With Giorgio Contini, national coach Yakin gains a confidant from his network. That doesn’t have to be a disadvantage for the national team – after the European Championships, Contini would like to work as head coach again.
The national coach Murat Yakin (left) and his new assistant Giorgio Contini have known each other for a long time and have already worked together.
Jean-Christophe Bott / Keystone
The national team’s last appearance was almost three months ago. On November 21st, Switzerland lost 1-0 against Romania in the European Championship qualifiers in Bucharest and thus lost their group victory. It was the sad end to a complicated international year that raised many questions. In its analysis, the Swiss Football Association (SFV) surprisingly came to the conclusion, among other things, to stick with the heavily criticized head coach Murat Yakin, but to provide him with a new assistant.
The long search is over. On Thursday, the SFV announced that Giorgio Contini had signed a contract as assistant coach of the national team, valid until the end of Euro 2024 in Germany. Contini is a choice that shouldn’t surprise anyone because he has been close to Yakin for a long time. Their paths crossed again and again during their playing careers – and at FC Luzern they have already coached a team in the same constellation. Under the boss Yakin and the assistant Contini, the FCL achieved second place, the second best ranking in the club’s history, and reached the cup final.
Later, Giorgio Contini also left his mark as head coach. He was promoted to the Super League with Vaduz and Lausanne, among others, and managed to stay in the league with both teams. Contini also worked respectably in St. Gallen and most recently at the Grasshoppers, which he left voluntarily at the end of last season after difficult circumstances. Since then, Contini has continued his education and would like to work as a head coach again after the European Championships. Yakin says he has known and appreciated Contini for a long time: “I am sure that he will help us with his coaching experience.”
The constellation seems like a perfect match – at first glance
The collaboration between Yakin and Contini, both born in 1974, seems like a perfect match at first glance. Yakin was a defensive player, Contini a striker; The two have a close relationship, which should guarantee that the new assistant will behave loyally at all times. Over the years, Murat Yakin has built up an extensive network that has been referred to here and there as a “clan”. The fact that Contini is one of Yakin’s confidants does not have to be a disadvantage for the national team in the next few months.
Giorgio Contini has also proven in recent years that he can lead players and a team. He could be a suitable complement to Yakin, who may rely more on his intuition. Contini has always found a way to stabilize his teams in complicated constellations. And he has proven himself to be a good communicator, not least because the native Italian has a perfect command of several languages. It can be assumed that he will be better accepted by most national players than his predecessor Vincent Cavin, who, among other things, lacked experience as a coach at a high level. Cavin had been part of the Swiss team for thirteen years and has taken on a new challenge as assistant to USA national coach Gregg Berhalter.
Has proven himself to be a good communicator in the past: Giorgio Contini.
Valentin Flauraud / Keystone
Contini never worked abroad. The experience from major leagues would have spoken in favor of the former German world champion Miroslav Klose, with whom the SFV dealt intensively. Roberto Di Matteo, who was also recently considered an assistant and once won the Champions League with Chelsea, was never a serious option, especially since he has not worked as a coach for over seven years. And Davide Callà would hardly have received approval from FC Basel for a dual role as assistant.
Yakin and Xhaka have to pull themselves together
The most exciting question will be how the team’s leaders will come to terms with Contini. Granit Xhaka, the most important national player, spoke out in an interview a few weeks ago in favor of Stephan Lichtsteiner, his predecessor as captain, as an assistant. With Contini, who played an international match against Poland in 2001, the SFV has now hired an experienced coach and at the same time further strengthened Yakin’s position.
Assistant Contini or not: What will be crucial is that Yakin and Xhaka pull together for the common goal of the European Championship after a year full of tensions in 2023. In the next few months, the national team will have to develop a positive feeling for the European Championship after poor performances. At the end of March, a training camp in La Manga, Spain, as well as matches in Denmark and Ireland are on the agenda, before the European Championships there will be further test games against Estonia (in Lucerne) and against Austria (in St. Gallen) as part of the preparation camp in Switzerland.
At the European Championships in the summer, Switzerland will face Hungary, Scotland and the hosts Germany in the preliminary round. And in the fall the Nations League will continue against Spain, Denmark and Serbia. Whether Murat Yakin will still be there as a coach will depend heavily on the success at the European Championships. His contract also ends after the European Championships.