Switzerland – Germany When a score doesn’t reflect the actual game
Switzerland-Germany0-4 (0-1)
Parc St-Jacques – 38 500 spectators
Referee: Bramhaar (NED)
Goals: 23rd Klose 0-1. 61st Gomez 0-2. 67th Gomez 0-3. 89th Podolski 0-4.
Switzerland: Benaglio; Lichtsteiner, Eggimann, Senderos (75th von Bergen), Spycher; Behrami (58th Gygax), Inler, Fernandes (87th Huggel); Barnetta (80th Vonlanthen); Derdiyok (46th Nkufo), Frei (83rd Yakin).
Germany: Lehmann; Lahm (87th Trochowski), Mertesacker, Westermann, Jansen (79th Rolfes); Fritz (72nd Friedrich), Ballack, Hitzlsperger, Schweinsteiger; Gomez (75th Kuranyi), Klose (58th Podolski).
Switzerland without Philipp Degen, Magnin, Margairaz, Müller, Streller (injured) and Dzemaili (U-21). Yellow Card: 45th Schweinsteiger, 45th Ballack, 48th Klose, 65th Inler.
Kuhn took a risky choice – he decided to build his team around the Euro 2004 formation 4-3-1-2 with Barnetta taking on Hakan Yakin’s playmaker role. It was a failure.
With an attacking debut for the Frei-Derdiyok duo (instead of a more obvious Frei-N’Kufo or Frei-Vonlanthen) Barnetta’s role was undermined by a position that doesn’t grant him the speed and space he requires. The left wing was an utter failure with Gelson Fernandes having to play a role which is not is and Spycher being too slow for the German attackers.
The only positive news came from Inler and Behrami; the Serie A duo should certainly be in the starting 11 at Euro 2008. Despite the 4 goals he conceded Benaglio has proven to be the first-choice goalkeeper with an excellent save in the first half and good intervention in the second half. He is certainly responsible for Podolski’s final goal but the team’s morale must have fallen apart by then.
Despite the score Switzerland controlled the game with class and good passing and often Inler and Behrami did better than Ballack and Schweinsteiger yet the central duo Senderos-Eggimann failed to impress, the absence of Muller is a heavy price to pay (he will certainly sit out Euro 2008 since he’s trying to get back to a good shape playing with the Lyon reserve team).
All goals were due to lack of concentration, one on one situations with the goalkeeper and losses of the ball in midfield – furthermore, the state of the St. Jacques turf was awful (the third goal was due to the ball slowing in the mud and Senderos failing to reach it before the German counterattack).
Freiis a fundamental player – he scored a goal that was rightly disallowed for offside and provided Switzerland’s best chances. We are certainly a Frei-Barnetta dependent team.
Germanyplayed without impressing, without dominating, scoring on counterattacks and Swiss mistakes and showing how much experience matters in football.
This is the 4th consecutive defeat after the games against the US, Nigeria and England (something that hasn’t happened in 28 years). Kuhn has little time (friendlies against Slovakia and Liechtenstein) to build the player’s confidence and prepare a mature team that cannot make the same mistakes at an important tournament. The Swiss fans leaving the pitch at the German’s third goal and the booing at Zuberbuehler are certainly evidence for the growing disillusionment that is afflicting Swiss football.
What happened after World Cup 2006? What will happen at Euro 2008?
That is an answer Kuhn will have to provide us with.
What they said
Kuhn: “My players were completely shattered. I had to encourage them. The German team was superior to us. Against such an athletic team we have to be more precise. We made too many individual errors even when our opponents weren’t putting pressure on us. They were amateurs’ mistakes.”
Lichtsteiner: “The score is hard to accept. However, we played a first good half. Two serious mistakes ruined our game.”
Behrami: “We played well in the first hour. After that we lost concentration. It’s hard to find any positive side when the score is so heavy.”
Benaglio: “The team is very disappointed. A 4-0 score doesn’t reflect the actual game. We missed our last chance in Basel before the start of Euro 2008 but I’m certain that we’ll be able to recover.”
Frei: “When you lose 4-0 you shouldn’t say anything. You have to get working to do better.”
Related Posts
Subscribe
|
Print
|
Share
|
Comments are closed
Send Your Tips!
Email tips[at]worldcupblog[dot]org
Switzerland Club Football News
- Would You Rather: Club Win the League? Or Country Win the World Cup?
- Daily Dose: October 11th, 2009.
- The Atlantic League: A European Not-Quite-Super-But Still-Quite-Good-League for Celtic, Rangers and Others
- Is Watching Football on the Internet The Future?
- The FFT100 - Agree? Disagree?
More Europe Blogs
France World Cup Blog
791 Articles | 10,338 Comments
Croatia World Cup Blog
192 Articles | 1,821 Comments
Czech Republic World Cup Blog
196 Articles | 320 Comments
England World Cup Team Blog
812 Articles | 2,771 Comments
Germany World Cup Blog Blog
485 Articles | 3,098 Comments
Italy World Cup Blog
567 Articles | 21,800 Comments
Netherlands World Cup Blog
2,016 Articles | 26,981 Comments
Poland World Cup Blog
353 Articles | 4,202 Comments
Portugal World Cup Blog
453 Articles | 7,018 Comments
Serbia World Cup Team Blog
168 Articles | 847 Comments
Spain World Cup Blog
235 Articles | 1,926 Comments
Sweden World Cup Blog
151 Articles | 318 Comments
Switzerland World Cup Blog
217 Articles | 327 Comments
Ukraine World Cup Team Blog
120 Articles | 807 Comments
Greece World Cup Blog
142 Articles | 70 Comments
Russia World Cup Blog
81 Articles | 143 Comments
Scotland World Cup Team Blog
101 Articles | 108 Comments
Ireland World Cup Team Blog
55 Articles | 121 Comments
Norway World Cup Team Blog
9 Articles | 6 Comments
Turkey World Cup Blog
39 Articles | 293 Comments
Romania World Cup Blog
78 Articles | 281 Comments
Austria World Cup Blog
111 Articles | 117 Comments
Denmark World Cup Team Blog
8 Articles | 27 Comments
Albania World Cup Team Blog
4 Articles | 8 Comments
Belgium World Cup Team Blog
49 Articles | 59 Comments
Wales World Cup Team Blog
61 Articles | 17 Comments
Bosnia World Cup Team Blog
31 Articles | 87 Comments
Israel World Cup Team Blog
22 Articles | 18 Comments
Monthly Archives
World 







