Switzerland are a curious footballing nation. The national team have always been about as neutral as their country's reputation, and nowhere near as useful as their army knives. Domestically the Super League attracts little interest beyond its landlocked borders with the continental ruling class of France, Germany and Italy and no Swiss club has ever contested a European final. It's hard to argue a world-class player they've produced, or team of great distinction. Yet, somehow the Swiss are not only surviving, but flourishing. Their under 17 team's have won the 2002 European Championships and the 2009 World Cup, and once again the seniors find themselves at a major tournament.
To put it into context, Switzerland has a population of 7.7m, approximately ten times less than that of Germany. The geography of the land and prosperity of large proportions of its population means there is a diverse spread of sporting and cultural activities. However, as usual, football remains the game of the masses and the Swiss uprising has a strong eastern European influence, with many repatriated Balkan and Turkish players progressing through the youth systems. Even still there is no star turn. The majority of the 'nati' are spread across various European leagues but follow the Swiss narrative of keeping a low profile. South Africa will be the Swiss's third World Cup out of the last five having been in three of the four Euro's as well. At these tournaments the ‘Schweizer Nati’ have made little headway and have gone home well before the business end of things. Can 2010 see the new breed break the mould? Or will it be more of the polite pleasantries?
If they are going to do anything then they've certainly got the right man in charge. Ottmar Hitzfeld has won plenty, including seven German titles and two European Cups, and has been voted the best Bayern Munich and Bundesliga manager of all time. Surprisingly this is his first venture into international management. Hitzfeld took over from Kobi Kuhn after the limp showing on home turf in the 2008 Euro's, but things weren't Rolex precise to start with. In a very friendly World Cup qualifying group, the nati started with a draw in Latvia and an embarrassing home loss to Luxembourg. Things came together after that and they topped Group 2 also featuring the unremarkable Greece, Israel and Moldova.
In terms of personnel, they consist of a squad of tactically and technically adept players, but, once again, there is nothing beyond this prototype of the decent, but essentially ordinary Swiss footballer. The captain and talisman is Alexander Frei who scored goals with Rennes and Borussia Dortmund but has now returned to FC Basel. Frei is unlikely to give many defenders sleepless nights, but boasts 40 international goals in 73 games. That's a better strike rate than Michael Owen and Wayne Rooney. Elsewhere, Arsenal's defensive duo of Phillipe Senderos and Johann Djourou play at the back with Udinese's Gokhan Inler in the midfield engine. The creative forces will come from Valon Behrami, Tranquillo Barnetta and Hakan Yakin, but with no genuine game-winner, any success in the competition will require a huge collective effort.
Hitzfeld usually operates a traditional 4-4-2 but is shrewd enough to adapt. The modus operandi could revert to a 4-5-1 type to bolster midfield against superior opposition. Under Hitzfeld’s stewardship they should be well orientated, yet there is a glaring dearth of attacking guile. At Germany 2006, they managed to get through the group without scoring a goal, before drawing 0-0 with Ukraine, and missing all their spot-kicks in the shoot-out. Not even Pele could cure such impotence, and little seems to have changed. The squad maybe limited but as we've seen with South Korea and Greece recently, a degree of good organisation and players playing at their peak can get you places. The group is as good or bad as could be expected. Spain should boss it and the unknown Hondurans could go either way. They're progress may come down to the clash with Chile, a good barometer to see how good this side actually are. Progression is rewarded with the misfortune of meeting one of the survivors of the ‘group of death’, either Brazil, Portugal or the Ivory coast - ignoring the possibility of North Korea playing a blinder – so even getting past the second round would be considered a success.
Sat 18th in the FIFA World Rankings, the Swiss remain on the fringes of the elite and their tournament odds of 200/1 reflect the challenge they face. The squad lack any real depth or difference, and despite the success of the various youth teams, the chances of ‘Der General’s’ men replicating that is slim. The new wave of Swiss footballers may go on to become a golden generation, but the current one are very much beige.
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