed from the top flight in the recent past. The team from the Lower Rhine degenerated into the gray mouse of the Bundesliga. They have finished the last four seasons in 10th place three times and 14th once. Where should the journey take them next season?

We can't define exact goals yet because the transfer phase is still in full swing - for us and for other clubs.

The first round of the DFB Cup is on Sunday. It's away to SVA Delmenhorst (5th division). As an active player, did you find such cup games annoying?

I always enjoyed playing in the first round of the Cup. They were real football festivals in the countryside. It's no different here. Even though we'll be playing in front of around 15,000 spectators in Oldenburg. Of course you can lose something. But we're going into the game with a different mindset and want to progress to the next round.

Gladbach won the last of their three cups in 1995. It's about time again ...

(laughs) I've learned something in my life as a footballer - and even more as a goalkeeper: the next step, the next action, is always the most important. There's no point in thinking too far ahead.

But you know how to win the Cup.

Fortunately, I was able to experience this on my last day as a player for FC Luzern. It was an incredible highlight to be able to end my career like that.

David Zibung won the Cup title with FC Luzern in his last game as a professional.

KEYSTONE

Your contract at Gladbach expires at the end of the season. So history could repeat itself - if they don't extend their contracts.

We haven't talked about the future yet. There is no need to make any adjustments to the contract after just one year. My focus is fully on the start of the season. Once again: thinking too far ahead is useless, because in football things usually turn out differently than you think.

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