In February 2025, Luca Jaquez joined VfB Stuttgart from FC Luzern. In May 2025, he lifted the DFB Cup with VfB and then this month, he made his debut for the Swiss senior national team. In this interview, the 22-year-old talks about his development.
Hello Luca, how have you settled in the Stuttgart region by now?
Luca: “I feel very at home. Stuttgart was my first move away from Luzern. What impresses me about Stuttgart in particular is how football runs through every corner of the city.”
In what sense have you noticed that?
Luca: “Graffiti, stickers, football shirts, even flags here and there – it’s all over the city. There’s some connection to VfB in almost every place, which shows how much the club means to the people. I like that kind of identification.”
When you moved to VfB at the start of February, you had to be patient at first before you made your Bundesliga debut on Matchday 27. What was that like for you?
Luca: “Every player would like to play as much as possible. From my past, I was able to view the situation realistically: I was new and had to get used to the tempo and the intensity midway through the season. Patience is required and is important. In every training session I tried to become an even better athlete. The fact it’s gone so well recently with lots of game time, the DFB Cup win and my debut in the national team makes me very happy. It proves to me that it’s worth staying calm and working hard.”
Talking of the national team: do you ever catch yourself dreaming of taking part in the 2026 World Cup with Switzerland?
Luca: “We have the chance to seal our World Cup ticket outright during the next international break. It would be nice if I was picked again. Everything else is still a long way away.”
What differences have you noticed between the first division in Switzerland and in Germany?
Luca: “The quality and workload in training is higher than in Switzerland. That’s to do with the high level that we have in the whole squad, among other things. In the Bundesliga, every match is open, there are few exceptions where the favourites are really clear.”
How much does it help you as a defender that you used to be an attacking player?
Luca: “It actually helps me in two aspects in particular. Firstly, I can better anticipate certain actions of a striker and know what he’s going to do in particular situations; secondly, as an attacking player I saw a lot of the ball, which certainly benefits me in build-up.”
Next up is a double-header against Mainz, first in the Bundesliga on Sunday and then on Wednesday in the DFB Cup. What do you expect from the two matches?
Luca: “It’s certainly unusual to be playing against the same opponents twice in such a short space of time. They’re definitely going to be intense matches. The preparation is no different, though – the focus is initially on the Bundesliga encounter. If we gain any important insights from that, we can use them directly in the second match. And hopefully we’ll be successful in both games.”