20 Aug 2027
Friday
Process
55 Edition

The Luzern Courier

16 Aug 2027
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

Leonardo Bertone breaks a bone — 94 days out

Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 94 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.

Squad

İsa Doğan arrives at the club he grew up with

Every footballer has an answer to the question about his boyhood club, and most of them never get to act on it. İsa Doğan has, at Luzern, and the first month will show what that does to a man.

Squad

A falling-out at Luzern

Marcus Ingvartsen and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Andrejs Cigaņiks

Successful dribbles: 21. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

Match

Luzern see off Vaduz

Three points for Luzern, 1‑0 the final word against Vaduz in a contest settled by the finer margins.

Squad

A row about effort at Luzern

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Severin Ottiger was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

Player ratings

Matteo di Giusto was on a different afternoon to everybody else

8.25. 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.

The dugout

Kevin Comert: “That is the standard”

“That is what I want every week. Not the result, the way they went about it.” The manager, after 1‑0, already talking about the next one.

The dugout

Christian Comert 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.

In brief

Back issues
54 Edition

The Luzern Courier

9 Aug 2027
From our football correspondent Crisis

Squad

The knee: Bung Meng Freimann out for 18 days

18 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Luzern lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.

Squad

102 days out for Leonardo Bertone after a fracture

A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Luzern will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.

Squad

Marcus Ingvartsen 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 Luzern this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Transfer targets

Luzern rebuffed over Willem Geubbels

Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Austria Wien have kept their man, and Luzern go back to a list with one name crossed off it.

Match

Luzern come up short against Lugano

Lugano left with the points after a 0‑1 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.

Squad

Andrea Favilli 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 dugout

The manager makes an example of Oscar Kabwit

“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.

The dugout

Kevin Comert faces the questions

“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Kevin Comert after 0‑1, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.

The dugout

Luzern keep their word to Kreshnik Hajrizi

Clubs make promises constantly and the page usually only hears about them when they are broken. This one was honoured, and the dressing room noticed that faster than any supporter did.

In brief

53 Edition

The Luzern Courier

2 Aug 2027
From our football correspondent Crisis

Squad

A knee injury of the worst kind for Bung Meng Freimann

25 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Luzern lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.

Squad

109 days out for Leonardo Bertone after a fracture

A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Luzern will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.

Player ratings

A brace, and Marcus Ingvartsen takes the afternoon — 8.70

There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Marcus Ingvartsen provided it, and the 8.70 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.

Squad

Pascal Loretz keeps Luzern in it on his own

Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 6 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.

Market

Pascal Loretz wants more than Luzern are offering

“I have ambitions, and I would like the club to share them.” Nobody has asked to leave and nobody has been shown the door — but a player chooses that sentence carefully, and a boardroom hears it exactly as it was meant.

Squad

Tempers go at Luzern

Marcus Ingvartsen 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.

Player ratings

Matteo di Giusto was unplayable

Successful dribbles: 22. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.

Match

Marcus Ingvartsen’s goal not enough for Luzern

Marcus Ingvartsen scored, and precious little else went right: 2‑3 to Sion, and a quiet walk to the dressing room.

Transfer targets

Juventus tell Luzern: Filip Kostić 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.

In brief

52 Edition

The Luzern Courier

26 Jul 2027
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

A knee injury of the worst kind for Bung Meng Freimann

32 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Luzern lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.

Squad

A fracture rules Leonardo Bertone out for 116 days

Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Luzern will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.

Match

Luzern tear Zurich apart

Rarely has this fixture seen a display like it: 3‑0 against Zurich, and it could have been more.

Squad

A day Marcus Ingvartsen will not forget

3 goals in one game. The first was taken well, the second was taken greedily, and by the third the crowd were simply waiting for him to get the ball.

Squad

Words exchanged at Luzern

Marcus Ingvartsen 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.

Player ratings

Ninety minutes of Marcus Ingvartsen at his very best

Marked 9.59. Players have careers without a single afternoon like this in them, and he has just had one in front of everybody at Luzern.

Transfer targets

Carrarese tell Luzern: Fabio Abiuso 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.

The dugout

The view from the dugout

“We controlled it. There were spells I did not like and we will look at them, but the group showed me something.” Kevin Comert, on a 3‑0 win that he was already picking apart on the walk to the press room.

The dugout

When it matters, Pascal Loretz plays

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.

In brief

51 Edition

The Luzern Courier

19 Jul 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

A knee injury of the worst kind for Bung Meng Freimann

39 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Luzern lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.

Squad

A fracture rules Leonardo Bertone out for 123 days

Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Luzern will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.

Market

Luzern turn down Union Berlin for Sinan Karweina

The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.

Boardroom

Kevin Comert signs on for the long haul

Luzern moved before anybody else could: a new deal for Kevin Comert, agreed quietly and announced loudly. Boards extend managers for many reasons; the good one is the one this looks like.

Transfer targets

No thanks: German Onugkha rejects the move

Luzern had done everything except persuade the man himself. He stays at Spartak Moscow, and the manager goes back to the drawing board with the money still in the bank.

Squad

A falling-out at Luzern

Marcus Ingvartsen and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.

Boardroom

3 academy players handed senior numbers at Luzern

The morning the pathway stops being a brochure and becomes a team sheet. Most of them will not be here in three years; all of them have already done the hard part, which was getting to today.

Transfer targets

Gimnasia y Esgrima tell Luzern: Tomás O'Connor 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.

The dugout

No hiding place for Sinan Karweina

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Sinan Karweina, and the manager let it.

In brief

50 Edition

The Luzern Courier

12 Jul 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

Dominique Heintz breaks a bone — 61 days out

Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 61 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.

Market

Not going: Alphadjo Cissé stays at Luzern

“I know what people will say. I know what I want, and it is here.” Krylya Sovetov had the fee agreed and the shirt ready; they did not have the player, and now they will not.

The dugout

Sinan Karweina says Luzern went back on their word

“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.

Market

Levin Winkler has said yes to Sion

The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Luzern have lost him in all but the paperwork.

Market

Dijon come back empty-handed

The bid was some way short and Luzern did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.

Transfer targets

The paperwork begins on Andrea Favilli

A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Luzern have done the hard part with Avellino, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.

Market

Luzern sell Mio Zimmermann for $1.2M

Mio Zimmermann has left for Thun in a $1.2M deal. The accountants are pleased; the supporters are less certain.

Squad

Marcus Ingvartsen 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 Luzern this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Real improvement from Silvan Seferovic at Luzern

Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Silvan Seferovic is 17, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.

In brief

49 Edition

The Luzern Courier

5 Jul 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

A fracture rules Dominique Heintz out for 68 days

Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Luzern will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.

Market

Luzern turn down Valencia for Pascal Loretz

The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.

Market

Diego Zúñiga puts it in writing

“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 Luzern, and it is not being withdrawn.

Market

Lars Villiger moves on

Zurich pay $2.1M, and the deal is done. The number reads well on a balance sheet; whether it reads well on the pitch is next season's question.

Market

Luzern sign Tim Spycher for $470.0K

The paperwork is done: Tim Spycher joins from Thun in a deal worth $470.0K. Now comes the harder part.

Squad

Tempers go at Luzern

Marcus Ingvartsen 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.

Squad

Kreshnik Hajrizi has improved at 28, which nobody expected

Careers are supposed to plateau and then decline, and the players who ignore that are always the ones who were listening on the training ground. 3 points of it, over months, at an age where the direction normally only goes one way.

Transfer targets

Door shut on Marlon Mustapha

Luzern asked and Red Bull Salzburg said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.

Squad

Severin Ottiger 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.

In brief

48 Edition

The Luzern Courier

28 Jun 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

Dominique Heintz breaks a bone — 76 days out

Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 76 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.

Market

Luzern say no — this time

The offer from Young Boys for Pius Dorn 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.

Match

Luzern refuse to drop out of the race

Position 3, 24 points, and the result everyone checks first is now theirs. The word is still not being said around the ground, which is how you know everyone is thinking it.

Market

Mergim Qarri puts it in writing

“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 Luzern, and it is not being withdrawn.

Squad

Real improvement from Bung Meng Freimann at Luzern

Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Bung Meng Freimann is 21, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.

Transfer targets

An offer of $470.0K for Tim Spycher

Luzern have gone to Thun 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.

Squad

Words exchanged at Luzern

Marcus Ingvartsen 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.

Squad

Lars Villiger has improved at 24, which nobody expected

Careers are supposed to plateau and then decline, and the players who ignore that are always the ones who were listening on the training ground. 3 points of it, over months, at an age where the direction normally only goes one way.

Transfer targets

Door shut on Brian Fernández

Luzern asked and Blackburn Rovers said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.

In brief

47 Edition

The Luzern Courier

21 Jun 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

Dominique Heintz breaks a bone — 84 days out

Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 84 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.

Market

Not going: Marcus Ingvartsen stays at Luzern

“I know what people will say. I know what I want, and it is here.” FC Metz had the fee agreed and the shirt ready; they did not have the player, and now they will not.

Market

Sion come back empty-handed

The bid was some way short and Luzern did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.

The terraces

Luzern sell a favourite for $4.1M

The accountants will call it good business and they will be right, which is not the point anybody outside the boardroom is making. Tyron Owusu was one of the reasons people came, and $4.1M does not replace that by itself.

Market

Luzern sell Tyron Owusu for $4.1M

Tyron Owusu has left for Young Boys in a $4.1M deal. The accountants are pleased; the supporters are less certain.

Market

Luzern sign Kreshnik Hajrizi for $1.2M

The paperwork is done: Kreshnik Hajrizi joins from Sion in a deal worth $1.2M. Now comes the harder part.

Squad

Real improvement from Alphadjo Cissé at Luzern

Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Alphadjo Cissé is 20, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.

Squad

A falling-out at Luzern

Marcus Ingvartsen and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.

The dugout

Lars Villiger gets it from the manager

“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.

In brief

46 Edition

The Luzern Courier

14 Jun 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

Dominique Heintz breaks a bone — 92 days out

Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 92 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.

Market

Alphadjo Cissé turns Antalyaspor down

“It was not right for me. I am not going to explain why to anybody except the people I owe an explanation to.” A deal agreed between two clubs, and a player who declined to be part of it.

Market

Nautico come back empty-handed

The bid was some way short and Luzern did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.

Market

Lars Villiger attracts admirers

The name of Lars Villiger has come up in conversations Luzern were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.

Squad

Marcus Ingvartsen 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 Luzern this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Market

Luzern sign Diego Mina for $240.0K

The paperwork is done: Diego Mina joins from Lugano in a deal worth $240.0K. Now comes the harder part.

Squad

Real improvement from Daniel Mikołajewski at Luzern

Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Daniel Mikołajewski is 21, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.

The dugout

Sinan Karweina gets it from the manager

“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.

Squad

Severin Ottiger 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.

In brief

45 Edition

The Luzern Courier

7 Jun 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

Dominique Heintz breaks a bone — 99 days out

Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 99 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.

Market

Lars Villiger asks to leave Luzern

“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.

Market

Luzern say no — this time

The offer from Young Boys for Matteo di Giusto 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.

Market

Eyes on Marcus Ingvartsen again

The phone has started ringing about Marcus Ingvartsen again, and this time the name on the line is Nautico. Luzern are listening politely and promising nothing.

Squad

Tempers go at Luzern

Marcus Ingvartsen 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.

Squad

A late step up for Pascal Loretz

At 24 the improving is meant to be over. It is not: 3 points better than the mark taken at the start of the year, which is the sort of thing that happens to players who take the boring parts of the job seriously.

Transfer targets

Luzern baulk at the price for Mirko Salvi

Basel wanted more than $50.0K and the board would not go there. Walked away, for now, which in a transfer window means until somebody blinks.

Market

Antalyaspor expected to open talks for Alphadjo Cissé

Both sides expect a conversation in the coming days. Luzern will name a price, and everything after that is arithmetic.

Squad

A row about effort at Luzern

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Severin Ottiger was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

In brief

44 Edition

The Luzern Courier

31 May 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

Dominique Heintz breaks a bone — 106 days out

Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 106 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.

Boardroom

Continental nights are coming to Luzern

Qualification is secured, and next season the big floodlit nights are continental ones. For the players it is a stage; for the accounts it is a lifeline; for the supporters it is passports.

Match

Luzern refuse to drop out of the race

Position 3, 24 points, and the result everyone checks first is now theirs. The word is still not being said around the ground, which is how you know everyone is thinking it.

Squad

The season belongs to Marcus Ingvartsen

An individual honour is a strange thing in a team game, and the best of them are never argued with. He has had the sort of year that ends with his name being read out, and Luzern have had the benefit of it.

Squad

Leonardo Bertone 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 Luzern this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Market

Alphadjo Cissé returns a better player

18 games and 2 goals away from here, and a man the manager did not have last summer. The loan did what loans are supposed to do and almost never do.

In brief

43 Edition

The Luzern Courier

24 May 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

Dominique Heintz breaks a bone — 113 days out

Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 113 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.

Squad

A falling-out at Luzern

Marcus Ingvartsen and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.

Squad

Umeh Emmanuel 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 dugout

Rúben Dantas Fernandes has become a man the manager trusts

Nobody at Luzern will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.

Market

The Marcus Ingvartsen story refuses to die

It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Marcus Ingvartsen signs something — a contract at Luzern or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.

The dugout

The manager makes Sinan Karweina a promise

Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at Luzern. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.

In brief

42 Edition

The Luzern Courier

17 May 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

120 days out for Dominique Heintz after a fracture

A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Luzern will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.

Squad

A falling-out at Luzern

Dominique Heintz and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.

Squad

Words at Luzern training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Marcus Ingvartsen 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 dugout

When it matters, Marcus Ingvartsen plays

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.

The dugout

No hiding place for Levin Winkler

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Levin Winkler, and the manager let it.

Market

Pascal Loretz linked with a move away

The name of Pascal Loretz keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Luzern say nothing, which says plenty.

In brief

  • The dugout Fabian Frei knocks on the manager’s door
  • The dugout Pius Dorn keeps his manager's vote
  • Squad Pius Dorn is the talk of the training ground
41 Edition

The Luzern Courier

10 May 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

Dominique Heintz breaks a bone — 129 days out

Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 129 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.

The dugout

Fabian Frei: that is not what I was promised

“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Luzern have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.

Squad

Words exchanged at Luzern

Dominique Heintz 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.

Squad

Marcus Ingvartsen 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 dugout

The manager makes an example of Oscar Kabwit

“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.

The dugout

When it matters, Pascal Loretz plays

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.

Market

The Leonardo Bertone story refuses to die

It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Leonardo Bertone signs something — a contract at Luzern or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.

The dugout

A door opens for Adrian Grbić

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.

Boardroom

The Luzern academy earns its keep

24 graduates, from a department now rated 15 out of 20. Nothing about the academy appears in a result, and nothing about the club’s future exists without it.

In brief

40 Edition

The Luzern Courier

3 May 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

A fracture rules Dominique Heintz out for 136 days

Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Luzern will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.

Match

Luzern refuse to drop out of the race

Position 3, 24 points, and the result everyone checks first is now theirs. The word is still not being said around the ground, which is how you know everyone is thinking it.

Market

Pascal Loretz wants more than Luzern are offering

“I have ambitions, and I would like the club to share them.” Nobody has asked to leave and nobody has been shown the door — but a player chooses that sentence carefully, and a boardroom hears it exactly as it was meant.

Squad

Words exchanged at Luzern

Marcus Ingvartsen 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.

Squad

A row about effort at Luzern

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Umeh Emmanuel was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

The dugout

No hiding place for Mio Zimmermann

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Mio Zimmermann, and the manager let it.

Market

The Matteo di Giusto talk will not go away

Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Luzern know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.

The dugout

Oscar Kabwit asks for a word with the manager

“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.

The dugout

The manager makes Sinan Karweina a promise

Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at Luzern. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.

In brief

39 Edition

The Luzern Courier

26 Apr 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

144 days out for Dominique Heintz after a fracture

A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Luzern will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.

Squad

A falling-out at Luzern

Marcus Ingvartsen and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.

Squad

Severin Ottiger 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.

Squad

Home is on Diego Zúñiga's mind

“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; Luzern are dealing with a man who wants a different country.

The dugout

The manager makes an example of Jérôme Boateng

“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.

The dugout

Lars Villiger asks for a word with the manager

“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.

In brief

38 Edition

The Luzern Courier

19 Apr 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

152 days out for Dominique Heintz after a fracture

A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Luzern will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.

The dugout

Sinan Karweina: that is not what I was promised

“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Luzern have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.

Squad

Matteo di Giusto 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 Luzern this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

A row about effort at Luzern

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Marcus Ingvartsen was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

Squad

Mio Zimmermann signs a new deal

“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Mio Zimmermann commits to Luzern for another 5 years.

The dugout

Marcus Ingvartsen gets picked when it counts

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 Marcus Ingvartsen is on it.

In brief

37 Edition

The Luzern Courier

12 Apr 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

The dugout

Lars Villiger keeps the receipts

“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Luzern may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.

Squad

Tempers go at Luzern

Matteo di Giusto 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.

Squad

A move Cristhofer Maqueda would have made for nothing

There is a version of every career where the player ends up somewhere he chose rather than somewhere that chose him. Cristhofer Maqueda is living that version at Luzern, and it tends to show in the first month.

Squad

A row about effort at Luzern

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Marcus Ingvartsen was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

Squad

Too much change too quickly at Luzern

5 signings in three months. Every one of them may be an upgrade and the team can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild that never appears in the transfer-window verdicts.

The dugout

Pascal Loretz gets picked when it counts

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 Pascal Loretz is on it.

Market

Leonardo Bertone linked with a move away

The name of Leonardo Bertone keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Luzern say nothing, which says plenty.

The dugout

Rúben Dantas Fernandes knocks on the manager's door

“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Luzern, and both men came out saying it was fine.

Market

Luzern pick up Cristhofer Maqueda for nothing

The best deals are the ones the accountants never notice. Cristhofer Maqueda arrives at Luzern with his wages the only cost and something to prove the only clause.

In brief

36 Edition

The Luzern Courier

5 Apr 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Match

Luzern refuse to drop out of the race

Position 3, 24 points, and the result everyone checks first is now theirs. The word is still not being said around the ground, which is how you know everyone is thinking it.

Squad

Tempers go at Luzern

Marcus Ingvartsen 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.

Squad

Dominique Heintz 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.

Squad

A step back for Fabian Frei at Luzern

Somebody has moved past him. It is not a dropping and it is worse than one, because a dropping is about a Saturday and this is about where he stands.

The dugout

A promise honoured for Beckham Castro

It is not much of a headline and it is the reason players believe the next promise. Luzern told Beckham Castro something would happen and then it happened, which in this industry passes for remarkable.

Squad

Luzern take the armband off Leonardo Bertone

It will be explained as a change for the team and it may even be one. Nobody who has worn one believes that, and neither does the man who has just had it taken away.

The dugout

Adrian Grbić asks for a word with the manager

“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.

The dugout

No hiding place for Mio Zimmermann

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Mio Zimmermann, and the manager let it.

Market

The Matteo di Giusto question follows Luzern around

Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Matteo di Giusto’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.

In brief

35 Edition

The Luzern Courier

29 Mar 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

A row about effort at Luzern

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Marcus Ingvartsen was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

Squad

Words exchanged at Luzern

Umeh Emmanuel 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 dugout

Jérôme Boateng gets it from the manager

“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.

The dugout

Adrian Grbić knocks on the manager's door

“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Luzern, and both men came out saying it was fine.

The dugout

Rúben Dantas Fernandes gets picked when it counts

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 Rúben Dantas Fernandes is on it.

Market

Marcus Ingvartsen linked with a move away

The name of Marcus Ingvartsen keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Luzern say nothing, which says plenty.

In brief

34 Edition

The Luzern Courier

22 Mar 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

A row about effort at Luzern

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Marcus Ingvartsen was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

Squad

A falling-out at Luzern

Oscar Kabwit and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.

The dugout

No hiding place for Sinan Karweina

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Sinan Karweina, and the manager let it.

Squad

Steven Elvedi signs on for more

“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Steven Elvedi and Luzern agree another 3 years.

The dugout

Marcus Ingvartsen gets picked when it counts

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 Marcus Ingvartsen is on it.

Market

The Pascal Loretz story refuses to die

It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Pascal Loretz signs something — a contract at Luzern or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.

In brief

33 Edition

The Luzern Courier

15 Mar 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

Words exchanged at Luzern

Marcus Ingvartsen 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.

Squad

A row about effort at Luzern

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Severin Ottiger was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

Squad

Luzern are still strangers to each other

5 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.

The dugout

When it matters, Pascal Loretz plays

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.

Market

Leonardo Bertone linked with a move away

The name of Leonardo Bertone keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Luzern say nothing, which says plenty.

The dugout

Oscar Kabwit asks for a word with the manager

“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.

In brief

  • Squad A wage question at Luzern
  • The dugout The manager comes out for Pius Dorn
  • Boardroom The Luzern board put their names to it
32 Edition

The Luzern Courier

8 Mar 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Match

Luzern refuse to drop out of the race

Position 3, 24 points, and the result everyone checks first is now theirs. The word is still not being said around the ground, which is how you know everyone is thinking it.

Squad

Marcus Ingvartsen signs a new deal

“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Marcus Ingvartsen commits to Luzern for another 3 years.

Squad

Words exchanged at Luzern

Matteo di Giusto 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.

Squad

Marcus Ingvartsen 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 dugout

No hiding place for Adrian Grbić

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Adrian Grbić, and the manager let it.

Market

Luzern promote Remo Zakaria from within

The academy exists for exactly this morning. Remo Zakaria 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.

Market

One of our own: Albian Fassnacht joins the Luzern first team

Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Albian Fassnacht is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.

The dugout

Lars Villiger asks for a word with the manager

“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.

Market

The Matteo di Giusto question follows Luzern around

Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Matteo di Giusto’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.

In brief

31 Edition

The Luzern Courier

1 Mar 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

The dugout

Jérôme Boateng keeps the receipts

“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Luzern may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.

Squad

Marcus Ingvartsen 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 Luzern this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

A row about effort at Luzern

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Tyron Owusu was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

Market

No place for Lars Villiger in the plan

“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Lars Villiger has his answer from Luzern; what he does with it is the next window’s story.

The dugout

Fabian Frei gets it from the manager

“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.

Squad

Beckham Castro slips down the pecking order

The demotion a club never announces and a dressing room always notices. Beckham Castro is further from the side than he was, and the reason will not be given until he asks.

The dugout

Lars Villiger knocks on the manager’s door

“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Lars Villiger trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.

The dugout

Rúben Dantas Fernandes gets picked when it counts

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 Rúben Dantas Fernandes is on it.

Market

Marcus Ingvartsen linked with a move away

The name of Marcus Ingvartsen keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Luzern say nothing, which says plenty.

In brief

30 Edition

The Luzern Courier

22 Feb 2027
From our football correspondent Crisis

Match

The small margins put Luzern out

Out, 0‑1 to Zurich, and the long argument about which of the small moments decided it. The league is all there is now, and everybody knows it.

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Marcus Ingvartsen

Successful dribbles: 24. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

Match

No end in sight to Luzern's wait for a win

4 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Luzern has to find a result from somewhere.

Squad

A falling-out at Luzern

Marcus Ingvartsen and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.

Squad

Words at Luzern training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Dominique Heintz 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.

Market

No place for Adrian Grbić in the plan

“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Adrian Grbić has his answer from Luzern; what he does with it is the next window’s story.

Squad

Diego Zúñiga wants to go home

“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 Luzern know it.

The dugout

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 0‑1 Kevin Comert left the room before anybody could ask which.

Squad

Beckham Castro wants out of the dugout

“I did not sign to watch. Nobody does.” The oldest complaint in the game, and Luzern will have to answer it with minutes or with a move.

In brief

29 Edition

The Luzern Courier

15 Feb 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

Tempers go at Luzern

Matteo di Giusto 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.

Squad

Words at Luzern training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Marcus Ingvartsen 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.

Transfer targets

Luzern rebuffed over Mirko Salvi

Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Basel have kept their man, and Luzern go back to a list with one name crossed off it.

Squad

Demir Xhemalija stays put

“The easiest signature of my career.” Demir Xhemalija and Luzern agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.

Squad

7 new faces, and Luzern 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.

Market

Luzern buy the years ahead of Anass Hamite

He is 20, and the scouting reports agree on the only line that matters: the ceiling. Signings like this are lottery tickets written by professionals.

The dugout

When it matters, Pascal Loretz plays

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.

The dugout

Adrian Grbić asks for a word with the manager

“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.

Market

The Pascal Loretz question follows Luzern around

Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Pascal Loretz’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.

In brief

28 Edition

The Luzern Courier

8 Feb 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Market

Luzern say no — this time

The offer from RB Leipzig for Sinan Karweina 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.

Match

Luzern refuse to drop out of the race

Position 3, 24 points, and the result everyone checks first is now theirs. The word is still not being said around the ground, which is how you know everyone is thinking it.

The dugout

Yevgen Morozov: that is not what I was promised

“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Luzern have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.

Squad

Tempers go at Luzern

Marcus Ingvartsen 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.

Squad

A row about effort at Luzern

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Lars Villiger was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

Transfer targets

AS Roma tell Luzern: Álvaro Aguado 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.

Squad

No place for Beckham Castro in the new shape

He is not being dropped. There is simply nowhere in the formation Luzern are playing to put a man who does what he does, which is a harder thing to be told than any team sheet.

The dugout

The manager makes an example of Jérôme Boateng

“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.

The dugout

Adrian Grbić knocks on the manager's door

“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Luzern, and both men came out saying it was fine.

In brief

27 Edition

The Luzern Courier

1 Feb 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Market

Not going: Levin Winkler stays at Luzern

“I know what people will say. I know what I want, and it is here.” Lugano had the fee agreed and the shirt ready; they did not have the player, and now they will not.

The dugout

Oscar Kabwit says Luzern went back on their word

“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.

Market

Jérôme Boateng puts it in writing

“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 Luzern, and it is not being withdrawn.

Boardroom

Luzern close the window on a squad of their own making

4 in and 0 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.

Transfer targets

Beckham Castro due for a Luzern medical

Everything agreed with Lugano, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.

Squad

Marcus Ingvartsen 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 Luzern this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Silvan Seferovic stays put

“The easiest signature of my career.” Silvan Seferovic and Luzern agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.

Squad

Dominique Heintz 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.

Transfer targets

Door shut on Georgi Rusev

Luzern 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.

In brief

26 Edition

The Luzern Courier

25 Jan 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Market

Tyron Owusu turns Randers down

“It was not right for me. I am not going to explain why to anybody except the people I owe an explanation to.” A deal agreed between two clubs, and a player who declined to be part of it.

Market

Adrian Grbić asks to leave Luzern

“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.

Market

Eyes on Sinan Karweina again

The phone has started ringing about Sinan Karweina again, and this time the name on the line is Bayer Leverkusen. Luzern are listening politely and promising nothing.

Squad

Words at Luzern training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Marcus Ingvartsen 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.

Transfer targets

Door shut on Fredrik Sjøvold

Luzern asked and Bodo/Glimt said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.

Squad

A falling-out at Luzern

Oscar Kabwit and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.

Squad

Pietro Miranda wants to go home

“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 Luzern know it.

The dugout

Sinan Karweina asks for a word with the manager

“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.

Squad

Cyrill May is a square peg at Luzern

The system has changed and his position has not. A footballer can improve his form; he cannot improve the manager’s formation, and that is the whole of the problem.

In brief

25 Edition

The Luzern Courier

18 Jan 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Market

Luzern say no — this time

The offer from Zurich for Adrian Grbić 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.

Squad

Words exchanged at Luzern

Marcus Ingvartsen 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.

Market

Randers are about to pick up the phone

A conversation is coming this week. Luzern will put a number on him, and from there it stops being football and becomes arithmetic.

Squad

Severin Ottiger 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.

Transfer targets

Luzern ask about Álvaro Aguado

A loan enquiry to AS Roma: cover, or a look at somebody the club cannot afford to buy yet. Either way the answer will come back inside the week.

Transfer targets

A loan move for Cyrill May is in the works

Luzern have made the call to St. Gallen. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.

Squad

Luzern are still strangers to each other

5 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.

The dugout

Pascal Loretz gets picked when it counts

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 Pascal Loretz is on it.

Squad

Umeh Emmanuel is a square peg at Luzern

The system has changed and his position has not. A footballer can improve his form; he cannot improve the manager’s formation, and that is the whole of the problem.

In brief

24 Edition

The Luzern Courier

11 Jan 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Match

Luzern refuse to drop out of the race

Position 3, 24 points, and the result everyone checks first is now theirs. The word is still not being said around the ground, which is how you know everyone is thinking it.

Transfer targets

Fee done, terms next for Benjamin Kololli

Luzern and Sion have settled on $230.0K. 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.

Transfer targets

Umeh Emmanuel is a medical away from Luzern

The deal with Zurich 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.

Squad

Words exchanged at Luzern

Matteo di Giusto 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.

Squad

Words at Luzern training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Dominique Heintz 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.

Market

Luzern promote Djibril Schär from within

The academy exists for exactly this morning. Djibril Schär 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.

Market

The Pascal Loretz talk will not go away

Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Luzern know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.

The dugout

A door opens for Lars Villiger

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.

Squad

A season on the outside for Jesper Löfgren

He trains hard, says the right things and goes home to an empty flat. Nobody at Luzern has done anything wrong, which is exactly what makes it so difficult to fix.

In brief

23 Edition

The Luzern Courier

4 Jan 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

The dugout

Sinan Karweina: that is not what I was promised

“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Luzern have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.

Market

VfL Wolfsburg come back empty-handed

The bid was some way short and Luzern did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.

Squad

The season belongs to Marcus Ingvartsen

An individual honour is a strange thing in a team game, and the best of them are never argued with. He has had the sort of year that ends with his name being read out, and Luzern have had the benefit of it.

Squad

Words exchanged at Luzern

Leonardo Bertone 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.

Squad

Words at Luzern training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Lars Villiger 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.

Transfer targets

A loan move for Umeh Emmanuel is in the works

Luzern have made the call to Zurich. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.

Transfer targets

A loan move for Diego Mascardi is in the works

Luzern have made the call to Spezia. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.

The dugout

Jérôme Boateng gets it from the manager

“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.

Market

The shop window has Adrian Grbić in it

Luzern have let the market know Adrian Grbić can be had. No price in the advert, but everyone in the trade knows roughly what it says.

In brief

22 Edition

The Luzern Courier

28 Dec 2026
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

A falling-out at Luzern

Marcus Ingvartsen and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.

The dugout

Adrian Grbić gets it from the manager

“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.

Squad

A row about effort at Luzern

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Lars Villiger was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

Squad

Diego Zúñiga wants to go home

“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 Luzern know it.

The dugout

When it matters, Rúben Dantas Fernandes plays

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.

Market

Matteo di Giusto linked with a move away

The name of Matteo di Giusto keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Luzern say nothing, which says plenty.

The dugout

A door opens for Fabian Frei

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.

The dugout

The manager comes out for Dominique Heintz

Public backing, and the sort that costs a manager something if it turns out to be wrong. Dominique Heintz has been told in front of everybody that the shirt is his.

Boardroom

Luzern keep producing them

21 graduates from an academy now rated 15 out of 20. A club this size does not survive any other way, and every name on that list is known in the town.

In brief

21 Edition

The Luzern Courier

21 Dec 2026
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

Words exchanged at Luzern

Marcus Ingvartsen 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.

Squad

Words at Luzern training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Dominique Heintz 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 dugout

Lars Villiger gets it from the manager

“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.

The dugout

Pascal Loretz has become a man the manager trusts

Nobody at Luzern will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.

Squad

Oscar Kabwit: “I am not a substitute”

“I have done everything asked of me in training and it has not changed a thing on a Saturday.” The most familiar complaint in football, and one Luzern will have to answer with minutes or with a transfer.

The dugout

Fabian Frei knocks on the manager's door

“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Luzern, and both men came out saying it was fine.

In brief

20 Edition

The Luzern Courier

14 Dec 2026
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Match

Luzern up to position 3

24 points on the board and a place in the leading group. Nobody at the ground is saying the word out loud yet.

Squad

Tempers go at Luzern

Marcus Ingvartsen 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.

Squad

Bung Meng Freimann signs on for more

“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Bung Meng Freimann and Luzern agree another 5 years.

Squad

A row about effort at Luzern

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Lars Villiger was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

The dugout

The manager makes an example of Oscar Kabwit

“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.

The dugout

Sinan Karweina asks for a word with the manager

“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.

In brief

19 Edition

The Luzern Courier

7 Dec 2026
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

Marcus Ingvartsen 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 Luzern this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

The dugout

The manager makes an example of Sinan Karweina

“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.

Squad

Words at Luzern training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Lars Villiger 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.

Squad

Pietro Miranda signs on for more

“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Pietro Miranda and Luzern agree another 3 years.

Squad

Luzern take the armband off Pascal Loretz

It will be explained as a change for the team and it may even be one. Nobody who has worn one believes that, and neither does the man who has just had it taken away.

Market

The Leonardo Bertone question follows Luzern around

Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Leonardo Bertone’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.

In brief

18 Edition

The Luzern Courier

30 Nov 2026
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

A falling-out at Luzern

Marcus Ingvartsen and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.

Squad

A row about effort at Luzern

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Dominique Heintz was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

The dugout

No hiding place for Adrian Grbić

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Adrian Grbić, and the manager let it.

Squad

The formation has left Pietro Miranda behind

Every shape has positions in it and this one does not have his. Luzern will either change the shape, change his job, or change his club, and he is waiting to hear which.

The dugout

Rúben Dantas Fernandes gets picked when it counts

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 Rúben Dantas Fernandes is on it.

Market

Matteo di Giusto linked with a move away

The name of Matteo di Giusto keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Luzern say nothing, which says plenty.

The dugout

Jérôme Boateng knocks on the manager's door

“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Luzern, and both men came out saying it was fine.

Squad

Pietro Miranda remains an outsider

A year in and the city has not opened up, the language has not come, and lunch is eaten alone more often than anybody at Luzern would admit. It shows on Saturdays.

The dugout

The manager plants his flag on Matteo di Giusto

“Judge me on him.” Managers do not say that kind of thing by accident — it moves the pressure from Matteo di Giusto’s shoulders onto his own, and both of them know it.

In brief

17 Edition

The Luzern Courier

23 Nov 2026
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

Pascal Loretz decides it from twelve yards

2 kept out in the shoot-out, and a stadium that will still be describing them in twenty years. A goalkeeper only needs one of these to be remembered forever.

Match

Cup progress for Luzern

A 0‑0 win over St. Gallen, a place in the next round, and the quiet arithmetic every supporter does on the walk home: how many more until a final?

Squad

Tempers go at Luzern

Matteo di Giusto 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.

Squad

Lars Villiger 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 ratings

Oscar Kabwit fails from the spot

Twelve yards and the whole ground holding its breath, and it did not go in. He will put his name down for the next one, which is the only thing to do.

Market

Luzern sign Pietro Miranda, one for the future

Pietro Miranda is 20, and Luzern have signed him for the player he will be rather than the one he is. The first team can wait; the point of a deal like this is the years it buys.

Squad

Silvan Seferovic signs a new deal

“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Silvan Seferovic commits to Luzern for another 4 years.

The dugout

Pascal Loretz gets picked when it counts

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 Pascal Loretz is on it.

The dugout

Kevin Comert on the point

“A point is a point and I will take it, but we should have had all three.” Kevin Comert after the 0‑0 draw, and the sentence every manager in the country said at some stage this weekend.

In brief

16 Edition

The Luzern Courier

16 Nov 2026
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Match

Luzern are in among the leaders

Position 3 and 24 points on the board. Nobody at the ground will say the word out loud yet, and everybody at the ground is thinking it.

Squad

Tempers go at Luzern

Marcus Ingvartsen 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.

Squad

Severin Ottiger 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 dugout

No hiding place for Lars Villiger

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Lars Villiger, and the manager let it.

Player ratings

Adrian Grbić was the difference for Luzern

Marked 7.98. Ask anyone leaving the ground what settled it and you will get one name, which is the only award that has ever really counted.

Match

Luzern share the spoils with Thun

A 1‑1 draw with Thun leaves the dressing room somewhere between relief and regret.

Player ratings

Pius Dorn runs at them all day

Successful dribbles: 14. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.

The dugout

Half-satisfied: Kevin Comert on the draw

“There are things I liked and things we will be doing on Tuesday until they are right.” 1‑1, and a manager who had already decided what Tuesday looked like.

Market

Sinan Karweina linked with a move away

The name of Sinan Karweina keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Luzern say nothing, which says plenty.

In brief

15 Edition

The Luzern Courier

9 Nov 2026
From our football correspondent Crisis

Squad

Marcus Ingvartsen 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 Luzern this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Dominique Heintz 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.

Market

Silvan Seferovic steps up from the Luzern academy

There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Silvan Seferovic 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.

Match

Luzern come up short against Basel

Basel left with the points after a 0‑1 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.

The dugout

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 0‑1 Kevin Comert left the room before anybody could ask which.

The dugout

The team sheet said everything about Fabian Frei

Warm-up bib, ninety minutes of watching, and a handshake at the end that fooled nobody. Big matches tell you who a manager trusts; this one told Fabian Frei.

The dugout

The manager makes an example of Levin Winkler

“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.

Squad

No place for Diego Zúñiga in the new shape

He is not being dropped. There is simply nowhere in the formation Luzern are playing to put a man who does what he does, which is a harder thing to be told than any team sheet.

Squad

Marcus Ingvartsen named player of the week

One weekend, judged against everybody else's. Marcus Ingvartsen has come out on top of it, and for most footballers a weekly award is the only silverware a career ever produces.

In brief

14 Edition

The Luzern Courier

2 Nov 2026
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Match

Matteo di Giusto leads the rout of Young Boys

3‑0, and Matteo di Giusto took the headlines on an afternoon when everything Luzern tried came off. Days like this are retold all winter.

Squad

A falling-out at Luzern

Marcus Ingvartsen and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.

Squad

Diego Zúñiga arrives at the club he grew up with

Every footballer has an answer to the question about his boyhood club, and most of them never get to act on it. Diego Zúñiga has, at Luzern, and the first month will show what that does to a man.

The terraces

The crowd has taken to Tyron Owusu

At 23 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.

Match

The drought breaks for Luzern

5 without a win is the sort of run that changes how a town talks about its club, and Young Boys were the afternoon it stopped. Nothing is fixed by one result and everything feels different by one.

Player ratings

Ninety minutes of Marcus Ingvartsen at his very best

Marked 8.59. Players have careers without a single afternoon like this in them, and he has just had one in front of everybody at Luzern.

Looking ahead

The big one: Basel come into view

Two sides from the top of the table, one afternoon, and a month of talk decided in ninety minutes. Luzern will not use the word title this week and will not stop thinking it.

The dugout

No hiding place for Fabian Frei

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Fabian Frei, and the manager let it.

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Matteo di Giusto

Successful dribbles: 16. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

In brief

13 Edition

The Luzern Courier

26 Oct 2026
From our football correspondent Crisis

Match

5 matches without a win for Luzern

The run now stands at 5, and the questions being asked around Luzern are no longer polite ones.

Squad

Words exchanged at Luzern

Marcus Ingvartsen 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 dugout

No hiding place for Adrian Grbić

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Adrian Grbić, and the manager let it.

Match

St. Gallen take the points off Luzern

Beaten 0‑1, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.

Squad

A row about effort at Luzern

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Severin Ottiger was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

Player ratings

Pius Dorn was unplayable

Successful dribbles: 18. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.

The dugout

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 0‑1 Kevin Comert left the room before anybody could ask which.

The dugout

Adrian Grbić does not fit this one

Ninety specific minutes wanted a different sort of player, and the manager picked one. He is not out of form and he is not in the side, and both are true.

Market

The Matteo di Giusto talk will not go away

Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Luzern know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.

In brief

12 Edition

The Luzern Courier

19 Oct 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

Pascal Loretz is a better footballer than he was

Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 23 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.

Match

4 matches without a win for Luzern

The run now stands at 4, and the questions being asked around Luzern are no longer polite ones.

Squad

Tempers go at Luzern

Marcus Ingvartsen 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.

Match

Still nobody has beaten Luzern

The unbeaten run reaches 6. Some of them were wins and some were escapes, but a side that refuses to lose is a side other dressing rooms talk about.

Squad

Words at Luzern training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Dominique Heintz 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.

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Pius Dorn

Successful dribbles: 20. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

The terraces

The crowd has taken to Severin Ottiger

At 23 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.

The dugout

No hiding place for Sinan Karweina

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Sinan Karweina, and the manager let it.

Player ratings

Severin Ottiger stands above it all

Some games turn on a moment; this one turned on a man. 7.51 on the card, and the Luzern support went home talking about one name.

In brief

11 Edition

The Luzern Courier

12 Oct 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Match

Luzern are in among the leaders

Position 3 and 19 points on the board. Nobody at the ground will say the word out loud yet, and everybody at the ground is thinking it.

Player ratings

Tyron Owusu was unplayable

Successful dribbles: 23. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.

Squad

Marcus Ingvartsen 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 Luzern this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Market

Luzern promote Nico Widmer from within

The academy exists for exactly this morning. Nico Widmer 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.

Market

One of our own: Albian Rodriguez joins the Luzern first team

Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Albian Rodriguez is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.

Looking ahead

Top-of-the-table clash for Luzern

Grasshopper next, and the two sides the division is watching meet each other. Whoever wins will be told nothing is decided in the same breath as being congratulated.

Player ratings

Nobody on the pitch touched Marcus Ingvartsen

7.95, and no serious argument from anybody who was there. Luzern had eleven men on the pitch and one of them decided how it went.

Squad

Jérôme Boateng 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.

Squad

Luzern are still strangers to each other

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.

In brief

  • The dugout The manager makes an example of Levin Winkler
  • Match Luzern and Vaduz take a point apiece
  • The dugout The view from the dugout
10 Edition

The Luzern Courier

5 Oct 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

Pascal Loretz keeps Luzern in it on his own

Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 6 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.

Squad

Tempers go at Luzern

Leonardo Bertone 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.

Squad

A row about effort at Luzern

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Severin Ottiger was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

Match

Luzern hit back inside 3 minutes

Lugano held the lead for 3 minutes, which is not long enough to enjoy it. Luzern answered before the celebration had properly finished, and the shape of the afternoon changed with it.

Squad

Marcus Ingvartsen makes the team of the month

Four or five weekends of consistency, measured against everybody else in the division. A quieter compliment than an award and a more reliable one.

Match

Honours even between Luzern and Lugano

1‑1, and both dressing rooms will call it two points lost. A draw that asked plenty of questions and answered none of them.

The dugout

The view from the dugout

“We did not lose. Some weeks that is all you get, and I would rather have the point than not.” Kevin Comert chose the glass-half-full version of 1‑1; the supporters left with the other one.

Player ratings

Pius Dorn was unplayable

Successful dribbles: 13. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.

The dugout

No place in the plan for Sinan Karweina

The manager wanted a different profile for this opponent, which is a real football reason and no consolation. He did nothing wrong and he did not play.

In brief

9 Edition

The Luzern Courier

28 Sep 2026
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Squad

A one-man rearguard from Pascal Loretz

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.

Squad

Words exchanged at Luzern

Marcus Ingvartsen 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 dugout

No hiding place for Adrian Grbić

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Adrian Grbić, and the manager let it.

Squad

Words at Luzern training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Severin Ottiger 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.

Match

Luzern at the halfway mark

Half the programme played, position 2, 17 on the board. Doubling it is the sum every supporter has done and the only one nobody at the club will do out loud.

Match

Luzern share the spoils with Sion

A 1‑1 draw with Sion leaves the dressing room somewhere between relief and regret.

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Tyron Owusu

Successful dribbles: 14. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

The dugout

Kevin Comert: “We have to be better”

“It is not the end of the world and it is not good enough. Both of those are true.” The manager, after a 1‑1 draw, said the honest thing and then went to say it again inside.

The dugout

Sinan Karweina does not fit this one

Ninety specific minutes wanted a different sort of player, and the manager picked one. He is not out of form and he is not in the side, and both are true.

In brief

8 Edition

The Luzern Courier

21 Sep 2026
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Player ratings

Marcus Ingvartsen scores twice — 8.83

Two goals and a mark of 8.83 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.

Match

The view from the top for Luzern

16 points, and the rest of the division looking up. Every side that finishes first spends the season pretending it is not thinking about it, and this one has started pretending.

Squad

Ricardo Okafor out for 14 days

The medical room confirms 14 days on the sidelines for Ricardo Okafor, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.

Squad

Tempers go at Luzern

Marcus Ingvartsen 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.

Squad

A row about effort at Luzern

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Dominique Heintz was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

Transfer targets

Door shut on Joel Roca

Luzern asked and Olympiacos said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.

Match

Marcus Ingvartsen the difference as Luzern beat Zurich

Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Marcus Ingvartsen. 2‑1 against Zurich, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.

The terraces

Luzern supporters have found a favourite in Oscar Kabwit

There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 21-year-old it feels ownership of. Oscar Kabwit 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.

The dugout

The manager makes an example of Lars Villiger

“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.

In brief

7 Edition

The Luzern Courier

14 Sep 2026
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Match

Luzern refuse to drop out of the race

Position 3, 13 points, and the result everyone checks first is now theirs. The word is still not being said around the ground, which is how you know everyone is thinking it.

Player ratings

Up for the corner, and Leonardo Bertone delivers — 7.79

Centre-halves are allowed forward twice a season and are judged on what they do when they get there. Leonardo Bertone scored, was marked 7.79, and got back before anybody noticed he had gone.

Squad

Marcus Ingvartsen 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 Luzern this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Transfer targets

Austria Wien tell Luzern: Noah Botic 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.

Match

Luzern find a way past Thun

Thun made Luzern work for it, but the scoreboard read 2‑1 at the end and the table does not ask how.

Market

Luzern promote Breel Vargas from within

The academy exists for exactly this morning. Breel Vargas 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.

Squad

Words at Luzern training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Severin Ottiger 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.

Player ratings

Pius Dorn runs at them all day

Successful dribbles: 17. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.

Player ratings

The afternoon belonged to Marcus Ingvartsen

A mark of 7.85, and nobody in the ground would argue with it. He was involved in everything that mattered and most of what did not.

In brief

6 Edition

The Luzern Courier

7 Sep 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Match

Nowhere to hide for Luzern

0‑3 against Basel, and no complaints that would survive the replay. The manager spoke about character afterwards; the terraces used shorter words.

Transfer targets

Mattersburg tell Luzern: Kevin Alaba 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.

Boardroom

Deadline passes with 24 signed and 3 gone

That is the business done at Luzern until the window opens again. Whether it was enough will be answered on Saturdays rather than in a column, and the first Saturday is close.

Squad

A falling-out at Luzern

Marcus Ingvartsen and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.

The dugout

The manager makes an example of Dominique Heintz

“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.

Squad

Words at Luzern training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Severin Ottiger 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.

Squad

Oscar Kabwit is the month’s best young player

At 21 he was better than everybody his age in the division for four weeks running, which is harder than one good afternoon. Luzern will try not to make too much of it.

Boardroom

Doors closed at Luzern

The music was off and the showers ran late. What was said in that dressing room stays there, but Saturday will publish the minutes.

Squad

Player of the month: Matteo di Giusto

Four weeks in which nobody in the division did his job better. The award goes on a shelf and the player goes back into the side, which is the order Luzern prefer.

In brief

5 Edition

The Luzern Courier

31 Aug 2026
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Transfer targets

Luzern rebuffed over Philippe Keny

Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Zurich have kept their man, and Luzern go back to a list with one name crossed off it.

Market

Marijan Urtić 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 Luzern can pretend not to have heard.

Transfer targets

Santino Andino will not be coming to Luzern

Terms were offered and declined. Whether it was the wages, the role or the town, nobody at Panathinaikos is saying, and nobody at Luzern is enjoying the guessing.

Squad

Tempers go at Luzern

Tyron Owusu 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.

Squad

A row about effort at Luzern

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Dominique Heintz was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

The terraces

The crowd has taken to Severin Ottiger

At 23 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.

Match

Sinan Karweina the difference as Luzern beat Young Boys

Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Sinan Karweina. 2‑0 against Young Boys, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.

Squad

Goal number 50 for Matteo di Giusto

50 goals in these colours now, every one of them somebody’s memory. There is a supporter in the stand who can tell you where he was for most of them.

Player ratings

Sinan Karweina in the eights

A performance of 8.26 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.

In brief

4 Edition

The Luzern Courier

24 Aug 2026
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Market

Not going: Alphadjo Cissé stays at Luzern

“I know what people will say. I know what I want, and it is here.” Moreirense had the fee agreed and the shirt ready; they did not have the player, and now they will not.

Market

Basel come back empty-handed

The bid was some way short and Luzern did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.

Transfer targets

Door shut on Metinho

Luzern asked and Basel said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.

Market

Luzern spend $2.2M to raise the standard

This is not cover and nobody is pretending it is. $2.2M has been paid because Marcus Ingvartsen is straightforwardly better than what was already here, and the club has decided to stop waiting.

Transfer targets

Santino Andino due for a Luzern medical

Everything agreed with Panathinaikos, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.

Squad

A falling-out at Luzern

Leonardo Bertone and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.

Transfer targets

Luzern baulk at the price for Andrej Bačanin

Basel wanted more than $110.0K and the board would not go there. Walked away, for now, which in a transfer window means until somebody blinks.

The terraces

The crowd has taken to Tyron Owusu

At 23 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.

Match

Luzern see off St. Gallen

Three points for Luzern, 1‑0 the final word against St. Gallen in a contest settled by the finer margins.

In brief

3 Edition

The Luzern Courier

17 Aug 2026
From our football correspondent Crisis

Transfer targets

$4.7M settles it between the clubs for Ilyas Chouaref

Sion have accepted the money. What Luzern do not yet have is the man, and between here and the photograph is a conversation about wages that both sides are dreading.

Market

Luzern say no — this time

The offer from Zorya for Alphadjo Cissé 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 targets

Marcus Ingvartsen is a medical away from Luzern

The deal with San Diego Football Club 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.

The terraces

Supporters turn on the $2.5M sale of Simon Simoni

He is going to VfL Wolfsburg, the club has $2.5M it did not have on Friday, and the phone-ins have already decided how they feel about that. Selling well and selling somebody they loved are not the same skill.

Market

Simon Simoni moves on

VfL Wolfsburg pay $2.5M, and the deal is done. The number reads well on a balance sheet; whether it reads well on the pitch is next season's question.

Squad

Words exchanged at Luzern

Leonardo Bertone 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.

Transfer targets

An offer of $110.0K for Andrej Bačanin

Luzern have gone to Basel 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.

Market

Business is business: Lucas Ferreira goes

St. Gallen paid $530.0K and Luzern took it, which is the whole story in one sentence. The longer version involves a wage budget and will be told all season.

Transfer targets

Luzern rebuffed over Cyrill May

Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. St. Gallen have kept their man, and Luzern go back to a list with one name crossed off it.

In brief

2 Edition

The Luzern Courier

10 Aug 2026
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Match

No mercy from Luzern

Vaduz will want this one forgotten quickly: 4‑1, every duel lost, and a long ride home. Luzern were ruthless in the way good sides are ruthless.

Market

Luzern say no — this time

The offer from St. Gallen for Matteo di Giusto 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.

Squad

3 goals for Matteo di Giusto

The match ball belongs to Matteo di Giusto, whose 3 goals turned a difficult afternoon into a procession.

Market

Lucas Ferreira has said yes to St. Gallen

The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Luzern have lost him in all but the paperwork.

Player ratings

Oscar Kabwit, 21, steals the show — 8.00

Marked 8.00 at 21, in a side that makes no allowances for age. He did not need any, and he looked the least nervous man on the pitch.

Squad

A move Alphadjo Cissé would have made for nothing

There is a version of every career where the player ends up somewhere he chose rather than somewhere that chose him. Alphadjo Cissé is living that version at Luzern, and it tends to show in the first month.

Squad

A one-man rearguard from Pascal Loretz

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.

Market

Eyes on Lars Villiger again

The phone has started ringing about Lars Villiger again, and this time the name on the line is Basel. Luzern are listening politely and promising nothing.

Transfer targets

Diego Mascardi turns down Luzern

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.

In brief

1 Edition

The Luzern Courier

3 Aug 2026
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Transfer targets

Door shut on Florian Neuhaus

Luzern asked and Borussia Mönchengladbach said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.

Squad

Leonardo Bertone signs on for more

“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Leonardo Bertone and Luzern agree another 2 years.

Squad

Matteo di Giusto 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 Luzern this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

The terraces

Luzern supporters have found a favourite in Lars Villiger

There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 23-year-old it feels ownership of. Lars Villiger 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.

The dugout

Pascal Loretz gets it from the manager

“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.

Market

Eyes on Lucas Ferreira again

The phone has started ringing about Lucas Ferreira again, and this time the name on the line is Lugano. Luzern are listening politely and promising nothing.

Player ratings

Matteo di Giusto in the eights

A performance of 8.42 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.

Squad

Severin Ottiger 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 ratings

A masterclass from Lars Villiger

Marked 8.15 — 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.

In brief