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
Cedric Zesiger
Player profile:
- Nationality: Swiss
- Age: 21
- Date of birth: 24/6/1998
- Current Club: BSC Young Boys
- Career: NE Xamax, Grasshoppers, BSC Young Boys
- Position: Centre Half
- Preferred foot: Left
Zesiger was the standout player this game and was very impressive. The left sided centre half is 6’4″ but impressively fast and covered long through passes really well. He was strong in the air, dealing with long balls well as well as decent footwork and ability to turn. His build is athletic and lean and he could fill out a bit but used his body well when defending and was a good marker. He liked to press out of the line and did so well but left the defence vulnerable at time and needs to know when to do this more. In 1v1s he had good body positioning, closed down space and worked hard.
He was calm under pressure, taking progressive passes and carrying ball into space when he could. His passing was smooth and he played good passes into midfield with good speed. He hit some good long balls with backspin to the target man but also over hit a few to no one which wasted possession.
Rating: A1/A2
Really impressed me with this performance. Strong overall defender who is capable on the ball with a great athletic profile. One to watch again.
Saidy Janko
Player profile:
- Nationality: Swiss
- Age: 24
- Date of birth: 22/10/1995
- Current Club: BSC Young Boys on loan from Porto
- Career: Zurich (Y), Manchester United (Y), Bolton (L), Celtic, Barnsley (L), Saint Etienne, Porto, Nottingham Forest (L), BSC Young Boys (L)
- Position: Right Back
- Preferred foot: Right
Janko is a full back with a big frame, he was a powerful runner and is fast over medium distances. He was explosive and physical, using it well in challenges. He defended well and read danger, making some good interceptions and pressing out into midfield by following his man as they dropped.
His passing could have been better and more progressive. He made a few runs behind and overlapping runs but struggled to impact the match much in the final third. He didn’t cross enough and was hesitant at times which lost him the best opportunity to cross.
Rating: B1
Janko is now 24 and has some good qualities but I’m not sure he’s going to be much use to Porto so it will be interesting to see where he goes next.
Jordan Lotomba
Player profile:
- Nationality: Swiss
- Age: 21
- Date of birth: 29/9/1998
- Current Club: BSC Young Boys
- Career: Lausanne Sport, BSC Young Boys
- Position: Right back
- Secondary position: left back
- Preferred foot: Right
Playing at left back in this game, Lotomba showed himself to be a strong, physical player with a good work rate. He had good control although his first touch could have been better at times and he did pretty well under pressure to protect the ball. He travelled at speed with the ball well and was a powerful runner into space a few times. His passing was average and kept possession and he didn’t show much in the final third. He is right footed but has a strong left foot allowing him to play on the left and allowed him to overlap, cut in and have a decent chance saved.
Defensively he could have been more aware and track back quicker but read danger pretty well and did well in the box overall. He looked to press out but sometimes went too high unnecessarily.
Rating: B2
Looked a fairly solid player with a good athletic profile and is worth watching again, showed a few bits of quality but not enough overall.
Felix Mambimbi
Player profile:
- Nationality: Swiss
- Age: 18
- Date of birth: 18/1/2001
- Current Club: BSC Young Boys
- Career: BSC Young Boys
- Position: Left Wing
- Secondary Position: Right Wing
- Preferred foot: Right
Mambimbi is small with a slim frame, a low centre of gravity and good agility and speed. He worked fairly hard to press high and his positioning out of possession was decent. He took some heavy touches though and his positioning to receive could have been better. He was direct and wanted to travel with the ball but wasn’t effective enough in possession and lost it too much. He had good control and drew a lot of fouls, he was wanted to try things but they didn’t come off enough and he is quite raw. Also, he liked to move inside to central areas and make support runs but these weren’t accessible enough. He also failed to feed or link with his overlapping full back very well.
Rating: C
Esteban Petignat
Player profile:
- Nationality: Swiss
- Age: 19
- Date of birth: 17/5/2000
- Current Club: BSC Young Boys
- Career: BSC Young Boys
- Position: Central Midfield
- Secondary Position: Centre Half
- Preferred foot: Right
This was his first and only Super League start. He did fairly well and grew into the game but his inexperienced showed. He looks a tidy player but needed to involve himself more but as he grows with confidence and gets more minutes he could improve. His control and touch was decent but passing needed to be crisper, with better technique. Defensively he worked hard, was aware and did well at staying on his feet and winning the ball in midfield. He was brought off after 61 minutes so I need to see him again.
Rating: C