Europe beckons for new-look Zürich

Zürich exodus
In addition to Favre, star players Blerim Dzemaili, Xavier Margaraiz and Gökhan Inler have all followed their title-winning coach out of the club to try their luck at Bolton Wanderers FC, CA Osasuna and Udinese Calcio respectively. Favre has been succeeded at the helm by former Swiss Under-21 coach Bernard Challandes, who is expected to continue the concept of youth development begun by his predecessor. Favre encountered numerous problems when he first took over in summer 2001 but, with time, forged a championship-winning team consisting predominantly of talent from Switzerland's top two divisions.

Favre legacy
Favre's philosophy of giving the club's youth academy graduates a first-team chance and developing the potential of promising Swiss second division players eventually paid off, with Dzemali, Margaraiz and Inler among those to benefit from his meticulous leadership. The coach also brought in foreign players such as Raffael de Auraujo, Alexandre Alphonse and Eudis Silva with Raffael, who scored 13 goals in 2006/07, also now finding himself courted by a number of interested clubs.

New transfers
Challandes' first task has been to lure new talent to the club. "We will make two or three transfers to bolster the midfield and the attack," said sporting director Fredy Bickel. And the new coach has already been busy in the transfer market, with defensive midfielder Silvan Aegerter bringing UEFA Champions League experience from his spell at FC Thun, Tunisian international forward Yassine Chikhaoui arriving from Etoile Sportive du Sahel and Valenciennes FC striker Eric Hassli adding aerial prowess to the forward line.

Favre philosophy
The signing of Challandes is a further indication of Zürich's intention to stick to Favre's philosophy. The man from western Switzerland has worked in youth development for the Swiss Football Association since 1995, taking over the U21 side in 2001 after Jakob Kuhn was named coach of the seniors. Challandes led the hosts to the semi-finals of the 2002 UEFA European Under-21 Championship. As a club coach, however, he was less successful at Servette FC and BSC Young Boys.

Lofty ambitions
These may not be ideal conditions in which to prepare for the UEFA Champions League third qualifying round but Zürich president Ancillo Canepa has set his sights on achieving lofty European ambitions. Such an achievement would be a far cry from last season's exploits which saw Zürich succumb to FC Salzburg in the second qualifying round. At least defeat this time around would provide the consolation of a place in the UEFA Cup. Not that Canepa will entertain such a notion. "We want to get to the group stage with all our might," he said recently.