Stays in St. Pauls: Meran midfield strategist Davide De Vito (l.) has been confirmed by the club management. © M. Dorn

St. Pauls resolves coaching issue and plans new squad

Unlike in recent years, FC St. Pauls is not in a relegation battle this year, but is in a comfortable position. This allows the Blue and Whites to plan for the coming season early on. Some key positions have been fixed.

March 24, 2024

From: cst

While half of the league is in a relegation battle, FC St. Pauls can already plan for the summer. “We want to be prepared for the coming season, but we are also enjoying the current season,” says Markus Pircher, one of the Überetscher sporting directors, summarizing the current events. St. Pauls is in 2nd place, 2 points behind league leader Lavis. However, the blue and white village club doesn't waste any thoughts on Series D. The 4th league is not an issue for the traditional club.

Instead, they want to push forward development in the coming league season, especially among the young locals. “With Alex Meraner and Timo Spitaler, two players from the A youth team have already made their debut in the league against Naturns. More could follow soon,” said Pircher. He summarizes his goals until the end of the season as follows: “Continue playing properly and collect as many points as possible.” After the regional tournament break, the injured Gabriel Degasperi and Jakob Hofer, as well as Hannes Ohnewein (most recently suspended), are also returning.

Planning is in full swing

Behind the scenes, Pircher and his colleagues from the sports management team (Philipp Stein and Simon Fabi) are working on the squad for the next season. The Paulsner makers don't want to change much, although Pircher says: "There will be a few changes, there's no other way." The coaching position was a question mark. Yuri Pellegrini initially stepped in on an interim basis for Fabio Memmo, who was dismissed in the autumn. In the winter the club decided that they would continue with Pellegrini until the end of the season. Because the ex-professional is extremely popular with the team, the club is completely satisfied with the work and the results speak for themselves, Pellegrini will remain in the coaching bench next season.

Robel Gambato, Fabio Donadio and Hannes Ohnewein (in white; from left) will also play in St. Pauls next season. © Giacomelli

The basic structure of the current squad is also maintained. The central defenders Oliver Rohrer and Robel Gambato will stay, despite advances from other major league teams. Goalkeeper Jacopo Passarella and – among others – Davide De Vito, Jacopo Pecoraro, Gabriel and Philip Degasperi and Fabio Donadio have also already been confirmed. Other youngsters like Manuel Giocondo and Klejdi Muka will also stay. FC St. Pauls will also be led next season by captain Hannes Ohnewein and the local guard from Überetscher Weindorf.