Hopping for a Bright Future...

On Friday 13th October 2017, Football underwent a a revolution. The corrupt FIFA were finally overthrown and, after a failed Euro Super league collapsed, NWO became the official governing body. Rob Harris, instrumental in the formation of NWO, surprisingly quit his desk job in Switzerland, when Grasshoppers needed a coach on the eve of the big kick off. Harris said this:

"Having coached and taught P.E., it was a natural progression to take over an elite professional football team, similar to a famous Portuguese coach, although our philosophies on how the game is played are very different. I was already based in Zurich and when the call came I simply couldn't refuse”.

Grasshoppers Zurich are one of the smaller sides in the NWO league, and will be competing in Division 2. Expectations are to try and survive the first season's dreaded relegation trap door which would be catastrophic for the club. With a relatively small stadium of 26,000, Harris has resisted bringing in big names on big salaries and instead targeted young players that were hungry, could still improve yet would provide a Zurich with a competitive side.

Harris bulit from the back bringing in goalkeeper Skorupski from Roma and defenders Salcedo, Wimmer and Denswill. The most eye catching signing was the capture of Uruguayan international Diego Laxalt. Campo, Frey and Navanchy provide a Swiss core and veteran Roque Santa Cruz was added for some much needed guile in attack.

Although the challenge is a tough one to retain Div 2 status, Harris believes there is cause for optimism. Swiss football is on the up generally. The demise of FIFA and the creation of NWO can only be a good thing and with Zurich able to offer a central location in Europe with good transport links, decent air quality and a good family environment for future players, Zurich will soon be taking their place at the top table.