Renato Steffen from FC Lugano explains his image as an attractive figure and his closeness to the Xhakas. And he says why a statement from David Degen annoyed him so much.
Scored four goals in 39 international matches: Renato Steffen.
Frederikke Jensen / Imago
Is FC Lugano a candidate for the championship?
We are six points behind YB with seven rounds to go before the end of the season. Realistically, it will be difficult for us. But we have to be ready if YB continues to weaken and lose points.
You get the impression that a team is growing together in Lugano that can challenge the Young Boys. How far is FC Lugano from YB?
We have a good mix of experienced players and talent. We have an owner from the USA who has the necessary patience but also the financial resources so that FC Lugano can continue to improve. We are on the way to becoming a top team, flexible and well-coordinated. And in Mattia Croci-Torti we have a top coach who is constantly developing us further. The concept works, we are no longer little Lugano. But we have to think even bigger. The dynasties of FC Basel and YB were characterized by exceptional consistency. We’re still missing that.
How do you notice that?
Just last weekend in the game at FC Winterthur again. We scored 2-1 shortly before the end. Basel and YB would have brought home this result in their championship years. We still got the score 2:2. But that is criticism at a high level.
Do you know which footballer has by far the most scorer points in this Super League season?
By far is exaggerated, it’s four more than the second place.
They have scored 5 goals and provided 13 assists in 25 matches. These values would also be top in ice hockey at HC Lugano. Are you the best player in the Super League?
If statistics are anything to go by: yes. But I’m not the right person to judge that.
At the beginning of your time in Lugano in autumn 2022, you sometimes seemed annoyed in TV interviews after games. What has improved since then?
Sometimes I want to bang my head against the wall. At the beginning I didn’t like some things, there was a lack of absolute seriousness and greed. That annoyed me. I want to play for the title with FC Lugano; last year we were in the cup final in Bern against YB. I push my teammates in every training session because I hate lack of concentration and complacency. I didn’t come back to Switzerland to spend a few nice years in Ticino.
Can you understand that there were people who thought in the summer of 2022 that Renato Steffen would come from the Bundesliga club Wolfsburg to Lugano to spend a few more years in Ticino?
If you wanted, you could see it that way. But I think I’ve proven that it isn’t so. It’s about changing the culture. The new stadium is coming in 2026, which will take FC Lugano even further.
Renato Steffen moves to @FCLugano1908! Good luck 🍀⚽️
Renato Steffen all‘FC Lugano.
Renato Steffen in Lugano.
— 🇨🇭 Nati (@nati_sfv_asf) August 30, 2022
Her contract expires in 2025. Will you then move to the partner club Chicago in Major League Soccer?
That’s an obvious thought. And that sounds appealing. I’m totally relaxed about my future. It is important to me to be able to play a key role in an ambitious project for a long time. And our improvement run in Lugano is not over.
We need to talk about your contract. David Degen, the president of FC Basel, said a few weeks ago in the FCB fan podcast “Yynedruggt”: “What Steffen earns in Lugano, you would have had to chop off both of my hands so that I could pick up the pen and sign it .» When you recently scored a goal in the win against Basel, you celebrated with a clear gesture towards the stands. As the best scorer in the league, can’t you care less what David Degen says in a podcast – not to mention the fact that you can’t pick up a pen if your hands are chopped off?
It could be for me, but it isn’t. Especially since it concerns FC Basel, my former club. I have good friends there like Taulant Xhaka. It bothered me that David Degen brought my name into play without being asked. What’s in it for him? And anyway: I’m a Swiss national player and was in the Bundesliga for a long time, so it’s clear that I have a good contract that I’m happy with. I don’t know if I’m the highest paid player in the league, but I know for a fact that I try to give back the trust every day in Lugano.
Did FC Basel also negotiate with you in the summer of 2022?
There was an offer. But the people at FCB gave me the impression that they thought I would return anyway because it was FC Basel. No one made me feel like they really wanted me. It was completely different in Lugano. I need this appreciation.
Experiences the appreciation he needs in Lugano: 32-year-old offensive player Renato Steffen.
Pablo Gianinazzi / Keystone
How much was your first professional salary when you moved from Solothurn to FC Thun in 2012?
That was 2,500 francs a month plus bonuses.
You were never a top talent, worked as a painter before you started in Thun and later played for YB, Basel and Wolfsburg. What has this unusual career done to you?
I needed time to get used to the fact that my boyhood dreams were coming true belatedly and unexpectedly. The most difficult thing was the change from Thun to YB when I lost the ground under my feet. I thought: Now I’m the boss. And I lost focus.
How did that manifest itself?
Well, I was young and suddenly had a lot of money at my disposal. For example, it had always been my dream to drive an Audi R8. So I just bought the car. At that time it was more important to me what others thought of me, how I should dress, things like that that you get in football as a young player. I parked my Audi in Wankdorf even though I shouldn’t have parked it there. And after admonitions, I just did it again. There were some clarifying discussions and I was really hit in the face. I need this every now and then. I paid a lot of tuition fees in Bern.
What did you learn from it?
When the coach, the sports director and the president tell you that you have to change or there will be no future for you in professional football, that is a clear warning. I had to learn how to manage money. And what is always important to me: a clear speech. Draw boundaries. For me, but also for others. I like to test boundaries, almost like a child sometimes does, and I don’t like being pushed too tightly into systems.
How do you still notice today that you were never trained in a football academy and were never a top talent?
I remained an instinctive footballer and maintained a certain carefree attitude. But I’m 32 and have two children and have been part of the national team for years. Logically, I’m a more mature person than I was when I was 20 or 22.
You have retained your impulsive nature.
I have become calmer and no longer always want to kick in the door.
You once said in the NZZ that you had ruined things for yourself with your style. Do you notice this most when you are booed again in an opposing stadium?
I’ve gotten used to that. When I left Switzerland, I got stuck in a drawer that I couldn’t get out of. I am the attractive figure. If you move from Thun to cantonal rival YB, then later from YB to rival Basel, it is clear that it leaves its mark on the fans. I understand that. But unfortunately in Switzerland there is also a culture of envy when someone stands out.
Granit and Taulant Xhaka are regularly criticized for their behavior. Does Switzerland have problems with players who have rough edges?
There is often a lack of respect and judgment is made quickly. I really appreciate the Xhakas. When granite is in the news, I talk to him to understand him. I almost always understand him. But in the end it’s up to him how he deals with everything. I’m glad I stopped my social media activities years ago because I sometimes reacted impulsively to criticism. You have to protect yourself.
Most recently, Granit Xhaka defended his brother Taulant violently and with threatening words against Mister X at FCB on Instagram. Do you really understand when Switzerland’s greatest footballer and captain of the national team does such things?
Somehow. He felt that he and his family had been treated unfairly. Granit was concerned with Taulant the person, not the footballer. This is brotherly love, it is family honor, it is more than sport. Look, my wife is also Kosovar. I know what family and cohesion means to the people of Kosovo. And that’s why I love this culture so much. From the outside you might think: Why granite? But you have to understand how someone thinks and take the blinders off.
The Xhakas do not agree with David Degen. Interestingly, it’s also about Taulant Xhaka’s allegedly over-paid contract until 2027.
I am sure that David Degen, as a footballer, wanted to get the best possible contract for himself. Or as a player agent who negotiated the optimum for his players. Now he is on the other side, with a much greater responsibility for an entire club with enormous popularity in the region. If he offers Taulant a contract until 2027, then he has to stand by it. And if you talk to Taulant openly, he’s the last person who would act difficult.
Have you spoken to David Degen after the incident a few weeks ago?
No. He didn’t come towards me. David and his brother Philipp are also direct, emotional types, like the Xhakas, like me. That’s wonderful for you media, there are always good stories.
29 – Renato Steffen scored three goals in the first 29 minutes against Belarus – it’s the earliest hat-trick in the history of the Swiss national team. Furious. pic.twitter.com/3WBo1l7MGD
— OptaFranz (@OptaFranz) March 25, 2023
You have scored four goals in 39 international matches, three of them within half an hour in a 5-0 away win against Belarus just over a year ago. What is your role in the national team?
I played in nine out of ten European Championship qualifiers last year, starting six times. What speaks for me is that I am versatile. I’m at my best in a half-space role on offense when I have a lot of ball contact.
The year 2023 was not enough for Switzerland. Were you surprised that Murat Yakin was allowed to remain as national coach?
Not at all. We players weren’t efficient enough, we players made mistakes before conceding goals. It would have been unfair if Murat had to leave. It’s also not a problem if there is a little discussion. We all want maximum success.
Why will 2024 be better for the national team?
There is a breath of fresh air, the new assistant Giorgio Contini brings a lot to the table in terms of communication. And we know that we can achieve a lot at the European Championships in Germany. Players like Granit Xhaka, Manuel Akanji and Yann Sommer can win major titles with their clubs. We need a healthy arrogance, we don’t have to hide from anyone.
After so many years, do international matches still seem like a gift to you, as you once said?
It fills me with a lot of pride to play for Switzerland. I always sing the anthem very loudly, it’s important to my parents. I then think of the little boy Renato and the resistance I had to overcome on my long journey to the national team.
