Switzerland: Post-mortem

Our neighbourhood was eerily and pleasantly quiet this morning, and it was not because of the G20 activities going on downtown Toronto.

During the Brazil-Portugal game there was absolutely no one on the streets and due to the scoreless draw there was only muted reaction immediately after the game, even though both teams advanced (usually one cannot escape the audio clues of a goal or a win for the Portuguese or Brazilian teams). One of the reasons may have been that neither teams’ fans yet knew which Group H team they would face in the round of 16.

As a fan of the Swiss team, my spirits were still high before the last group matches this afternoon. A knock-out game against either of the big lusophone soccer powerhouses with all their household names would have been a wonderful reward for surviving a group with all Hispanic opponents.

Unfortunately, it was not to be. Switzerland would have made it through to the next round with a 2-goal win against Honduras, regardless of the score in the Chile-Spain game. The Swiss, with their wonderful defence, were simply not able to switch over to a really creative and offensive game. Despite having the bulk of possession, the scoring chances were few and far between and, in fact, Honduras may have pulled off a win if not for another stellar performance by Swiss keeper Benaglio.

Now we’re left licking our wounds and pining for the next World Cup in Brazil. By then maybe some of the young Swiss players who won the FIFA U-17 World Cup in 2009 with seven consecutive wins will have matured and display some of that attacking flair on the senior team. So it’s not all bad!

On a side note, I would have gladly continued to fly the Swiss banner on our car even after elimination, but in a telling mishap, about one hour after the final whistle in Bloemfontein, the flag accidentally got knocked off our car window on Dufferin Street and was immediately crushed into the hot asphalt by a motorcade of cars decorated with Portuguese flags.

About Philipp Gysling

Switzerland: Nothing is for certain

The most important thing first: Thanks to a strong turnout and the support of everyone in attendance at the Foxes Den, the Asociación de Mujeres Chilenas de Ontario was able to raise some much-needed funds for the earthquake victims in Chile. The event was a great success with both the Swiss and Chilean fans supporting their teams with much emotion and noise. Sadly for the Swiss, the outcome of the game was not the one we had hoped for.

So, the team that had the stronger desire to win walked away with the victory today; I think, even we need to acknowledge that. But as a Swiss fan you cannot help but be a bit bitter about how the scenario unfolded.

As expected, Chile started pressing from the get-go and created some good early chances with their speed and agility. And also right from the get-go the ref made some “interesting” calls … I guess this should have been a warning!

After the initial Chilean 10- to 15-minute fireworks the Swiss seemed to settle nicely, until Behrami – a key ball-winner for Switzerland – was given a straight red card for an occurrence that most referees would have just ignored. But Vidal’s theatrics were enough to convince the ref in this match. Playing 60 minutes with a man down proved to be too much even for the record-breaking Swiss defense. Chile scored in the 75th minute on what looked like an offside, even to non-Swiss observers, see e.g. the article in La Marca, a Spanish sports paper.

The bottom line in Group H is that nothing has been settled after today’s results. Spain, Chile and Switzerland can all still qualify for the next round without needing anyone else’s help.  This should make for some exciting games and scoreboard watching come Friday.

About Philipp Gysling

Switzerland: Preview to Chile game

Swiss fans in Durban during the Spain game

Swiss fans everywhere are flying high after the unexpected triumph against Spain.

In the Swiss press this win is considered one of the most important victories ever, second only to the Swiss 4:2 win in the round of 16 over Germany at the 1938 World Cup in France. Everyone is looking forward to the clash with Chile tomorrow in Port Elizabeth. Ever since the draw of the groups, the Chile match was always going to be the most important one for Switzerland in terms or reaching the next stage. Now it has become the possible key for winning the group. Hitzfeld therefore will have worked on keeping his team focused and realistic without losing any of the euphoric energy generated in the first game.

Swiss fan watching in Toronto :)

Given the talent on Chile’s squad, its forward oriented style and tactics (4-3-3) and the fact that they still have to play Spain (who will be in a must-win situation) I would expect Chile to play emphatically for the win. Switzerland is likely to soak up the pressure again and wait for opportunities to feed Nkufo and Derdiyok (or Frei?) good balls up front. Keep an eye on what may be some interesting battles on the pitch between usual teammates at Udinese (Inler and Isla) and Bayer Leverkusen (Barnetta/Derdiyok and Vidal).

The Swiss fans will again meet at the Foxes Den; this time the Swiss organizers are working together with the Asociación de Mujeres Chilenas de Ontario (Chilean Women in Ontario) and there will be a small fundraiser to help earthquake victims in Chile.

All good reasons to come down to the Foxes Den … chömmed alli go fäne ... ¡vengan todos!

About Philipp Gysling

World Cup: Top 10 moments so far

For those who were complaining about lack of emotion, here it is. A second round full of emotion as I had imagined in this post. Maybe the net wasn't hit by the ball as many times as we would like to see, but, the World Cup is not only about a ball and the net. This first week was marked by historical moments that will stay forever on people's minds all around the World. Here are my top 10 moments of this World Cup so far:

10. Robert Green, England's goalie wrote his name onto the list of blundering England goalkeepers, after his gaffe in the game between England x USA

09. The noisiest World Cup ever, thanks to vuvuzelas

08. France was losing the game against Mexico, and Thierry Henry who is one of the best strikers in the world, sits on the bench. (can someone explain why, please?)

07. Drogba entering in the second half of the match, 11 days after he had his arm broken.

06. Serbia team listening their anthem as an independent country for the very first time in a World Cup

05. Slovenia won their first match in the history of World Cups (Algeria 0-1 Slovenia)

04. Greece scored and won for the very first time in the history of World Cups (Nigeria 1-2 Greece)

03. Switzerland celebration after beating Spain (Nothing against Spain, but it was an incredible emotion for the swiss)

02. The striker Jong Tae Se crying during the execution of the North Korean anthem

01. The photo of a North Korean fan holding a sign which says: "Forget politics for 90 mins".

And what are your top 10 moments of this World Cup so far?

About Paulo Porto

Switzerland: Celebrating with cowbells!

So it turns out that my, and most of Switzerland’s, cautious expectations from the first group match were unjustified!! The “Nati” prevailed against the awe-inspiring la Roja with all its big name stars from the Barça and Real sides. For the Swiss and Spanish supporters this game was a true nail-biter and the outcome was wonderfully sweet for Switzerland. What a time to break that 0 for 18 record against the number 2 ranked team in the world!

The Swiss win was witnessed by a strong turnout at the Foxes Den this morning; everyone was decked out in red and white and armed with cow bells, which give those noisy vuvuzelas a run for their money any day.  But the Swiss celebrations were not confined to just one pub in Toronto. While instructing my wife (over the phone) to start honking the horn of our Swiss-flag-adorned car as the ref finally blew the whistle after almost 6 minutes of injury time, there were some spontaneous manifestations of Swissness elsewhere in the city. She got “swarmed” by Swiss fans streaming out of a pub on Yonge Street. Who knew!

No player on the Swiss WC squad plays in the Spanish league. However, Swiss goalie Fabio Coltorti, who plays with Santander in la Liga, likened games against Spain to matches against Barcelona or Real Madrid for lesser Spanish sides.

The giants are beatable with the right tactics, the right execution and the right amount of luck. Switzerland allowed Spain to monopolize the ball for almost the entire match but it never got rattled and was always compact, dedicated and patient. It was an easy approach to take for Hitzfeld and his men, given the formidable opponent they were facing.

Coltorti also predicted that it might be possible to catch the Spanish defence cold, given the fact that they would hardly ever see any action … and that is exactly what happened (almost twice). On Fernandes’ goal and Derdiyok’s shot against the post the Spanish superstar defenders and goalie did not look very galactic at all. Our goal was not a “golazo” by any means, but luckily it counts more than Xabi Alonso’s bomb off the cross bar or any other near misses by Spain. 

Switzerland now has a chance to tie and surpass Italy’s record for longest consecutive shutout streak at the World Cup, all we need is a clean sheet against Chile.

Bring on the next “la roja”!! 

About Philipp Gysling

Switzerland: The excitement is building … sort of

Switzerland and Spain will be the final two teams to play their respective first round match at this year’s World Cup in South Africa, they meet in Durban on Wednesday at 10 a.m. Toronto time. After already seeing almost an entire week of World Cup action, finally getting to see your own team take the pitch is almost a bit anti-climactic.  Given the latest injury news from the Swiss camp, the so-so results in the warm up matches and previous results against Spain, the expectations from the Swiss public and media for the team to progress out of a tough Group H are subdued, to say the least.

Nonetheless, the city is buzzing with World Cup excitement and the Swiss in Toronto can’t wait to start screaming “Hopp Schwiiiiiiiiiz” at the top of their lungs in the hopes that their shouts will propel their team to World Cup glory. Various Swiss organizations (together with organizations from the opposing teams) have organized getting together at the Foxes Den (1075 Bay Street) on the match days, doors will open at 9 a.m. for the Spain game. So, if you are a supporter of the Swiss “Nati”, come join in the fun, not only will you find some like-minded people but you may even win a door prize.

On a personal level, the anticipation has become palpable and the whole family is starting to represent! The car is decked out with a flag and the new shirts have arrived in the mail from Switzerland just in time. 

Our 5-year-old son has already announced that he will wear the entire Switzerland outfit to Senior Kindergarten on Wednesday – he may stick out like a sore thumb in our mainly Portuguese neighbourhood – but we need to balance things out a bit in this neck of the woods anyway.

And maybe, just maybe, if Switzerland can squeak through its group, there might a meeting with Portugal in the round of 16; and we all know what happened the last time the two met (Switzerland won 2:0 at the Euro 2008, albeit in a meaningless game ).

In that case, our son may need to be accompanied to SK by the Swiss Guards :).

To get everyone warmed up, here is some footage from the last World Cup when Switzerland played Togo in Dortmund … allez, allez, allez, allez, allez … the atmosphere was incredible.

About Philipp Gysling