Young Boys wins Swiss league title with coach Rapha�l Wicky

Sun, Apr 30, 2023
Soccer News (AP)

BERN, Switzerland (AP) - Young Boys regained the Swiss league title on Sunday, earning a first trophy for coach Rapha�l Wicky since returning home from working in the United States.

A 5-1 win over Lucerne lifted Young Boys into an 18-point lead with five rounds left to seal the club's 16th league title.

The trophy heads back to Bern one year after Zurich ended Young Boys' run of four straight titles.

Young Boys could enter the Champions League in the third qualifying round needing to beat two opponents to reach the group stage. The club will be upgraded to the playoffs round if this year's European champion, such as Real Madrid or Manchester City, already qualified from its domestic league position.

After three years coaching in the U.S., former Switzerland midfielder Wicky led Young Boys to the title in his first season.

Wicky took the U.S. men's under-17 team to its World Cup tournament in 2019, then spent two seasons with Chicago Fire in Major League Soccer.

Young Boys can complete the domestic double on June 4 in the Swiss Cup final against Lugano, which is currently second in the league.

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