Good news at last for football squad

Keystone

Swiss midfielder Tranquillo Barnetta and defender Patrick Müller have been declared fit to play against the Czech Republic in Saturday's opening game of Euro 2008.

The bill of health was a rare piece of welcome news for Switzerland, who have struggled through a difficult training camp of injuries and off-field problems.

After losing three players to injury in May, the squad has had to contend with striker Marco Streller’s announcement that he would retire after the tournament after being booed by fans and the admission of coach Köbi Kuhn’s wife to hospital after an epileptic fit.

“All the players in the squad are fit and available for selection,” Swiss team doctor Roland Grossen said on Thursday, adding that Barnetta was “as fit as the others”.

Barnetta, who injured ligaments in his left ankle on May 20, returned to full training on Wednesday evening. “The training went perfectly,” Grossen said of Barnetta.

Barnetta said he was “ready” for the opening match but that it was up to Kuhn to pick him.

The 23-year-old, who plays for Bayer Leverkusen, has emerged as the creative spark for Switzerland in the past year, scoring both goals in a 2-1 friendly win over the Netherlands in Geneva in August.

Although he missed Switzerland’s friendly wins over Slovakia and Liechtenstein last month, he was included in Kuhn’s 23-man squad for Euro 2008, which Switzerland is co-hosting with Austria.

“I feel very well and have no pain,” Barnetta said. “The first training was very calm. It went well, even on challenges.”

Coach’s decision

Kuhn admitted earlier this week that he was preparing for the possibility of facing the Czech Republic without Barnetta and Patrick Müller.

Müller played in two friendlies last month for Switzerland but missed the entire season for his French club Lyon because of knee injuries.

Such a scenario no longer seems likely. The 31-year-old Müller said on Wednesday he would be “excited” to play on Saturday but, like Barnetta, said it would be Kuhn’s decision.

The 64-year-old coach arrived late to a team meeting on Monday evening after his wife lost consciousness following an epileptic fit.

The Swiss Football Association said on Wednesday that Alice Kuhn’s condition had stabilised but that she was still in intensive care in a Zurich hospital.

“It’s sad. It’s definitely difficult for the coach,” Barnetta said.

Boo

In another off-pitch issue, 26-year-old striker Marco Streller angrily announced at the weekend that he would quit international football after fans booed him off the field during Switzerland’s 3-0 friendly win over Liechtenstein on May 30.

Streller has had a difficult relationship with Swiss fans since missing a penalty against Ukraine in the World Cup two years ago, contributing to Switzerland’s elimination. He has also been targeted because he plays for FC Basel, Switzerland’s richest club.

“I like playing for my country, but at some point it is enough. I’ve heard that [booing] long enough,” Streller said on Saturday.

He said he was “definitely” retiring after Euro 2008, but declined to expand upon his comments when he arrived at the Swiss training ground at Feusisberg, about 30 kilometres south of Zurich, on Monday.

On Tuesday the Swiss football association said it was confident Marco Streller would remain in the national team after the European Championship.

Pressure

As hosts, Switzerland automatically qualified for Euro 2008 and are facing more pressure from feverish fans than they did two years ago at the World Cup in Germany. There, the Swiss were united by a sense of achievement and having nothing to lose.

“Ask the Italian players if there is no pressure returning to Italy having been knocked out after the first three games. It is the same pressure for us,” Swiss midfielder Gelson Fernandes told swissinfo in Feusisberg on Wednesday.

The Swiss team’s three group games are against the Czech Republic (on June 7), Turkey (June 11) and Portugal (June 15).

“I don’t know how far we can go,” Fernandes said. “The French team does not know, Italy, Holland, Germany – nobody knows what is going to happen in this tournament. The only thing I can expect is that we will give everything for our country. If I personally give everything, I will have no regrets.”

swissinfo with agencies

Euro 2008

Switzerland is co-hosting the Euro 2008 football tournament with Austria from June 7-29.

The 31 games will be played in four cities in Switzerland (Basel, Bern, Geneva and Zurich) and four cities in Austria (Innsbruck, Klagenfurt, Salzburg and Vienna).

Up to 5.4 million football fans are expected to follow the tournament in Switzerland, including 1.4 million from abroad.

Swiss Federal Railways has announced it will put on an extra 3,800 services and deploy 1,500 special customer advisors during the tournament.