The mood at Grasshopper has turned into something else
Supporters who sing when it goes badly are supporters. Supporters who gather afterwards are a problem, and everybody inside the building knows which of the two this now is.
Nikolas Muci 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Allan Arigoni was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Grasshopper, and 12 appearances in 44 say he has earned the hearing.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Grasshopper know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Nikolas Muci 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.
Squad17 Apr 2028
Words at Grasshopper training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Allan Arigoni is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
“Some mornings you wake up and you are still a long way from everything you know.” It is not the football and it never was; Grasshopper are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
He asked about his future and was given an answer with minutes in it. The manager has now made a promise in a building where promises are remembered, and the clock on it has started.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Grasshopper, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Day 41 of the vacancy. Candidates have been priced, sounded out and quietly ruled out — and the caretaker’s win ratio is becoming an argument all by itself.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Allan Arigoni was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
7 new signings in one window. Every one may be an upgrade and the side can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild the verdicts never mention.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Julian von Moos signs something — a contract at Grasshopper or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
Simone Stroscio has done the arithmetic and does not like the answer. Nothing corrodes a squad faster, and no club has ever solved it by explaining the wage structure to a footballer.
The words a physio says slowly. 17 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Grasshopper this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“I have given this everything, but my family is not here and neither am I, not really.” A footballer can be coached out of bad form. Nobody has ever been coached out of this, and Grasshopper know it.
“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Lee Young-Jun has his answer from Grasshopper; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
A bad atmosphere can be waited out. A group of people meeting afterwards to decide what to do about it cannot, and everybody in the building knows which stage this is.
24 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Grasshopper lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Nikolas Muci 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.
“I did not go to Étoile Carouge to sit and watch. I want to come back to Grasshopper and fight for my place.” 12 appearances in 36 matches say the rest.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Hugo Benítez was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Grasshopper know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Simone Stroscio trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
The offer from Luzern for Simone Stroscio 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.
The general version of this complaint is that a player wants more. The specific version names the thing: he wants to walk out under floodlights against clubs from other countries, and he has stopped pretending otherwise.
Nikolas Muci 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.
Grasshopper asked and Olympique Lyonnais said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Squad24 Jan 2028
Words at Grasshopper training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Allan Arigoni is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
“I did not go to Stade Lausanne-Ouchy to sit and watch. I want to come back to Grasshopper and fight for my place.” 4 appearances in 28 matches say the rest.
The deal with Winterthur is done in every sense but the one that puts him on the pitch. Nothing goes wrong at this stage, except on the occasions when it does.
He left as a boy and has come back still knowing where the away end is. Most signings have to be explained to a town; this one needed a photograph and nothing else.
The phone has started ringing about Simone Stroscio again, and this time the name on the line is Luzern. Grasshopper are listening politely and promising nothing.
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.
Squad17 Jan 2028
Tobias Müller falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
He is not being dropped. There is simply nowhere in the formation Grasshopper are playing to put a man who does what he does, which is a harder thing to be told than any team sheet.
Squad17 Jan 2028
7 new faces, and Grasshopper are still learning each other
A squad rebuilt inside one window pays for it in a currency nobody budgets for. The football is not worse than the sum of the players; it is worse than the sum of the players who have played together before.
Words at Grasshopper training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Tobias Müller is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Anderson Rodríguez and Grasshopper agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Julius Berthel Askou 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.
He is not being dropped. There is simply nowhere in the formation Grasshopper are playing to put a man who does what he does, which is a harder thing to be told than any team sheet.
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Grasshopper, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Grasshopper know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
A bad atmosphere can be waited out. A group of people meeting afterwards to decide what to do about it cannot, and everybody in the building knows which stage this is.
Alexandros Katranis 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.
Basel left with the points after a 0‑1 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Squad8 Nov 2027
Tobias Müller falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Cedric Gavranovic after 0‑1, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Tobias Müller was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“I watch every Grasshopper game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Stade Lausanne-Ouchy runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
A month is long enough that nobody gets in by accident. Mihajlo Ilić is in the division's best eleven for it, which is a quieter compliment than an award and a more reliable one.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Tobias Müller trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
In brief
The dugoutThe manager’s verdict
The dugoutThe plan did not have a place for Tobias Müller
The dugoutSimone Stroscio has become a man the manager trusts
Grasshopper and Sporting Cristal have settled on $7.1M. The rest belongs to the player and his agent, and a supporter who has watched one of these before knows not to buy the shirt yet.
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Grasshopper, and it is not being withdrawn.
Grasshopper ran out of time with Stripfing. The paperwork was open when the deadline passed, and a transfer that was almost done is now a transfer that never happened.
Boardroom6 Sep 2027
Grasshopper close the window on a squad of their own making
12 in and 15 out, and no more changes for months. The manager has what he has, the supporters have their opinion of it, and the table will have the last word.
Nikolas Muci and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad6 Sep 2027
Tobias Müller falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
“I did not go to Stade Lausanne-Ouchy to sit and watch. I want to come back to Grasshopper and fight for my place.” 2 appearances in 8 matches say the rest.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Grasshopper have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Grasshopper have done the hard part with Aarau, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
The clubs had agreed and the player had not. A snub, and a public one: Red Bull Salzburg keep him, and the supporters here are left wondering what he had heard about the place.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Tobias Müller was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Grasshopper asked and Bohemians 1905 said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
The phone has started ringing about Bujar Pllana again, and this time the name on the line is Basel. Grasshopper are listening politely and promising nothing.
A bad atmosphere can be waited out. A group of people meeting afterwards to decide what to do about it cannot, and everybody in the building knows which stage this is.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Grasshopper this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad24 May 2027
Words at Grasshopper training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Tobias Müller is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at Grasshopper. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.
Words at Grasshopper training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Tobias Müller is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Grasshopper, and 11 appearances in 33 say he has earned the hearing.
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Justin Hammel is on it.
Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at Grasshopper. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Grasshopper this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad22 Feb 2027
Words at Grasshopper training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Tobias Müller is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Justin Hammel is on it.
A conversation in the manager’s office, and a commitment that came out of it. Promises like that are cheap to make and expensive to break, and Mergim Qarri has written the date down.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Grasshopper, and both men came out saying it was fine.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Grasshopper have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Nikolas Muci 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.
Squad8 Feb 2027
Words at Grasshopper training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Tobias Müller is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Genoa have kept their man, and Grasshopper go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
He trains hard, says the right things and goes home to an empty flat. Nobody at Grasshopper has done anything wrong, which is exactly what makes it so difficult to fix.
Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at Grasshopper. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.
“I will play as long as the body lets me and stop the day it does not.” He is 36, with 428 appearances behind him, and the club has to plan for a decision that is not yet made.
In brief
MarketThe window shut and Amir Abrashi is still in the building
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Grasshopper have lost him in all but the paperwork.
The clubs had agreed and the player had not. A snub, and a public one: Spezia keep him, and the supporters here are left wondering what he had heard about the place.
Squad11 Jan 2027
Tobias Müller falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Grasshopper asked and Genoa said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Simone Stroscio 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.
He is not being dropped. There is simply nowhere in the formation Grasshopper are playing to put a man who does what he does, which is a harder thing to be told than any team sheet.
Nikolas Muci 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.
Squad16 Nov 2026
Tobias Müller falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
The team at the top of the table next, and the honest measure of where this side actually is. Anybody can beat the club below them; the question is what happens against Young Boys.
He asked about his future and was given an answer with minutes in it. The manager has now made a promise in a building where promises are remembered, and the clock on it has started.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Simone Stroscio trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Words at Grasshopper training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Tobias Müller is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
A point taken on 90 minutes is worth exactly one point and considerably more than that to a dressing room. This side does not stop, which is a reputation worth more than the result.
The manager has re-ordered his thinking and Julian von Moos has come out of it lower. He will be told it is temporary, and the players who have heard that before will avoid his eye.
“I have given this everything, but my family is not here and neither am I, not really.” A footballer can be coached out of bad form. Nobody has ever been coached out of this, and Grasshopper know it.
“A point is a point and I will take it, but we should have had all three.” Steven Comert after the 1‑1 draw, and the sentence every manager in the country said at some stage this weekend.
There is no complaint available here and everybody involved knows it, which does not make the walk to the bench any shorter. Form is the only currency in football that cannot be borrowed against.
A mark of 7.97 means one thing beside a twenty-nine-year-old's name and something else entirely beside a 18-year-old's. Nobody at the ground needed telling which this was.
6 saves, and a scoreline the ten men in front of him had no right to. Goalkeepers only get noticed on the bad days; this was one of the other ones.
Squad31 Aug 2026
Tobias Müller falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. CSKA Moscow have kept their man, and Grasshopper go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 23-year-old it feels ownership of. Hassane Imourane has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.
Player ratings31 Aug 2026
Abdoulaye Diaby was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.10. There are performances a supporter describes to somebody who was not there and cannot quite convey; this was one, and the number does not help either.
SV Elversberg have been asked whether they would lend him. Loans are agreed quickly or not at all, and this one will be one or the other by the weekend.