Switzerland

The long awaited return

Official picture of Swiss soccer team taken 11 June 2003 in Basel. Second Raw, From LtoR: Joerg Stiel, Alex Frei, Bernt Haas, Stephane Chapuisat, Joel Magnin, Murat Yakin. First Raw from LtoR: Fabio Celestini, Ricardo Cabanas, Hakan Yakin, Patrick Müller © Valeriano Di Domenico/EQ Images

Swiss fans have been deprived of an appearance at a major tournament since Euro 96, but after a fine qualifying campaign that saw them finish ahead of Russia and Ireland, Euro 2004 puts them back on the international stage.

Somewhat suprisingly, they have appeared at seven World Cups, the last of which was in 1994, but their European championship participation is limited to the tournament in England where they failed to breach the first round.

In fact, they began their 96 campaign on a positive note holding England to a draw, but then crashed to defeats against Holland and Scotland finishing with just one point, one goal scored and four conceded.

To book their ticket to the 2004 tournament in Portugal, they came through when it mattered, defeating Ireland in their final qualifier to finish top of Group 10.

Much of the credit for their revival is laid at the feet of veteran coach Jakob Kuhn, the first Swiss to coach the national team in 12 years after a series of foreign coaches (apart from a two month interim spell by Hans-Peter Zaugg in 2000).

Kuhn was a gifted player and won 64 caps for Switzerland before turning to coaching. He took over the national squad in 2001, fashioning a good collective unit.

Hakan Yakin runs the show

Under Kuhn's guidance, Switzerland won four qualifiers, drew three and lost only once (in Russia) relying on a combination of youth and experience to great effect.

Blessed with a rock solid defensive unit built around experienced campaigners Stephane Henchoz (Liverpool) and Patrick Muller (Lyon), Switzerland now need to develop their scoring options.

Ageing Stephane Chapuisat has taken a dip in form while his usual striking partner Alexander Frei, of French club Rennes, also failed to set the world alight during qualifying.

Fortunately for the Swiss, they possess amidst their ranks an excellent playmaker in the form of Hakan Yakin, who is the fulcrum of their team.

However the flip side of the coin is that whenever Yakin has been absent through injury, the team has a tendancy to lose its way.

In Portugal the Swiss line up against France, England and Croatia in the first round group phase and will be far from favourites to progress, but they can be certain of qualifying for the next tournament in 2008 regardless: They are hosts for the first time, along with neighbors and co-hosts Austria.

Factfile on Switzerland

Population

7.2 million

Area

41,293 km2

Capital

Bern

Currency

Swiss Franc

Federation

Schweizerischer Fussball-Verband (Swiss Football Association) founded in 1895

Affiliated to FIFA

1904

Affiliated to UEFA

1954

Registered players

230,000

Colours

Red shirts with white trim, white shorts, red socks

Key clubs

Grasshoppers Zurich, Servette Geneva, FC Basel, FC Zurich, FC Sion

World Cup appearances

7 (1934, 1938, 1950, 1954, 1962, 1966, 1994)

World Cup honours

Quarter-finals (1934, 1938, 1954)

European Championship appearances

2 (1996, 2004)

European Championship honours

Eliminated after first round (1996)

How they qualified

Finished top of Group 10 with 15 points (4 wins, 3 draws, 1 defeat, 15 goals for, 11 against), ahead of Russia (14pts), Ireland (11pts), Albania (8pts) and Georgia (7pts)

Key players

Stephane Henchoz, Murat Yakin, Fabio Celestini, Hakan Yakin, Stephane Chapuisat.

Coach

Kobi Kuhn