UWCL: Match Preview – Zurich vs Birkirkara

The stage is set for the final of round one between FC Zurich and Birkirkara who will meet at the Centenary Stadium tonight at 18:00. Zurich’s coach Jacqueline Duenker hinted at fielding a strong first eleven to kick-off the team’s campaign. Meanwhile, Birkirkara’s Jose Borg noted that the team fulfilled their targets with the triumph over Breznica Pljevlja and are now motivated for the upcoming fixture despite viewing it in a David & Goliath nature.

Previous Encounter

This will be the second encounter between the two sides, with the Swiss team leading the head-to-head following a 5-0 victory in 2017. Current first-team players Julia Stierli, Fabienne Humm and Seraina Piubel were amongst those in the squad that day for Zurich, and could feature again tonight. From Birkirkara’s side Janice Xuereb, Ann-Marie Said, Raina Giusti, Gabriella Zahra, Alishia Sultana and captain Stephania Farrugia were also amongst the first-eleven. All could feature except for Sultana who will be serving a suspension following last Wednesday’s match against Breznica Pljevlja.

The Sporting Fan questioned both coach Jacqueline Duenker of Zurich and Jose Borg of Birkirkara whether they give any weighting to the that match or result, especially considering that neither of them coached the team then. The two agreed that six years is a long time, that their style of play is different and that even though there are some common players, both squads developed a lot since then.

Preparation For The Fixture & Targets

The Swiss team arrived in Malta on Thursday and asked about how the team is settling into their surroundings Duenker praised the sights in Malta said, “We settled in well, today (Friday) there was a little time to do some sightseeing and it’s a very nice place. It’s nice to see some things outside of football. However, now we are focused on the match tomorrow and hopefully we have a good game.”

Meanwhile, questioned about Birkirkara’s team morale following the victory against Breznica Pljevlja, Jose Borg said, “The team is very motivated following our victory. We had been trying to get to the first victory in the first fixture for some time and we managed to achieve that target with the win against Breznica Pljevlja so the girls are very happy.” Asked about the target for the match against Zurich, Borg said, “We are aware that Zurich is a very strong team. We reached our goal of finishing second by winning the first game against Breznica Pljevlja and we are under no illusion about the strength of Zurich. We consider them to be giants and a very strong squad, we need to be slightly better than perfect to win the game. So, we are going to take the experience and enjoy the game.”

On the other hand, noting Zurich’s success in reaching the group stage last year, Duenker was questioned on the team’s targets for this year’s competition. The coach said, “Our target is the same, to reach the group stage. I think it will be a difficult game tomorrow, but if you want to reach that stage you have to work for it and win each match. However, the girls are enjoying themselves and focused, which I think is important to have.”

Asked about the recovery following the match against Breznica Pljevlja on Wednesday, during which the team played with ten players for the majority of the second half, Jose Borg said, “The team is physically prepared for the game, but of course there is some fatigue considering that we played on Wednesday as opposed to Zurich who had the week to rest from their last competitive fixture. Of course, the competition is set up as it is and in this case we are slightly disadvantaged but we deal with it and move on.”

Hinting At Potential Line-Ups

Birkirkara will surely be without Alishia Sultana who is often one of the starting players for the team. Asked about how he will deal with her absence Borg said, “Alishia is an important member of the squad and so of course she will be missed. However, we have a capable squad and deep enough squad to be able to work around that setback. I am sure that whoever will replace her will do a good job.”

Zurich’s team boasts a number of players who were part of Switzerland’s squad in the Women’s World Cup this summer. Questioned about how that experience changes the mentality and performance of the squad, Duencker said, “We had a difficult pre-season because there was a significant number of players away for the competition with the National Team. However, they learned a lot from that experience and they came back motivated, so I am sure they want to share their knowledge with the team.”

The Swiss team also boasts a very strong youth academy. Considering this will be the team’s first fixture in the UEFA Women’s Champions League this year, Duencker was asked whether she considers this to be a good opportunity to integrate these players into the squad early in the competition or whether she prefers to field an established eleven to get the strongest result. Zurich’s coach said, “It is a very important game tomorrow, so because of this we trust in the girls we know and the performances we’ve seen in the last weeks. We have a lot of young players but it is tough to get into the first eleven because the level is very high. They learn a lot and the time will come to put them in, but I do not think tomorrow is the time to get some experience.”

Considering the positive turnout in Wednesday’s fixture, a final question on the support was fielded. Jose Borg weighed in saying, “For Malta it was a positive to see the crowd on Wednesday and to see the girls celebrating in front of their supporters was a nice thing. It will be good if we can have that support as we try our best against Zurich.”

Kick-off will be tonight at 18:00 at the Centenary Stadium. Tickets are still available online or at Intersport Malta. Prices are 5 Euro, while children and seniors are discounted at 3 Euro.

Lead Image: Birkirkara FC / FC Zurich Women

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