Swiss not comforted by heroic failure
June 16, 2008 at 4:27 pm | In Switzerland | 3 CommentsTags: basel, Hakan Yakin, Kobi Kuhn, Switzerland
Switzerland’s campaign may have ended on a high note with a 2-0 win against Portugal, but outgoing coach Köbi Kuhn and his men were left ruing their failure to get to the quarter-finals.
Small consolation
Two goals from Hakan Yakin in Basel earned Switzerland victory in their third and final Group A game – their first win at a UEFA European Championship – but was only small consolation after the 1-0 opening-game defeat against the Czech Republic and subsequent last-gasp loss to Turkey had condemned them to an early exit. “This win was one of the most beautiful moments in my career, even though it counted for nothing,” said Kuhn after the Portugal game, before adding: “It is painful to see that a point against Turkey would have been enough to make it to the quarter-finals. The team was capable of qualifying for the knockout games.”
Swiss left crying in the rain
June 12, 2008 at 4:21 pm | In Switzerland, Turkey | Leave a CommentTags: basel, euro 2008, Switzerland, Turkey
The UEFA EURO 2008™ catchphrase may be Expect Emotions but not even the most pessimistic of Switzerland fans could have envisaged plummeting such depths of despair after only two games of the tournament.
Heartache
The serious injury suffered by captain Alexander Frei was perhaps the harbinger of doom as Köbi Kuhn’s co-hosts lost, arguably unluckily, to the Czech Republic in Saturday’s Group A curtain-raiser. But at least fans of the Nati held on to hope going into Wednesday’s match against another point-less team, Turkey. Coming out of it, though, they had nothing but a lost dream and a guaranteed wooden spoon in the group. Arda Turan’s 92nd-minute knife through the heart summed up the Swiss campaign – deflecting, decisively, off the heels of defender Patrick Müller and over goalkeeper Diego Benaglio. A slice of awful luck.
Turkey take heart from Basel win
June 12, 2008 at 4:11 pm | In Switzerland, Turkey | Leave a CommentTags: basel, euro 2008, Switzerland, Turkey
Hamit Altıntop has hope for Turkey’s Group A finale after their 2-1 win against Switzerland, saying: “If we play like we did in the second half, there is nothing to fear.”
Second-half recovery
A goal down at half-time after Hakan Yakin put the co-hosts ahead amid a fearsome downpour in Basel, Turkey restructured at half-time, bringing on Mehmet Topal and Turkish Süper Lig top scorer Semih Şentürk. They were rewarded as Semih scored their 57th-minute equaliser before midfielder Arda Turan grabbed all three points with a deflected winning goal in added time.
Blog at WordPress.com. | Theme: Pool by Borja Fernandez.
Entries and comments feeds.
