Euro 2008 draw!

We’re going to win it. I feel it!

As some Swiss newspapers put it, the Gods of football were with us on Sunday.
No Germany, no Italy, no France, no Spain but Portugal, Turkey and Czech Republic.

It’s my chance for a personal revenge. Portugal kicked out The Netherlands in a very regrettable game during the recent World Cup (I’m Dutch born in Switzerland if you don’t know) and kicked out (during the qualifiers), without deserving to do so, my beloved Finnish team that had done so well!

Turkey. Bad memories. The whole world recalls the scandal of the stadium warfare in Istanbul where Swiss and Turks (two countries with a friendly history, just look at all the Turks who have settled in the Alps) behaved like mindless vandals, all because of some poor attitude from fans of both countries. Well we qualified that day (2-0, 2-4) and the Turks will probably want their revenge.
I hope I shall have mine – they kicked out Norway! I was looking forward to an uncommon plethora of Scandinavian/Northern teams but Turkey and Portugal ruined my utopistic thoughts.

Finally, Czech Republic, not the team it used to be. Some excellent players but they’re still relying on a forgotten player like Baros and someone like Koller!

With all due respect for these teams but I feel we have a chance! We do have a chance of grabbing that second place (probably behind Portugal) and showing that our presence at the European Championships isn’t mere luck.

We don’t want to repeat Euro 2004 – just happy to be there. We could have qualified from that group (way harder than this one). All we need is to not fear our opponents and trust in our means. European teams fear us, the Italian Rai, during the draw, had words of praise for our small footballing nations, reminding the world that

SWITZERLAND WANTS TO WIN IT!

Why should this be so unbelievable? Most of our players come from the same team that won Euro Under-17! We’ve got the magic of Barnetta (a player all the big European teams are keeping an eye on!), we’ve got the precision of Frei, the tricks of Yakin, the enthusiasm of Inler and Fernandes!

So … HOPPPP SCHWIIIZZZ!!!

Now for some of the thoughts of our coach and football personalities!
Kuhn: From a sports point of view, we are in an interesting and balanced group. Our goal is the same: to reach the quarter finals! Concerning the game vs. Turkey, I have no worries. We look towards the future, not the past and we look forward to a good game. The opening game vs. the Czech Republic will be crucial!

Mr. Zloczower(president of the ASF): We ended up in an interesting group. We’re happy with the draw. We’re confident that the games in Switzerland will be packed. Czech Rep. and Turkey play a very attractive football, Portugal is an excellent team and has proven it at Euro 2004. The game against Turkey is a special occasion we look forward to.

On a final note Geneva (la belle ville!) will host Portugal, Turkey and Czech Republic’s games. Switzerland will play all of its games in Basel.
The other games: Italy, France, Holland and Rumania will play their games in Zurich.
The opening game will be Switzerland – Czech Republic in Basel on the 7th of June!

Bonne chance à tout le monde!