St. Gallen before the first hurdle of the European League

St. Welsh sports director Alain Sutter (left) and coach Peter Zeidler look down on Europe (Photo: KEYSTONE / GIAN EHRENZELLER)

(nda)

For FC St. Gallen the first round on Thursday (8:15 pm) Sarpsborg is the first appearance since 2013. The memories of the qualifying round of the group stage are very pleasant. Under Jeff Saibene was successful against Spartak Moscow, one of the biggest successes of the club's history at the age of 139, probably surpassed only by the triumph in the first round of the UEFA Cup against Chelsea 18 years ago. After 1: 1 at home, the St. Gallen surprised the Russian championship, especially thanks to the double goalkeeper Goran Karanovic with a score of 4 to 2.

Not only the scorers of this time are no longer part of this summer on a dozen positions converted Kaders St. Galler. Only Daniel Lopar is still here. The goalkeeper lost his number one status but Dejan Stojanovic.

This is not the memory of 2013, that's why the people of St. Gallen are eager to meet the Norwegian representative Sarpsborg in the best mood. However, the successful start to the season in Basel in the first match under coach Peter Zeidler is mainly responsible for the 2-1 win just before the final whistle. "The win was good, it gives the team self-confidence and buoyancy," said Zeidler before the duel with the Norwegian third of last season, who will receive the St. Gallen in the return leg in a week on artificial turf.

I've already seen a lot of good things against Basel from his team, although not all of them worked well, Zeidler said. In this regard, Thursday's opponent continues. In the Norwegian Eliteserien, which starts every spring, 16 of the 30 laps have already been completed. Sarpsborg, who has qualified for the European Cup for the first time, is currently ranked 6th, three points behind Molde, third.

After viewing the material collected locally by the St. Gallen video analyst, Zeidler recruited his team. The many great players, the bodily approach of the southeastern team of Norway, have attracted attention. Against the so-called favorite in the fight for the third round duel against the best Croatian club Rijeka, the Norwegians should be much more defensive than FC Basel last Saturday. The question of whether he should put himself on Thursday for continuity or pivoting a first time, he worked longer than usual. He had only been the day before in the defense; Nicolas Lüchinger will line up instead of Peter Tschernegg on the right side, otherwise the four rank remains unchanged.