Since May, Alain Sutter's world has once again revolved around two letters that once stood for success: GC. The head of sport is turning the club upside down - and turning his players into early risers.

As a player, he was considered to be a fine spirit, particularly sensitive and delicate. As head of sport, Alain Sutter has long since disproved this reputation. He worked at FC St.Gallen for six years - successfully, with empathy, but also with a firm hand when he felt it was necessary. Anyone who didn't want to go his way had to leave. Whether in the team or around it.

It was with this attitude that Sutter took up his post at GC in May, the fallen record champions who were not only fighting for their new stadium, but above all for one thing: sporting stability. Since Sutter arrived, hardly a stone has been left unturned. The coaching team has been completely changed, the squad has been revamped and the personnel off the pitch has also changed. For example, Sutter brought in former St.Gallen team manager Ramin Pandji as his deputy. He hired a sports psychologist and a naturopath who advises the players on nutritional issues. His son Taya has also joined the Hoppers' scouting team.

If you want Sutter, you get him - with all due consistency. The sporting director himself does not deny this, as he says in the football talk show Heimspiel on blue: "As far as the day-to-day business is concerned, it was clear from the outset that the owners of Los Angeles FC wanted someone who would take responsibility on the ground. And whoever does that also has to make decisions. That's exactly what I was looking for."

"In the end, someone has to decide"

Nevertheless, he emphasizes that he consults with the owners on issues such as the appointment of Gerald Scheiblehner as coach. "In any case, running a club is not a one-man show. It's always about a whole team embarking on a journey. But in the end, one person has to decide," says Sutter. And that is him on the GC campus.

For Sutter, May marked his return to the club whose colors he wore from 1985 to 1993 - under world-class coaches such as Ottmar Hitzfeld and Leo Beenhakker. What does the GC of the past have in common with the GC of today? Sutter laughs and says: "The name." Then he adds: "It's not about negating the past. It's also an asset. The history, the successes. That's great and should stay that way. But it shouldn't play a role in our day-to-day business."

Until the beginning of the noughties, GC was the posh club that could afford whatever it wanted. Times almost forgotten. Sutter says: "GC was able to attract the best Swiss players. And that's why we had incredible quality. We are a long way from that point economically. I also have to convey that to the outside world."

Sutter's order to the coach

The task is nevertheless appealing for Sutter, as he says. After taking office, he was asked several times why he was taking on the job, especially in his private life. "The simple reason is that I had very good discussions with the people in charge. Their strategy fits 1:1 with what I find exciting. It's about wanting to create something sustainable."

The players have to be on campus as early as 8 a.m. - and stay until 5 p.m. "I wanted the players to have a daily structure. I think it's wrong for the boys to come in at 10 a.m., train at half past 10 and then leave again at 1 p.m. to play games or do something else. We want to use the time to work with the boys and help them progress." He also told Gerald Scheiblehner this in the first meeting: "That was my brief to the new coach."

Scheiblehner should also cultivate a sustainable sporting style: "It is important that we have a clear identity and that all players know what they are getting into when they come to GC. You can only develop an identity in a football club through the way you play football," says Sutter. This also helps with scouting. Clear profiles help in the search. "Players then also gain a foothold more quickly."

Just don't get bored!

What Sutter says sounds like a plan, a strategy. But the 62-time international doesn't like to talk about visions. "Someone once said: if you have visions, you should take medication," he says and laughs. And: "Anyone who has followed my work in St.Gallen knows that I have a clear idea of football. It's always about the result, of course. But we are part of the entertainment industry."

It's also about bringing joy to the people who come to the stadium, Sutter emphasizes. "If there's nothing going on and it's all back-and-forth, I don't enjoy watching football either. And if I'm also responsible and go to the stadium, I don't want to be bored. Mistakes can always happen. But it's about high intensity." And he sees GC on a good path, even though the team is in the same position it finished in the last two years: the barrage place. "I'm confident because I can see how they're working."

Sutter's long-term goal? To get a strong team in the new stadium. "The stadium is hugely important in the overall context. As long as it's not in place, it's extremely difficult to budget sensibly. But we can't use the stadium as an excuse from a sporting point of view, we have to make sure that we're in a good position when the stadium is finished." Difficult enough.