Roland Schwegler is an experienced former Swiss u21 defender. Although only 27 years old he has had a successful career winning the Swiss championship twice and played against teams such as FC Porto and Leeds United (when they were rich…) in Europe. More recently Roland has been out injured for a couple of months after he tore a ligament in his right knee against Basel in August.

Full Name: Roland Schwegler
Age: 27
Nationality: Swiss
Position: Defender
2009 Shirt Number: 4

Can you tell us a little bit about your career in football before joining FC Luzern?
I spent 10 years with Grasshopper Club Zurich, but I have my roots in Central Switzerland. My first fifteen years were in Hochdorf, a small town outside Luzern.

So which team did you support as a child?
FC Luzern, I was always there on the terrace of the Allmend amongst the fans. I was there when we won the Championship in 1989. It meant a lot to me.

What was it like to play at the Allmend with Grasshoppers?
Every game there was very special for me, to play against the team I supported as a child. And normally we would win…that was the good thing for Grasshoppers. It was also special as all my family and friends would be there to watch the game. A great atmosphere.

What is the reputation of FC Luzern in Swiss football?
FC Luzern always has a lot of supporters, in any stadium, home and away. Now we also have a good team with players from our region, this is quite unique in Switzerland today. There are not that many teams like us in that way. Last years we had some problems on the pitch, but we managed to get past them at the end of the season. This season we have taken the energy and power from last and we try to improve.

From playing with Grasshoppers, you know what it takes to become Swiss champion. How far away from winning the league is Luzern this year?
It’s hard to win it now, there are three big teams. FC Basel, Young Boys and FC Zurich have much more money than we do. But we have a great team spirit. We work hard and we work together, it is possible for us to win the championship.

Who is the best player you have ever played against? Hmmm, it’s difficult to say, but I think it must be Deco. It was in the qualification to the Champions League, Grasshoppers against Porto 2001.

What is it like to play in front of Zibung?
I like it very much, he talks to me on the pitch and we are also very good friends off it. He is a very good keeper and I hope he will be the next Swiss national goalkeeper so he gets to play in the world cup.

How far can Switzerland go in South Africa?
It is difficult to say, if we get a good group we could go to the quarter finals. And I hope one or two players from FC Luzern can go there, I am sure Hakan will, but I think David deserves to be there too.

So we should start the “Zibung for Switzerland” campaign right now
Laughs, yes, we really should.

What has changed in the team since Rolf Fringer took over? The whole spirit has changed, he speaks a lot with all of us. He got a great start when he came in last year, we won the first two games with him and after that it was easier to play as a team.

We have to remember that we had only 2 points in 12 games when he arrived. He told us we had to fight hard and we had to keep it simple. The team started working better together, it was a good feeling.

How about you, how is the knee?
It is very good, I am fit and ready to play. I have already played two games, one with the u21 team and one against FC Kickers. I am ready.

Next league game is Basel at home. It was in the away leg you got injured, you look forward to play Frei and the rest of them again?Yes, there is no problem I hope that I will play and help the team to a win.