For the second time in a row, defensive player Junior Ligue is not in the FCZ squad. The question remains the same for the cantonal derby against Winterthur: What happened to the 20-year-old?
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- For the second time in a row, Junior Ligue is missing from the FCZ squad due to a disciplinary measure.
- "We have to win, but we also have a role model function. It's about the philosophy you have to stay true to. Junior has to learn that," says Ricardo Moniz
- The FCZ coach receives backing from blue Sport expert Alex Frei: "As I see it, Junior Ligue has displayed behavior that does not correspond to what Ricardo Moniz expects from a 20-year-old."
Just under a month ago, FCZ announced the multi-year contract extension with the talented player, who Ricardo Moniz converted from an attacking to a defensive player. Now, for the second time in a row, Junior Ligue is missing from the Zurich squad.
As in the home game against Lausanne, the reason for his absence in Winterthur is a disciplinary measure. "It's always a defeat for me first," coach Ricardo Moniz told blue Sport ahead of the game in Winterthur.
"We have to win, but we also have a role model function. It's about the philosophy that you have to stay true to. Junior has to learn that," Moniz emphasizes. The coach emphasizes that many scouts follow the young defensive player and that he is also called up for the U21 national team; he could learn from players like Steven Zuber to take on such a role model function. Moniz cannot yet say how long the suspension will last.
"After 20 games, you're not yet at Barcelona"
The FCZ coach receives support from blue Sport expert Alex Frei from the studio: "As I understand it, Junior Ligue has displayed behavior that does not correspond to what Ricardo Moniz expects from a 20-year-old." For a team like FCZ, which is double-staffed in every position, such a measure is simply too much to bear.
For Frei, it's not about an educational measure, but rather "that as a coach you have the responsibility to show a 20-year-old: After 20 games you're not yet at Barcelona, you need a bit more".
"Something more serious must have happened"
Such measures are nothing new at FCZ: "You have to get used to them at FCZ. Condé, Bajrami, Okita in and out, it's part of their strategy," says Admir Mehmedi in the blue Sport Studio.
"If someone comes on late, he's not in the squad for the next game, that's how I learned it. But something more serious must have happened in the player's behavior for him to be left out twice," continued the expert. "I don't know if we'll ever find out what happened."
We'll see if the Junior Ligue case continues in the next home game against FC Basel.
