This is a big problem. I would love for the U21s to defeat Sweden. The issue that I have is should it be done at the expense of the full National Team.
Djourou not in the team in the end, maybe just has to stay ready for the reserves Stocker in for Margairaz Benaglio Diego Vailati Germano Wölfli Marco Affolter François Grichting Stéphane Lichtsteiner Stephan Sutter Scott Von Bergen Steve Ziegler Reto Barnetta Tranquillo Costanzo Moreno Degen David Derdiyok Eren Fernandes Gelson Frei Alexander Inler Gökhan Schwegler Pirmin Shaqiri Xherdan Stocker Valentin Streller Marco Yakin Hakan
I'm getting really frustrated at Hitzfeld for his refusal to see that Inler-Schwegler is NOT a central midfield that will bring us forward. He simply has to try other players with Inler if he intends to keep the 4-4-2, why no Dzemaili?!
I count four who could be on the U21 squad. Not a whole lot of change from the last squad for the matches against Australia and England. I hope for a better result this time.
it's the adductors, but not sure whether something serious or not. on the other hand, it's better to be careful. Otherwise, you quickly have a pubalgia over a few months...
He has started treatment and will not train with the team, but will go to Montenegro for the match, it is unknown if he will be able to play or not.
5 players did not train yesterday due to various injuries: Diego Benaglio, Marco Streller, Pirmin Schwegler, Reto Ziegler and Tranquillo Barnetta
If my flight is delayed, or I get bumped I will be watching this match, if not, I will be catching the highlights later. Allez les Suisse!
Wölfli; Sutter, Von Bergen, Grichting, Ziegler; Shaqiri, Inler, Schwegler, Stocker; Frei, Streller said to be the starting XI
Montenegro: Bozovic (Videoton); Pavicevic (Maccabi), Dzudovic (Spartak Naltschin), Basa (Lokomotive M.), Jovanovic (Spartak Naltschin); Vukcevic (Sporting Lisbon), Zverotic (Lucerne), Novakovic (Amkar Perm), Boskovic (Washington DC United); Vucinic (AS Roma), Dalovic (Rijeka)
Wow, the pitch is absolutely terrible!! First good chances in the dying minutes of the 1st half, shots from Frei and Inler and a sticky situation in front of goal after a corner
FT:1-0 So bad... Hitzfeld should get the sack, no motivational skills, clings on to his 90's tactics. Way too static as usual, Frei's body language is not that of a captain. And yeah, what happened last time we underestimated an opponent? Streller was invisible and does Hitzfeld have to be hit in the head to realize Schwegler/Inler is a way too defensive partnership in a 4-4-2? Derdiyok's appearance was positive but he's got something of a goal curse in the Nati (but so does everyone it seems..) Goodnight everybody
well, the bad thing is that no coach handwriting is visible I would like to see more young players in the team as well, although the team is relatively young, but you have to give the U-17 players a bit of experience because in 6 to 8 years they could win something big... I also would put Hitzfeld in question if he doesn't take a bit more risks. It's not just about the best team for the moment, it's also about the future of the team. Frei and Stocker were quite invisible. I would rather have Frei taken off then Streller. Another fact is, our players are too slow and not convincing enough against such opponents. Only Inler, Von Bergen, Ziegler and Shaqiri are fast enough Anyway, what would your team be? GK: I mean, Benaglio earns the number 1 spot as keeper. Then, behind there are various possibilities. Wölfli became safer so it's ok he is playing. Frei, Sommer and others are there as well. This position is not our problem anyway LD: Ziegler is the first choice yet due to his speed, but Daprelà or Rodriguez could be called up as backup for Ziegler and get some play time. RD: Behrami would be my first choice. When he is playing the attacking game is always better than without him. He makes some stupid fouls at times but in general he is a bit win for the team. Sutter got better, but not convinced yet. Lichtsteiner is playing quite ok, but should stop complaining. FB: Grichting is safe. Von Bergen is more technical and faster. But not of them is a real danger when we have an attacking corner. That's one point where I miss Senderos. And Senderos is a winner and a leader, although technically he has to improve yet. Maybe Affolter or Djourou could fit in in long term, but none of them are potential scorers. RM: Behrami can play in defense. Shaqiri or Kasami can take the right wing. LM: Stocker is yet disappointing in international matches, both with the nati and Basel. Barnetta needs to get in top shape again. Padalino is lacking control. Fabian Frei can become an alternative. Currently, why not putting Ziegler in midfield and Rodriguez as left back? What about Costanzo on the left side? Still hope Esteban will make it one day and why not as left wing. DM: Inler is needed in defensive midfield. Dzemaili or Gelson could be his partner. Schwegler is lacking power yet. Margairaz and others didn't make it. ST: Frei has passed his peak and has always been to slow for the highest level. Of course, he is still an alternative. Derdyiok will explose sooner or later, but Yakin didn't have his best years before the age of 23 or 24, neither. Bunjaku has been improving and hopefully can surprise us yet. But Ben Khalifa, Gavranovic, Seferovic, Mehmedi or another of the young guys should get his chance. what abou trying: Benaglio(Wölfli, Frei) Behrami(Sutter)-Senderos (Grichting)-Affolter (Von Bergen)-Ziegler (Rodriguez) Shaqiri (Kasami)-Inler (Dzemaili)-Gelson (Schwegler)-Costanzo (Ziegler) Derdyiok (Seferovic)-Ben Khalifa (Gavranovic, Frei) I leave the manager question open...
Only 2 wins and a total of 5 goals scored in the last 12 matches, simply horrible.. Don't think Hitzfeld will get sacked any time soon though. My favorite replacement would be Favre without a doubt, getting young players to develop into winners and having a more modern dynamic playing style is what we need. When it comes to player selection, first off, I strongly believe only players who get regular playing time should get selected, mainly because not doing so sends the wrong message. GK: Like you said Magic, not a problem. But with Benaglio's injury proneness we should worry about the back-up. Wölfli has been quite solid but today he left way too much space for Vucinic to score his goal. When Sommer isn't eligeble for the U21s and is No1 for his club I even think he can challenge Benaglio. Otherwise Zibung can be an alternative. Stefan Frei seems like a good character and a patriot, could be good for team morale if nothing else. RB: We sure got a lot of options here. For first choice I'm undecided between Behrami and Lichtsteiner. Considering Behrami's many fitness problems it's maybe not that realistic. However, I do think we should use his versatility more, he can play almost anywhere just like Gelson. He could be an alternative for LB as well. As for the back-ups I'm a bit mad that Christian Schwegler hasn't been called up yet. Definetely think he deserves a chance more than Scott "I wanna play for England" Sutter. Ph. Degen should not be called up before he's had a whole season of club football. Behind them Berardi is coming up and in a couple of years maybe Koch and R. Feltscher will be alternatives as well. I'll continue with the rest tomorrow
All is not lost, yet. The match against Wales is huge. I am glad that I was on the airplane for this one. If the Swiss do not get the win over Wales, I say there needs to be wholesale changes in prep for WC 2014.
CD: Yes, Senderos does have qualities which many of our players lack. He really needs to get his fitness problems sorted.. Until Senderos and Djourou are playing regularly for their clubs Von Bergen-Grichting is the obvious first choice. Affolter is next. After that there's not much else. Rossini seems miles away from The first XI in Samp but hopefully he can move in january. Klose is having a very good autumn with Thun and has established himself in the U21 NT, should be first in line for a debut among swiss central defenders. Eggimann is two slow in my opinion. Should consider moving back to the ASL, after a good season of football he might become an option as well. Also interested to see how Nef will be doing for YB. LB: Ziegler is the obvious first choice but he's not yet a big step up from Spycher and Magnin. Like I said, I'd like to try Behrami here, he's done so for West Ham without difficulties. I guess Gelson and Shaqiri are the main back-ups, that's okay but Shaq's qualities are needed in attack. Daprela and Rodriguez will hopefully become options in a short while but they are not playing regularly yet. This is definitely one of our weaker positions in terms of alternatives. CM: One of our big problem areas the last XX years. Inler is of course our main man in the midfield. I'd like to see Dzemaili partner him. He's much more creative and dynamic than Schwegler. He and Inler have already played together in FCZ and both play in Italy which maybe means their styles are more compatible. Behind them there Schwegler and Gelson, I'd like to see Behrami tried here as well, I've seen some good games when he's played in central midfield for West Ham. I hope Hochstrasser can become an alternative. Salatic maybe? Among the younger guys there is Toko and Buff who look bright. Kasami can play here as well but I'd like him higher up the pitch. No manpower problem, the problem lies within Hitzfeld's way too conservative tactics RM: Don't think Shaqiri should be put under so much pressure. David Degen has deserved his chance. If Padalino can finally get a move from Sampdoria he can quickly become an option again. The versatile Fabian Frei is probably next up to get a debut. Should be interesting. Dani Gygax? AMC: In possible future 4-2-3-1 this position is up for grabs. I'm hoping for Abdi and a reunion with Favre and Inler, Dzemaili and Abdi centrally could be very interesting. However, currently Costanzo is the only one playing regularly of those who could be considered options. But who knows maybe Kasami Will become a Serie A starter before the season is over, very exciting player. When it comes to Yakin, I would not select him anymore, he clearly can't cope with international play, no matter how much he shines in The ASL. This slot can also be filled by Dzemaili, Barnetta and F. Frei etc., so there are definitely options. I pray we won't ever have to see Margairaz in The NT jersey again. LM and attack coming up soon
LM: Don't know why Barnetta never seems to play to his potential in The NT. Maybe the straight 4-4-2 is holding him back? Anyway he does seem like the best option right now. I have hope for Stocker. David Degen and Shaqiri can play here too so we are quite well off. Striker: I really shiver when I think about this position. Don't know what the problem is. Frei being captain is surely a negative factor. Part of the problem is also the lack of creativeness in central midfield but most of all it seems Hitzfeld is just letting the strikers out on The pitch without a clear plan. Here I'd go for Derdiyok as The lone striker, not many others would fit in this role. Streller and Frei are working well together in Basel so maybe they just need a few more games in the NT and things will open up? I'm quite pessimistic though.. Ben Khalifa, Seferovic and Gavranovic need to play for a first team, whoever does this first will get chances. Mehmedi could be an option and maybe Esteban in year or two. One thing is clear, something has to happen, our goalscoring problems are sinking the NT, work it out Ottmar or make way for a new coach!
Well that was terrible. Unless we beat Wales on Tuesday and somehow remember how to score over the winter break we can kiss Euro 2012 goodbye. If you can't score you can't win - it's as simple as that.
I'm sure you don't me to repeat myself *again* about Frei and Streller. If only magicgam and PB (or even me) were in charge of the Nati things might look more promising. I'll be watching the fixture vs Wales on Sky, and I trust that by then Hitzfeld will have picked a more potent strikeforce in place of 'Hansel & Gretel' Something more creative in midfield wouldn't go amiss either. Oh well, wait and see.
of course it would be a bit exaggerated to change everything, but I'm missing a line in the game and I would like to see a bit more young players in the team. Hitzfeld is very logical in his choices and very fixed on the present situation we have some very strong very young players who could win something in the future. But for this they also need to gain some experience on the highest level first. If the coach would be changed, then I also would prefer Favre for his integration of young players and the direct playing style. Currently, the federation is paying Hitzfeld more than 1mio/year and if missing the european championship, this would cost them 4mio in income. The missing income would be at the expense of the youth teams, unfortunately. So, if the result is bad against Wales, they meet Hitzfeld after the match. However, I think we should win against Wales. Once, the ball will pass the line with a bit of luck... Then, lots of people will forget again that the team hasn't made any real progress over the last year(s) I would prefer somehow to start all over and build a team for 2014-2016-2018-2020... 2018 the WC is supposed to be in Europe and at that time we might have a great team... Obviously, lots of the young players are lacking match practice and are not even in the starting XI in the U-21 or U-19, but it would be helpful integrating them one by one a bit more in the A-team and if it's only for a call-up for a friendly. Or, for the most in shape of the young players, you could call them up for the qualifying matches as well and give a few minutes of match time.
