Speaking exclusively with BOYLE Sports, Philippe Senderos praises the UEFA Conference League and the financial benefits for those involved, reflecting on his experiences as Sporting Director with Servette.
The retired Swiss international discusses the next generation of Swiss footballers there and the increased attention they’re receiving from clubs from major footballing leagues, including Riccardo Calafiori to Arsenal and Dan Ndoye to Bologna.
Sendoros also reflects on his time at AC Milan and has particular praise for the likes of David Beckham, Andrea Pirlo, Ronaldinho, and Paolo Maldini, while addressing Milan's challenges in competing with the Premier League financially.
Conference League
UEFA Conference League Importance
Yeah, I can’t speak highly enough of these competitions. They give clubs that can’t compete in the Champions League or Europa League the chance to have a great journey in Europe and see different things.
It’s great for the fans, the league, and the club itself. I’ve experienced it as a sporting director at Servette - we’ve qualified for the Europa League and the Conference League group stages in recent years - and it’s amazing.
Financially, it makes a contribution. You need a squad capable of competing in multiple competitions, so you have to be smart about investing, but it helps you grow and attract better players because you’re playing in Europe.
Swiss Football
Swiss Football Potential
I’d love to see growth in Swiss football on the European stage. Basel had a fantastic run a couple of years ago when they went to the Europa League and then the Conference League quarterfinals, and that’s very, very valuable for the league.
We’ve seen a few players leave after that run - one of them is Riccardo Calafiori at Arsenal, another was Dan Ndoye, who went to Bologna, and there were others like Okafor, who went to Milan.
When a Swiss club does well in European football, they obviously get that financial contribution, and a lot of it ends up being reinvested in Switzerland. That’s always interesting because it raises the level for everyone in the league.
Swiss League To Premier League: A Big Jump
Of course, there are talents, but the jump from the Swiss league straight to the Premier League is getting bigger.
More often now, players take an intermediate step, to Italy or Germany, before England. It’s become rarer to come out of Switzerland straight into a Premier League team, and I might have been one of the last to do it.
AC Milan
“AC Milan Competing With The Premier League
They need to be able to compete because they’re AC Milan; they have to fight for the top places. But financially, it’s difficult to compete with Premier League teams, even for a club like Milan.
So making smart signings, whether it’s someone like Estupiñán from Brighton or other players from different leagues - that’s what you have to do. You add quality to the squad, you bring in experience, and you put those players in the right environment so they can develop.
They’ve also now taken someone like Luka Modrić, who’s the perfect example of a professional. Maybe he can’t play 60 games a season at the top level in England anymore, but he can absolutely still perform for AC Milan and for Real Madrid, too, for that matter.
Milan Experience
It was amazing, an amazing time in my career. I was on loan for a year, and we had a fantastic team.
We just fell short because it was a great year for Inter Milan and Jose Mourinho, but to play in that squad was a fantastic experience for me. At 24 years old, it really helped me a lot in the rest of my career.
Beckham’s Professionalism
They were all top, top players at Milan, but David Beckham really stood out for me in terms of professionalism. I’ll be honest, it surprised me - I didn’t have that image of him before, but seeing how hard he trained every single day, and the way he approached every game, was amazing.
Andrea Pirlo was an incredible player - you see it on TV, but watching him in training every day is something else. Ronaldinho was the same. And then Maldini - 40 years old, training hard and being on it every single day - that was a great example for me at 24 years old.
Sports Science Impact
Yeah, I think it’s still possible. We see it here and there - Modrić this season is one example. But it’s not just Italy; in Germany, France, even the Premier League, you can have players performing at a high level later in their careers.
Sports science, medicine, and recovery have improved so much that players come back from pre-season in better shape than before. They don’t really take time off the way they used to.
Galácticos
Luka Modric
Huge. Just the way he is around the place - how he behaves, how he reacts - people learn from that. Hopefully, it’s contagious, because having someone like Luka Modrić in your dressing room is a great example for everyone.
Are ‘Galácticos’ Sides Gone?
We do have amazing players who are recognised worldwide. It’s also the times we live in; access to players is different, people are more accessible, we see them every day. When we see PSG winning without Neymar, Messi and Mbappé, it shows that to win the Premier League or the Champions League, you need all 11 players at it running, competing together.
You can’t afford one player who isn’t doing what’s expected of him. What you want is to create a team and an environment that lets those flair players express themselves. I still believe PSG have flair players. Fabian Ruiz is one, Dembélé in his moments, and Vitinha as well. It’s just that they’re doing other things now that maybe before at PSG weren’t happening.
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