Marked for Leon Schaffran
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market16 Nov 2026
“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 The request is on a desk at Vaduz, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad16 Nov 2026
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 6 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.
Squad16 Nov 2026
Words exchanged at Vaduz
Ayo Akinola 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
A row about effort at Vaduz
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Luca Mack was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout16 Nov 2026
The manager makes an example of Dejan Djokic
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Match14 Nov 2026
Vaduz come up short against Lugano
Lugano left with the points after a 0‑1 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
The dugout16 Nov 2026
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Noah Widmer after 0‑1, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
The dugout16 Nov 2026
Nicolas Hasler dropped after a run of poor form
The one version of being left out a player cannot argue with, and the one he takes worst. Somebody else has been better and the team sheet says so, in public, every week until it changes.
The dugout16 Nov 2026
Nobody will confirm this and nothing else explains the last month of selections. A costly error buys a player a period of being second choice that is always longer than the error was.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match7 Nov 2026
3‑0, and the margin flattered nobody — it could have carried another goal or two without complaint. Afternoons like this are why people keep coming.
Player ratings9 Nov 2026
No sign of nerves from Leart Kabashi at 18 — 7.86
The hardest thing about being 18 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Leart Kabashi did not need any: 7.86, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
Squad9 Nov 2026
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 6 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.
Squad9 Nov 2026
A falling-out at Vaduz
Ayo Akinola and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad9 Nov 2026
A row about effort at Vaduz
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Denis Simani was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The terraces9 Nov 2026
At 18 he is being sung about by people twice his age, which is an affection a signing has to earn over years and a local kid gets for turning up. It is also the hardest thing in football to live up to.
Player ratings9 Nov 2026
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.67, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Player ratings9 Nov 2026
Marked 8.62 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
The dugout9 Nov 2026
Dejan Djokic left out for the big one
A player who expected to start watched it instead. The manager will call it a decision for the team; Dejan Djokic will call it something else in private.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad26 Oct 2026
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 9 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Market26 Oct 2026
Mischa Beeli hands in a written request
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Vaduz can pretend not to have heard.
Squad26 Oct 2026
Tempers go at Vaduz
Ayo Akinola 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.
Squad26 Oct 2026
A row about effort at Vaduz
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Luca Mack was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Match24 Oct 2026
Thun take the points off Vaduz
Beaten 1‑2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Squad26 Oct 2026
200 games in these colours. Service of that kind gets rarer every season, and the crowd knows it.
Looking ahead26 Oct 2026
Vaduz face Zurich in the game that matters most
Two sides from the bottom of the table, three points, and an afternoon that will be described afterwards as a relegation decider by whoever loses it.
The dugout26 Oct 2026
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Noah Widmer after 1‑2, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
The dugout26 Oct 2026
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market19 Oct 2026
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Vaduz can pretend not to have heard.
Player ratings19 Oct 2026
2 goals, and the second was the one that settled it. Marked 8.80, and he could have had a third with better luck at the near post.
Squad19 Oct 2026
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 6 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.
Squad19 Oct 2026
A row about effort at Vaduz
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Denis Simani was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Match17 Oct 2026
Three points for Vaduz, 2‑1 the final word against Basel in a contest settled by the finer margins.
Squad19 Oct 2026
Words exchanged at Vaduz
Marco Medel 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.
The dugout19 Oct 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Mats Hammerich, and the manager let it.
Player ratings19 Oct 2026
Successful dribbles: 15. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
The dugout19 Oct 2026
“We earned that. I asked them for a reaction and I got one, and now I want the same again on Saturday.” Noah Widmer on a 2‑1 afternoon that pleased him more than he was prepared to show.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad5 Oct 2026
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 15 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Match5 Oct 2026
Every point is an argument now for Vaduz
Position 10 and 6 points, and the table gets read bottom-up in this part of town. The calendar has stopped being a schedule and started being a countdown.
Squad5 Oct 2026
Ayo Akinola in a row with a teammate
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Vaduz this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad5 Oct 2026
Luca Mack 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.
Player ratings5 Oct 2026
Brian Beyer was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.11. 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.
Looking ahead5 Oct 2026
A six-pointer for Vaduz
Luzern next, and both sides can do the sum. Win and the table looks different; lose and it looks the way everybody has been fearing.
The dugout5 Oct 2026
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Match3 Oct 2026
A 1‑1 draw with St. Gallen leaves the dressing room somewhere between relief and regret.
Market5 Oct 2026
“There is a gap, and pretending there is not helps nobody.” Neither side has moved, and the calendar is working for exactly one of them.
In brief
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The dugout
The manager’s verdict
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The dugout
The form table has caught Nicolas Hasler
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The dugout
Alessio Hasler is still being punished for one mistake
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Player ratings28 Sep 2026
2 goals, and the second was the one that settled it. Marked 9.08, and he could have had a third with better luck at the near post.
Market28 Sep 2026
Mischa Beeli hands in a written request
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Vaduz can pretend not to have heard.
Squad28 Sep 2026
Tempers go at Vaduz
Ayo Akinola 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.
Squad28 Sep 2026
A row about effort at Vaduz
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Denis Simani was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout28 Sep 2026
The manager makes an example of Leon Schaffran
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Squad28 Sep 2026
50 goals for this club, and somewhere in the stand there is a person who can still tell you where they were for most of them.
Match26 Sep 2026
A point taken on 89 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.
Match28 Sep 2026
The half-term report on Vaduz
Position 10, 5 points, and every result so far reduced to one line. The second half of the season starts with the same squad and a different set of expectations.
Match26 Sep 2026
It needed Brian Beyer to find the net to bring anything home at all: 3‑3 against Grasshopper, and half the dressing room will call it a point won.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match19 Sep 2026
Chastening afternoon for Vaduz
A 1‑5 beating by Young Boys was the sort of result that empties a stadium long before the final whistle.
Market21 Sep 2026
“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 Vaduz, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad21 Sep 2026
Words exchanged at Vaduz
Ayo Akinola 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.
Match19 Sep 2026
Nobody could stop scoring
6 goals. Both benches spent the second half looking at each other rather than at the pitch. Purists will complain about Vaduz and Young Boys in equal measure; everybody else had a wonderful time.
Squad21 Sep 2026
Words at Vaduz training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Denis Simani 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 dugout21 Sep 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Sebastian Jakubiak, and the manager let it.
Boardroom21 Sep 2026
Nobody left the Vaduz dressing room in a hurry
The door stayed shut a long time after the final whistle. What was said in there is between them; whether it worked is between them and Saturday.
The dugout21 Sep 2026
“The supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 1‑5, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.
The dugout21 Sep 2026
Stephan Seiler is still being punished for one mistake
Nobody will confirm it and the team sheets confirm it every week. One error has bought him a spell as second choice that is already longer than the error deserved.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad14 Sep 2026
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 6 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.
Market14 Sep 2026
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
Transfer targets14 Sep 2026
Terms were offered and declined. Whether it was the wages, the role or the town, nobody at Sigma Olomouc is saying, and nobody at Vaduz is enjoying the guessing.
Match12 Sep 2026
At last: Vaduz win one
7 matches without a win, and then this, against Lugano. Relief is a strange noise in a football ground and it was the only noise at the end.
Squad14 Sep 2026
A falling-out at Vaduz
Ayo Akinola and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad14 Sep 2026
A row about effort at Vaduz
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Luca Mack was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Transfer targets14 Sep 2026
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. SV Ried have kept their man, and Vaduz go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Match12 Sep 2026
Vaduz get the job done against Lugano
A 2‑0 win over Lugano, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Player ratings14 Sep 2026
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 17 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
In brief
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Squad
Vaduz are still strangers to each other
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The dugout
The manager’s verdict
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The dugout
The manager makes an example of Mario Lezcano Morán
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match7 Sep 2026
Every point is an argument now for Vaduz
Position 10 and 1 points, and the table gets read bottom-up in this part of town. The calendar has stopped being a schedule and started being a countdown.
Match5 Sep 2026
7 matches without a win for Vaduz
The run now stands at 7, and the questions being asked around Vaduz are no longer polite ones.
Squad7 Sep 2026
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 7 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Boardroom7 Sep 2026
Window shuts: 8 in, 1 out at Vaduz
The deadline has passed and the squad is the squad. 8 arrived, 1 left, and everything else printed about this club last month was a rumour that stayed one.
Transfer targets7 Sep 2026
Everything agreed with Sigma Olomouc, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.
Transfer targets7 Sep 2026
Terms were offered and declined. Whether it was the wages, the role or the town, nobody at Asteras is saying, and nobody at Vaduz is enjoying the guessing.
Squad7 Sep 2026
Ayo Akinola in a row with a teammate
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Vaduz this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Transfer targets7 Sep 2026
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.
Market7 Sep 2026
The phone has started ringing about Marcel Monsberger again, and this time the name on the line is Zurich. Vaduz are listening politely and promising nothing.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad31 Aug 2026
There were 11 saves in it, and at least three that had no business being saves at all. The ten outfield players owe him a drink and they know it.
Match29 Aug 2026
Nowhere to hide for Vaduz
2‑5 against Zurich, and no complaints that would survive the replay. The manager spoke about character afterwards; the terraces used shorter words.
Market31 Aug 2026
Vaduz say no — this time
The offer from Luzern for Dominik Schwizer 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.
Match29 Aug 2026
The wait goes on for Vaduz
6 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
Transfer targets31 Aug 2026
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.
Transfer targets31 Aug 2026
The clubs had agreed and the player had not. A snub, and a public one: Angers SCO keep him, and the supporters here are left wondering what he had heard about the place.
Match29 Aug 2026
7 goals as Vaduz and Zurich go for it
Defending was optional and nobody took up the option. 7 goals between Vaduz and Zurich, and not one of the people who paid to be there will ask for the money back.
Squad31 Aug 2026
Words at Vaduz training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Jonathan de Donno 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.
Boardroom31 Aug 2026
Inquest at Vaduz
The manager kept them in and said what needed saying. A response is expected on Saturday, and if it does not come the questions move upstairs.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad17 Aug 2026
There were 6 saves in it, and at least three that had no business being saves at all. The ten outfield players owe him a drink and they know it.
Transfer targets17 Aug 2026
Vaduz asked and Sion said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Squad17 Aug 2026
A falling-out at Vaduz
Ayo Akinola and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad17 Aug 2026
32 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.
Squad17 Aug 2026
Luca Mack 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.
Match15 Aug 2026
Jonathan de Donno scored, and precious little else went right: 1‑2 to Basel, and a quiet walk to the dressing room.
The dugout17 Aug 2026
The view from the dugout
“We will look at it, we will learn from it, and we go again.” The three sentences every manager keeps for a 1‑2 defeat, delivered by Noah Widmer to a room that had heard them before.
Transfer targets17 Aug 2026
A loan enquiry to Sporting CP: cover, or a look at somebody the club cannot afford to buy yet. Either way the answer will come back inside the week.
The dugout17 Aug 2026
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.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market10 Aug 2026
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
Transfer targets10 Aug 2026
Vaduz have gone to Sion with a bid, and the supporters have gone to the internet with an opinion about it. Whether either changes anything is up to the selling club.
Squad10 Aug 2026
Tempers go at Vaduz
Ayo Akinola 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.
Squad10 Aug 2026
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Liridon Berisha commits to Vaduz for another 3 years.
Transfer targets10 Aug 2026
Vaduz asked and Sigma Olomouc said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Match8 Aug 2026
Vaduz come up short against Luzern
Luzern left with the points after a 0‑2 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Market10 Aug 2026
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Edimilson 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
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Remo Gavranovic 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
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Haris Aebischer has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad3 Aug 2026
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.
Squad3 Aug 2026
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Ayo Akinola and Vaduz agree another 4 years.
Squad3 Aug 2026
Ayo Akinola in a row with a teammate
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Vaduz this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad3 Aug 2026
Words at Vaduz training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Luca Mack 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.
Match1 Aug 2026
1‑2 to St. Gallen, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Market3 Aug 2026
The clock runs on Stephan Seiler's contract
49 months left and silence from upstairs — no offer, no talks, nothing for his people to answer. Clubs that let a calendar do their negotiating usually end up negotiating with the calendar.
The dugout3 Aug 2026
The manager’s verdict
“That is on me. I pick the team and I picked wrong.” Managers say that when they mean it and when they need to be seen to, and after 1‑2 Noah Widmer left the room before anybody could ask which.
Transfer targets3 Aug 2026
A loan enquiry to Venezia: cover, or a look at somebody the club cannot afford to buy yet. Either way the answer will come back inside the week.
Transfer targets3 Aug 2026
Sigma Olomouc 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.