[FM23] Neuchâtel Xamax

[OneAvicii]

 

          NEUCHÂTEL XAMAX FCS

Hey all!

This will be my first report here on this forum. My English is not the best, hope you will still be able to follow. The choice of club fell on Neuchâtel Xamax, a team I have never played with before. The club plays in the second division in Switzerland and finished last in the table last season. For an unclear reason, however, the team is allowed to continue playing in the league, I don't know why. My goals are quite simple, the first goal is to make the team a team to fear in the home country, then we will take over Europe! Join the journey!

[OneAvicii]

 

          SQUAD | SEASON ONE

          GOALKEEPERS:

 Théo Guivarch, age 26, -apps, -cln, -av rat
-----
 Noah Godwin, age 18, -apps, -cln, -av rat
 Benjamin Roth, age 20, -apps, -cln, -av rat

          DEFENDERS:

 Liridon Berisha, age 24, -apps, -gls, -ast, -av rat
 Nikki Havenaar [LOAN], age 27, -apps, -gls, -ast, -av rat
  Luis Pedro Cavanda, age 32, -apps, -gls, -ast, -av rat
 Mirza Mujcic, age 28, -apps, -gls, -ast, -av rat
-----
 Yoan Epitaux, age 21, -apps, -gls, -ast, -av rat
Ashvin Balaruban, age 20, -apps, -gls, -ast, -av rat
 Adam Ouattara, age 22, -apps, -gls, -ast, -av rat
 Mathieu Goncalves, age 21, -apps, -gls, -ast, -av rat
 Frank Amoabeng, age 21, -apps, -gls, -ast, -av rat
 Manassé Kilezi, age 18, -apps, -gls, -ast, -av rat
 Gianluca Romano, age 21, -apps, -gls, -ast, -av rat
 Gerard Menye, age 21, -apps, -gls, -ast, -av rat

          MIDFIELDERS:

 Mats Hammerich, age 24, -apps, -gls, -ast, -av rat
 Kenan Fatkic, age 24, -apps, -gls, -ast, -av rat
 Marvin Spielmann [LOAN], age 26, -apps, -gls, -ast, -av rat
 Danilo Del Toro, age 24, -apps, -gls, -ast, -av rat
 Ayoub Ouhafsa, age 24, -apps, -gls, -ast, -av rat
-----
 Izer Aliu, age 22, -apps, -gls, -ast, -av rat
 Franck Surdez, age 20, -apps, -gls, -ast, -av rat
 Alexandre Pasche, age 31, -apps, -gls, -ast, -av rat
 Max Veloso, age 30, -apps, -gls, -ast, -av rat
 Fabio Saiz, age 21, -apps, -gls, -ast, -av rat
 Raphaël Nuzzolo, age 38, -apps, -gls, -ast, -av rat
 Burak Alili, age 18, -apps, -gls, -ast, -av rat

          ATTACKERS:

 Tician Tushi [LOAN], age 21, -apps, -gls, -ast, -av rat
-----
 Amadou Dia N'Diaye, age 22, -apps, -gls, -ast, -av rat
 Soumaïla Bakayoko, age 20, -apps, -gls, -ast, -av rat
 Aimery Pinga, age 24, -apps, -gls, -ast, -av rat

 

The squad feels interesting, there is a good mix of age and experience. The goalkeeping lineup is good, first choice Guivarch is seen as a top goalie in the league. The back line is pretty good too, Cavanda and Havenaar are solid while the other two starting backs have little to prove. In front of the back line we see two central midfielders. Fatkic is the given starter, a player I think we will rely on a lot this season. Next to him, Hammerich will get the chance at first, let's hope he takes advantage of that trust. We will then play with three attacking midfielders. The team's best player can be found on the left wing in Marvin Spielmann, on loan from league rival Lausanne. Here I expect points, if it clicks we have the best player in the league. On the right wing we will play Ouhafsa, a technical player who can also play striker if needed. In the middle, Del Toro gets the chance at first, a versatile player in terms of where he can play, unfortunately not very smart on the pitch. Tushi is on loan from Basel and is currently our first choice in attack. I don't see any direct weaknesses in his game. I expect a lot from him, he and Spielmann can become the best strikers in the league if things go well.

[OneAvicii]

 

          ◄.► SWISS CHALLENGE LEAGUE GAMES 1-9

          YVERDON - [3-1] Del Toro. Havenaar x2
          AARAU - [2-0] N´Diaye. Tushi
          SCHAFFHAUSEN - [2-1] Tushi. Ouhafsa
          VADUZ - [2-0] Havenaar x2
          WIL - [0-0]
          THUN - [1-0] N´Diaye
          LAUSANNE - [1-1] Berisha
          BELLINZONA - [3-1] Own Goal. Ouhafsa. Alili
          STADE LAUSANNE-OUCHY - [2-1] N´Diaye. Hammerich

We have had a good start to the league game. We start with four straight wins where our strikers really show class, even center back Havenaar shows his best side by averaging a goal per game. We then go to Wil and that match ends in a draw. A good result considering where they are currently in the table. We then take another win before drawing again, this time against Lausanne. In conclusion, we win the last two games and if we are to sum it all up, we should be satisfied with the players who are playing higher up the pitch. A lot of mixing among the goal scorers and everyone is doing their part.

 

 

          ◄.► SWISS CUP

          FREIENBACH - [4-0] Havenaar, N´Diaye. Ouhafsa. Tushi
          LUZERN - [0-2] 

We get a simple draw in the first round of the cup. FC Freienbach is a semi-professional club and against us they didn't have much to offer. A clear 4-0 win and we flew on to round two. There we were drawn against Luzern. They have started quite well in the top league and are currently in a stable fifth place. We control the game but do not manage to score. They are proving to be a good counter-attacking team and once they get going we weren't ready. Better luck next year!

 

          ◄.► TRANSFERS IN & OUT

          IN:  NIKITA VLASENKO | Loan from Rijeka
          "Our sporting director wanted to bring in a bit more width in the back line and I think Vlasenko will be of great use. "

          IN:  MOHAMED IHATTAREN | Loan from Juventus
          "Mohamed Ihattaren was seen as a super talent when he was at PSV, the move to Italy proved difficult for him. Maybe he will bring back the joy of playing with us?."

          OUT:  FRANK AMOABENG | Loan to Asante Kotoko
          "At first I had not intended to send Frank away on loan, but when the loan offer came and I realized that there would not be much playing time for him with us, the loan agreement felt good."

Edited June 30, 2023 by OneAvicii

[OneAvicii]

 

          ◄.► SWISS CHALLENGE LEAGUE GAMES 10-18

          YVERDON - [0-2]
          AARAU - [1-1] Del Toro
          VADUZ - [5-2] Ouhafsa. N'Diaye x4
          SCHAFFHAUSEN - [2-3] N'Diaye x2
          THUN - [2-2] N'Diaye x2
          WIL - [4-1] N'Diaye x4
          LAUSANNE - [2-0] Alili. Veloso
          BELLINZONA - [3-1] N'Diaye. Ouhafsa. Own Goal
          STADE LAUSANNE-OUCHY - [2-0] N'Diaye x2

This is N'Diaye's world and we all live in it. Going into the season, I didn't expect him to explode in scoring like he has. During these last nine games played, he has scored 15 goals. If we can keep him for the rest of the season, this could be extremely interesting. The beginning of this period was not good, we started by losing against Yverdon and then they immediately started to lose momentum. In the next four matches, we only won one match and it was thanks to N'Diaye that we were still in the top. With the bad form behind us, I was worried about what would happen in the next two games, Lausanne and Wil who were then with us at the top. Happily, this is where our form turns around, we win both games fairly easily and then go on to win two more. Half the series is now played and we are in first place, however, both Wil and Lausanne are hot on our heels. There is only three points between us and if we lose form suddenly, I am worried that they will both pass us in the table.

 

[OneAvicii]

 

          ◄.► SWISS CHALLENGE LEAGUE GAMES 19-27

          YVERDON - [2-0] Spielmann. N'Diaye
          SCHAFFHAUSEN - [3-1] Ganaj. Tushi. Spielmann
          AARAU - [1-3] Spielmann
          VADUZ - [2-0] Spielmann. Tushi
          THUN - [3-0] Tushi. Ouhafsa. Spielmann
          WIL - [1-0] Pasche
          STADE LAUSANNE-OUCHY - [2-1] Tushi x2
          LAUSANNE - [2-1] Tushi. Nuzzolo
          BELLINZONA - [1-1] Tushi

Of course N'Diaye goes and injures himself the first thing he does. He plays the match against Yverdon but then gets injured and is out for the entire World Cup. The league starts up again and just 13 minutes into the match against Aarau, he collapses again, this time with broken ribs. He is not yet fully recovered but is expected to be back in a week. Instead, Tushi has finally come to life, he and Spielmann have taken over the goalscoring and we have continued to play very good football. The only bad game we've had is the loss against Aarau, but there we have quite reasonable reasons why it happened. In terms of the table, we have now left the others a bit behind, Lausanne is admittedly "only" five points behind, but Wil has lost a lot. Can you be so cocky and say that we are already more or less ready for the top league next year?!

 

 

          ◄.► TRANSFERS IN & OUT

          OUT:  MAX VELOSO | Sold to Sheriff
          "Veloso didn't play much but had still managed to score a goal. Couldn't deny him the move. "

          OUT:  MOHAMED IHATTAREN | Loan cancelled
          "He got a lot of playing time but Allegri complained that we played him in the wrong position. Not impressed at all. "

[OneAvicii]

 

 

A lot of talent, a couple of which could very well become something for the future. Three players are singled out as elite talents and these three are Jules Boyer, Bernard Boyer and Erikson Antunes. There are also four other players who are singled out as interesting. Noah Rossi, Gregory Guillet, Bryan Cardon and Jordan Delaunay. It will be exciting to follow and see what becomes of these players.

 

Bernard Boyer is already available for the first team as a 15-year-old. Driven personality and lightning fast already, if we succeed in developing him correctly, we can have a future star here.

 

It would have been cool if Bernard and Jules had been brothers but that's not the case. A central midfielder who is good with both feet. Can both direct the game and be a pig on the pitch.

 

Lacks a little in the physical aspect, but it should probably be possible to develop. Instead, it is his technical and mental skills that impress.

[OneAvicii]

 

          ◄.► SWISS CHALLENGE LEAGUE GAMES 28-36

          YVERDON - [3-1] Tushi. Spielmann. Surdez
          SCHAFFHAUSEN - [2-0] Spielmann. Del Toro
          AARAU - [1-1] Ouhafsa
          VADUZ - [3-1] Del Toro. N'Diaye. Dakouri
          WIL - [2-0] Havenaar. N'Diaye
          THUN - [4-2] N'Diaye x3. Tushi
          LAUSANNE - [0-4]
          STADE LAUSANNE-OUCHY - [4-0] N'Diaye x2. Vlasenko. Havenaar
          BELLINZONA - [4-0] Spielmann. Alili. Vlasenko. Tushi

Now we have finished the league game and we are ready for games in the top league! N'Diaye finally came back to life after the injuries he suffered and it was needed, I was a little worried that the injuries had a bad effect on him. Only one loss here at the end and I'm allowed to say that was an expected one. Lausanne crushed Basel in the cup with 5-0 just before they ran over us, they could become really dangerous next season if this continues. They also made it to the cup final, which they then won against Young Boys on penalties. The Super League will have two very interesting teams promoted. We won the league with 84 points, five points ahead of Lausanne. If we hadn't been so good against them and had such good results, we would undoubtedly have finished behind them.

 

 

          ◄.► PLAYER AWARDS

          DEFENDER OF THE YEAR | 2nd Nikki Havenaar
          MIDFIELDER OF THE YEAR | 2nd Kenan Fatkic
          STRIKER OF THE YEAR | 1st Amadou Dia N'Diaye
          MANAGER OF THE YEAR | 1st Charles André Doudin
          TEAM OF THE SEASON | Nikki Havenaar. Mirza Mujcic. Kenan Fatkic. Marvin Spielmann. Amadou Dia N'Diaye
          TOP GOALSCORER OF THE SEASON | 1st Amadou Dia N'Diaye, 26 goals

[OneAvicii]

 

          ◄.► SQUAD | SEASON TWO

Goalkeepers/Nationality/Name/Age
 Théo Guivarch, age 27 | apps: 30, conc: 26 cln: 12, pom: 0, av r: 6.97
"Was a very stable goalkeeper but proved to have a bit of a problem with injuries."
 Noah Goodwin, age 19 | apps: 3, conc: 1 cln: 2, pom: 1, av r: 7.37
"When Guivarch got injured, Goodwin got the chance to be in goal. A chance he really took advantage of."
 Benjamin Roth, age 21 | apps: 5, conc: 8 cln: 1, pom: 0, av r: 6.88
"Roth also got the chance to show off, unfortunately it wasn't as convincing. At most our third choice."

Defenders/Nationality/Name/Age
 Liridon Berisha, age 25 | apps: 33, gls: 1, asts: 1, pom: 0, av r: 6.94
"Has chosen to represent Kosovo. Good player and important in the back line. However, he wants to play in a better club."
 Mirza Mujcic, age 29 | apps: 30(4), gls: 0, asts: 5, pom: 0, av r: 6.91
"Mujcic played better than expected. We did not expect him to be selected for the team of the year at the end of the season."
 Luis Pedro Cavanda, age 33 | apps: 31, gls: 0, asts: 2, pom: 1, av r: 6.90
"Contributed with his routine and will likely make his final one this season. Can play in all back positions."
 Yoan Epitaux, age 22 | apps: 4(12), gls: 0, asts: 0, pom: 0, av r: 6.79
"A youngster from the club who played a bit more than expected. Might be a little more difficult with playing time this season."
 Ashvin Balaruban, age 21 | apps: 9(16), gls: 0, asts: 4, pom: 1, av r: 6.91
"Balaruban got a lot of playing time last year, mostly through substitutions. Impresses with his five assists."
 Frank Amoabeng, age 22 | apps: -, gls: -, asts: -, pom: -, av r: -
"Averaged 7.70 during his loan at Asante Kotoko which is insanely good. Has developed well and will get his chances this year."
 Adam Ouattara, age 23 | apps: 6(11), gls: 0, asts: 1, pom: 0, av r: 6.72
"A reserve player with an okay potential but who may not reach it with us."
 Gianluca Romano, age 22 | apps: -, gls: -, asts: -, pom: -, av r: -
"Even Romano is a reserve player, unfortunately it won't be more than that, maybe sold soon?"

Midfielders/Nationality/Name/Age
 Kenan Fatkic, age 25 | apps: 33, gls: 0, asts: 3, pom: 2, av r: 7.08
"A player who works in silence. One of our most important players last year. Will do anything to keep him."
 Izer Aliu, age 23 | apps: 0(10), gls: 0, asts: 0, pom: 0, av r: 0
"Had a hard time with playing time last year, but the talent shows. Unfortunately, he is very easily injured."
 Danilo Del Toro, age 26 | apps: 31(4), gls: 4, asts: 10, pom: 2, av r: 6.94
"Before last season, I didn't have high hopes for Del Toro. Fourteen points later, we can say I was wrong."
 Mats Hammerich, age 25 | apps: 12(18), gls: 1, asts: 0, pom: 1, av r: 6.96
"Hammerich is a solid player and was good last year. However, I don't think he's up to the level we're now going to play at."
 Ayoub Ouhafsa, age 25 | apps: 35, gls: 7, asts: 14, pom: 6, av r: 7.05
"Like Del Toro, Ouhafsa surprised something out of the ordinary. A real threat out on his right wing."
 Ange Dakouri, age 21 | apps: 0(2), gls: 1, asts: 0, pom: 0, av r: 7.30
"Dakouri started last year on loan but suffered a terrible injury. Was sent back and given the chance at the end of the season."
 Franck Surdez, age 21 | apps: 2(16), gls: 1, asts: 3, pom: 1, av r: 7.04
"Probably see him as the surprise of the season, mostly he started on the bench but when the chance was given he took it."
 Fabio Saiz, age 22 | apps: 2(7), gls: 0, asts: 0, pom: 0, av r: 6.90
"As a substitute, he did well in the second league, may be tougher for him this season."
 Alexandre Pasche, age 32 | apps: 20(8), gls: 1, asts: 5, pom: 0, av r: 7.07
"Pasche is one of the most experienced players in the squad and can contribute a lot. However, starting to lose a lot in his physique."

Attackers/Nationality/Name/Age
 Amadou Dia N'Diaye, age 23 | apps: 29, gls: 27, asts: 1, pom: 6, av r: 7.35
"From being an intended substitute to almost averaging a goal per game. What an impressive player!"
 Soumaïla Bakayoko, age 21 | apps: -, gls: -, asts: -, pom: -, av r: -
"Sent on loan last year to ASEC Mimosas and scored 5 goals in 9 games, unclear future here."
 Gleen Mbazo, age 17 | apps: -, gls: -, asts: -, pom: -, av r: -
"Was the player who developed best at the club last year, may need a loan to get good playing time and continued development."
 Bernard Boyer, age 16 | apps: -, gls: -, asts: -, pom: -, av r: -
"Already picked up for the first team but I let him play u18 football. Yverdon are interested in taking him on loan."

[OneAvicii]

 

          ◄.► TRANSFER WINDOW

 

Ilan Sauter - Yannick Marchand - Alessandro Kräuchi - Lorent Tolaj - Leandro Zbinden - Óscar Correia - Albin Sadrijaj - Musa Araz - Cristian Souza - Patrick Sutter - Bastien Conus - Aleksandar Cvetkovic

It has been an active summer for us. A promotion means that we have to strengthen the squad and I think we have succeeded in doing that. Me and the Director of Football have been working hard. Zbinden will be a reserve at first but is seen as a future first choice. Conus is seen as the new left back. He is an old Basel product who will now be allowed to play in the top league for the first time. Cvetkovic and Sauter are seen as starting centre-backs and Sutter is seen as the first choice out on the right. You can say that it will be a completely new back line. Sadrijaj takes care of the defensive midfielder role while Musa Araz will be our starting central midfielder. In our new tactic, the central midfielder will be one of the most important pieces of the puzzle, so we have to hope that he can cope with the responsibility. Kräuchi and Souza are both players who will play out on each wing. Tolaj is schooled in Brighton and we like that! He was loaned to Dundee in Scotland last year and scored 17 goals there in their second division, clearly a good result. Will definitely get his chances already this year.

Out there has really only been one player that it felt heavy to lose in the form of Burak Alili. Unfortunately we lost him to an expiring contract and he was not willing to sign anything new. We saw no future for the other players who left, so they had to leave on expiring contracts. We loaned out a lot of players. Cham has loaned four players from us, including our great talent in Bernard Boyer, as a newcomer to the second league, I think they are willing to give these players a chance for a lot of playing time.

[Jogo Bonito]

Just wanted to make a comment so you don't feel the story is not being seen! Nice (different) lay out and I like how you display your squad.

A good read and you're doing very well here with Xamax.

[OneAvicii]

 

          ◄.► SWISS SUPER LEAGUE GAMES 1-11

          GRASSHOPPERS - [1-3] N'Diaye
          LAUSANNE - [1-3] Tolaj
          ST. GALLEN - [0-2]
          LUGANO - [3-0] Tolaj x2, Del Toro
          LUZERN - [2-1] Del Toro. Kräuchi
          SERVETTE - [2-2] Ouhafsa. N´Diaye
          ZÜRICH - [2-2] N'Diaye x2
          YOUNG BOYS - [2-5] Conus. Tolaj
          BASEL - [1-2] Del Toro
          SION - [2-1] Del Toro. N'Diaye
          WINTERHUR - [4-0] Kräuchi. Del Toro x2. N'Diaye

We started the league game in a disastrous way, the tactics we played with last year were far too offensive for it to work here. We looked at other types of tactics and found a tactic similar to what Diniz uses with his Fluminense. This choice made a big difference, from being last to now being in the middle of the table. It must also be said that the players find each other better now and the tactics are settling in more and more. To briefly summarize the whole thing, I am still satisfied with our start.

 

 

          ◄.► SWISS CUP

          KÖNIZ - [4-0] Kräuchi. Epitaux. Del Toro. Conus
          BELLINZONA - [3-1] N'Diaye x2. Conus

We started the cup game against Köniz, a team you find far down the series. A fairly easy win which took us through to the next round. The next opponent was Bellinzona, a team we faced last year. Despite a red card at the beginning of the second half, it was us who had the game, we won 3-1 and now we await round three, where we will face Grasshoppers. First difficult opposition that we face in the cup.