Part 18 of 32: The Swiss Interview
For part 18 of the series, I caught up with Roger Gamper from Switzerland. Roger, 32, loves sports in general but his favourite is, of course, football. Unfortunately, his favourite team in the Swiss national league, Servette Geneva, went bankrupt one year ago and they now have a long way back to the top. Roger keeps following football though like trillions of others in the world do.
I thank Roger for agreeing to the interview.
Tell us a bit about the Swiss football history and the football culture which exists.
In 1879 the first Swiss football club was founded, FC St.Gallen. So, Switzerland was one of the first countries having football clubs. The Swiss football association was founded in 1895 and Grasshoppers became the first official national champions in 1898. In the World Cup, Switzerland has reached the quarter finals 3 times. The last time was in 1954 when Switzerland lost 5-7 to Austria in the quarter final with the Swiss keeper suffering from a sunstroke. Football surely is the preffered sports of the Swiss, however it isn’t as important in our country as elsewhere. First of all, Switzerland is a very polysportive country and football has a lot of concurrence. Then, it is considered much more important to focus on a good school education as the job market is quite good in the country and a lot of young players give up football to continue the studies.
Nowadays, in the youth sections of the swiss football clubs, 60 percent of the players are foreigners or double-citizens and it’s the same for the U-19 or U-17 national selections. So, football also helps in the integration process in Switzerland. The association has made a lot of efforts to push the youth sections in the last 20years and this is now paying back for the national team. On the club level, we have the problem that the football market is not big enough in Switzerland to generate money, so not many people are interested in investing money in the Swiss clubs and the top players and also second class players are often trying their chance abroad.
Tell us a bit about the Road to the World Cup – the qualification, and the emotions the fans went through at the time.
Switzerland started the qualifiers quite nervous after a difficult European Championship. We had to play without the two stop strikers Alex Frei and Marco Streller in the opening game against Faroe Islands, but the game was easier then expected and we won it 6-0. Then we played Ireland at home who came to Switzerland in big shape. Duff, Keane and Morrison gave us a lot of trouble and we were happy getting away with a 1-1 draw. With France starting the qualification with two draws, I was already thinking that this is going to be a very tight qualification group. Then in Israel, Alex Frei gave his comeback after suspension which was a mental boost. However, the whole team still looked insecure, especially in defense. The central defense, Müller and Murat Yakin did not look well in this game and also they had also a big misunderstanding with the keeper, Zuberbühler .
After an assassin tackle by Omri Afek, Barnetta had to leave the pitch and he was sidelided for several months. We got away with a 2-2 draw in Israel and a blue eye. In Paris against France, Switzerland had to play without both central defender Murat Yakin and playmaker Hakan Yakin and without the long term injured Barnetta and Streller. Arsenals youngster Phillipe Senderos earned his first call-up and he was just splendid in central defense. Our keeper Zuberbühler saved the 0-0 draw. In attack, Frei did not have many chances as the French were fearing him a lot and they did not leave him any space at all. To score a goal we would have needed to play with two striker. The game against the underdog Cyprus was very difficult. As France, we were lucky against them and we scored a last minute goal. However, the central defense with Senderos instead of Murat Yakin was good again. But in midfield, Switzerland looked helpless without Hakan Yakin just like France without Zidane.
The picture was the same in the away game at the Faroe Islands. One good pass by a substitute (Margairaz) and a good finishing by Frei was putting us on the road again as against Cyprus. The group was still open as all favourites only played draws against each other. Against Israel at home, Frei opened the score again. Barnetta’s comeback gave us a lot of additional offensive power in midfield, Cabanas finally played better in replacing Hakan Yakin in the offensive midfield position. But a mistake by our keeper offered the Israeli team the draw. We were not able to score the winning goal and they were not willing thinking probably they might finish the group on second place by drawing us. Away in Cyprus, we won 3-1.
Barnetta and Senderos integration in the team gave the team a new dimension, new confidence and the team played much better together between the lines as at the beginning of the WorldCup campaign. Against France at home, the team showed how they improved. We wanted to win that game and were very close. This would have given us the qualification to the WorldCup. Zidane was stolen all the balls by AC Milans Johann Vogel. He was outstanding in this game. A draw forced us to draw at least in Ireland to finish second. So, the team really looked disappointed not having won against France. In Ireland, the Swiss team was in control of the match. Ireland still had a chance to finish second. But contrary to the home game, we were now the team in control in the away game. However, Alex Frei who had been in a bad shape since a few weeks with Rennes, also missed the best opportunities in Ireland. If we would have won the game, we would have just finished first in the group to go directly to France. This way, we had to go through the playoff against Turkey. I did not see the home game as I was on vacation. But the team just showed again how they improved in this qualification period.
The fresh blood Senderos and Barnetta or now also Behrami and Phillipe Degen brought to this team has been very vital. Besides, Johann Vogel just proved why he’s playing at Milan AC and why they haven’t let him go to Manchester United. If just Streller would not have missed so many opportunities and if Frei would have been in better shape, we should have decided the playoff in the first game. The early goal in Turkey then made the guys stepping back to early and to far just wanting to defend the lead. But this was a big mistake, and they also did this in the home game against Israel. The young Swiss team has to learn yet not giving such a game out of the hands, then they can go far. This way, it’s become a thriller match. Unfortunately, the qualification was just secondary after the scandalous scenes at the end of the match.
What style of football does the national team play?
A direct style. The team switched from a 4-3-1-2 to something like a 4-4-1-1 since Hakan Yakin has been injured. I guess, we will also start with a 4-4-1-1 against France at the World Cup.
How do you think Switzerland will fare at the world cup?
The second place in the group is realistic and in a second round against Spain we would be the underdogs. Most realistic is an exit in the second round or even in the first round. But the Spaniards underestimate our team quite a bit. We could surprise them and make it to the quarters. Also, we have the possibility to beat France in our first game. Mentally, that game is the most important one for us. If we beat them, I would see us going to the quarter finals. However, I don’t see us beating Brazil or Italy in the quarters as they are my two biggest favourites to win the World Cup.
Who will be the most important player for your country?
We have a very compact team. It’s like a chain which is only as strong as the weakest link… So, I hope the players which are not always regular, will be at their best. I’m not going to name a single player as the team has become the star. I especially like the younger players like Barnetta or Senderos. I hope the ones which have not always been at the top during the qualifiers will play at their best level. To go further then then the quarters, we would need a Hakan Yakin in top shape or a Tranquillo Barnetta on fire.
Which player in your country’s side would you most like to get rid of?
None, we need them all. And most of them are very young promising us a bright future in the next 10 years;-) . We would need a world class keeper, tough. Our keeper Zuberbühler is 35 tough and he has good and bad days. He might be replaced after the World Cup by our current number 2, Coltorti. But I don’t see Coltorti becoming a world class keeper, either. Perhaps, Diego Benaglio who is playing for Nacional in Portugal might become the one. I hope he gets a chance after the World Cup.
Who are the players to watch from the other countries?
Luca Toni. Messi, Rooney. I’m curious if Villa makes it to the starting eleven for Spain. Curious to see also how Rooney and Shevchenko recover from injury and what they will be able to do.
What will be your excuse in the event of failure?
Our goal is to win the European Championship 2008, the 2006 WC is just an intermediate step.
Have you got the right manager?
Yes.
What advice would you give him?
What the Brazilian mentally strong coach used to tell their team in 94, or the French one in 98 - Who doesn’t risk anything, risks to loose everything. If the team is in front, we shouldn’t stand too much back. That what our fault against Israel at home or away in Turkey.
Which team do you most want to beat?
France in the opening game, otherwise Germany, but we can’t meet them before the semis
Where will you watch the matches?
At home. In fact, I’m just going to watch the friendlies between Brazil and New Zealand
How keenly will the World Cup be followed in your country?
The most interesting matches always have around 55pc tv coverage!
Who will be the player of the tournament?
Ronaldinho.
Who will win the Golden Boot?
Ronaldo or Luca Toni.
My top 10 candidates are Ronaldo, Luca Toni, Ronaldinho, Adriano, Klose, Rooney, Crespo, Van Nistelrooy, Shevchenko and Henry.
Which team will disappoint the most?
Either Brazil or Argentina or Italy. One of them always goes far, one of them mostly disappoints. Brazil might meet Italy in the second round and this would be an early exit for one of the biggest favourites. Argentina have a difficult group. If I had to pick one team, I’d say Argentina. And I would choose Brazil-Italy as the final.
Who will be the surprise team of the tournament?
Croatia, Ukraine or Sweden might go to the semis… Croatia has good chances if Italy does not win their group, Ukraine have an interesting draw. However, they have to finish second in their group to avoid Brazil or Italyin the quarters. Sweden can tie England and win the group. They have a very compact group and they have the players to go far.
Finally, Who will win the World Cup?
Italy. They had a problematic year with doping and corruption rumours in the National Championship, they hadn’t had much success in the European cups this year. Like the last time they won the World Cup, they face some trouble before the World Cup…They might luckily qualify for the second round and then go all the way through. And they have the players to make the difference. My second choice would be Brazil. Can then win the WC a second time in Europe after 1958?
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I hope you enjoyed part 18. Follow up questions for Roger can be e-mailed to me. Also, feel free to contact me if you would like to be interviewed or know a friend who would like/could be interviewed. Specific questions for specific countries which might pop in your mind in due course may also be sent.
For the rest of the interviews, check out the World Cup interview series page.
Tags: FIFA World Cup 2006, Football Interview Series, Switzerland.
