Stamping Grounds: Liechtenstein's Quest for the World Cup... Or respect.

Liechtenstein - Principality of Liechtenstein

The Principality of Liechtenstein is a small, doubly landlocked country in Central Europe, bordered by Switzerland to its west and by Austria to its east. Mountainous, it is a winter sports resort, though it is perhaps best-known as a tax haven. Despite this, it is not heavily urbanized (in the way that the Principality of Monaco and Gibraltar are). Many cultivated fields and little farms characterize its landscape both in the north (Unterland) and in the south (Oberland). It is the smallest German-speaking country in the world.

Short name  	  Liechtenstein
Official  name 	  Principality of Liechtenstein
Status 	          Independent country since 1806
Location 	  Central Europe
Capital 	  Vaduz
Population 	  33,987 inhabitants
Area 	          160.4 km²
Major  languages  German (official)
Major  religions  Roman Catholicism

Football in Liechtenstein;

Liechtenstein football teams play in the Swiss football leagues. The Liechtenstein Football Cup allows access for one Liechtenstein team each year to the UEFA Europa League; FC Vaduz, a team playing in the Swiss Super League, the first division in Swiss football, is the most successful team in the Cup, and scored their greatest success in the European Cup Winners' Cup in 1996 when they drew with and defeated the Latvian team FC Universitate Riga by 1–1 and 4–2, to go on to a lucrative fixture against Paris Saint-Germain F.C., which they lost 0–4 and 0–3.

The Liechtenstein national football team is regarded as an easy target for any team drawn against them; this was the basis for a book about Liechtenstein's unsuccessful qualifying campaign for the 2002 World Cup by British author, Charlie Connelly. In one surprising week during autumn 2004, however, the team managed a 2–2 draw with Portugal, who only a few months earlier had been the losing finalists in the European Championships. Four days later, the Liechtenstein team traveled to Luxembourg, where they defeated the home team 4–0 in a 2006 World Cup qualifying match. In the qualification stage of the European Championship 2008, Liechtenstein beat Latvia 1–0, a result which prompted the resignation of the Latvian coach. They went on to beat Iceland 3–0 on 17 October 2007, which is considered one of the most dramatic losses of the Icelandic national football team. On 7 September 2010, they came within seconds of a 1–1 draw against Scotland in Glasgow, having led 1–0 earlier in the second half, but Liechtenstein lost 2–1 thanks to a goal by Stephen McManus in the 97th minute. On 3 June 2011, Liechtenstein defeated Lithuania 2–0.

Records;

A list of all Liechtenstein clubs reflecting their success in the Liechtenstein Cup after 69 competitions (from 1946 to 2014 inclusive).

"League Tier" indicates in which tier of the Swiss Football League the clubs are active (status: season 2014/15).

Club 	           League Tier 	Finals 	Won 	Lost
FC Vaduz 	        1 	54 	42 	13
FC Balzers 	        4 	24 	11 	13
FC Triesen 	        7 	18 	8 	10
USV Eschen/Mauren 	4 	21 	5 	15
FC Schaan 	        7 	13 	3 	10
FC Ruggell 	        7 	6 	- 	6
FC Triesenberg 	        7 	- 	- 	-

FC Vaduz;

FC Vaduz are easily the most succesful club in Liechtenstein history, they have been involved in 55 of the 69 previous Liechtenstein Cups as well as being the only Liechtenstein club to play in the top tier of Swiss Football (this coming season being the clubs second spell in the Swiss Super League).

European Football;

In 1992, Vaduz qualified for European football for the first time, entering the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup as Liechtenstein Cup winners, but lost 12–1 on aggregate to Chornomorets Odesa of Ukraine in the qualifying round. In 1996, Vaduz qualified for the first round proper with their first European victory, winning 5–3 on penalties against Universitate Riga of Latvia, after a 2–2 aggregate scoreline, although Vaduz lost their first round tie to Paris Saint-Germain of France 7–0 on aggregate.

After the Cup Winners' Cup was abolished, Vaduz have annually entered the UEFA Cup (now the UEFA Europa League) as a result of winning the Liechtenstein Cup every year since 1998. However, they have never got past the qualifying rounds to date.

However, Vaduz did come within one second of reaching the first round proper of the UEFA Cup in 2002. With the aggregate scores level, and with opponents Livingston scheduled to go through on away goals, Vaduz won a late corner. The ball was sent into the box, and Marius Zarn hit a goal-bound shot. However, the referee blew the whistle for full-time just before the ball crossed over the line, and Livingston progressed through in controversial circumstances.

FC Vaduz started their European campaign in 2009–10 by beating Scottish side Falkirk in the second qualifying round of the Europa League. However, they lost 3–0 on aggregate to Czech side Slovan Liberec in the third qualifying round.

But our story (my career) doesn't start with Vaduz, or the top tier of Swiss Football ... My story starts ...

... Here!

USV Eschen/Mauren is a Liechtensteiner football club from Eschen and Mauren.

They play at the Sportpark Eschen-Mauren, which used to be the national football stadium, until the Rheinpark Stadion in Vaduz was built. USV Eschen/Mauren, like all other Liechtensteiner teams, play in the Swiss Football League system. The first team played in 1. Liga, Group 3, the third tier of the Swiss Football League following promotion in the 2007/08 season from 2.Liga interregional as a result of winning the Group 5 division.

The club was originally formed in 1963 as a merger of FC Mauren and FC Eschen. Since 1975, the first team has always played in Liga 2 except for the 1999/2000 season when they were promoted to 1. Liga, Group 3 before being relegated back again to 2.Liga interregional. After the 2007/08 season, it won promotion once again.

USV has won the Liechtensteiner Cup on 5 occasions, the most recent being in 2012. In the 2009-10 Liechtensteiner Cup, the first team was drawn against its reserve squad in the semi-finals. The first team won the match and earned a spot in the finals, losing to FC Vaduz. USV Eschen/Mauren as of 2014/15 Season play in the 4th Tier of Swiss football.

Honours;

   [b] Liechtenstein Football Cup: 5[/b]

       1976, 1977, 1978, 1987, 2012

*My Career*

My Profile;

First Impressions: November 2014;

So i started the game in November 2014 (mostly because i wanted the season to start a little as i couldn't decide whether to take USV Eschen/Mauren or FC Balzers and i decided to take whomever started the worst of the two) and USV Eschen/Mauren are sat in 3rd place in Group 3 (top team is promoted).

Fixtures;

So perfect timing my first match in charge is against Liechtensteiner rivals FC Balzers who currently sit top. There is just 4 matches before we head into 2015 and my target is 10 points if we want to catch Balzers. The squad is very shallow at the moment (just 14 players) and i will need to bring in an handful of free agents (if my previous experience with FM15 so far is anything to go by i probably need another 10...) right after i bring in my coaching team.

November/December;

I decided to line us up with a 4-4-1-1 formation with Defensive Wingers and a Defensive Forward supported by a Shadow Striker, we will press opposing defences from the front and hopefully force them into making mistakes.

Home vs FC Balzers

Valdet Istrefi really got my attention in our first games scoring 2 goals to put us 2-0 up, but the Home side clawed their way back and i am gutted not only that we could only draw my first match in charge but to be 2-0 up with 15 minutes to go... 2-2 Draw! PoM: Istrefi.

I filled my bench in time for our next game and even managed to bring in as many Free Agents on trail as we could find (our scouts were also sent out, they will earn their first couple of months pay that is for sure). First Signing: Panushanth Kulenthiran

Away vs Wettswil-Bonstetten

Same formation, same tactics. Scherrer on the left was on fire, it was his turn to score a brace but this time there was to be no fight back. We learned our lesson and held on for the 2-0 victory. PoM: Scherrer.

Home vs Team Ticino U21's

One of my scouts found a North Korean CF who last played for Bruhl a tier above us in the promotion liga, but he hadn't played for over a year. For this level his lack of match fitness didn't worry me too much and io threw him in the deep end and he repayed my faith with a goal, he could of been PoM if it wasn't for Raphael Huber stealing the show and scoring an HatTrick, Scherrer grabs another and throw in an O.G and we win 6-1! PoM: Huber.

Home vs Dietkon.

Four days before Christmas and with the snow coming down fast santa comes early for all the children of the Liechtenstein Cities of Eschen and Mauren, we go top of the league after our third victory in 4. Rim Chol Min scores his 2nd for us, Obhafouso grabs one, we get another O.G handed to us and finally Istrefi scores a fourth. We win 4-1. PoM: Chol Min.

Transfers

We make one more signing as we head into the New Year, this one is a youngster with potential as opposed to a first teamer though, at just 17 Swiss CM Flavien Petit is one for the future.

My Player of this Update;

Valdet Istrefi - His weakest Rating in my first four games in charge was 7.5, he has hit the ground running in the clubs new tactic.

January 2015;

Congrats go out to Rim Chol Min who is called up into the North Korean Asian Cup Squad to earn his first caps (we only lose him for two matches...)

Away vs Thalwil

Kicking off 2015 with 2 Away games is a little scary but we jump the first hurdle perfectly. Simon Kuhne, Norbert Frrokaj and Valdet Istrefi score with no reply and we grab n excellent 3-0 Victory! PoM: Raphael Huber.

Away vs Taverne

Hurdle two: Jumped clear ... Scherrer and a couple from Huber hand us our second 3-0 win. PoM: Raphael Huber.

Home vs Seuzach

The clubs only RB is gone! - A bid of £15k came in that we couldn't refuse for this level. We'll just have to shoe someone else in for the time being... Trajkovic, Burak and Kelenthiran get a goal each (Kelenthiran's was a screamer, 30 yard free kick) and the returning Rim Chol Min scored a brace to give us a 5-0 Victory! PoM: Simon Kuhne.

Away vs Grasshopper U21's

I expected a tougher game from these than we got. but we are in excellent form, Chol Min brought a friend back from the Asian Cup with him and after a trial we signed North Korean RW'r Kim Kuk-Jin. Istrefi scored a brace and Kulenthiran grabbed one. So thats 4 matches 14 goals for, non against. 5-0 Win! PoM: Valdet Istrefi.

Player of the Update;

Transfers

New Captain Norbert Frrokaj - Scored his first goal of the season and really stepped up after taking the armband helping us keep clean sheets for the month.

February/March 2015;

With a few friendlies sprinkled in between league games we enter the final stretch of the season, on course to challenge for the Title and unbeaten since i took over (let's hope i haven't just jinxed it).

Away vs Mendrisio

A couple of players making their first starts and we stumbled a little. We went 2-0 down, Kuk-Jin went off injured and on comes Huber to save the day, scoring 2 goals to claw us back a point at least. 2-2. Our PoM: Huber.

Home vs Baden

Baden have turned into our nearest challengers and they shown us just why in this game, we struggled and was fortunate when Scherrer opened the scoring. They hit us with everything they had in the second half (even though we somehow had more possession all the highlights belonged to them) and an equalizer came and the game finished 1-1. PoM: Scherrer.

The rest of the 2 months were filled with friendlies with varying results. The best a 3-2 victory over Red Bull Salzburg!

It's hard to pick a Player of the update after 2 draws but we must thank Raphael Huber for saving us against Baden.

In March the new Youth Prospects were brought into the club, three are worth keeping an eye on;

Lennart Hoffman - Initial Profile, Coach Report - I dont really use DM's so he may need to be good enough at CM to get game time.

Daniel Königs - Initial Profile, Coach Report - I have two excellent RW's so he will have to be very patient, will almost certainly go out on loan to get games.

Stefan Fritsch - Initial Profile, Coach Report - RB is our weakest position right now, he may even get minutes before this season is out.

Current Squad stats - League Table

Liechtenstein National Team;

My first International squad for the games against Russia (ECQ) and Paraguay (Friendly) was a difficult one, i spent ages going over form, my coaches valuations etc. and even though i feel we need to keep things tight at the back to have any hope of getting anything from games i really am not happy with the quality of Defenders, we'll play 5 at the back, with the Wing Backs Inverted to help out the Center and four in Midfield with Wide Defensive Wingers and a Defensive Forward up top, we'll try to press from the front and hopefully not allow too much ball possession around our goal.

Away vs Russia (ECQ)

They had a player sent off in the 30th minute which allowed us to push up a lot more than i usually would... I got too carried away and they with 2 banks of 4 were too difficult to break down and we couldn't even get more than one shot ... They however still dominated us with 10 men and we lost 2-0. Our PoM: Michele Polverino.

Home vs Paraguay (Friendly)

We managed to get more possession than Paraguay, even getting 5 shots on target (from 8 shots) but we couldn't score and we lost 2-0 to a team that kicked the crap out of us. Our PoM: Valentin Flatz.

International Landmarks;

90th Cap for Franz Burgmeier. And at the other end of his International Career, 1st Cap for Claudio Beck. FC Balzers Player/Manager and Liechtenstein Legend Mario Frick continues to play at 40, he is the record cap and Goalscorer for the country, now on 119 with 16 Goals.

*Coming Next Update: Can we hang onto the League!? Into the Semi's of the Liechtenstein Cup...*

April/May 2015;

Home vs Muri

A few injuries and fitness issues prevented us playing our best side and a strong Muri side took advantage and we could only draw 1-1. Our PoM: Igor Manojlovic.

Liechtensteiner Cup Semi Final;

Home vs Liechtenstein U18's (Vaduz' Youth Side).

Possibly the easiest Semi Final we have ever gotte... Scratch that apparently a few seasons ago we played our own U21's in the Semi Final. Well i took advantage of the situation to hand Petit his debut as well as a few of the Academy kids getting their chances. Domuzeti (on Loan from Vaduz) scored a brace, Kulenthiran scored another corker of a free kick and finally Bosko Trajkovic scored to give us a 4-1 victory. PoM: Panushanth Kulenthiran.

Home vs Winterthur U21's.

Just a 3 day turnaround and we are back on league duty, lucky it was one of the Reserve sides and we managed a 5-0 victory (A Kuhne HatTrick was the highlight). PoM: Simon Kuhne.

Liechtensteiner Cup Final;

Neutrel vs Vaduz.

Even though they are currently battling relegation (and losing that battle) they are three divisions above us and a tough game was always on the cards. We just couldn't get into the match and came out 4-0 loswers. Our PoM: Panushanth Kulenthiran.

Home vs Gossau

With just two games left in the league we are on the same points as Baden... we cannot afford to slip up, we dont here at least a (not quite so) comfortable 1-0 win. PoM: Tiago Pires.

Away vs FC Balzers

Final match of the season and of course it was going to be fellow Liechtensteiners Balzers, we need to equal or better whatever Baden do in their match (they are Away against 11th placed Wettswil). Huber gives us the lead just before HT and we can be confident with Baden drawing 0-0 in the other big match. Just after the hour mark and we go 2-0 up and just 4 minutes later the Title should be ours when Baden go a goal down... Both games stay like that and we win the Title and with it gain promotion to the Third Tier!

In bad news for Liechtenstein Football Vaduz lose their battle against relegation and they will drop into the Swiss Challenge League.

Final Squad | Fixtures | Finances | Positions Graph

Key Players;

Raphael Huber - Equal most PoM awards along with Valdet Istrefi, who also sat 4th in the assists Table with 8. Topping the assists table (joint) was Patrick Scherrer. GK Boban Antic got the most clean sheets in the division with 14. Huber, Scherrer and Club Captain Norbett Frrokaj all got in the top 4 Average Rating for the season.

End of 14/15 Season, Pre 15/16 Season;

Best XI;

Player of the Year;

Season Preview | Seasons Expectations

... And my favorite piece of news, Mario Frick has left FC Balzers when they didn't offer him a new deal and he has signed with us to be our new Player/U21 Manager.

International News;

Squad for games vs Sweden and Gibraltar.

Away vs Sweden (ECQ)

This was never going to be a match we could win and the 3-0 loss we suffered was about what we deserved.

Home vs Gibraltar (Friendly)

A match we could actually go out and do some attacking in, things started with an hiccup Gibraltar took the lead in the second minute. But we fought back and managed to win 3-1 with 40 year old Legend Mario Frick still scoring (he grabbed the equaliser) along with Vincenz Flatz and Michele Polverino.

Landmarks;

Sandro Wieser earned his 30th Cap while Fabien Eberle got his 10th.

July/August;

The first bit of news is that Raphael Huber has broken the Appearance record at the club. Even more interesting he can take Liechtenstiener Citizenship in a

So it begins ...

Transfers.

New Signings;

Raymond Tinner and Simon Roduner to fill our RB gap. Alexandre Monteiro to provide competition at LM and of course Mario Frick!

Home vs Locarno (Promotion League - 18/7/15)

We kicked things off against a side who finished Mid Table (7th) last year so they should be a great test to see where we are at. Even though they opened the scoring early in the second half we actually looked pretty comfortable after the step up in divisions and goals from Valdret Istrefi and Rim Chol Min saw us finish 2-1 winners. Our PoM: Igor Manojlovic.

Away vs Etoile-Carouge (Promotion League - 25/7/15)

A couple of injuries in this game could of put us on a downer but we counter attacked them pretty well ... Well enough to take a 2-0 victory thanks to goals from Chol Min and Pires. PoM: Tiago Pires.

Home vs Kriens (Promotion League - 1/8/15)

We dominated this match, nothing else to say about it other than they only managed 3 shots. We won 3-0 with goals from Chol Min (2) and Patrick Scherrer. PoM: Scherrer.

Away vs Breitenrain (Promotion League - 8/8/15)

A tougher game we had them on possession but just couldn't break them down and they actually managed more shots on target than us just sitting back and hitting us on the counter. Neither of us could score though and the match finished 0-0. PoM: Tiago Pires.

Home vs YYF Juventus (Promotion League - 15/8/15)

I'm seeing a pattern here, no Chol Min in the side (he also missed last game) and we struggle to score, we did manage to scrape a 1-0 victory after a goal in the 87th minute from Substitute Niklas Kieber but it was a bit of a let off. PoM: Raymond Tinner.

Away vs Basel U21's (Promotion League - 22/8/15)

The U21 sides have been dropping down the divisions (well they did last year all 3 relegations from this division were Reserve sides) and so i was hoping for an easy game and a return to form... We kind of got it, we won 3-1 but it was a little lucky at times and our defence really didn't perform well. We had a Korean back on the score sheets, but it was Kim Kuk-Jin (Chol Min is still out), Kuhne and Kieber got the other two. PoM: Kim Kuk-Jin.

Home vs Tuggen (Promotion League - 29/8/15)

Three shots on target total all games should of seen this finish a bore draw really... But we again rode our luck and scrapped a victory (we are doing a lot of that we really are), 1-0 win after a Obhafuoso Penalty. PoM: Philip Ohafouso.

Unbeaten in our first 7 in the promotion league, things are going well so far.

Player of the Update: It was hard to decide between the goals of Chol Min or the defending of Pires, but since Chol Min missed the last few i will go with Tiago Pires, solid at the back, a couple of PoM performances and a goal.

National News;

FIFA Rankings climb...

2018 World Cup Qualifiers Draw!

September/October

Away vs Delemont (Promotion League - 16/9/15)

How many times will we ride our luck this season!? There is no way we should of won this match, they were the better side, had more shots, more possession .. But somehow in the 89' minute Valdet Istrefi scored the only goal of the game to give us the 1-0 win. Our PoM: Norbert Frrokaj.

Away vs Bruhl (Promotion League - 26/9/15)

We didn't really put our chances away in the first half and we went in 2-1 down (Captain Frrokaj scored ours), in the second half Rim Chol, Min returned to scoring ways and got us the 2-2 Draw, probably a fair result. PoM: Simon Kuhne.

Home vs Fribourg (Promotion League - 21/10/15)

At the hour mark we were comfortably 3 up, with goals from Chol Min, Frrokaj and Scherrer. But they only started playing in the 86' minute and scored 2 goals to leave us nervously defending in the dying seconds... 3-2 Win. PoM: Panushanth Kulenthiran.

Home vs Stade Nyonnais (Promotion League - 31/10/15)

When Alexandre Monteiro got himself sent off in the 31' minute i feared the worst but goals from corners for Bosko Trajkovic just two minutes later and just after half time for Norbert Frrokaj and we were actually able to get a 2-1 victory. PoM: Bosko Trajkovic.

Promotion League Table;

National News;

The Squad;

Home vs Austria (ECQ - 4/9/15)

A very tough match to watch, we lost 5-0.

Home vs Moldova (ECQ - 7/9/15)

In our best game since i took over we managed to not only hold Moldova to a draw but we actually scored, well done Nicolas Hasler, 1-1.

Landmarks;

Sven-John Beck won his first cap, along with new Liechtenstein Citizen Mario Sara and Simon Pirker. Benji Büchel and Simon Kühne both got their 10th caps. And Michele Polverino earned his 50th.

Group Table.

The Squad;

Home vs Sweden (ECQ - 9/10/15)

So if the Austria game was tough to watch this was downright painful... We were hammered 8-0, lets move on.

Away vs Montenegro (ECQ - 12/10/15)

A much more respectable 2-0 loss here after that nightmare against Sweden.

Landmarks;

Daniel Kaufmann earned his 30th Cap, Swiss LB/Midfielder Sakir Kaplan took Liechtensteiner Citizenship to make his first appearance as did fellow convert Diego Ciccone Andreas Haber also made his debut this window. Olcay Gür made his 10th appearance for the Country.

The Final Euro 2016 Qualifying Table.

New Record Low FIFA Ranking

November/December 2015;

Away vs FC Balzers (Liechtensteiner Cup Qtr Final - 4/11/15)

In a repeat of last years Q-Final played just before i took over we got Balzers again, other than bringing in backup GK i played a strong side, even though they are a division below us now. Goals from Simon Kuhne and Rin Chol Min see us win 2-0. Our PoM: Tago Pires.

Away vs Koniz (Promotion League - 7/11/15)

We didn't play well here, i thought towards the end we were going to throw away the 3 points but we scraped through with a 2-1 victory. Scorers: Kieber and Kuk-Jin. PoM: Kim Kuk-Jin.

Home vs Old Boys (Promotion League - 21/11/15)

We dominated the first half and goals from Frrokaj and Chol Min saw us take a 2 goals lead into the break. The second half was there turn and they pulled things back to 2-2 within 12 minutes of the restart. But a Raphael Huber corner was headed in by Norbert Frrokaj for his second goal to give us a 3-2 victory. PoM: Norbert Frrokaj.

Away vs Rapperswil (Promotion League - 12/12/15)

We had to lose sometime... It's a little annoying that they got 3 though and an Own Goal, 3-1 loss. Our PoM: Simon Kuhne.

Away vs Bienne (Promotion League - 19/12/15)

After losing 3-1 last time out we came back here and won 3-1, the team played excellent with Captain Fantastic Frrokaj scoring from a corner again and YP1b Daniel Konigs scoring 2. PoM: Daniel Konigs YP1b.

Player of the Update has to be Captain Fantastic Norbert Frrokaj. 3 Goals, a PoM performance (and close in every game pretty much).

Promotion League Table.

International News;

Two International Friendlies had been set up that we had a chance to get victorys in.

The Squad;

Home vs Grenada (Friendly - 13/11/15)

Two goals in 4 minutes from Lorenzo Longo see us run out 2-1 winners, coming back from a goal down.

Away vs Puerto Rico (Friendly - 17/11/15)

I'll blame the travelling... We played okay, but at times i think having to attack at International level was a little confusing for us and we just couldn't get back into the game after they went a goal up in the 53' minute. 1-0 Loss.

Then the news i have been waiting for ... And dreading. Mario Frick after the Puerto Rico game has decided to call it a day on his International Career. He finishes his 21 1/2 years with the National side on 125 Caps, 17 Goals. He made his debut vs N. Ireland, April 1994.

Landmarks;

Cengiz Biçer, Andreas Malin and Lorenzo Longo all earned their 10th Caps.

January - March 2016;

Home vs Etoile-Carouge (Promotion League - 2/1/16)

With a 6 point lead in the League we needed to keep our concentration levels up and with Chol Min and Roduner both going off injured this was a tough test, we came out 3-1 winners in the end but the score doesn't show just how close this was. Roduner, Monteiro and Kieber got the goals. Our PoM: Niklas Kieber.

Away vs Locarno (Promotion League - 9/1/16)

Locarno are now our nearest rivals and this game showed just how well they have been playing and we got a wakeup call, they were 2-1 (Istrefi got ours in the 44' minute) up before half time and even though we managed to claw things back to a draw 13 minutes into the second half, we pushed on for the winner but it was them that got it, 3-2 loss. PoM: Valdet Istrefi.

Away vs Kriens (Promotion League - 23/1/16)

Another close game that the final score just did not reflect, possession was 49/51, shots 20/17, on target 10/8, but somehow we still managed to pull off a 4-2 victory, we are really riding our luck and i just hope it does not run out before the season ends. Scorers: Konigs, Monteiro, Istrefi and Chol Min.

Home vs Breitenrain (Promotion League - 30/1/16)

We actually looked like tital contenders here at last, much better performance from the whole team and we won 2-0, Frrokaj and Kuk-Jin with the goals. PoM: Kim Kuk-Jin.

Away vs YF Juventus (Promotion League - 13/2/16)

Consistantly inconsistant, and even our luck seemed to of run out here, very little went right in this match, Kulenthiran opened the scoring for us but they came back and took us apart beating us 3-1. Our PoM: Panushanth Kulenthiran.

Home vs Basel U21's (Promotion League - 20/2/16)

This was just the match we needed after that tough to take loss, Basel U21's are struggling in the league and we are at Home, goals from Rim Chol Min (x2) Kim Kuk-Jin and Valdet Istrefi see us run out 4-1 winners. PoM: Daniel Konigs.

Away vs Tuggen (Promotion League - 5/3/16)

We played like the Away team again here, less shots on target but got the win. Istrefi, Kuhne and Chol Min scored to help us to a 3-1 victory. PoM: Simon Kuhne.

Home vs Delemont (Promotion League - 12/3/16)

We could only manage 3 shots on target, never really looked like winning and were a little fortunate to get the draw, 2-2 with our goals coming from Simon Kuhne and Raphael Huber. PoM: Raphael Huber.

Away vs Fribourg (Promotion League - 27/3/16)

After the draw with Delemont we were on the same points as Locarno, but by the time this game came around we already knew that Locarno had lost (the game was postponed 3 days because of Internationals). We won 2-1 thanks to goals from Istrefi and Kuhne (who had just gotten an Hat-Trick for his country a few days earlier). PoM: Simon Kuhne.

League Table.

2016 Youth Candidates;

Jens Weber - Initial Profile, Coach Report - He's only tagged because my Assistant sees something in him that i dont, so we'll see what happens with him i guess.

Felix Huber - Initial Profile, Coach Report - CM is one of our strongest positions, unless anything drastic happens he may need to go out on Loan to gain experience.

National News;

March's Squad.

Home vs Andorra (Friendly)

Landmarks: Seyhan Yildiz earned his 20th Cap, Simon Kuhne scored his 1st, 2nd and 3rd goals in a first ever Liechtenstein Hat-Trick and Mario Klein got his first Cap and at just 16 years old he his one to keep an eye on for the future.

After the great victory we got some bad news, Benji Buchel and Martin Buchel have both retired - The annoying thing is i offered to sign them both on two occasions since they left their clubs last summer. Benji is 2nd/3rd choice GK but Martin is a bigger loss and was amongst 3/4 players fighting for the Midfield spots.

April/May 2016;

Home vs Bruhl (Promotion League - 2/4/16)

I'm not sure if we rode our luck again here, or if we really are as good as we seem to be at the moment... Huber opened the scoring in the 1st minute, they equalized 20 minutes later and just after half time things looked to of gone from bad to worse when Stefan Fritsch (YP1c) was sent off. But we were back and forth, countered there threats well and scored another 2 goals via Simon Kuhne, we won 3-1. PoM: Simon Kuhne.

Home vs Liechtenstein U18's (Liechtensteiner Cup, Semi Final - 13/4/16)

For the 2nd year in a row we faced Vaduz' U18's team and even playing almost an entire U18's/Fringe players (with 2/3 first teamers for experience) we won 3-1. Simon Kuhne just had to play with his current form and he scored as did Trajkovic and Felix Huber (YP2b) in his first ever appearance. PoM: Norbert Frrokaj.

Away vs Stade Nyonnais (Promotion League - 16/4/16)

I think it is time i started really believing we can win the league, Istrefi, Kiber and a brace from Burak and we won 4-2. PoM: Eris Burak.

Home vs Koniz (Promotion League - 23/4/16)

A clean sheet at last (been a while), and goals from Rim Chol Min and Patrick Scherrer and we win 2-0. PoM: Raymond Tinner.

Neutral venue vs Vaduz (Liechtenstiener Cup Final - 27/4/16)

For the second year in a row we (of course) came up against Vaduz. With them only being 1 division above us right now we went a little less defensive, i still lined us up with 5 at the back but we attacked them more. They controlled the game pretty well however and we can't complain too much about the 1-0 loss. Our PoM: Bosko Trajkovic.

Home vs Rapperswill (Promotion League - 10/5/16)

Just a point here and we are Promotion League winners after Locarno slipped up last weekend, they now need to win every match and hope we lose every match with 3 to go. Felix Huber scores his 2nd goal for the club handing us a 3-0 victory, the other goals were scored by Rim Chol Min and Mario Risch (another youngster), we put an handful of youngsters out. PoM: Felix Huber (YP2b).

Breaking Records....

Home vs Bienne (Promotion League - 14/5/16)

With the Title and promotion now ours it was time to blood more youngsters, Petit, Kuk-Jin and Kieber scored for us in a very entertaining 3-3 draw. PoM: Kim Kuk-Jin.

Asked to Interview for the St. Gallen Job... Thanks, but no thanks.

Away vs Old Boys (Promotion League - 28/5/16)

The final match of the seasonand again we put out some youngsters for their debuts, with goals from Kuk-Jin, Kieber and Chol Min we scrape a 3-2 victory in another entertaining game. PoM: Raymond Tinner.

Final Table;

The Squad | [/url] and 2. | Finances | League Table Graph | Transfers

Key Players;

Norbert Frrokaj - 2nd Highest Average Rating in the division.

Kim Kuk-Jin - 13 assists, joint 2nd highest in division.

Boban Antic - 9 Clean sheets. 2nd highest in division.

Igor Manojlovic Retiring.

Big News... We turn Pro.

End of 15/16 Season;

2015/16 Fans Player of the Season voting's in...

Seasons Best XI

A couple of retirements, Igor Manojlovic and Alexandre Monteiro.

Raphael Huber reaches threshold to become Liechtenstein Citizen... But chooses not to take the the passport (we really could use him ...)

Preview for the New Season;

... And the Title odds.

Things look like they will be much more difficult in the Challenge League, it will be interesting to see if we can do better than Vaduz now that we are in the same league, maybe even better them in the Cup to give us a go in Europe. Since going Professional changing players contracts over has been costly and we are going to be running at a loss Wages wise for the first time since i took over. I would of liked to of signed a few more players than i have been able to bring in but being over the Wage Budget will mean we will have to rely on a few loans.

National News;

Squad for match vs Iceland.

Away vs Iceland (Friendly - 4/6/16)

A fairly respectable 2-0 loss.

Landmarks: Lorenzo Lo Russo makes his International Debut.

July/August;

Since the link with Vaduz is now cancelled with us both in the same division, the board have now linked us with Elche in Spain.

The Transfers;

Ritchie Humphreys and Shaun Cooper are brought in for experience to help the handful of young Loanees we are going to be relying on.

Away vs Le Mont LS (Challenge League - 23/7/16)

A tough start to life in the Challenge League but a debut goal from Richie Humphrys saw us pretty much steal a draw against the run of play. 1-1. PoM: Raymond Tinner.

Home vs Wohlen (Challenge League - 23/7/16)

We defended well to keep an unbeaten record (okay it's 2 games, but still...). 0-0 Bore Draw. PoM: Andreas Malin.

Away vs Schaffhausen (Challenge League - 30/7/16)

This was a very different game to our first two, we went 2 up thanks to Rim Chol Min and Kim Kuk-Jin, they pulled 2 back and we got a third a minute before half time via Philip Obhafuoso. they clawed their way back to 3-3 but in the 87' minute Chol Min scored his 2nd and we could of got our first win ... But they ruined the party just 2 minutes later and it ended 4-4, crazy game. PoM: Rim Chol Min.

Home vs Lausanne (Challenge League - 6/8/16)

But we didn't have to wait long for our first win, we were pretty comfortable here and thanks to Eris Burak and Ritchie Humprehys we got the 2-0 win. PoM: Ritchie Humphreys.

Home vs Servette FC (Challenge League - 13/8/16)

Back to the drawing board... We lead for 76 minutes but they ruined the party in the 80' and cancelled out Chol Mins opener for a 1-1 draw. PoM: Norbert Frrkaj.

Away vs Vaduz (Challenge League - 17/8/16)

Our first match against our fellow Liechtensteiners, we played much more attacking than we ever have against them before but even though they are below us in the league they looked much better, 2-1 loss Kim Kuk-Jin socred for us. PoM: Kim Kuk-Jin.

Home vs St. Gallen (Challenge League - 20/8/16)

This was another big game (for me anyway) since they wanted me to be their manager this year. We absolutely hammered them, Kulenthiran, Kuhne and Chol Min were the scorers in a 3-0 victory. PoM: Raymond Tinner.

Home vs Chiasso (Challenge League - 27/8/16)

Another clean sheet, they had a player sent off late, we had 3 go off injured and we somehow managed two goals from Simon Kuhne, 2-0 victory. PoM: Simon Kuhne.

The Challenge League Table;

National News;

We are up the rankings a little...

September/October;

Away vs Wil (Challenge League - 10/9/16)

Another mad high scoring game that saw us go 2-0 up after goals from Mario Flick and Simon Baggio, they though somehow battled back and byt the time we scored our 3rd goal in the 80' minute (Chol Min) we were then 4-3 down, they got another before full time and we lost 5-3. PoM: Mario Flick.

Home vs Le Mont LS (Challenge League - 24/9/16)

Chol Min went off injured in the 4th minute but we still managed to score 3 via Kulenthiran, Humphreys and Flick in a 3-2 victory. Boban Antic also saved a Penalty. PoM: Ritchie Humphreys.

Away vs Wohlen (Challenge League - 28/9/16)

Another bore draw, but at least we didn't lose... Never looked like winning. 0-0. PoM: Raymond Tinner.

Home vs Schaffhausen (Challenge League - 1/10/16)

Not quite the crazy game as last time we played them, Mario Flick equalized for us after they only lead for 2 minutes in the first half, but they came out for the second and dominated. The fact we only lost 2-1 was testimont to our defence. PoM: Raymond Tinner.

Away vs Servette FC (Challenge League - 19/10/16)

Another 2-1 loss, our consolation was scored by Rim Chol Min, we attacked all the 2nd half but just couldn't get through. PoM: Rim Chol Min.

Away vs Lausanne (Challenge League - 22/10/16)

We are looking poor going forward at the moment (we have a few Forwards out injured to be fair)and it continued here, a bore draw. 0-0. PoM: Paolo Gini.

Home vs Vaduz (Challenge League - 29/10/16)

In our three previous games under my leadership we have lost 4-0, 1-0 and 2-1. But that run ended here, they opened the scoring and it looked like being the same old story but Norbert Frrokaj equalized and we managed to hold them from there. 1-1 win. PoM: Norbert Frrokaj.

Player of the Update: It has to be New signing, Player/Coach Ritchie Humphreys, he has been amazing in the Defensive Winger role, also fills in okay in one of the Attacking Midfielder roles (Attacking Mid. or Support Striker). For a 38 Year Old in a new League he is doing very well.

How's the Squad looking ...

Challenge League Table.

National News;

The first World Cup 2018 Qualifying Squad;

Away vs Denmark (WCQ - 2/9/16)

Lost 4-1 in a game we were never going to get anything from, was nice to get the goals though. Well done Lorenzo Longo.

Home vs Bosnia and Herzegovina (WCQ - 6/9/16)

Another Qualifying match another goal Longo again, we lost 3-1.

Landmarks;

Yves Oehri hit a huge landmark, earning his 50th Cap, while Christophe Duelli earned his 10th. Swiss GK Oliver Klaus earned his first Caps for his New Country as did fellow Swiss player, Midfielder Ramon Cecchini.

WCQ Squad number 2;

It's an after the 2 games pic, i forgot to take one before.

Away vs Luxembourg (WCQ - 7/10/16)

These games are the ones we need to get something from if we want up the rankings... A 2-1 victory was very hard thought. Simon Pirker and Lorenzo Longo (Who else!?) scored for us.

Home vs Belgium (WCQ - 11/10/16)

A 5-0 loss was just about to be expected.

Landmarks;

Marco Perez Sancho earned his 5th Cap. Vinzenz Flatz his 20th. Simon Pirker scored his first International Goal. Atletico Madrid Striker Dennis Salanovic earned his first Cap.

November - Mid-February (After the Winter Break);

Home vs Vaduz (Liechtensteiner Cup, Qtr Final - 2/11/16)

We suffered the backlash from the draw last game here, they were 3-1 up by half time after we had started well and Kim- Kuk-Jin had opened the scoring. We looked like we wouldn't be able to fight back in the 2nd half until the 74' minute when Mario Flick broke through and closed the gap to just the one goal. 6 minutes later Panushanth Kulenthiran got the equalizer to take the game into Extra Time. We were very tired though and just hung on and saw the 30 minutes out. The dreaded penalties... We lost the lottery, Humphreys and Flick missed, Burak scored our first but already 3-1 down Michele Polverino (who i have capped many time at International level) stepped up and ended our dreams. PoM: Panushanth Kulenthiran

Home vs Wil (Challenge League - 5/11/16)

A Ritchie Humphreys goal saw us win 1-0, good to get back to winning ways after my poorest run results-wise. PoM: Bosko Trajlovic.

Away vs St. Gallen (Challenge League - 9/11/16)

They may be top of the league but we really dont mind playing St Gallen, we camne close to getting another victory over them but had to settle for a draw in the end. Humphreys and Chol Min were our scores in a 2-2 draw. PoM: Rim Chol Min.

Away vs Chiasso (Challenge League - 21/11/16)

Our first TV game and we lost against the club at the bottom of the Table ... Gutted. 2-1 Loss, Felix Huber (YP2b) got our consolation. PoM: Felix Huber.

Away vs Le Mont LS (Challenge League - 30/11/16)

We were poor, nothing much else to say, the injuries are pilling up now and are making a difference i feel. Lost 4-1, Corsini got our consolation. PoM: Andrea Corsini.

Home vs Wohlen (Challenge League - 3/12/16)

We definately played better than last time out (not that that would of been difficult), a couple of players went off to add to our growing injury list (Corsini and Chol Min), Chol Min scored a couple before he went off though as did Corsini to give us a 3-1 victory. PoM: Raymond Tinner.

Home vs Servette FC (Challenge League - 10/12/16)

More Injury troubles with YP2b Felix Huber going off, Rim Chol Min though was fit enough to play after just 1 days training and banged in another couple of goals to hand us a 2-1 win. PoM: Rim Chol Min.

We now go into the winter break... I'd love to strengthen but the Wage Budget is looking very bad, we are now close to 2k over with still a couple more players i would like to extend the contracts of.

Recent Fixtures (including winter break friendlies).

It must be the season of Chairman changes in Liechtenstein, both our's and Vaduz' boards are looking for new Chairmen...

We get a takeover from within (who takes out a huge loan - Thanks new boss). While Vaduz gets a Tycoon!

Should make things interesting......

Challenge League Table;

Challenge League Player Stats|Current Squad Stats

Rim Chol Min - Clubs Top Scorer.

Raymond Tinner - Has been ever present so far this season.

Boban Antic - Joint most Clean sheets in the league, plus also ever present.

42 Year Old Player/U21 Manager and Liechtenstiner Legend Mario Frick will be hanging up his boots at the end of this season.

National News;

The Squad;

Away vs Turkey (WCQ - 11/11/16)

We will always struggle against the "bigger" nations like this at their grounds, a 4-0 loss. We couldn't even manage a shot on Target.

Landmarks: Michele Polverino earns his 60th Cap while at the other end of the scale Ramon Cecchini earns his 5th.

Away vs India (Friendly - 15/11/16)

We lost 2-1, but hey we scored a goal again. Dennis Salanovic Got his first International Goal.

Landmarks: Dennis Salanovic scores his first International Goal and Diego Ciccone earns his 10th Cap.

February/March;

Away vs Schaffhausen (Challenge League - 18/2/17)

We come back from the winter break and not much as changed, our 8th competitive match in a row where someone has gone off injured (14th player total). This week it is Rim Chol Min, but as usual he scored before he went off helping us to a 2-1 win. Marco Mirko Lacona got the 2nd. PoM: Rim Chol Min.

Home vs Lausanne (Challenge League - 22/2/17)

9th game, 15th injury. Lacona goes off. We scrape a 1-0 thanks to Trajkovic in a tough competitive game. PoM: Bosko Trajkovic.

Away vs Vaduz (Challenge League - 25/2/17)

We just cannot beat Vaduz, they haven't exactly splashed the cash yet now that they are mega rich but still they out played us whistle to whistle. 2-0 loss. PoM: Paolo Gini.

This Years Youth Candidate's are in ...

Diego Weirather - Initial Profile, Coach Report

Steffen Finke - Initial Profile, Coach Report

Stephan Schmid - Initial Profile, Coach Report

Daniel Müller - Initial Profile, Coach Report

Home vs St. Gallen (Challenge League - 6/3/17)

Back to players going off, Cosini goes off injured Legend Frick scores and we win 1-0. PoM: Paolo Gini.

Asked to Interview for another big job, this time outside of Switzerland... Ligue 2 Table.

Away vs Wil (Challenge League - 11/3/17)

We are playing very inconsistantly since coming back from the break, we really struggled here at times but kept it close, Gini equalized, then Corsini put us in the lead, they came back again and went 3-2 up and thats how it stayed, we should of drew but Mario Frick missed an injury time penalty... Damn! PoM: Rolando Mandragora.

Home vs Chiasso (Challenge League - 15/3/17)

Yp Steffan Finke went off injured this week.... So thats 17 injuries in 13 games by my count... But worrying. But still we won this one, Malin, Huber and 2 from Kuhne see us to a 4-2 victory. PoM: Simon Kuhne.

Home vs Le Mont LF (Challenge League - 18/3/17)

A Red Card, a Penalty miss and 5 goals the highlights from this game. No injuries. Burak was sent off, Frick missed another Penalty, but made up for it by scoring a brace ... But we still managed to lose 3-2. PoM: Mario Frick.

St. Gallen really went me to take the Managers job ...

Challenge League Table

National News;

First Squad of 2017.

Home vs Denmark (WCQ - 24/3/17)

Hammered - but scored another goal, if we could just keep the shipped goals down we could maybe snatch a few draws here and there.

Landmarks: Fabien Eberle earned his 20th Cap, Nicolas Hasler his 50th

WCQ Group 1 Table;

April/May 2017;

Away vs Wohlen (Challenge League - 1/4/17)

Not an April Fools gag, we really did lose this one 6-2! We started well Ritchie Humphreys put us 1 up they equalized and it's 1 each at the break. Into the second half and Captain Frrokaj puts us back in front but 3 minutes later (just before the hour) Stefan Finke (YP3b) gets himself sent off for a second bookable offence and then it goes downhill ... They score 5 more times (62' 74' 83' 86' 89') and thats that. PoM: Ritchie Humphreys.

Home vs Schausen (Challenge League - 8/4/17)

(18 in 16 on the injury count as Huber goes off). Kuhen opens the scoring, Humphreys finishes it off, they score two in between and it's a 2-2 draw. PoM: Simon Kuhne.

So this was an Interesting development in the Liechtenstein Cup... ... Not sure what it will mean for Europa League Qualification...

Away vs Servette FC (Challenge League - 15/4/17)

Only 2 goals but this was the first time i think this season that we have comfortably been the better side, we dominated played very well, Frrokaj and Kuhne scored and we won 2-0. PoM: Norbert Frrokaj.

Away vs Lausanne (Challenge League - 22/4/17)

Back to the injury score= 19 in 18, so we are staying ahead, or behind whichever way you look at it... Kuk-Jin and Chol Min hit a North Korean double and we win 2-1. PoM: Kim Kuk-Jin.

Away vs St. Gallen (Challenge League - 29/4/17)

Remember a couple of games ago when i said we had the best game possibly this season!? Well this was a candidate for the worst, we were dreadful, couldn't score if we had carried on playing another 90 minutes, couldn't defend if our lives depended on it, we were lucky it was only 3-0. Our PoM: Ritchie Humphreys ... Maybe!? - Who went off injured (So thats 20 in 19 games, good job most aint long ones...)

Home vs Vaduz (Challenge League - 6/5/17)

We weren't good going forward at all, but defended well and deserved the draw... Vaduz were a little unlucky to be fair... 0-0 draw. PoM: Raymond Tinner.

Home vs Wil (Challenge League - 13/5/17)

If you were to re-watch this match, just watch the first half then turn it off... Nothing happened in the second at all. All 3 goals came in the first, they opened the scoring and we fought back with goals from Humphreys (33') and Kuhne (39') for a 2-1 victory. PoM: Ritchie Humphreys.

Away vs Chiasso (Challenge League - 17/5/17)

Played a few Youngsters (have been putting the odd few in, but threw more than usual in here). We were down to 3rd choice GK through injury and he didn't have a great game, he only turned 16 12 days ago though so he has a lot to learn. Lost 3-1, Simon Kuhne closed the season out for us and Raphael Huber goes off injured to put the injured off score at 21 in 22 games since i started keeping score. PoM: Simon Kuhne.

Final Challenge League Table;

League Graph|Finances|Transfers

The Squad;

Key Players;

Raymond Tinner - The RB played in every games of the season, that is a huge achievement for any club. Massive when i am Manager as i am very much a rotation guy.

Rim Chol Min - Clubs Top Scorer, went on a bit of a draught/poor run towards the end of the season, probably due to all the knocks he had been taking.

Simon Kuhne - Chipped in with the goals when Chol Min was MIA, was also a big provider in the supporting role.

Ritchie Humphreys - Turned 39 during the season but still covered more ground than any other player in the team (bar Tinner) an amazing stat.

Paolo Gini - The best performing of the Loan Ins by the end of the season.

Liechtensteiner Cup

End of Season/Pre-Season Stuff!

Let's start with the retirements...

Ritchie Humphreys - I tried to get him to reconsider considering he was one of my best players last season, but alas he felt it was the right time. Still had a season or two in him though... Mario Frick - @ 42 he had started to really slow down, he could of still got games another season but would of been really limited, i had started playing him at CB at times last season as he'd lost that yard or two for up front. Both players will stay on has Staff. Finally Philip Obhafuoso also hung up his boots, he was only playing a bit part the last season or so anyway... He is going to be a Scout, but we didn't need another so let him go.

Seasons best XI

Player of the Seasons: The voting is in...

Next Seasons expectations;

Gone one higher than i would of liked just because of needing a little extra in Wages...

National News;

June's Squad

Home vs Sri Lanka (Friendly)

We totally dominated, well dominated as much as a Liechtensteiner team can dominate. Won 2-0.

landmarks;

Franz Burgmeier reached Cap 100. Olcay Gur and Lorenzo Longo both earned Cap 20. Simon Kuhne also earned his 20th Cap and scored his 5th Goal and Simon Pirker earned his 5th Cap.

Away vs Palestine (Friendly)

A very close game that could of gone either way... But alas we lost 2-0.

Landmarks;

At 15 years and 313 days Pius Fehr becomes the youngest ever Liechtenstein player.

July/August;

New Season preview;

Transfers: Burgmeier and Gur are Liechtensteiner Internationals who were released by their clubs and i didn't want to retire so have offered them a chance to get into our side. The Loanees are all to fill weaker areas, CB, CM and Traore comes to us from our Parent Club Elche to challenge Rim Chol Min for the CF position. Abelli is a RM and signs because i will be pushing Kim Kuk-Jin into a central role even more this season.

The Squad;

Home vs Le Mont LS (Challenge League - 29/7/17)

What a comeback!!! 2 down at Half Time and we still battle back and get a 3-2 victory. Gioals came from Malin, Steffen Finke (YP3b) and Pizzi, we also missed a Penalty (guess we are missing Frick already). Our PoM: Andreas Malin.

Away vs Servette FC (Challenge League - 2/8/17)

I set us up here with 5 at the back and we managed to hold them the entire 90 minutes... And thanks to a Penalty scored by Simon Kuhne we took the victory, 1-0. PoM: Bosko Trajkovic.

Home vs Ligano (Challenge League - 5/8/17)

Another late goal from Kuhne earned us points, well point here. We were looking out at 2-1 down but Kuhne scored late on after Traore had equalized in the first half. 2-2 draw. PoM: Stephan Schmid (YP3c).

Home vs Schauffhausen (Challenge League - 12/8/17)

Trajkovic got himself sent off late on but we were already well and truly defeated by then, hammered would be the best discription. 4-1 loss, Kuk-Jin scored for us. PoM: Kim Kuk-Jin.

Away vs Vaduz (Challenge League - 19/8/17)

The big Liechtensteiner derby and what a game it was, Polverino sent off for them, Malin for us (both Liechtensteiners), They went 2 up but Kuhne scored just before half time to put us back in with a shout, Kuk-Jin saved the day late on evening us up at 2-2. PoM: Kim Kuk-Jin.

Away vs Wohlen (Challenge League - 23/8/17)

Without a win in four after this one... Lost 2-1, Tinner sent off late, Chol Min finally re-found his scoring boots to score. PoM: Rim Chol Min.

Home vs Lausanne (Challenge League - 28/8/17)

Our first Live TV game of the season and one to forget. We lost 3-0 never really looking like scoring, just poor. (Never seen a rating this low before but Kuk-Jin after 2 PoM performances in recent weeks scored a rating of 4.5 says it all). PoM: Norbert Frrokaj.

The only pic of the Table that would screen shot thanks to the new bugs...

National News;

FIFA Rankings;

September/October 2017;

Away vs Wil (Challenge League - 2/9/17)

Finally back to winning ways, a close game but Simon Kuhne (as he often does) stepped up to the occasion and scored the only goal of the game. 1-0 win. PoM: Simon Kuhne.

Away vs Le Mont LS (Challenge League - 18/9/17)

Short lived happiness. We managed to battle really well after a very poor first 30 minutes that saw us go 3 down, we picked up so many bookings but managed to keep everyone on the field. Kieber scored before Half Time and Traore scored with 10 minutes to go to give us hope, but we couldn't get that 3rd and we lost 3-2. PoM: Niklas Kieber.

Home vs Schaan U21's (Liechtensteiner Cup 2nd rd - 27/9/17)

Six players who had come through our academy in recent years played in this match that was little more than a formality, we won 3-0 thanks to Abelli, Kuhne and Gerlinger. PoM: Stefan Fritsch (YP1c).

Gerlinger Youngest Goalscorer (16 years, 40 days).

Home vs Baden (Challenge League - 30/917)

Another of those maybe too eventful games, we were at 1 each by the 38 minute when they had a player sent off. 6 minutes into half time and Tinner has added to Trajkovic's first half goal to put us in front before things were evened up ... On Red Cards when Captain Frrokaj was sent off. They scored late to properly even things up and this has to go down as 2 points lost. 2-2. PoM: Raymond Tinner.

Away vs Lugano (Challenge League - 8/10/17)

Never really in the game, lost 2-0 everyone was average at best. PoM: Giorgio Altare.

Home vs Servette FC (Challenge League - 11/10/17)

We scraped a victory last time we faced them but this time we were never really in the game again, managed to keep things tight but we are looking poor going forward Traorre isn't really cutting it, Chol Min cant stay fit this year and the younger Forwards chip in here and there but it just isn't enough... 2-0 Loss. PoM: Melkamu Taufer.

Away vs Schaffhausen (Challenge League - 25/10/17)

Much better, noone really stood out as taking the bull by the horns but we at least managed to score, still kept things tight at the back and won 1-0, goal by Traore. PoM: Riccardo Marchizza.

Home vs Vaduz (Challenge League - 28/10/17)

Again we fail to win 2 in a row and again we fail against these bitter rivals, 1-0 loss GK Antic kept it that low in a match where we were dominated. PoM: Norbert Frrokaj.

National News;

September's Squad.

Away vs Bosnia & Herzegovina (WCQ - 8/9/17)

We did really well to keep it at just a 1-0 loss, think we can be pleased with that.

Landmarks: Andreas Malin earned his 20th Cap, as did Lucas Eberle.

Home vs Luxembourg (WCQ - 12/9/17)

Excellent result, if we can keep beating the other European minnows we can at least get better seedings next campaign). Won 3-1.

Landmarks: Diego Weirather YP3a made his Liechtenstein debut.

FIFA World Rankings.

Group 1 Table;

October Squad.

Home vs Turkey (WCQ - 13/10/17)

Turkey haven't exactly been doing great this qualifying but still to only lose 1-0 against them is a very decent result.

Away vs Belgium (WCQ - 17/10/17)

I'm counting anything other than losing by 3 as wins now... So we won this 0-2!!!

Landmarks: Mario Tichy (my former backup GK) managed to get his first Cap due to a lot of GK injuries. While Ramon Cecchini earned his 10th Cap.

Group 1 Final Table;

FIFA World Rankings.

November - February;

Home vs Wohlen (Challenge League - 4/11/17)

We took our time about it but 2 late goals from Kieber and Traore saw us win 2-0. PoM: Mohamady Traore.

Away vs Schaan (Liechtensteiner Cup Qtr Final - 8/11/17)

The scoreline was much closer than it really should of been, we were a little lapse after going 2 goals up and let them pull a late one back, shame we didn't get a second clean sheet in a row. Kuk-Jin and Abelli were the scorers in this 2-1 victory. PoM: Kim Kuk-Jin.

The Semi Final draw, so a Vaduz side is definitely in.

Away vs Lausanne (Challenge League - 11/11/17)

So we are back to struggling to score... Lausanne destroyed us really and we were lucky it was only a 2-0 loss. PoM: Franz Burgmeier.

Away vs Baden (Challenge League - 25/11/17)

Well this was embarrassing, these are the games we really sho0uld be winning but instead we not only lost but put in what was possibly the worst performance i have ever had the misfortune to see... We were terrible, lost 4-0. PoM: Noone!? Okay, Daniel Muller (YP3d).

Home vs WIl (Challenge League - 29/11/17)

We needed this home game and against one of the bottom 3, scraped a very even 2-1 win. A come back as well since we went 1 down in the 4th minute. Kuhne and Pizzi scored the goals. PoM: Raymond Tinner.

Home vs Le Mont LS (Challenge League - 6/12/17)

We really should of won this, we lead from the 49' minute thanks to a Norbert Frrokaj headed goal, but i really wasn't confident after recent results so went defensive and they stole a 1-1 draw in the 94' minute. Grrrr. PoM: Norbert Frrokaj.

Away vs Servette FC (Challenge League - 16/12/17)

Wow, 3 games unbeaten now, our best stretch since the first 3 games of the season. Trajkovic scored twice after Traore had opened the scoring in the first half, we win 3-1 (another comeback, we went down inside 8 minutes). PoM: Bosko Trajkovic.

Home vs Lugano (Challenge League - 19/12/17)

.. And we have done it, this is now our best point of the season, so it is only a 0-0 draw but i'll take us unbeaten in 4 ... Tis' a shame that we now go into the winter break in the best form of this stop start season. PoM: Giorgio Altare.

National News;

November Squad;

The Pic is from much later but it's the squad i took to these two matches...

Home vs San Marino (Friendly - 17/11/17)

Damn, really wanted a better result here. A bit of a set back, but at least we didn't lose. 1-1 Draw.

Away vs Cyprus (Friendly - 21/11/17)

We had more possession but we just couldn't create anything, and so lost 2-1. To be honest it could of and probably should of been more.

Landmarks: Valentin Flatz and Niklas Kieber earned their 10th Caps while Stefan Fritsch (YP1c) made his Liechtenstein debut as did William Pizzi and Simon Kuhne scored his 5th goal on his 25th Cap.

February/March!

Youth Prospects 2018;

Paul Becker Profile | Coach Report

Sebastian Ujma Profile | Coach Report

Away vs Vaduz (Challenge League - 24/2/18)

Back from the winter break and we couldn't carry that unbeaten form into the second half of the season, was a close game though to be fair and only lost 3-2 to a now very strong Tycoon run Vaduz side. Abelli and Chol Min scored our goals. Our PoM: Rim Chol Min.

Home vs Schauffhausen (Challenge League - 28/2/18)

A difficult game against a side who have been much more consistant than us, and are up there in the Title hunt. We scored the 1st, lost the lead, went behind and then clawed the draw back .. All in the first 33 minutes of the match (if you are watching the replay turn off there nothing happened after that). Rim Chol Min has found his scoring boots and got both goals. PoM: Rim Chol Min.

Home vs Lausanne (Challenge League - 3/3/18)

Chol Min was a little below par fitness-wise so i rested him ... And we went back to not being able to score. Lost 1-0. PoM: William Pizzi.

Away vs Wohlen (Challenge League - 10/3/18)

Yes!!! We get our first win since the league restarted, a goal from Franz Burgmeier gave us the 1-0 victory. PoM: Franz Burgmeier.

Away vs Wil (Challenge League - 17/3/18)

And again we can not string two wins together... This has been the story of our season, lost 2-1 after opening the scoring via Rim Chol Min. PoM: Rim Chol Min.

Home vs Baden (Challenge League - 21/3/18)

We were very lucky to finally get another victory here, William Pizzi scored in the 87' minute and we stole 2 more points than we deserved, 1-0 win. PoM: William Pizzi.

League Table;

Squad for games against Latvia.

Home vs Latvia (Friendly)

April/May 2018;

Away vs Le Mont LS (Challenge League - 2/4/18)

Ouch, we should not be losing games like this. We cannot win in front of the cameras it seems. Lost 3-1 after Chol Min opened the scoring. PoM: Rim Chol Min.

Away vs Lugano (Challenge League - 8/4/18)

2 up at half time, Taufer and Kuk-Jin, then we callapse second half and the game finishes 2-2, just sums things up right now. PoM: Kim Kuk-Jin.

Home vs Servette FC (Challenge League - 14/4/18)

See the Lugano result?? Just stick my thoughts on that one in here, 2 up again this time with 35 minutes to go and we let in goals in the 83' and 88' minutes, Marchizza and Burgmeier scored for us. PoM: Franz Burgmeier.

Home vs Vaduz (Liechtensteiner Cup Semi Final - 18/4/18)

In our 10 previous games under my control against Vaduz we have lost 6, drew 4... So for those of you who aren't maths wiz' that zero victories. I could be forgiven for getting a little excited in the 4th minute when Simon Kuhne gave us the lead. 52' minute an d we go 2 up Steffen Finke (YP3b), but with a side that has the quality Vaduz has it was always going to be tough to hang on to the lead... they got 2 in 4 minutes (55' and 59') and we end up going into extra time. 109' minute and they take the lead for ther first time and my smile is now completely gone! But young Georg Gerlinger steps up and in the 115' minute scores to take it to the dreaded penalties... We lose 4-2 on Pens after Pizzi and Gerlinger missed, but still we can be proud of just how close we got this year! Our PoM: Raphael Huber.

Home vs Vaduz (Challenge League - 21/4/18)

We were nowhere near as competitive in the league match, we lost 4-2 with Marchizza and Kuhne scoring our goals. PoM: Riccardo Marchizza.

Away vs Schaffhausen (Challenge League - 28/4/18)

A 0-0 bore draw here, nothing to see, move on..... PoM: Norbert Frrokaj.

Home vs Wohlen (Challenge League - 5/5/18)

It's been so long now since we have won a match i think we have forgotten how, we were poor here after a decent start. Finke (YP3b) got himself sent off in the 36' minute and it went downhill from there. 2-0 Loss and the plummet continues. PoM: Andreas Malin.

Away vs Lausanne (Challenge League - 12/5/18)

Ten minutes at the start of the match where they dominated was enough to kill off any confidence we had left, they scored in the 3' and 10' and we lost 2-0. PoM: Pius Fehr.

Home vs Wil (Challenge League - 19/5/18)

Played very defensive and managed to hold them to a 0-0 draw, it's a match i'd usually aim for winning but the confidence is just too low (i even called a metting and broke them even more...) PoM: Peter Jehle.

Away vs Baden (Challenge League - 23/5/18)

Final game of the season, should be a good chance of a win but we were playing on the counter the entire game, they seemed to want this more, until Georg Gerlinger spared us yet another loss, he scored twice to save us and we draw 2-2. PoM: Georg Gerlinger.

Final Challenge League Table;

League Graph|Finances|Transfers

Final Squad Stats;

Key Players;

Melkamu Taufer - The best of the Loans in, i would really like to get him in for another season... We'll see.

Simon Kuhne - Top Scorer with 8 in a season where we struggled to score at times, he stepped up when needed.

The difference between Vaduz and us...

Our Budgets, them splashing out.

National News;

We have been drawn in Nations League Division D, Group 2.

End of Season/Pre-Season Stuff!

Let's start with the retirements... Again;

Jehle, Burgmeier, Cooper and my Ass Man Zmuda.

Seasons Best XI;

And player of the Season.

Next Seasons Expectations;

National News;

Squad for Peter Jehle's retirement match;

Away vs Belarus (Friendly - 9/6/18)

Landmarks: Diego Ciccone plays his 20th match, Steffen Finke (YP3b) earns his first Cap and Peter Jehle plays his 123rd and final Cap (2 behind Mario Frick in the all-time lists).

July/August;

New Season preview;

Transfers;

Tom Lockyer - Will be used in CM or CB is now the highest paid player at the club, lets hope he can earn it.

Gilang Kusuma - Another Asian Free Signing, lets hope he can be just as good as Chol Min and Kuk-Jin have been.

Carlos Julia - A Loan from Parent Club Elche, can play at either Full Back as well as DM, which should really come in handy.

The Squad;

Home vs Winterthur (Challenge League - 28/7/18)

Just what we needed, to kick the season off with a victory, 3-0 and a Rim Chol Min HatTrick. Hopefully this is a sign of things to come and Chol Min is back to his best after an iffy season. PoM: Rim Chol Min.

Away vs Servette FC (Challenge League - 1/8/18)

We were well beaten against a better team, Captain Frrokaj scored our consolation. 2-1 loss. PoM: Norbert Frrokaj.

Captain Frrokaj break Appearance Record!

Home vs Fribourg (Challenge League - 6/8/18)

A game we had hoped to win, but being a Live TV game (which we dont win) it finished a 0-0 bore draw. Our PoM: Norbett Frrokaj.

Home vs Lugano (Challenge League - 6/8/18)

A close back and forward game which saw the lead change twice ... They finished it in the 89' minute after i thought we had got the draw, 3-2 loss with Pizzi scoring (the other was an O.G). PoM: William Pizzi.

Away vs WIl (Challenge League - 18/8/18)

Simon Kuhne scraped us a 1-0 win, GK Antic went off injured but we held on. PoM: Pius Fehr.

Away vs Le Mont LS (Challenge League - 22/8/18)

Chol Min scored for the first time since his opening day HatTrick and after they equalized Taufer managed to score to hand us the 2-1 victory. PoM: Rim Chol Min.

Away vs Schaffhausen (Challenge League - 25/8/18)

Our 3rd Away game in a row and we are unbeaten, 2-2 it finished with us coming back twice through Andreas Malin and a Gilang Kusuma Pen. PoM: Gilang Kusuma.

Challenge League Table;

September/October;

Home vs Lausanne (Challenge League - 1/9/18)

Coming back from behind to show great spirit and our run continues, both North Koreans scored (Chol Min and Kuk-Jin) in a 2-1 win. PoM: Gilang Kusuma.

Away vs Winterthur (Challenge League - 15/9/18)

First choice Keeper Antic is back and he lets in a bit of an howler to hand them the lead, Chol Min though in this form is always worth a Goal and we manage a 1-1 draw. PoM: Rim Chol Min.

Away vs Baden (Challenge League - 29/9/18)

With Antic letting in goals (isn't match fit...) we are needing to score at the other end, just what we couldn't do last year, but this is a new year, new tactics and we bang in 5 .... Coutn em' Kuhne (2) Chol Min (2) and Kusuma .. 5-2 win. PoM: Simon Kuhne.

Home vs Servette FC (Challenge League - 3/10/18)

When you can beat one of the best teams in the league and keep a clean sheet you know you have done well, 1-0 win Simon Kuhne the scorer. PoM: Rim Chol Min.

Home vs Wil (Challenge League - 6/10/18)

Our 2nd game in a week, made a few changes and we couldn't score. 0-0 though ... We'll take it. PoM: Carlos Julia.

Away vs Fribourg (Challenge League - 24/10/18)

Simon Kuhne is on fire at the moment and he looked unstoppable again here, shame he couldn't get a third but 2 goals was enough to hand us the 2-0 victory. PoM: Simon Kuhne.

Away vs Lugano (Challenge League - 28/10/18)

Once they took the lead they were happy to let us have the ball and attack... We struggled until on came Dennis Salanovic for his debut and he scored a corker of a volley to get the draw. 1-1. PoM: Dennis Salanovic.

Transfers|The Squad

Challenge League Table;

National News;

First Nations League Squad.

Home vs Andorra (Nations League Division D, Group 2 - 7/9/18)

A game we had hoped to win but will have to be happy with the 0-0 draw.

Landmarks: Norbert Frrokaj (My Club Captain) takes Liechtensteiner Citizenship and makes his International Debut here and Andreas Malin earned his 25th Cap.

Away vs Gibraltar (Nations League Division D, Group 2 - 11/9/18)

This tournament really gives you something to play for, rather than the boring friendlies you would be having... My hat goes off to UEFA and Platini. A 3-1 win puts us back in with a shout of winning this group (though Azerbaijan will be tough). Kuhne Schmid (YP3c) and Frrokaj are the scorers.

Landmarks: Michele Polverino earned his 70th Cap while at the other end of his International Career Stephan Schmid (YP3c) earned his 1st Cap and scored his 1st goal while New Liechtenstein Citizen Norbert Frrokaj scores his first International Goal.

Squad 2 in the Nations League.

Away vs Azerbaijan (Nations League Division D, Group 2 - 12/10/18)

Here was the big test, very close amd i'm a little upset we didn't take advantage when they went down to 10 men with 6 minutes+ to go.

Landmarks: Christoph Duelli earned his 20th Cap, Simon Pirker his 10th, Stefan Fritsch (YP1c) made his 5th Appearance and Dennis Salanovic made his 5th.

Away vs Andorra (Nations League Division D, Group 2 - 16/10/18)

From 2 goals up to a 2-2 draw i'm a little gutted with how we threw this match away and Kuhne's hard work scoring twice.

Landmarks: Kevin Schneider made his International Debut.

FIFA World rankings;

Euro Nations League: Division D, Group 2;

November - February;

Home vs Le Mont LS (Challenge League - 3/11/18)

We are really battling well now, unbeaten in 10... 11 with this which we win 2-1 thanks to goals from Lockyer and Weirather (YP3a). PoM: Tom Lockyer.

Home vs Triesenberg (Liechtensteiner Cup Qtr final - 7/11/18)

As easy as these cup games can be, we just went all out attack and they had a player Sent Off on 72' minutes handing us the easiest 4-0 we can ever have. Schmid (YP3c), Pizzi, Salanovic and Abelli were the scorers. PoM: William Pizzi.

Home vs Schaffhausen (Challenge League - 10/11/18)

I thought overconfidence was going to hit us here and when they were 3 up at Half Time you could forgive us if we thought it was over... But goals from Chol Min, Kuhne and Pizzi in a space of 3 minutes and we snatch a point back, 3-3 draw. PoM: Simon Kuhne.

Away vs Lausanne (Challenge League - 14/11/18)

Our 14th match of this incredible unbeaten run, Taufer scores the only goal of the game to hand us the 1-0 win. PoM: Melkamu Taufer.

The board reduce the Wage Budget.

So how much are we above the new Wage Budget now!?

Home vs Fribourg (Challenge League - 8/12/18)

I'll take these 1-0's every time if i could, Pizzi scores the only goal of the game and we continue the run..... PoM: William Pizzi.

Away vs Servette FC (Challenge League - 15/12/18)

Servette must hate playing us right now... We hold them to a 0-0 Draw when they looked head and shoulders above us. PoM: Tom Lockyer.

Home vs Baden (Challenge League - 19/12/18)

This game was postponed from 2 weeks ago because of our terrible pitch, we can be happy it was as we walk out 4-2 winners after a battle in the mud. Schmid (YP3c) scores an HatTrick and Weirather (YP3a) gets the other. PoM: Stephan Schmid (YP3c).

Home vs Winterthur (Challenge League - 26/12/18)

Another of our postponed games (leaving us with a much less winter break than those around us), we were torn apart and seemingly already on holiday the run is over, it couldn't last forever but we have to be pleased with the 18 matches it did go. Lost 2-0 here. PoM: Norbert Frrokaj.

Transfers - We had to let some players leave, as well as letting a few go out on Loan to balance the Wages. I tried to off load some other players but no luck.

The Squad;

The Challenge League Table;

National News;

Squad 3 in the Nations League;

Home vs Gibraltar (Nations League Division D, Group 2 - 16/11/18)

Poor Gibraltar always the whipping boys, we smash them 4-1 with goals from Longo (2), Pirker and Wieser (Pen).

Landmarks: Pius fehr at 17 years old earns his 10th Cap for Liechtenstein, Sandro Wieser scores his first International goal and Lorenzo Longo plays his 30th game and scores his 10th Goal.

Home vs Azerbaijan (Nations League Division D, Group 2 - 20/10/18)

Azerbaijan have already earned promotion to Division C but we manage to shock them and who else but Kuhne to score the only goal of the game, at only 24 years old, Kuhne is 8 goals off Mario Frick's International record for Liechtenstein.

Landmarks: Daniel Kaufmann earns his 50th Cap and Andreas Malin earns his 30th.

Nations League Division D, Group 2;

Current FIFA World Rankings;

The 2020 Euro Qual Group has been drawn.....

February/March!

Youth Prospects 2019;

Oliver Schaaf Profile | Coach Report

Fabian Kunz Profile | Coach Report

Away vs Wil (Challenge League - 23/2/19)

In a game that had everything from Own Goals, Injuries complete domination from the Home team to us somehow defending like masters and stealing the victory... A 3-1 Victory no less, thanks to goals from Chol Min and Kuhne with an Own Goal thrown in for good measure. Kuhne and Kuk-Jin went off injured with Kuhne's not being too bad but Kuk-Jin set to miss 3 Months of action with an Hamstring injury. PoM: Simon Kuhne.

Away vs Schaffausen (Challenge League - 2/3/19)

Schaffhausen are running away with the league so this was always going to be a very tough game even with us being on top form at the moment... Taufer equalized for us after they took a first half lead but with less than 10 minutes to go they scored the winner, 2-1 loss. PoM: Melkamu Taufer.

Away vs Le Mont LS (Challenge League - 11/3/19)

So this was a live on TV game so you know what that means right!? We dont win, managed to draw 1-1 though, Finke (YP3b) got the goal. PoM: Raymond Tinner.

Home vs Lausanne (Challenge League - 16/3/19)

Injuries were tearing the squad apart and we just couldn't get it together here in our first match at Home for awhile, lost 1-0. PoM: Tom Lockyer.

Away vs Baden (Challenge League - 20/3/19)

We are playing better away at the moment and we dominated this match for the first hour going 3 up thanks to goals from Altare (who went off injured soon after) and 2 from Chol Min, we also had Frrokaj and Malin go off injured and Baden came at us for the last 15 minutes or so and managed to grab 2 goals but we held on for the 3 points winning 3-2. PoM: Rim Chol Min.

Away vs Winterthur (Challenge League - 23/3/19)

Abelli was back from injury to fill the gaps we were filling previously with 16 year olds (still putting a very young side out) we had to hold on at times and managed a 0-0 bore draw. PoM: Boban Antic.

Home vs Lugano (Challenge League - 27/3/19)

Needed this win at Home (first since December 19th) and the clean sheet was also nicem won 1-0 Malin the scorer. PoM: Carlos Julia.

Current Squad;

Challenge League Table;

National News;

Squad for game vs Cape Verde Islands;

Home vs Cape Verde (Friendly - 29/3/19)

We opened the scoring with a Penalty by Longo but as they got more and more into the game they showed better fitness and even though we got a 66' minute equalizer through Nicolas Hasler after they had gone ahead they always looked like getting the winning goal and it soon came to see us lose 3-2. Great game though.

Landmarks: Steffen Finke (YP3b) played in his 5th International, Philipp Muntwiler made his International debut after the Vaduz Swiss Born Midfielder took Citizenship, Norbert Frrokaj played in his 5th International for his adopted Country, another man to take Liechtenstein Citizenship recently was Swiss GK Boban Antic and he earned his first Cap here, Olcay Gür played in his 30th International and Michele Polverino played in his 75th International.