swiss league News
Young B. 23.8 : Young Boys have signed Swiss international midfielder David Degen on a free transfer after the 25-year-old left German club Borussia Monchengladbach. Degen has signed a three-year contract with the Berne-based side. He returned to St. Jakob-Park on loan last season.
Grass. 14.8 : Attacking midfielder Gonzalo Zarate will be sidelined for a month after undergoing knee surgery, a huge loss for Grasshoppers. The 24-year-old Argentinian had the operation after picking up the injury during his team's 2-2 draw with Zurich last weekend. Zarate made 24 Swiss league appearances last season.
Young B. 10.8 : Young Boys have appointed Vladimir Petkovic as successor to coach Martin Andermatt, who was sacked last month after a string of poor results. Petkovic has put pen to paper on a two-year contract with the option of extending his tenure at the Berne club. Last season the 45-year-old guided Bellinzona to promotion from the second division and to the final of the Swiss Cup where they lost 4-1 to Basel.
Luzern 10.8 : Coach Ciriaco Sforza has parted company with Luzern by mutual consent. Saturday's 1-0 loss to league leaders Aarau left the club bottom of table with just one point from their first five matches in the new season. Sforza had extended his contract in May until summer 2009. It was not immediately known who would be named as his successor.
Young B. 31.7 : Young Boys have dismissed coach Martin Andermatt after a disappointing start to the new campaign. Young Boys drew 0-0 with Vaduz last weekend, having opened the season with a pair of defeats by Basel and Sion. However, the sacking comes as a surprise given the club's decision to extend Andermatt's contract by a year last January. Assistant coach Erminio Piserchia takes charge on an interim basis.
Basel 10.7 : Basel have strengthened their defence with the signings of David Angel Abraham from Argentinean side Independiente Daniel Unal from promoted Bellinzona. Abraham, 22, has signed a four-year contract with the Swiss champions after spending last season on loan at Spanish second division club Gimnastic Tarragona. Swiss youth international Unal, 18, has agreed a three-year contract with Basel.
Grass. 3.7 : Eldin Jakupovic, an unused goalkeeper for Switzerland at EURO 2008, is to spend another season at Grasshoppers after extending his loan from Lokomotiv Moscow. The 23-year-old moved to Switzerland from Bosnia-Herzegovina as a child and begun his professional career at the Zurich club, before joining Lokomotiv in 2006, only to return on loan a year later. Grasshoppers now hope to make Jakupovic's stay permanent after he appeared 23 times in the Swiss league last campaign.
