Sunday Fulham News 19/06/2016

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Zubi: A Beautiful Time



When assessing his time at Fulham, Pascal Zuberbühler has nothing but positive things to say about the experience.

He may have only made one appearance for the Whites, but the goalkeeper was a regular in the squad and a real character to have around the place.

In a way his career went full circle, as Roy Hodgson signed him for Fulham 14 years after giving him his debut for Switzerland.

"It's a fantastic story," Zubi told the official website. "He was the national team coach with Switzerland when I was still very young. We had a few very good goalkeepers and he gave me my first 20 minutes playing for the Swiss national team.

"Then years later, almost at the end of my career, we met each other again by accident at the Euros in Vienna. When I was watching Spain against Italy, he was there and he asked me about my future.

"At that moment I was free but still playing, still active, and he asked me if I'd like to come to Fulham as a number two behind Mark Schwarzer.

"I was thinking and thinking and thinking, because I still wanted to play as a number one, but then it was fantastic; Roy Hodgson, Fulham, a beautiful club in London with massive support.

"That's why it was a great story. He was the one at the beginning of my career who gave me my first minutes in the national team, and then at the end we worked together again."

Zuberbühler ended up spending three years at Craven Cottage, but they coincided with the most prosperous period in the Club's history.

"We had a very successful time with Fulham, it was brilliant," he said. "Even though I didn't play much, for me it was an important time. I came as a number two, I had a fantastic keeper in front of me in Mark Schwarzer.

"We had David Stockdale there, and we had also Neil Etheridge. Mike Kelly was the goalkeeper coach and he was the one who gave me the nod to take my first training session.

"Schwarzer performed so well, he played at 99 per cent for all games, it was fantastic. I was so happy to receive this chance, and especially with Fulham, it was brilliant.

"It was really unbelievable. We had a great team. The team understood how Roy Hodgson wanted to play. He had his concepts and his tactics, and for this he needs his players."

Now Derby County's goalkeeping coach, he loved coming back to the Cottage for the 1-1 draw earlier this year.

"Oh it was so special," he smiled. "So special, so beautiful. It's like a home for me, it's so beautiful. I had such a very nice time."

In a career that spanned the best part of two decades, Zuberbühler is perhaps best known in the footballing world for his role at the 2006 World Cup.

He was in nets as Switzerland progressed from the group stages without conceding a goal. That set up a round-of-16 tie with Ukraine, who were also unable to find the Swiss net.

They ended up going out on penalties, despite Zuberbühler denying Andriy Shevchenko, but their defensive resilience secured their place in the record books nonetheless.

"I'm very proud, of course," Zubi said of that campaign. "It was very hard after you come back home though.

"You go out after a penalty shoot-out to Ukraine, you save the first penalty against Shevchenko, you didn't concede any goals in the three group games, not in the Ukraine game, not in extra-time, nothing.

"You save the first penalty but we miss all three of ours, and we go back home. Then you're sitting at home and you see the Semi-Finals and the Final and you're thinking, 'what am I doing here at home?!'

"In this moment I was really struggling because we'd done so well defensively, we had such a great group there together.

"So to go home without conceding a goal, that was strange, really strange. But, of course, it was very nice to have this record – it's nice to read that Switzerland has this clean sheet record."

Two years later Zuberbühler made his final appearance for his country. It was fitting circumstances; on home soil at Euro 2008, keeping another clean sheet as Switzerland exited the competition with a 2-0 win over Portugal.

"That was my last game and it was already clear that I will stop my career," he said. "I was able to show a good game against Portugal with another clean sheet, which was fantastic. I was really happy about this.

"I was involved with the national team for a long, long time. A lot of the time I was a sub. I think I played 51 games, and for 50 I was a sub, so it means for more than 100 games I was involved, which was a good number."

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Arsenal eye Fulham's Dembele – report

Arsenal are apparently in for Fulham's Moussa Dembele who is available on a free transfer this summer.

The 19-year-old had been set to sign for Tottenham for £6m in January however Fulham called the deal off after Spurs refused to allow him to stay with them for the rest of the season on loan.

The player even had a medical with the Shadow Dwellers, but Fulham determined that their need to avoid relegation was more important than the extra cash they would have received a January deal.

Scoring 15 goals (with seven assists) in 43 Championship games, averaging a goal every 224 minutes, his stats aren't exactly ones that make you sit up and pay attention.

His overall play, however, is.

The term 'free' here is also not quite accurate. Although he will be out of contract and can move for free, should he move to another English club, Fulham would still receive a fee through tribunal.

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There is no report if Tottenham would move again for him but there's nothing to rule it out.

Having already agreed to join Tottenham once, and the deal only falling through because Tottenham wanted him too much, that could rule out any other club getting a look in.

That being said, Arsenal weren't calling in January.

Chelsea are also said to be interested after inviting the player to the club to watch the game against Manchester City as a guest.

Dembele's ultimate dream, it seems, is to return to PSG, the club he joined in 2004 when he was just eight. Speaking in March, the teenager told L'Equipe, "Like every Parisian, I dream of playing for PSG.

"Why could it not happen some day? If they want me...

"I left in 2012 when [Zlatan] Ibrahimovic and [Ezequiel] Lavezzi joined the club. I would have gotten little playing time. PSG were not counting on me.

"I know that some players have gotten their chance since, like Jean-Kevin Augustin, but I preferred to leave and try my luck elsewhere."

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Slavisa's Fulham dream



This past week we learned that Slavisa Jokanovic had returned to Motspur Park ahead of the start of pre-season "getting some work done" despite some pretty hefty graft during the close season. Looking ahead to the 2016/17 Championship season, we've learned about the first team releases of Shaun Hutchinson, Dan Burn, Jamie O'Hara and Alex Kacaniklic as well as the rather disappointed news that Emerson Hyndman felt his development be better in the hands of Premier League AFC Bournemouth rather than Craven Cottage. On top of these deals, Kostas Mitroglou has been sold to Benfica, Andy Lonergan has been sold to Wolves, whilst rumours circulate with regards to the sales of Fernando Amorebieta and Matt Smith as well as the unsurprisingly speculation to where Moussa Dembele will start the coming season and the continuing tales of Ross McCormack's future. When you wrap all of this up, you can tie it up with pretty bow considering the potential sales of Maarten Stekelenburg, Jazz Richards, Nikolay Bodurov and Ben Pringle; we're looking at a rebuild perhaps bigger than any of us anticipated.

So what does a Jokanovic team look like? To be frank, he's not worked anywhere really long enough to do something this extensive, but by using past quotes and looking at his time at his former clubs, we can start to build an idea. With the stare of a immersed mafia boss and the rough, croaky voice that can make his English sound more broken than it actually is – his demeanour can reflect his preferred footballing style – Finnish midfielder Sakari Mattila had this to say in the early days of the Jokanovic era, "He wants us to be more aggressive when we are defending, to take and be tougher. He wants us to get in their face. He wants us to press the ball quicker." A hardnosed Serbian, Slavisa Jokanovic yearns for fight, for intensity, for desire and although the impact of Jokanovic's style could be seen, the players simply did not match his philosophy with results yet to come. The closest Fulham came to an ideal Jokanovic performance would likely be the win over QPR at Loftus Road where it seemed to click; the players were intense, they did fight, they created chances and they blew away their opposition with clinical and incisive attacking play.

Always with an eye on the opposition, Slavisa and his backroom staff want to make the opposing team uncomfortable. Whilst at Watford, he was quoted in a match preview as saying "We must play with the right intensity and with the right energy. If we play in this way and if we are working well on the pitch, we have the possibility to make it difficult for the other team." To get the upper hand in a football match is half the battle, arise a personal favourite line from the Fulham manager, "football is not a game for pussies, it's a job for real men." This hard and serrated mentality shouldn't been read without a want for style. Slavisa Jokanovic has previously been cited as discussing a want to "play like Barcelona" but understands it's not always possible. At Watford he argued (probably rightly) "we have to play like Watford. It is about these players and their characteristics will determine which way we play."

Slavisa Jokanovic now – following the previously discussed rebuild – has the opportunity to bring players in to play in the Barcelona style he desires, which undoubtedly would also feature his own aggressive and fighting spin. Fulham are Jokanovic's 6th club since 2012 and with that, his first with the opportunity to make the entire football club his own and in his own image. With how the rumours are shaping up, it's likely that Fulham will bring in an entire 442 and potentially more.

A fascinating and vital summer is ahead of us as Fulham supporters as a successful, hungry, determined and exciting coach leads us into our third season in the Championship. Slavisa Jokanovic has frequently utilised the word "ambition" and how we need to be more ambitious in training, in games and in recruitment. A charismatic enigma, Slavisa Jokanovic's ambition for Fulham FC and for the Premier League could be the driving force required to take Fulham from the consistent dip over the last few years to an attractive, intense and aggressive football club on the rise.

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31-YEAR-OLD FULHAM DEFENDER LINKED WITH MOVE TO EUROPE



It has emerged from an exclusive report by Spanish publication El Desmarque, Fulham's Venezuelan defender Fernando Amorebieta has been linked with a move to Spanish side, Sporting Gijon.

As Amorebieta enters the final year of his contract, the Venezuelan defender is looking likely to leave Craven Cottage this summer.

Amorebieta is attracting increasing attention from Spain with Sporting Gijon showing the most interest as they look to replace Bernardo Espinosa who has moved to England to join recently promoted Middlesbrough.

With Fulham looking to offload the 31 year old defender and Sporting Gijon looking to replace Espinosa, the move looks to be in the best interest of all the parties involved.

However, there appears to be a major obstacle as Sporting Gijon are interested in signing Amorebieta on a free transfer, whereas Fulham are expecting a transfer fee even if it is a nominal amount. Until this fee can be agreed, the move will be put on hold.

Fulham fans, how do you feel about the news? Would you be disappointed to see Fernando Amorebieta leave? Do you think he could still have a role to play for Fulham? If he is to leave, who would you like to see come in to replace him? Let us hear your thoughts and opinions in the comment section below!

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Fulham Now Have Rivals for Hanley



Fulham Now Have Rivals for Hanley

Previously, we`ve reported on how Fulham were showing an interest in a Blackburn Rovers international defender.

The player in question being Grant Hanley.

However, it appears that Fulham Football Club will not have things all their own way when it comes to securing a deal for the Scottish centre-back.

Lurking in the pages of the Sun on Sunday today is the inference that Sheffield Wednesday are also looking to entice the defender away from Ewood Park.

Furthermore, it is now being suggested that any attempt to sign the centre-back will cost the interested party something around the £5 million mark.

We`ll keep an eye out for any interesting developments and report back further.

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Amorebieta Heading for Fulham Exit

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This summer could see the Fulham defender Fernando Amorebieta leave Craven Cottage.

The Venezuelan defender has a year left on his current contract and in all probability will be allowed to leave this summer.

Reports, on the internet suggest that the 31-year-old is interesting the Spanish club Sporting Gijon.

However, it seems that a deal might not be as straight forward as it first seems.

Fulham, with the player having a year left on his contract, are expecting a fee for the player whilst the Spanish outfit are of the belief that they might get the player on a free transfer.

Here at Vital Fulham we fully expect the deal to go through after both clubs come to a compromise with a small fee being paid for the player.

Well report back if / when we hear anything substantial relating to the deal.

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Fiorentina or Fulham for Gollini



Verona goalkeeper Pierluigi Gollini is considering proposals from Fiorentina and Fulham.

A move to England would be a comeback for Gollini, who was in the Manchester United youth academy.

According to La Gazzetta dello Sport, the 21-year-old shot-stopper is of interest to both Fiorentina and Fulham.

He is expected to leave Verona following their relegation into Serie B.

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Fulham keen on Verona goalkeeper



Fulham are interested in signing Verona goalkeeper Pierluigi Gollini, according to reports from Italy.

Slavisa Jokanovic has made the capture of a new custodian a priority following the surprise departure of Andy Lonergan to Wolves last week and the 21 year-old Gollini is set to leave Verona after they were relegated to Serie B. Italian newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport says that Gollini is a target for both Fulham and Fiorentina and that Gollina could be tempted by a return to England after previously being on the books of Manchester United during his teenage years.

The Italian under-21 international, who has previously been linked with a move to Everton, made 27 first team appearances for Verona last season, and is under contract with the club until the summer of 2019. It is thought that his current employers would want around £1m for his services.