July 24th, 2026

Friday morning began with a quiet breakfast at the Gauthier apartment. Julien remained tense ahead of the meeting with Hüppi. The president had left a good impression during their rare encounters but rarely interfered with football operations.

"He is certainly not going to fire you, calm down," Laura said.

"No, not that," Julien muttered, sipping his coffee. "But what does he want then?"

"Maybe a new contract."

"I doubt it. I have only been here for four months."

"True, but nobody expected you to win the league."

"I didn't expect it either," Julien said. "But a new deal now makes no sense. Maybe if we are still in the title race by the winter break."

"You will see, Dad. Don't worry," Camille said.

The rest of the morning passed without note.

Julien prepared for the lunch. He avoided a formal suit, opting for a blue shirt, grey jeans, and a sports jacket. He disliked formal attire; it only added unnecessary tension, and he was a sportsman anyway, not some boring businessman.

The meeting was set at the same restaurant where Julien had his initial job interview. Roger Stilz arrived first. Julien felt a wave of relief seeing the Sporting Director dressed in a similar casual style. They had just ordered drinks when the President reached the table.

"Mr. Hüppi," they said.

"Relax, sit down, gentlemen," Hüppi said, taking his seat.

"I hear you have settled in well, Julien," Hüppi said.

"It was easy. Fortunately, the results helped," Julien replied.

"That was not luck, Julien," Roger interrupted. "You did an excellent job."

"That is true," Hüppi said. "That is why we are here, to settle things down a bit. I see you are doing great work in the transfer market, but there is still some money left in the bank. Do you have a plan?"

"We are trying not to disrupt the team chemistry," Julien said.

"In fact, we would still like to part ways with one or two players," Stilz added.

"Then, using the generated funds along with what is left, if we find a player who represents a genuine upgrade—someone at a higher level—we will try to bring him here," Julien continued.

"Which will not be simple, because we also refuse to break our wage structure," Stilz added.

The waiter approached the table and took their orders.

"I see you work well together," Hüppi said, looking at them. "That is rare between a Director of Football and a manager these days, isn't it?"

"I view my role as supporting Julien's work, Mr. Hüppi," Stilz replied. "And that is easy, because we both want what is best for the club. Fortunately, Julien does not want aging stars for short-term success. We needed those two or three 28-to-30-year-olds for the European campaign, but we have also invested in the club's future."

"I am glad to see you have a concrete vision for this club," Hüppi said, nodding. "You know how much what you achieved meant to this city."

The waiter brought the appetizers, and the conversation shifted to general matters. They spoke about the apartment in Gossau, the children, and Laura’s teaching position at the Kantonsschule. Hüppi shared brief details about his own life. Between the courses, the president returned to business.

"We are here today to review our expectations for the upcoming year," Hüppi said.

He leaned forward, laying out the board's baseline demands. In the Champions League, the bare minimum was already secured by reaching the second qualifying round. For the Super League, the target was set at qualifying for the UEFA Conference League. In the Schweizer Cup, the board expected a quarter-final run.

"Neither of us expected the league title last year, and we set our expectations for the coming season accordingly," Hüppi said. "Let's leave the Champions League aside. For as long as we are in it, let's enjoy it, and be glad we can play in this competition. We have no real expectations regarding that."

The president took a sip of water before continuing.

"As for the league, Julien, I think you have already noticed that we see our capabilities realistically at this club. Obviously, we cannot expect you to win the title every year from now on. But we cannot say we are satisfied with just scraping into the championship playoff either. We want the team's league performance to secure Conference League qualification."

"Depending on who wins the cup, that means a third or fourth-place finish," Stilz added.

“In the cup, we performed very poorly last year. We want to still be in the competition come spring, reaching the quarter-finals. ”

"These are completely understandable and realistic expectations," Julien said.

They ordered another round of drinks before Hüppi said his goodbyes, wishing them luck for the upcoming season. Julien and Stilz were just about to leave when the DoF’s phone rang. The conversation was brief. He hung up, turned to Julien.

"Faber signed for Lugano."

"That is good news, Roger. Now we just need to find a team for Csoboth," Julien replied.

"Yes, but that looks a little tougher. There is barely any interest."

They reached the parking lot. Julien’s phone vibrated in his pocket. He glanced at the screen.

"Damn it, I don't believe this," Julien said, showing the display to Stilz.

It was Elena, the club's press officer.

"Better pick it up," Stilz said with a short laugh, mocking Julien's reluctance as he unlocked his car.

"How do they know already? Honestly, I think you should be handling this," Julien shouted, but Stilz was already pulling out of his space.

Julien answered. Elena was calling to pass along an immediate inquiry from the Swiss Football Review regarding Konrad Faber's departure to Lugano. The news had leaked within minutes of the signing.

"It was not the original plan, but we moved on and brought in a better option to fill the position," Julien told her, keeping the statement flat and brief.

By the time the Peugeot 5008 arrived back to the Kybunpark, his words were already live on the Swiss football portals.

The Swiss Super League season started this evening.

Luzern hosted Lausanne-Sport at the Swissporarena, the match ending in a 1–1 draw. Newly promoted Neuchâtel Xamax held Winterthur to a goalless 0–0 draw at the Stade de la Maladière. Meanwhile, reigning Swiss Cup winners FC Zürich secured a 2–0 victory over the Challenge League champions FC Aarau at the Letzigrund.

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July 25th, 2026

Everything was moving smoothly at the club, but Kevin Csoboth’s situation remained a major concern for Julien. On Saturday morning, Julien called the Hungarian winger into his office to address the issue.

"Look, Kevin, we agreed last time that we would try to find you a club where you could get regular playing time," Julien said, leaning over his desk. "But it is almost the end of July and there is no real interest. Leagues are starting, squads are settling. I need you to actively look for a new club with your representatives."

Csoboth stared back blankly.

"I don't know, boss," Csoboth said. "I don't really want to leave."

Julien nearly lost his temper. "You are not going to play here, Kevin. Do you understand that?"

"Yes," the player replied.

"You will lose your place in the national team as well."

"I feel comfortable here."

There was no breakthrough. Realizing the player lacked the motivation to push for an exit, Julien instructed Roger Stilz to contact Csoboth's agent, Márton Kocsis. The phone call yielded nothing new; Kocsis confirmed that no club was interested in signing the winger.

Saturday morning brought better news as well. Jan Hoepner signed his contract, completing the coaching staff.

Julien welcomed the 45-year-old German in his office at the Kybunpark. They were the same age, shared identical views on training intensity and tactical discipline. After a brief discussion regarding the attacking sessions, Julien took Hoepner down to the pitch to introduce him to the squad before the morning session began.

The players welcomed the new coach with a quick round of applause, and Hoepner went straight to work, taking charge of the offensive drills.

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July 28th, 2026

The season ticket sales closed over the completely uneventful weekend. The club sold 12,201 tickets for the season. If that had been all, it could be said that absolutely nothing happened, but that was not the case. 

Early Sunday afternoon, Julien, Schmid, Harrison Kingston, the club's head performance analyst, and Jonas Maier performance analyst gathered in the video room at the Kybunpark. St. Gallen's two biggest league rivals, Basel and Young Boys, faced each other in the very first round at the St. Jakob-Park. Basel controlled the game throughout and deservedly took the lead in the 53rd minute, but what happened after completely surprised Julien and his staff. Young Boys only had one shot on target until then, but Basel was satisfied with the 1-0 lead and sat back to defend. The visitors turned the game around in the last 30 minutes and eventually won 3-1. 

"So, who is our real opponent here?" Schmid asked, staring at the screen. 

"Based on the first 60, or the last 30 minutes?" Julien asked back. 

They talked for another good hour after the match with Kingston and Maier, but ultimately concluded that both opponents would be very strong for the season.

The four of them went over to Gilli’s for a couple of beers before heading home, grabbing a burger while they were there. Upon arriving home, Julien had a conflict with Laura, who had prepared dinner and was waiting for her husband. This had not been an issue while he was living alone in St. Gallen, but he understood her perfectly, and they agreed that he would call ahead next time. Julien was not drunk, but Laura was upset that she had waited with the meal for nothing (I think we have all been there once).

The only news on Monday was that there was no news. Csoboth still had no suitors, which worried Julien more and more. He and Stilz concluded that if someone came in with a loan offer, they would consider that too.

Tuesday was more active. Julien and Schmid put together the starting lineup for tomorrow's return leg. For the first time, they had a disagreement over it. Schmid suggested to field the strongest eleven, but Julien, keeping the three-goal away advantage in mind, wanted to rest some players for Saturday's match against Sion. In the end, they made five changes to the starting lineup. Daschner steps in for the injured Castrovilli, and Ajeti starts upfront instead of Vogt. Görtler will be replaced by Boukhalfa, and they plan to make two changes in the defense as well. Ambrosius takes Mathisen's place, and Ottiger runs out onto the pitch instead of Vandermersch.

Other than that, everything remained the same. The 4-2-3-1 formation and the tactical instructions were unchanged. The plan was to keep possession, utilize the wings, and look for mixed crosses.

Then came Julien’s favorite part. The pre-match press conference.

He took his seat behind the microphone and scanned the room. The attendance was the same as always. Julien adjusted his jacket, waited for the first question.

They asked if there was any overconfidence after the 4–1 away victory and whether the team might take the match lightly. Julien reassured everyone that his players were true professionals, so this would not be an issue. There was also a question about Faber's departure, but Julien chose not to reveal to the media that their relationship had completely broken down. He only stated that he wished him the best of luck for the future.

"You are getting better at this," Elena said after the press conference.

"Sure... we have won every game so far," Julien said. "Just watch what happens once this comes to an end. Because it will end."

Elena said nothing to that.

The media considered St. Gallen the clear favorites, which was further amplified by the fact that Coleraine's first-choice goalkeeper, Ryan Schofield, suffered a fractured finger during yesterday's training session while catching the ball, forcing him to miss the return leg.

Fortunately, nothing similar happened during St. Gallen's final training sessions, so everything was ready for tomorrow's match. On his way home, Julien stopped to buy a bouquet of flowers for Laura because of what happened over the weekend.

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