Marcel Koller Survived Cairo and Basel’s Snake Pit. Now He Must Steady FC Zurich

Marcel Koller does not look like a coach who will dominate the touchline. He is not a volcano, a great speechmaker or a style icon. He keeps his hands in his pockets, complains politely to the referee and watches almost motionlessly as opponents score.

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We give away too much, it simply isn’t enough

That calm is now being tested at FC Zurich. After a 2-4 defeat by Young Boys, Koller was left to search for explanations. Six matches into the season, Zurich have six points, nine goals scored and 16 conceded. Four of those games have ended in defeat, and Koller’s predecessors all made better starts after the same number of matches.

Asked whether he could already see progress, Koller raised a series of uncomfortable possibilities: fear, too much respect, a lack of confidence or insufficient courage. “We give away too much, it simply isn’t enough,” he said. He delivered the assessment in his usual quiet manner.

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competence and integrity

The club hired the 65-year-old from Schwamendingen to bring calm and experience to ground that the article describes as badly damaged by the turmoil of recent years. President Ancillo Canepa summed up the appointment with the initials “KI”, meaning “competence and integrity”. The second quality, the article suggests, could be particularly useful to Zurich.

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You have to talk to the people and see what needs to change

Koller is due to face his former club Grasshopper on Saturday. When asked about his old connection, he said nearly 25 years had passed without hearing from GC, so a recent approach from one of its board members was not an option. He prefers to focus on the work ahead. “You have to talk to the people and see what needs to change,” he said. “It is not a question of weeks, but months.”

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It is not a question of weeks, but months