There are currently four Swiss head coaches in the National League: EVZ’s last opponent, Ambrì-Piotta, is being led by Luca Cereda, now in his ninth season, Thierry Patterlini has been coaching the SCL Tigers since 2022, Marco Bayer took over as head coach of the ZSC Lions during the 2024/25 season, and Michael Liniger was announced shortly before as the new head coach of EVZ starting this season.

Now Bayer and Liniger will face each other on Saturday evening at the OYM hall. The two have much more in common than their nationality and their roles; they also share a past as players at HC Ambrì-Piotta, and their families are good friends.

«Marco brings with him a wealth of experience from many different stages and various positions. Last season, he withstood the immense pressure and expectations and ultimately seized the opportunity to win titles with his team.»

Michael Liniger, Head Coach EVZ

“Titles” – plural – because Bayer not only successfully defended the Swiss championship title with the ZSC Lions, but also won the Champions Hockey League in his own stadium in February.  His contract was extended until 2027 by sporting director Sven Leuenberger.

Last season, three of the four encounters were extremely close: the Lions (still under Marc Crawford) won the first two games 5-4 and 4-0 (the only clear result, in Zug of all places), while EVZ won the games in January and February 2025 2-1 and 5-4.

Regardless of the eight championship games played so far and the current rankings (EVZ 6th place with 15 points | ZSC 7th place with 13 points), the first meeting of the 2025/26 season is also likely to be explosive – there’s always fireworks in the Z-Derbies!