ENG 2:2 SUI – Improvements 100-fold

June 4th, 2011 | by: Adrian |

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Hello everyone.

Wow. It has certainly been a while since my last post, eh?
There has been so much going on in the world of football since my last post those many months ago. would you have imagined back in September the events since? Chelsea paying £50 million for Torres to score one goal? Four Clasico matches in as many weeks? FC Luzern’s rise and fall from grace after leading the Super League? Of course, there were also the more predictable events such as Barcelona’s Champions League victory, Ibrahimovic’s eighth consecutive league-winners’ medal, and FC Basel’s capturing of the Super League. Significantly, my affections for Roma have finally worn off, and I chose to join my family and support AC Milan full-time for about 7 months now…a decision my family thought was inevitable, even years ago.

Incidentally, my last post was a match review in light of the previous encounter between Switzerland and England.

Since then, qualification to the UEFA Euro 2012 couldn’t look any more challenging for the Swiss. Before this afternoon’s match, Switzerland were in third place in their group, 6 points behind joint-leaders England and Montenegro, after four rounds. Not over yet, but not too great either.

A point of discussion however was also the announcement by veteran strikers Alex Frei and Marco Streller to call time on their international playing career. Where some believed it to reduce Switzerland’s already weak goal-scoring opportunities, many more believed that it was long overdue that the two Basel forwards, of whom came under critiscm following some below-par preformances for der Nati, pass on the mantle and allow younger players to carry on the Swiss cause.

Onto the match:

I referred to this match as Capello vs. Hitzfeld – undoubtedly two of the greatest managers ever.

Well, what a game it was. Clearly, Switzerland went into the match as under-dogs, but guess what, they opened a two-goal lead, courtesy of a pair of free-kicks by Leverkuesen’s Barnetta. It was a shame that England were able to pull back a goal so quickly after the second, and I guess we all knew that with just a goal in it, the English were destined to find that equalizer.

A few thoughts:

POSITIVES:
I thought that overall the Swiss played much better than England. Possesion was virtually even, 52-48 in favour of the English, but the Swiss were the ones to make most of it – clearly showing that our link up play has dramatically improved since the last time we played the Three Lions. Credit has to be given to the midfield, which has improved loads over the past couple of matches…with particular praise going to Barnetta and Inler.

Set pieces, of course, was also an area of improvement as both goals were scored by Barnetta – who missed the last encounter with England due to a fever.

Benaglio the goalkeeper, though suffering a bad season with Wolfsburg in Germany, seems to have regained his confidence in front of goal for der Nati as well, making some decisive saves and runs.

Another great thing to see was Senderos playing well after missing out on virtually all of last season due to injury – he provided great cover in the midst of…well…you’ll see…

CRITICISMS:
The defence and attack. Jeez.

Once again, our forwards lacked the final touch and shots. The midfield was superb. But once the necessary service was delivered to the forwards, once again they were absent. Is this down to the form of the players? Or is it due to Hitzfeld’s odd selection of forwards? Either way, if we stand a chance to qualify for the Euro, our strikers need to score.

Secondly…Djourou…(face-palm). What a horrid game. Giving away that penalty, and that border-line tackle early in the second half. I think the less said about it the better. Thank goodness that Senderos was on form for this one, or we could have really been in trouble.

OTHER POINTS:
Anyone else notice how the ref seemed to be in the way of Switzerland’s possesion? He seemed to constantly position himself in a way that made it awkward for the Swiss to pass the ball.

Certainly if we areto qualify for Euro 2012, this draw is certainly a step in the right direction. It’s a far-cry from the humiliation against England in September and that appaulling 0-0 draw vs. Bulgaria back in March. If the attack can somehow find confidence, we may just turn the results in our favour, and pull off a surprise…even for ourselves.

ONE LAST POINT:
I’d like to announce that I have started my own blog about all things Swiss including sports, history, culture.
I’d be very grateful if you guys could pay a visit