The Lugano Chronicle
Squad23 Jul 2029
David Von Ballmoos breaks a bone — 79 days out
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 79 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Market23 Jul 2029
Only the photograph left for Vinicius Baiano
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Vinicius Baiano will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Lugano the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad23 Jul 2029
Mattia Zanotti stays put
“The easiest signature of my career.” Mattia Zanotti and Lugano agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Boardroom23 Jul 2029
Lugano to lose Vinicius Baiano for free
There is no worse way to lose a footballer. Vinicius Baiano has pre-agreed a move away, which means every appearance between now and June is made by a man the club can no longer sell, and somebody upstairs will be asked why the contract was allowed to get here.
Squad23 Jul 2029
Real improvement from Lewis Pirie at Lugano
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Lewis Pirie is 22, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
Squad23 Jul 2029
Tempers go at Lugano
David Von Ballmoos was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Boardroom23 Jul 2029
Graduation day at Lugano
13 boys move up, and somewhere in the building the people who coached them at twelve are quietly having the best morning of their working year. Nothing about this shows up in a result and it is why the academy exists.
Match21 Jul 2029
The goals have deserted Lugano
3 matches, no goals, and a training ground that has tried everything. It will end — droughts always do — but nobody at Lugano can tell you which week it ends in.
Match21 Jul 2029
Lugano come up short against Grasshopper
Grasshopper left with the points after a 0‑2 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
In brief
- Market Lugano promote Granit Shaqiri from within
- Market Lugano promote Haris Fassnacht from within
- Market Simon Widmer steps up from the Lugano academy