In my coaching career so far I have had the privilege of working with a great many footballing talents. It is all the more rewarding to see that some of the players I discovered or developed went on to make their breakthrough internationally, while others celebrated their first title under my leadership. Others again began their first adventure in European competition with me.
Take the Swiss international Denis Zakaria (Borussia Mönchengladbach), who at the age of 18 made his debut under my leadership at BSC Young Boys in Champions League qualifying and in the Super League. Or Roman Bürki (Borussia Dortmund), who won his first national title with the Swiss Cup during my first spell as coach of Grasshopper Club Zürich. Or Moussa Koné (Nîmes Olympique), who scored his first goals in the Europa League.
Developing young players has always been an essential part of my work. Whatever club I was at, bringing on the club’s own young talents was a daily topic among the coaching staff. For the 2012/13 season the Swiss Football League introduced a rating system for youth development: the U21 Trophy. The team that fielded the most under-21 players was rewarded with a title at the end of the season. I was fortunate enough to win the U21 Trophy twice: in the 2012/13 season with Grasshopper Club Zürich and in the 2014/15 season with BSC Young Boys.
In both seasons we had the youngest team on the pitch: in 2012/13 when we won the Swiss Cup and finished runners-up with Grasshopper Club Zürich, and in 2014/15 again as runners-up and in the round of 32 of the Europa League with BSC Young Boys.
