Senderos and Djourou as CBs never really excites me, but I think they generally play better together for the Nati than they did/do at Fulham/Arsenal. But I suppose it's a case of 'needs must' with injuries (sounds familiar?) One day I hope that Switzerland will be able to field a full-strength side. One day! The WCQ's would be an ideal starting point.
FT: SUI - ARG 1:3 A draw would have been well deserved (maybe even more?) but then Affolter decided to hand the game to Messi in the 88th and 90th minute. Too bad really, because I thought he had a good game otherwise. Clinical finish by Shaqiri. Need more of that.
I thikn that 3-1 was a little unfair, the Swiss, and Affolter, played their game for 85 min. Messi punished them when they made a mistake. I actually thought Messi played well, but not spectacular. Funny that Shaqiri's goal was made possible by a wiff!
http://www.football.ch/nm/cm/kader-sui-ger-rom-2012.pdf The Swiss team has been announced for the friendlies at against Germany and Romania. Michel Morganella, Adrian Winter, and Alain Wiss all received the call for the first time.
And down goes Rodriguez. He was injured in a friendly with his club WfL Wolfsburg. He will need to rest at least a week.
http://asia.eurosport.com/football/euro-2012/2012/switzerland-v-germany_sto3284756/story.shtml Notes before the Germany match. I would not be surprised to see the Swiss do well in this match. Germany will be resting some of their regulars, while the Swiss have nothing to hold back for.
HT: SUI - GER 2:1 Derdiyok with both goals. Could easily have been 3:0 at halftime but instead they give up one right before halftime. Keeping my expectations low for the second half.
5:3 for Switzerland, could have been quite a bit more. The Swiss played very well. Inler was very good. Switzerland [5 - 3] Germany 21' [1 - 0] E. Derdiyok 23' [2 - 0] E. Derdiyok 45' [2 - 1] M. Hummels 50' [3 - 1] E. Derdiyok 64' [3 - 2] A. Schürrle 65' G. Inler 67' [4 - 2] S. Lichtsteiner 72' [4 - 3] M. Reus 75' M. Hummels 76' [5 - 3] A. Mehmedi
After 56 years finally a win against Germany! Crazy match with terrible defense on both sides but our offense finally showed up for a change!
Yeah finally our midfield and attack showed what they're capable of. Analyzing the players'mindstates it's easy to see that this season a lot of them have reached big things with their clubs. Basel with their terrific CL run and cementing their status as the ASL's major force with the 3rd straight title, Napoli with their cup title which was their first trophy in 22 years, Juventus winning the league unbeaten, Fenerbahce with their first cup trophy in 29 years, Udinese qualifying for the CL qualification 2nd year in a row.
this would mean something like 0:1, 0:0, 1:2, 1:1 or 0:2 without convincing and with a risk to fall asleep during the match
Still, after this I got high hopes Derdiyok finally has overcome his psychological hurdles. And his combining with Barnetta was just crazy. Will Shaq be available for the Romania game?
I guess Shaq was just out because he had to much drinks at the title celebration really hope Derdiyok and Barnetta can continue like this and get enough first team time next season. Derdiyok's move to Hoffenheim doesn't look that bad as the best scorers in the team last season are rather midfielders than strikers (Salihovic, Firmino and Babel), although Salihovic played as a striker as he is a left wing as Babel and as Ibisevic left. But I think next season Salihovic - Derdyiok could be a great combination at Hoffenheim as Salihovic is playing great passes and takes the free kicks. A Barnetta in shape like vs England or Germany is worth a lot for the team. We need him on the left wing, although there are alternatives like Stocker. Barnetta is vital for the team. Hope he finds the right club and won't sit on the bench next season.
The match has started rather brightly. I think the first pitch invasion in Swiss NT history just happened.
Romania putting 8-9 players in their defensive area. Very difficult for the Swiss to find space near the penalty area. Still 0-1 77th min.
Swiss loose 0-1. Big difference from Germany ... finishing. The Swiss finished well against Germany, not against Romania.
Back to normal "friendly" form. The most frustrating aspect for me is that this was a perfect test for the kind of matches we will experience in qualifying. Romania played with a defense-first mindset and let us control the match. As usual we couldn't do anything with the possession and then got hit with a silly goal (Xhaka needs to cover his man on that play.) This is what we are going to face in our group and we failed. We need to desperately find ways to score the first goal in a match, when we don't it ends like tonight. We are going to struggle tremendously in qualifying if we fall behind, even against Albania and Iceland.
Interesting article about one who got away. http://www.goal.com/en-gb/news/3284...en-to-my-heart-reveals-rakitic-after-choosing