From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Player ratings28 Sep 2026
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 35 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
Match26 Sep 2026
The wait goes on for Zurich
6 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
Squad28 Sep 2026
Axel Witsel 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 Zurich this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings28 Sep 2026
Successful dribbles: 21. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Player ratings28 Sep 2026
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 20 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
Squad28 Sep 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Nelson Palacio, and the manager let it.
The terraces28 Sep 2026
The spotlight tightens on Axel Witsel
Every touch is being weighed now, in print and everywhere else. Some players grow into that and some are quietly ruined by it, and nobody knows which in advance.
Match26 Sep 2026
Ninety minutes, two goalkeepers with clean gloves, and not one finish worth keeping. Basel will be the happier side with the point.
Player ratings28 Sep 2026
A mark of 5.33 tells the story without any need for embellishment. He will want the tape of this one quietly lost.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match19 Sep 2026
5 matches without a win for Zurich
The run now stands at 5, and the questions being asked around Zurich are no longer polite ones.
Player ratings21 Sep 2026
Successful dribbles: 25. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad21 Sep 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Zurich this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad21 Sep 2026
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Match19 Sep 2026
Luzern left with the points after a 0‑1 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Player ratings21 Sep 2026
Ten men and a goalkeeper behind him, and it still finished in the net. He knew before anybody told him, and nobody at Zurich needed to.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Player ratings14 Sep 2026
Ayman Kari runs at them all day
Successful dribbles: 25. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Match12 Sep 2026
4 matches without a win for Zurich
The run now stands at 4, and the questions being asked around Zurich are no longer polite ones.
Squad14 Sep 2026
Tempers go at Zurich
Ayman Kari 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.
Squad14 Sep 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Moctar Diop, and the manager let it.
Match12 Sep 2026
Beaten 0‑1, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Squad14 Sep 2026
An error at the back is a moment; an error in goal is a goal. Heinz Lindner knows it, the crowd knew it instantly, and there was nobody behind him to make it anything else.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Player ratings7 Sep 2026
Successful dribbles: 35. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Match7 Sep 2026
Every point is an argument now for Zurich
Position 8 and 5 points, and the table gets read bottom-up in this part of town. The calendar has stopped being a schedule and started being a countdown.
Squad7 Sep 2026
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.
Squad7 Sep 2026
Tempers go at Zurich
Axel Witsel 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.
Boardroom7 Sep 2026
193% of the income goes out in wages at Zurich
Every club in football pays most of what it earns to its players. Paying nearly all of it is a different arrangement, and it has ended the same way every time somebody has tried it.
Match5 Sep 2026
Beaten 0‑1, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad31 Aug 2026
Tempers go at Zurich
Juan-José Perea 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 ratings31 Aug 2026
Successful dribbles: 20. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Match29 Aug 2026
Zurich come up short against Vaduz
Vaduz left with the points after a 0‑2 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Squad31 Aug 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Heinz Lindner, and the manager let it.
Boardroom31 Aug 2026
The manager kept them in and said what needed saying. A response is expected on Saturday, and if it does not come the questions move upstairs.
Squad31 Aug 2026
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Stijn Keller and Zurich agree another 4 years.
Squad31 Aug 2026
Nelson Palacio 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 Zurich, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Player ratings31 Aug 2026
Shots: 4. Goals: none. The chances were there and they were good ones, and they went into the stand, the goalkeeper's arms and the side netting in roughly that order.
Player ratings31 Aug 2026
A mark of 5.49 tells the story without any need for embellishment. He will want the tape of this one quietly lost.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad24 Aug 2026
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 7 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Market24 Aug 2026
Selmin Hodža 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 Zurich can pretend not to have heard.
Market24 Aug 2026
Business is business: Silas Huber goes
Young Boys paid $2.2M and Zurich took it, which is the whole story in one sentence. The longer version involves a wage budget and will be told all season.
Player ratings24 Aug 2026
Successful dribbles: 24. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad24 Aug 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Zurich this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad24 Aug 2026
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Match22 Aug 2026
Honours even between Zurich 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.
Squad24 Aug 2026
The first one is the one every signing is asked about until it arrives. It has arrived, and he can stop being asked.
Market24 Aug 2026
The list is a quiet document with a loud meaning. Miguel Reichmuth may talk to anybody who asks, and everybody at the club understands what that means.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market17 Aug 2026
Köln pay $910.0K, 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.
Squad17 Aug 2026
Tempers go at Zurich
Juan-José Perea 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 ratings17 Aug 2026
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 22 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
Player ratings17 Aug 2026
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 9.08, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Market17 Aug 2026
The phone has started ringing about Silas Huber again, and this time the name on the line is Young Boys. Zurich are listening politely and promising nothing.
Player ratings17 Aug 2026
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 20 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
Match15 Aug 2026
Three points for Zurich, 1‑0 the final word against Sion in a contest settled by the finer margins.
Player ratings17 Aug 2026
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.46, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Squad17 Aug 2026
The manager makes an example of Umeh Emmanuel
“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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market10 Aug 2026
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
Squad10 Aug 2026
“The easiest signature of my career.” Philippe Keny and Zurich agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad10 Aug 2026
Axel Witsel 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 Zurich this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad10 Aug 2026
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Player ratings10 Aug 2026
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 20 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
Player ratings10 Aug 2026
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 19 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
Player ratings10 Aug 2026
Successful dribbles: 16. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Player ratings10 Aug 2026
A mark of 7.57, and nobody in the ground would argue with it. He was involved in everything that mattered and most of what did not.
Market10 Aug 2026
“We are a long way apart, and pretending otherwise helps nobody.” Neither side is close, and the calendar is not on the club's side.
In brief
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Squad
Lindrit Kamberi asks for a word with the manager
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Market
Experience through the door at Zurich
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Market
Experience through the door at Zurich
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market3 Aug 2026
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
Squad3 Aug 2026
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Juan-José Perea commits to Zurich for another 3 years.
Squad3 Aug 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Zurich this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match1 Aug 2026
A bad afternoon for Zurich against Thun
0‑2 to Thun, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Squad3 Aug 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Heinz Lindner, and the manager let it.
Market3 Aug 2026
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Zurich, another week without a signature from Heinz Lindner.
Player ratings3 Aug 2026
Successful dribbles: 16. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Market3 Aug 2026
49 months left and silence from upstairs — no offer, no talks, nothing for his people to answer. Clubs that let a calendar do their negotiating usually end up negotiating with the calendar.
Squad3 Aug 2026
Philippe Keny 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 Zurich, and both men came out saying it was fine.