The Lugano Chronicle
Transfer targets10 Aug 2026
No deal for Morgan Vilakazi at that price
Lugano offered $12.5M; SuperSport United said it was not close. The manager will be told the money is still there for the right player, which is what managers are told.
Market10 Aug 2026
Lugano say no — this time
The offer from Sion for Yanis Cimignani was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.
Transfer targets10 Aug 2026
Luzern tell Lugano: Pius Dorn is not for sale
The approach was made and the answer came back in a sentence. There is no number on the table because there was no number that would have been enough.
Player ratings10 Aug 2026
Anto Grgic goes up and wins it — 7.65
A defender on the scoresheet, which happens rarely enough that everybody in the ground remembers who took the corner. 1 for him, and a mark of 7.65 for the rest of it.
Transfer targets10 Aug 2026
Medical ends the Markus Schubert deal
Everything was agreed with another club and then the doctor spoke. Lugano have walked away from a signing on the advice of somebody who never saw him play, which is how it is supposed to work.
Squad10 Aug 2026
Mattia Zanotti signs a new deal
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Mattia Zanotti commits to Lugano for another 5 years.
Squad10 Aug 2026
Words exchanged at Lugano
Mattia Zanotti and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Market10 Aug 2026
One of our own: Loris Freuler joins the Lugano first team
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Loris Freuler is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
Market10 Aug 2026
Lugano promote Kevin Shaqiri from within
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Kevin Shaqiri has come through every age group the club runs and has now been handed a senior number, and the people who coached him at twelve will be the proudest in the building.
In brief
- Market Lugano promote Nico Aebischer from within
- Squad Anto Grgic reaches 50 goals
- The dugout No hiding place for David Von Ballmoos