The Hindu : Sport / Football : Switzerland signs out on a high

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Jun 17, 2008
ePaper | Mobile/PDA Version

Sport

Sport - Football

Switzerland signs out on a high

Dominic Fifield

— Photo: AFP

WELL DONE: India’s Yuvraj Singh handing over the Man of the Match trophy to Switzerland’s Hakan Yakin.

BASEL: Luiz Felipe Scolari suffered a blip at the St. Jakob Park in Basel on Sunday night but, such is his stock at present, it still felt as if this is a man who can pick and choose his defeats.

Portugal had this group won after the first two fixtures. The swashbuckling form that had previously illuminated their campaign may have been checked here but the soon-to-be Chelsea manager could still afford a shrug and a smile rather than anything more explosive at the final whistle.

The Brazilian had his moments, though, the second string selected against the co-host Switzerland not escaping the occasional tongue-lashing from the dug-out, particularly as a card-happy referee threatened to undermine his plans for the knockout phase.

Eight changes

Scolari had made eight changes here but the Austrian official had him wishing he had been even more radical in his approach. “I made a mistake and should have made 11 changes, not eight,” he said.

“We ran too many risks picking three players who had already played in the other matches. I made a big mistake in that.”

That statement of culpability sounded rather surreal, and there was a heavy dose of sarcasm in his assessment of Konrad Plautz’s performance as "excellent".

Paulo Ferreira, one of the three players retained from the victory over the Czechs but booked for a lunge on Valon Behrami, was hauled off before the interval, with Scolari fearing a suspension. “I’m responsible for this mistake,” he added.

A quartet of players accrued yellows which fanned his simmering regret, but little else mattered. Portugal should have won this match and so been propelled into the quarterfinals with a trio of victories to their name, but they struck the woodwork twice and then succumbed to a brace from Hakan Yakin in the last 20 minutes.

The retiring Swiss goalkeeper Pascal Zuberbühler had done well to turn Pepe’s first-half flick from Nani’s free-kick on to the angle of post and bar to keep the Swiss afloat before the interval.

Other chances were passed up, too, but Scolari would not countenance any suggestion that the decision to announce his imminent arrival at Stamford Bridge had contributed to a first defeat for his side.

It was a theory backed up by his players. "I was sad when he told us because it means we are losing a man and a coach who was primarily responsible for the way we have recovered confidence as a squad and a team, but he was totally honest throughout all this process," said the midfielder Deco.

Kuhn’s night

That dream remains plausible today even in defeat, though this was arguably Köbi Kuhn’s night. The Swiss had endured a desperate tournament, suffering unfortunate defeats to the Czechs and Turks to ensure elimination while their coach of seven years endured personal trauma with his wife in a coma in hospital. Victory was an appropriate way to go out.

His side had played well enough, the excellent Gökhan Inler forcing Ricardo into unconvincing saves from distance and then clipping the outside of a post. Yakin had seen a first-half header well saved, but his luck turned. Eren Derdiyok’s clever reverse flick liberated him 19 minutes from time and his volley, low and true through Ricardo’s legs, forced the Swiss ahead.

Fernando Meira’s trip on the substitute Tranquillo Barnetta confirmed the victory near the end, Yakin ramming in the resultant penalty to ensure the Swiss bowed out on a high. For Scolari, headier days lie ahead.

The result: Switzerland 2 (Hakan Yakin 71, 83-pen) bt Portugal 0. — © Guardian Newspapers Limited, 2008

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Sport