In the Super League, Xamax is eight laps before the end of the table, two points behind Sion. Most recently, it lost four defeats in a row. In order to maintain the league, the team had to solve the blockade, the club said. Stéphane Henchoz did just that last year.
Magnin’s coaching qualities are undisputed and his style of play attractive, but four wins from 22 games are insufficient, the Neuchâtel said in a letter. With Henchoz, they reactivated the man who led the team to league maintenance a year ago in the second half of the season. The 45-year-old from Freiburg signed a one-year contract.
The Neuchâtel words and the reactivation of Henchoz are not without a certain irony. The former national defender had to vacate his post at the end of last season, although he had worked a little miracle in his six-month career with the promoted team. Six games resulted in three victories after the Neuchâtel team had been without victory for four months under promotion coach Michel Decastel.
At that time, the club management wanted a coach who would bring the young players from their own youngsters to the first team – a task that Henchoz could not be expected to do and which seemed perfect for Joël Magnin, who had worked for the young boys’ youth for nine years. Now the role followed backwards.
For Henchoz, the renewed relegation battle with Xamax is also special because with Sion, that club is one of the direct competitors in the table cellar, which he had left after a short term in the streak in autumn. At this point, the Valais were in a much better position than they are now.
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