On Sunday at 4:30 p.m. at the Swissporarena in Lucerne, Lugano will start the final round for the title. Ahead of the match, the team trained on Friday morning in Cadro and will have a finishing session on Saturday afternoon before departing for central Switzerland.
MARQUES AI BOX
During the last training sessions Martin Marques stopped whose presence on Sunday is ruled out as well as that of Belhadj and Valenzuela. All other elements of the roster are by contrast available.
WORKED LONG AND HARD
In the press conference on the eve of the game, coach Mattia Croci-Torti was initially asked how Lugano has prepared during these two weeks in view of a game against a very fearsome team especially at home. The last defeat at the Swissporarena took place even at the beginning of December and precisely against the bianconeri.
"I answer very simply. We spent these 15 days working hard and strong. It was not a period in which we had to disconnect but put volume in our legs because from now on there will be no more recovery time. We have a busy month ahead of us where in each of the five games we absolutely have to raise our level also mentally. Concentration will have to be high and therefore it was essential to put a lot of gas in the engine. It was one thing to rest mentally, although I don't think many people did that since there were the Cup semifinals to look forward to in order to stay on track. What we did was try to work hard because we know that in the last period before this break we didn't do as well as we would have liked. So we put the emphasis on work and sacrifice, aspects that had been lacking in the last few games. Physically we had given up something however it could have been there but it was important to do what we did."
VERY FEARSOME AT HOME
"As for the next opponent, it is not so much and only the course of the last few months but that of the last few seasons that confirms that Lucerne is a very dangerous team at home, where it gets carried away by its public a bit like it does in St. Gallen. A collective capable every season of the best as well as the worst, every now and then coming first or second, last year not making it into the top six. This year it made it thanks to a string of results including a 5-0 home win against Swiss champions YB, then maybe a few away setbacks. But at Swissporarena they are always to be feared, even if the game does not go the way they would like, on firm balls they often make the difference. The various Rrudhani, Stankovic, Villiger, Grbic and Knezevic himself are players who can also hurt with this weapon. So we will have to be very careful. In my opinion it will be a good game with two teams that will want to win, no one will play to defend. I am convinced that both of them will dare and we will hardly witness a boring match."
FIRM BALLS: MORE CONVICTION
-About corners and free kicks you guys have never been able to take advantage of them to score. Again the other night Inter pga showed in Barcelona how crucial stationary balls are. Why can't you exploit them more?
"Weekly we analyze the situation on how we prepare things and how we implement them on the field. There is one aspect on which we lack: conviction. We have few players who are convinced that they can hurt the opponent in this kind of action. We need to improve this but it is also true that you have to have conviction inside. In the past there has often been talk about an element like Hajrizi having the right timing. We have to be good as coaches to improve for example a player like Lukas Mai. In these months I cannot reproach him for anything, he has had a change of attitude and a very high level of professionalism. I think he is the defender who wins the most duels in the entire Super League. But he is 1.93 tall and hasn't scored with his head yet, we have to train him and improve him in this aspect. Stationary balls are not the result of chance, but they have to be kicked in a certain way, and this year we have lacked something there as well."
FIVE PLAYERS RECOVERED
-You have recovered some players and therefore have more alternatives available on the bench; are they all ready to be deployed?
"In one fell swoop we recovered five elements. We also put two weeks of work in the legs for Mahou, Bottani and Dos Santos. Hajdari who has been missing in the last few games has also fully recovered. We are a more complete roster and I am sure that with the players at our disposal we can play a very good game. The important thing sometimes is not so much to have them available but to be able to have them with minutes and pace in their legs. Last week we organized an indoor game to try to raise everyone's intensity. I'm very happy with how these 15 days have gone."
SHAME ABOUT MARTIM
-Won't the absences of the two left wing chaps namely Marques and Valenzuela be underestimated?
"It is also true because Marques, after his knee injury had come back well. Then, like all players coming back from a long break, after the first weeks of positive flow came a downturn. But he was training hard, unfortunately he had a muscle problem, there will be tests later today and I can't tell you how long he will have it. It's too bad because he's a guy who has a lot of desire and hunger and was intent on playing a great game on Sunday aware that the one in Lausanne was one of the least convincing performances of his Lugano adventure."
THE ROSE AS A STRENGTH
-Did the injuries have an impact?
"This year we were built, without the Mauro Galvao of the situation, as a team that from the beginning had the squad as its strength. Compared to our opponents I have been able to change lineups in so many games, from the bench we have always been able to draw on something important. In a recent interview, it was pointed out to me that even to this day I am the second coach in terms of the number of points scored with subs. Recently, on the other hand, injuries have taken away our strength in the last minutes however, as you know far be it from me to blame anyone. I have never pointed the finger at anyone and I have always tried to take responsibility, I think the job of a coach is to find solutions especially in emergency situations. As I have often repeated if I am here and also to overcome decisive moments. The thing I regret is not being able to see the boys give what they can to the team when they are absent. We had major absences that still took something away from us and I have no problem reiterating that."
MANY ROTATIONS IN THE FALL
-You had more injuries in 2025 when there were fewer engagements, how can you explain it: drop in tension, bad luck, other?
"There are always different motivations. I have my own explanation: in the fall I did a lot of turnover, eleven would play one game and another eleven the next. We always gave everyone a week to recover. The few times I deployed the same ones, we struggled a bit. There were also injuries (Belhadj, Hajdari's first, Bislimi's and others) due to heavy bruising. Grgic we lost him on the synthetic against YB as well as last year we had had several injuries in Lausanne. Three days before the Cup match in Biel we lost four elements in Bern. I am quite calm in telling you that in the first part I did something quite "violent" by rotating all the players except maybe Renato Steffen."
WIN ALL OF THEM
-What is your goal at the beginning of this final round of five games?
"To win them all, to get as high as possible. We know that we have lost points on the road, we are not here to say that in the last month and a half we have done what we expected. Opponents have always proved to be more efficient than us, plus now we have the worst schedule of all with three away matches out of five, even with a Thursday in Lausanne and three days later in Geneva. At home we will face two teams that bring thousands of fans in tow, so facing them is almost always like playing away. Against Basel and YB it is also never a walk in the park; they both have high ambitions. The matches in the final round are difficult for anyone, I don't want to say that the standings can be completely overturned. Last year two wins (with Winterthur and in Bern) were enough for us to place second. This year, I'm sure that depending on the result of the first match of the leader Basel, anything can still happen."
UNEQUAL FINAL ROUND
-Following your reasoning, you don't like or rather you don't think this formula is fair?
"It is not a fair final round, that is known. It is good that there is a division of the standings but what happens after that is not fair. Either you do like in Belgium with round-trip and points halved but here the fact for example that we are going for the third time to Lausanne while they only came once to Cornaredo is not normal. We are not complaining but it is not a fair formula. Everyone should play their chances equally and that is not happening. In these two years we have raised the level of balance in the league, no team has pulled away from the others any more. Just as there are no clubs already relegated in January, everyone still believes. This formula means that Winterthur has never given up and GC and Sion are feeling the water at their throats because they don't want to go to the barrage. It's all good except for the final part when everyone (or almost everyone) is playing for something but the group scheme would have to be revised by, for example, letting those who came higher in the standings have a better chance of playing at home or other arrangements that take meritocracy and not other factors into consideration."
DIFFICULT TO FIND HOTELS
-Do you think the two close trips to Romandia are an opportunity to stay in place as you had done in the recent past?
"We evaluated the experiences of the past two years that never bore positive fruit when it was decided to stay beyond St. Gotthard between commitments. We found ourselves in uncomfortable conditions to train, the host clubs deciding based on the weather what field to allocate to us and without being able to close it to outsiders. Last time in Nyon we prepared for the game with Servette with six Garnet observers watching the training. So we will return to Ticino, we are used to coming back from Thun at 4:30 in the morning and we will do the same. Rehabilitation, physiotherapy and more are also involved. One issue we don't talk about is the difficulty of finding hotels to accommodate us. In this final round we will have to go down to two hotels we have never visited before, because at this point in the season it is difficult to find facilities that still have that many rooms available. So from Lausanne we will go back home. The only difference will perhaps be that we will make the trip by train, as we have done several times before. The rail trip is a bit more comfortable while on the way back we will get on the bus and those who can will sleep until Lugano, the others will think back to the game."
THE SNUB WITH THE SERVETTE
-The title can no longer be won but there is European qualification to be achieved. Can you motivate a group in which there are several expiring players? How do you make these elements hungry now that there is no Cup final to keep everyone on edge?
"In modern soccer, those without contracts must try to give their best to find a team. In the end, our boys, no matter what, have great respect for the Lugano jersey and for those who gave them the opportunity to show off. In this respect I see no difficulties. The criticality of this year -and I can reiterate it- is that at the most beautiful moment, when we had to show ourselves to be more efficient and stronger than our opponents (I'm thinking of the Bern and Basel matches and the home clash with Servette) we failed to take the lead, score a goal and win. And they were matches in which we had played better than our opponents. Especially the match with Servette on a mental level hurt us a lot, it was the time when we could catch up with them in the standings and catch up with Basel. The big difficulty on a mental level was being convinced we could do it and not being able on the field to get the three points. It was a snub for a group that felt they were up to it. But in direct clashes with the top teams this year we are the team with the fewest points, so we have to do mea culpa."
SOMETHING HAS TO CHANGE
-After the defeat in Lausanne you were very angry and announced changes not sure whether of men or attitude. Will you leave the initiative to the opponent to restart?
"I cannot tell you what we studied for Lucerne. My words of two weeks ago were not in the wind, they are convictions I have in my head, something will change on Sunday. Not the idea nor the men necessarily however something has to change because I am not happy with the results of the last few weeks. I am not happy with myself either. Sometimes I liked how we played but not the efficiency shown."
FINISH IN THE TOP THREE
-Are you unhappy with these results and the society? Do you feel it supports you, have the executives approached you, have you talked about the delicate moment?
"The nice and basic thing is that we talk to each other every day. The one who is not happy is not me and neither are they. It is much easier to discuss with people who are inside and who know why certain results come or don't come, when there is a daily transparent and easier discourse. Then we all know that in the world of sports, results count, many times they were positive, now they are not what we wanted. The company gave me the goal of trying to get in the top three, and despite all the negativism these days we are in the full race to get there where we wanted to be. The likely Europa League finalists are 13th respectively 14th in the Premier League standings. We've seen Roma come out of Europe and immediately turn around in the league, Lazio go out on a limb. Playing on Thursday and placing in the top six was not a given, the crisis we had afterwards could have come much earlier and it would have been difficult to turn it around. So anyway we are still there and we can play it. Then at the end of the season the line will be drawn as the former president taught us. We still have five chances to make everyone believe again and to see the Lugano that so many times until November was praised on all fields."
FRICK'S CLEVERNESS
-About the title round, I heard Lucerne coach Frick just now and he told me that they play without pressure and that they have done more than expected and that in that sense there is a difference in ambition from Lugano. Do you feel a certain extra weight?
"(laughs) If you believed Mario Frick's words... We know him well he's being smart, I respect him for the way he plays his teams but on the level of ambition he's in the same situation as me, he has a very good team. If you look at his roster he absolutely cannot be happy with placing sixth. Last year he was the first to be unhappy about not placing for the title round. He has a strength within himself that I envy him; he can give more confidence to young people than I can. I don't know if he has more ready and structured ones, even now they play the twins on defense who are 6'92 tall. Lucerne has a youth pool which is also the goal of our Academy to bring more elements to the first team. Frick mentions youth but doesn't remember that he went and bought people in Sweden who then don't play. He does a bit like Mourinho with Santos. I repeat both he and his managers if they finish sixth would not be happy, quite the contrary."
