Switzerland - Portugal 2-0, Farewell to Euro 2008, Kuhn and Zubi

Switzerland’s unlucky campaign ends on a high. The “Nati” defeated Portugal yesterday evening in a game that mattered to the white-crossed team alone.

Basel. Parc St-Jacques - 39′730 spectators
Referee: Plautz (Austria)
Goals: 71st Yakin 1-0. 83rd Yakin (penalty) 2-0.

Switzerland: Zuberbühler; Lichtsteiner (83rd Grichting), Müller, Senderos, Magnin; Behrami, Fernandes, Inler, Vonlanthen (61st Barnetta); Yakin (86th Cabanas); Derdiyok.

Portugal: Ricardo; Miguel, Pepe, Bruno Alves, Ferreira (41st Ribeiro); Meira, Veloso (71st Moutinho), Meireles; Nani, Postiga (74th Almeida), Quaresma.

The game itself was far from being breathtaking and stunning. The Portuguese, already assured of their first place, kept Ronaldo, Simao and Deco on the bench. The greatest danger could come from the quality of Nani, Quaresma, Meireles and Pepe. Switzerland had a full squad to choose from (which is ironical considering the absence of Streller and Frei) thus Kuhn chose to have a full Turkish attack with Derdiyok and Yakin upfront, giving Vonlanthen an early start and keeping Barnetta on the bench for the first half.

The first half was far from being impressive and the only (mixed) emotions came from the ridiculous decisions of the Austrian referee who throughout the game took questionable decisions that overall favoured the hosts. The total tally is of one penalty not awarded to Portugal, an offside called on Postiga’s goal, two yellow cards to Quaresma and Ferreira which should have been red cards (the former needlessly karate-kicking Magnin on the chest and the latter almost ending Behrami’s career with a dreadful and frightening challenge) with the final treat being a debatable penalty awarded to the Swiss (honestly I think the only referee who has proven to be a good one has been the Swiss Busacca, no inherent nationalism there).

The Portuguese hit a crossbar in the first half, following an akward save by veteran Pascal Zuberbuehler at his last game with the Nati, and a post in the second half where Nani missed an incredible 1 on 1 chance. Later in the game, Inler’s impressive 25-m shot was slightly deflected by the post to the right of Ricardo with the portuguese keeper being beaten.

The game was finally decided by a wonderful pass by Derdiyok who freed Hakan Yakin in front of Ricardo and the 31-year old player did not miss (71st minute). Switzerland then closed the game 12 minutes later when Barnetta fell on the ground following a challenge with a Portuguese defender and the referee decided to award a penalty that Yakin calmly slotted home. Despite the disappointment, there is one small satisfaction: with his three goals Yakin is second in the topscorer standings together with Podolski and one goal behind David Villa.

The greatest regret is that with yesterday’s results, a draw with Turkey in the previous game would have opened the doors of the quarter finals. Had that game ended at the 92nd (thus has Arda’s shot not been deflected by the unfortunate Muller) and the results been the same as yesterday it would have been:
1. Portugal 6 points - 5 goals scored - 3 conceded
2. Switzerland 4 points - 3 goals scored - 2 conceded
3. Turkey 4 points - 4 goals scored 5 conceded
4. Czech Republic 3 points - 4 goals scored 6 conceded

I think we would have deserved it and, apart from Portugal, Switzerland was on the same level as the other two teams. But unfortunately Czech Republic has Baros, Koller and Sverkos, Turkey had Tuncay and Senturk, we only had Derdiyok. And that made all the difference.

Yesterday’s was not only a match of farewell to Euro 2008, but also Kuhn and Zuberbuehler’s (among others) last game, respectively as Swiss Coach and Swiss goalkeeper.
The former had coached Switzerland since 2001 and the latter had defended the Swiss goal since 1994!!!! These are two big losses for Switzerland and they will be sorely missed but the arrival of Hitzfeld and the quality that Benaglio has proven to possess in the German Bundesliga are a good promise for Swiss football.

At the end of the game the Swiss team brought up the banner you see above and thus expressed their thanks to their coach who has done so much for his team and has been close to the players in moments and mirth and moments of woe. Once again, THANKS KOBI!

Zuberbuehler managed to end his Swiss career with a clean sheet and despite being lucky on several occasions he played with confidence. At the end of the game he was probably thinking of that debut game of his in Sion in 1994.

Kobi’s thoughts:
Of course I am extremely pleased [with the win] but there is also nostalgia because in the first two matches we deserved at least one point and, the way it looks now, we might have qualified for the quarter-finals. We are out but the team were able to make a gift to the fans who have always believed in them. We were excellent and I think this team will remain in their hearts. I didn’t know anything about the banner but was touched to receive this expression of gratitude. During my time in charge we have been through some dire straits but, all in all, it has been a wonderful period. The legacy that [new coach] Ottmar Hitzfeld will find is a respectable one. We have a very young team but also some experienced players. There is room for improvement and once they have more experience, they will be even better. I wish Hitzfeld all the best. Now I will just be a fan of Switzerland and I would like to receive the kind of gift the players gave to the crowd tonight.

Hakan Yakin:
First of all I have to compliment the team because we played very well three times, we lost twice unluckily but in the match tonight we showed we’ve kept our spirits up and we were comfortable 2-0 winners. It was a great farewell for Köbi Kuhn, our coach, and for the fans who stuck by us during the past week. There is no better way to end.

Below Yakin being awarded the Carlsberg Man of the Match award

Player “Grades” and Judgements
Zuberbuehler - 6,5 For his last game the 37-year old proved to have good reflexes and deserves his clean sheet.
Lichtsteiner - 6 very good in attack, his crosses were always dangerous but quite shaky in defence. Perhaps Kuhn should have given Degen a go. (Grichting - only played 10 minutes, not enough to judge his performance)
Muller - 6 a great tournament for the ex-Lyon defender, amazing how well he played considering the terrible injury. Senderos-Muller is THE deal for the future.
Senderos - 7 great defender once again, despite taking some pointless risks (like dribbling when you’re the last defender back there) he’s a warrior!
Magnin - 6,5 great aggressiveness and enthusiasm, a real captain!
Behrami - 6,5 it looked as if he was heading for a bad injury but as usual he proved to be the most dangerous man
Fernandes - 6 good game once again, if he lacks the technique he possesses the enthusiasm and aggressiveness
Inler - 7 tried scoring today, what an important player for Switzerland!
Vonlanthen - 5 very disappointing, he can play in a fancy way but he’ll never score (Barnetta - 6,5 this is the Barnetta we want to see!)
Derdiyok - 7 Frei-Derdiyok is going to be a devastating attack in the near future, what a brilliant pass for Yakin’s goal
Yakin - 8 how about 8? A great movement on the first goal and a brilliant penalty. Man of the match. (Cabanas, no judgement came in at the 86th minute).

Switzerland’s tournament might be over, but my blogging duties aren’t! Please stay tuned and get ready for Switzerland’s cavalcade to World Cup 2010 with new coach Hitzfeld!

Thanks to everyone who has followed this adventure and let’s hope better luck next time!