Swiss timing does not augur well for Ireland
When the Swiss roll into town to play Ireland our manager generally starts worrying. The fixture ended the tenures of both Mick McCarthy (2002) and his successor Brian Kerr (2005) and will now terminate John O’Shea’s interim spell in charge.
On a happier note, Alan Kelly Snr is the only Irish manger to enjoy a 100 per cent win ratio after defeating Switzerland 2-0 in a Lansdowne Road friendly in 1980 in his only match as caretaker boss.
In the inter-war years Switzerland were one of the world’s strongest teams, finishing as silver medalists at the 1924 Olympics before reaching the quarter-finals of the 1934 and 1938 World Cups. The only other occasion Switzerland reached the World Cup quarter-finals was in 1954 as hosts when they blew a three-goal lead, losing 7-5 to Austria in the highest scoring match in tournament history.
Switzerland’s neutrality ensured that when hosting rights for that tournament were awarded in 1946 it enjoyed the advantage of having stadiums that had not been flattened. The fact Switzerland was the only bidder also helped. So assiduously neutral are the Swiss that they were not even involved in the infamous Battle of Berne between Hungary and Brazil that is considered the most violent game in World Cup history.
When inaugural Fifa rankings
were released in August 1993, Switzerland were in third place and Ireland sixth, which remains record highs for both countries. In 2009 Switzerland won the Under 17 World Cup and a number of that squad graduated to the senior team, most notably Granit Xhaka who has won a record 121 caps. At Euro 2016 Xhaka had the unusual experience of playing against his older brother Taulant, who represents Albania. Watching the ‘Xhaka Derby’ from the stands was proud mother Elmaze who diplomatically supported her two sons by wearing a half-and-half jersey combining both national flags.
The brothers were entitled to switch allegiance to Kosovo following its 2016 admission into Fifa so one sibling could have played against the other for two different countries. Fortunately for Elmaze’s jersey-maker neither son moved.
Jerseys also took centre stage when Switzerland last visited Dublin for a friendly in 2016 after which Ireland were fined by Fifa for “displaying a political symbol” having worn Easter Rising centenary commemorative shirts.
Swiss manager Murat Yakin
Christian Gross had an unsuccessful spell as Spurs’ manager. is half of another pair of brothers wearily familiar to the Irish coaching staff. In September
2004 Murat Yakin played for Switzerland in their 1-1 draw against Ireland in Basel with younger brother Hakan Yakin scoring, as he did in each of his three competitive appearances against the Boys in Green. A year later John O’Shea played in the goalless return fixture which ended both our hopes of qualifying for the 2006 World Cup and Kerr’s spell as Irish manager.
Nearly two decades later another 0-0 draw on the island saw Murat Yakin develop a sweet spot for Northern Ireland. In November 2021 Yakin sent 9.3kg of Swiss chocolates to the Irish Football Association as thanks for unexpectedly holding reigning European champions Italy to a goalless draw over 93 minutes at Windsor Park. The result secured Switzerland automatic qualification for the 2022 World Cup.
Murat Yakin’s greatest achievement at domestic level was winning the Swiss Super League with hometown club Basel in 2013 and 2014. Basel are currently battling relegation and in October lost all four of their games without scoring, leading the club’s twitter account to replace their usual goal of the month feature with a photo of an empty net.
Ireland under 21 international Connor Ronan made 30 appearances for Grasshoppers in 2020-21 and Armstrong Oxo-Flex currently plays for FC Zurich. Our most successful export remains Don Givens, who spent six years at Neuchâtel Xamax, winning the title in 1987 before coaching the Irish under 21 team for a decade.
Although Switzerland has produced numerous Premier League players, it has only supplied one manger. In November 1997 Spurs appointed Christian Gross who was so excited to “experience how the fans feel” that he travelled from Heathrow Airport to White Hart Lane on public transport before dramatically brandishing his tube ticket saying: “Hopefully it’ll be the ticket of my dreams”.
It wasn’t. The stunt generated such mockery that Gross became the first manager in Premiership history to render his position untenable during his introductory press conference. More positively the return portion of Gross’s ticket was still valid when he was fired nine months later.
A much more successful trip was taken by Joan Gamper who, when he was 22, visited his uncle in Catalonia. Gamper enjoyed his holiday so much that he emigrated and placed a newspaper advertisement to see if anyone would be interested in starting a football team. Eleven players turned up for a subsequent meeting, forming Barcelona FC. As captain, Gamper scored 120 goals in 51 matches, later serving five terms as club president.
Gamper’s legacy continues as
he chose the famous blue and red Barcelona colours to honour his home team FC Basel. The club’s training ground is named after him and every year Barcelona’s most prestigious pre-season friendly is contested for the Joan Gamper trophy, traditionally presented by one of his descendants.
Switzerland is home to both Uefa (Nyon) and Fifa (Zurich) which in May 2015 hosted what prosecutors described as a “World Cup of Fraud”. A dawn raid on the five star Baur au
Lac Hotel in Zurich saw seven senior Fifa officials arrested. Determined not to air their dirty laundry in public, the men were shielded from photographers by hotel staff holding up bed linen.
These events proved too much even for an organisation where one whistleblower was given the most insulting nickname imaginable ‘Mr Clean’. Within days Sepp Blatter’s 17-year reign as president of Fifa had ended with the Swiss national being replaced by countryman Gianni Infantino.
James McDermott is a full-time football fan who, during the close season, is a barrister and assistant professor in the UCD School of Law
An Ireland side under John O’Shea did not succeed in living up to the caretaker’s pre-match challenge of winning against big nations, but the green shoots were encouraging in a scoreless draw against Belgium.
The visitors will leave Dublin and move their camp to London for Tuesday’s friendly against England, annoyed that for the first time in 10 games they failed to score.
But there was a sense of frustration from the Irish side and home fans in the 38,128 attendance that they had not won. A missed penalty from Evan Ferguson was just one of a number of chances wasted by O’Shea’s side who, with a tad more composure, could have earned a first win over Belgium in decades.
Changes will be made for Tuesday’s game at home to Switzerland but solidity at the back and more bite in midfield are now elements of an Irish side. If a finishing touch can be added, those yearned-for wins could be forthcoming.
There was a sense that the caretaker could spring a surprise in his team selection. And O’Shea opted against the back four widely predicted with the three-man central defensive axis of Nathan Collins, Andrew Omobamidele and Dara O’Shea providing a solid foundation, flanked by Robbie Brady and Séamus Coleman.
It was thought that the Irish defence would have a tough day against a Belgian attack that had Red Bull Leipzig man Lois Openda at its heart, but it was the home side’s three-strong forward line that gave the Belgians food for thought.
As early as the third minute there
was a threat, with Josh Cullen and Evan Ferguson involved in a move which saw Sammy Szmodics set up Chiedozie Ogbene, who bore down on goal but fired into the side netting.
There was a missed opportunity for Belgium also on 11 minutes when the classy Leandro Trossard was given too much room out on the left and crossed for captain Youri Tielemans, who should have done a lot better with his header.