The Zurich derby between Grasshoppers and FC Zurich is coming up on Sunday. In an interview with blue Sport, GC coach Tomas Oral explains what he expects from the game and why the Hoppers are difficult to beat.
No time? blue News summarizes for you
- The 289th derby between FC Zurich and Grasshopper Club Zurich takes place on Sunday.
- Since Tomas Oral took over as GC coach, the record champions have been almost unbeatable - but the Cup round of 16 against FCZ was one of the few GC defeats.
- In an interview with blue Sport, Oral says: "In the previous derbies, we were on an equal footing, it will be very interesting again."
Since Tomas Oral took over as coach at Grasshoppers in November, the Zurich club have been almost unbeatable in the Super League. GC have only lost twice in 14 games. That's how it sounds if you interpret the statistics positively. The other side of the coin: GC have only won three of these 14 games. In an interview with blue Sport, Oral commented on his record: "Of course, you always have a personal goal, so if you only have three wins, you're naturally dissatisfied."
Oral, however, states that you have to look at the big picture: "When I think about how we found the team, what the situation in the table was like before that and what the results were like before that - then I believe that we have already achieved good stability." On the one hand, certain cogs don't mesh 100 percent properly when you always play to a draw: "But it also shows how incredibly difficult we are to beat," said Oral.
The big mortgage
Although GC are hard to beat, the Hoppers are in the midst of a relegation battle and are currently in a barrage position. How calm are things at the club? "I'm ignoring everything, I don't know what's going to get turbulent that was already very, very turbulent before," Oral waves it off and explains: "I think we already took on a heavy mortgage when we arrived in November." You can't make up for all that at the push of a button: "It was clear to me that it would be a pure relegation battle."
For GC, the derby against FC Zurich continues on Sunday. After a 1:1 in the league and a 0:1 defeat in the cup, this will be Oral's third clash against the city rivals: "We were on an equal footing in both games, so it will be very interesting again."
The Cup round of 16 exit was particularly difficult for GC to digest due to a controversial VAR decision. There was no anger in their stomachs about it, but they were naturally hot. However, Oral still can't understand the decision at the time to take back a GC goal: "If you have to watch a decision for 10 minutes, then something is wrong." If you look for a fly in the ointment somewhere, you'll find it. But the fact is that they dealt with it very well.
We'll find out on Sunday at 4pm whether GC can take revenge, remain hard to beat and secure an important victory in the basement of the table. Like all Super League matches, the 289th Zurich derby can be watched live on blue Sport.
