Championship poll among Nati legends "My gut feeling says FC Basel will be champions"
Ahead of the Super League season opener, former Nati stars such as Mehmedi, Dzemaili, Benaglio, Egli, Frei and Hottiger venture a championship tip for blue Sport. Small spoiler: Nobody is betting on FCZ, Sion and St. Gallen.
No time? blue News summarizes for you
- The Super League kicks off the second half of the season today, Saturday. Nine teams still have a chance of winning the league title.
- Before the restart, blue Sport spoke to former Nati stars such as Admir Mehmedi, Blerim Dzemaili, Diego Benaglio and Alex Frei and asked them the championship question.
- blue Sport broadcasts all Super League matches live.
Who will be Swiss champion? Actually a simple question, but more difficult than ever before. Because the Super League has never been as exciting at the start of the year as it is now. With 15 rounds to go before the standings are divided, 9 teams still have hopes of winning the championship. blue Sport spoke to former Nati stars at the Snow World Championships in Arosa during the week.
It's fair to say: Our league is so evenly balanced that not even our football heroes of yesteryear are unanimous in their predictions. FC Lugano received the most votes in the ultra-thrilling championship race. Admir Mehmedi and Blerim Dzemaili back the Ticino side. Mehmedi, on his comeback in the Swiss national team kit with the old stars, says that he is now a better pundit than a footballer and had already committed himself to Lugano early on in the season. "They play refreshing, good football there, with a clear plan." Dzemaili says: "Lugano is the best team."
Alex Frei: "YB is one hundred percent on the way up"
The top scorer in the national team, Alex Frei, also mentions the Ticino side first, but then throws other clubs into the pot of the hottest contenders. Including the champions from Bern, who are currently in 9th place. "YB will be one hundred percent up there, Basel will be in contention for the title for a long time and I see FC Luzern as a surprise."
For former Nati defender Pascal Thüler, the Bernese are still the favorites despite a weak 2024. "My money is on YB." He cites new YB coach Giorgio Contini as the main reason. The two have been friends since their time together at FC St. Gallen and meet up regularly. He is convinced that his buddy will turn the right screws.
Egli tips Servette, Hottiger Lausanne
Andy Egli is betting on Servette as Swiss champions. "I'm emotionally attached and I'm calling Servette." Egli ended his active career with the Grenats in 1994.
Marc Hottiger, one of our 1994 World Cup heroes, also predicts that the title will go to French-speaking Switzerland. "My money is on Lausanne. They have a great spirit and play good football." Is that a heart tip or also with brains? "Both. Heart, because I'm from Lausanne. Head, because they have the quality."
Benaglio: "FCB have zero pressure and the necessary quality"
Long-serving national team goalkeeper Diego Benaglio sees FC Basel coming out on top. "My gut feeling tells me that FCB will win the race. They have zero pressure this season and the necessary quality."
Markus Babbel, coach of the German national snow World Cup team, also knows the Super League inside out. That's why he's also getting out on the branches and tipping for blue Sport. "There are a few candidates in the draw, but my tip is Lugano," says the former FC Luzern coach.
Of the current top nine in the league, only FC Zurich, Sion and FC St. Gallen are not mentioned as championship tips by any of the experts.
Babbel predicts Winterthur to be relegated
In the relegation battle, the predictions are less varied. Somehow logical, too, when nine teams are involved in the title fight. For Mehmedi, the relegated team is Yverdon, Alex Frei says: "GC or Yverdon." For Thüler, who once also played for GC, it's FC Winterthur. Babbel is also firm: "I assume it will be Winterthur."
