Ratings
- A1 – Very good, could play higher
- A2 – Strong potential to play higher
- B1 – Good, strong player at level
- B2 – Potential to be strong player at level
- C – Average for the level, rewatch
- D – Below average, don’t follow up
Ermedin Demirovic
Player profile:
- Nationality: Bosnian
- Age: 21
- Date of birth: 25/3/1998
- Current Club: St Gallen on loan from Alavés
- Career: Hamburg (Y), RB Leipzig (Y), Alavés, Sochaux (L), UD Almería (L), St Gallen (L)
- Position: Striker
- Preferred foot: Right
Demirovic had an impressive performance. The Bosnian was an effective target man who worked hard and pressed intelligently and with intensity when needed. He’s 6’1″ and was aggressive, he liked putting his body into challenges and was difficult to play against. He was very strong and protected the ball extremely well while holding off defenders. He was most comfortable with his back to goal but also showed good movement in the box and wanted to make runs behind. He wasn’t the quickest though and he did get a goal as well this game with a front post header that went down as an own goal.
Rating: A1
The Bosnian U21 international was impressive in this game and looked like he could contribute to Alavés in La Liga next season.
Miro Huheim
Player profile:
- Nationality: Swiss
- Age: 21
- Date of birth: 24/3/1998
- Current club: St Gallen
- Career: Zurich (Y), Chelsea (Y), St Gallen
- Position: Left back
- Secondary Position: Left wing back
- Preferred foot: Left
Huheim had a decent performance but was very mixed. On and off the ball he was too inconsistent. He’d do well in some defensive 1v1s and win the ball well but then also look lost other times. He made some good runs into midfield and touches around players but also looking uncomfortable on the ball other times. His passing game could be good with smooth short passes into midfielders but also too often passed straight into defenders under pressure. It could have been a concentration and confidence issue. Also, he had a decent frame and height with pretty good physicality.
Rating: B1
He showed glimpses of quality but it was hard to judge him from a very mixed performance, worth watching again.
Leonidas Stergious
Player profile:
- Nationality: Swiss
- Age: 17
- Date of birth: 3/3/2002
- Current club: St Gallen
- Career: St Gallen
- Position: Centre Half
- Secondary Position: Right Back
- Preferred foot: Right
The young defender had okay awareness and decent communication, organising the defence at such a young age. He was quick with great acceleration and covered long balls very well. Overall he was good at winning possession and didn’t allow attackers space, getting between man and ball. His short passing was smooth with good pace but longer passing could have better in terms of his decisions.
But he’s 5’11” with a slight frame and isn’t physical or strong enough. Hopefully he can gain some size and fill out his frame so he can be more aggressive.
Rating: B2
Although he looks a good player his future will depend on his physical development, he’s young and has time to develop further in Switzerland before a bigger move if he’s ready.
Silvan Hefti
Player profile:
- Nationality: Swiss
- Age: 22
- Date of birth: 25/ 10/1997
- Current club: St Gallen
- Career: St Gallen
- Position: Right Back
- Secondary Position: Centre Half
- Preferred foot: Right
Already Captain, Hefti is stands at 6’0″ with a decent frame but looked a bit heavy footed and lacked pace. Comfortable on the ball but poor 1v1 in the final third, not great at creating space for himself and could take too long on the ball and rush under pressure. His overlapping runs could have been better and with high intensity and a few times he moved centrally for no apparent reason, leaving the team with no width and a messy midfield.
Defensively he did okay in 1v1s with good body position but his positioning could have been better. He seemed to lack confidence a bit and made a few slight errors but overall made some good interceptions.
Rating: B2
Solid defensive full back but didn’t provide enough in attack in a 4-diamond-2 where providing width is important. Maybe better suited to a different system.
Betim Fazliji
Player profile:
- Nationality: Swiss
- Age: 20
- Date of birth: 25/4/1999
- Current club: St Gallen
- Career: St Gallen
- Position: Defensive Midfield
- Secondary Position: Central Midfield / Centre Half
- Preferred foot: Right
It was a difficult game to judge Fazliji, he is a defensive midfielder and was playing in midfield for the first third of the game but then was forced to play the rest of the match at centre half due to an injury.
He’s quite tall with a slim frame and made some good tackles and pressed the wide areas well in midfield. His marking in the box could have been better, he was aggressive but took risks with it. Also he made some good passes and showed good control but sometimes took too long on the ball and was slow to make decisions.
Rating: C
Did some okay things but need to see him in midfield more.
Jérémy Guillemenot
Player profile:
- Nationality: Swiss
- Age: 22
- Date of birth: 6/1/1998
- Current club: St Gallen
- Career: Servette (Y), Barcelone (Y), Rapid Vienna, St Gallen
- Position: Striker
- Secondary Position: Second Striker / 10
- Preferred foot: Right
Playing behind the two strikers in this game, he wasn’t particularly involved and came across as quite casual. He positioned himself between the lines but didn’t show for the ball much or fight to open passing lanes. Too often he slowed down the tempo or lost possession trying to dribble and carry between the lines. He was a technical player and created space well in wide 1v1s and had good set piece deliveries.
Rating: D
Poor performance overall, showed some quality on the ball but lost it too much and didn’t have a strong mentality. Maybe I need to see him as a striker.
Cedric Itten
Player profile:
- Nationality: Swiss
- Age: 23
- Date of birth: 27/12/1996
- Current club: St Gallen
- Career: Basel, St Gallen
- Position: Striker
- Secondary Position: Second Striker
- Preferred foot: Right
He’s tall with a decent frame who pressed well but wasn’t that strong on the ball. His positioning was odd and inaccessible at times although he scored some okay movement in the box I thought it could have been better overall. Was too focused on his defender and trying to lean into him with his back to goal than actually receiving the ball. He made some decent layoffs but chipped a few of them for no reason and made it awkward for teammates.
Rating: C
I was hoping for more from him but I’ll need to rewatch.