Soccer

Swiss 'X factor' comes from blend of backgrounds in World Cup bid

Switzerland star Xherdan Shaqiri (23) celebrates scoring at the last World Cup against Honduras with teammate Gokhan Inler.
Switzerland star Xherdan Shaqiri (23) celebrates scoring at the last World Cup against Honduras with teammate Gokhan Inler. Switzerland star Xherdan Shaqiri (23) celebrates scoring at the last World Cup against Honduras with teammate Gokhan Inler.

ALTHOUGH Swiss voters narrowly approved an initiative to restrict immigration in early 2014, their soccer side has reaped the benefits of 'outsiders' making their home there.

While Northern Ireland has looked beyond its borders for players with family backgrounds in the six counties, Switzerland has done the opposite, including many players who themselves (or their parents) have come into the 26 cantons.

Indeed the bulk of the most regular Switzerland starting XI that won nine of their 10 World Cup qualifying games has non-Swiss origins.

Four of those were born outside Switzerland, namely former Arsenal centre half Johan Djourou (Ivory Coast), midfielders Blerim Dzemaili and Xherdan Shaqiri, and attacker Admir Mehmedi, those three all from parts of the former Yugoslavia.

Four more have parents from beyond the cantons: AC Milan defender Ricardo Rodriguez, Arsenal midfielder Granit Xhaka, and forwards Haris Seferovic and Eren Derdiyok.

And that's just the most regular 11 players. Besides Djourou, there's a significant African flavour to the squad.

The best-known influx to Swiss soccer results, however, from the Albanian diaspora, particularly its Kosovan element, which provides 'the X Factor'.

Chief among those is Stoke City's Xherdan Shaqiri, formerly of European giants Bayern Munich and Inter Milan, who was born in Kosovo to Kosovo Albanian parents.

He shares that heritage with Granit Xhaka of Arsenal and Valon Behrami, formerly of West Ham United and Watford, although Xhaka was born in Switzerland - as was his older brother Taulent, who has chosen to represent Albania.

Midfielder Blerim Dzemaili was born to an Albanian family in FYR Macedonia, as was forward Admir Mehmedi, who's now with Bayter Leverkusen. Shani Tarashaj, on Everton's books, has Kosovo Albanian parents.

Those with roots in the wider Balkan area include star forward Haris Seferovic, who has parents from Bosnia-Herzegovina, and fellow attacker Mario Gavranovic, of Bosnian-Croat background. Midfielder Anto Grgic is of Croatian descent as is forward Josip Drmic.

It's fairly fitting that manager Vladimir Petkovic, born in Sarajevo and of Bosnian-Croat heritage, is now a naturalised Swiss, having moved there to play football in 1987.

The multi-cultural list goes on. Eren Derdiyok, although born is Basel, is from a Kurdish family from Turkey, and now plays his club football with Galatasaray.

Ricardo Rodriguez, who started out with his hometown club Zurich before moving to German outfit Wolfsburg, then Milan this summer, has a Spanish father and Chilean mother.

There is also an extensive African element in this Swiss squad.

Highly-rated midfielder Breel Embolo, now with Schalke, was born in Cameroon, as was defender Francois Moubandje before moving to Switzerland at the age of eight, while back-up goalkeeper Yvon Mvogo has Cameroonian heritage.

Borussia Moenchengladbach midfielder Denis Zakaria has parents of South Sudanese and Zair (DR Congo) descent. Among more recent call-ups to the Swiss squad, forward Djibril Sow has Senegalese heritage.

The much-capped Gelson Fernandes came to Switzerland at the age of five from Cape Verde, while his younger cousin Edimilison Fernandes – now at West Ham United – is of Portuguese/Cape Verde background.

Defenders Leo Lacroix and Timm Klose may represent the French and German elements of Swiss society, but the former has a Brazilian mother while the latter was born in Germany (albeit to a Swiss mother).

Overall, those not born in Switzerland or of non-Swiss origins account for 15 of the 23 goals scored during the Group B campaign.

The blend of talents from around the world has taken Switzerland to the brink of a fourth consecutive World Cup.

///////////////////////////////////////////

Switzerland's manager Vladimir Petkovic was a journeyman midfielder and a journeyman boss but he has excelled in his first international role.

Initially a player-boss at the age of 34 with Swiss side Bellinzona, in 1997, he worked his way up with Malcantone Agno and Lugano to Bern club Young Boys, whom he led to second spot in the Swiss League in 2009.

Sacked by them in 2011, he had an unhappy short spell at Turkish side Samsunspor, before an even briefer time with Sion back in Switzerland.

Somewhat surprisingly he was appointed Lazio boss in the summer of 2012, and led them to Coppa Italia that season.

However, his time in Rome came to a premature end after it was announced in late 2013 that he would succeed Ottmar Hitzfeld as Switzerland manager after the 2014 World Cup.

His record with the Swiss has been remarkable – winning 21 of 34 matches, losing just eight.

The most notable result under his tenure was obviously the 2-0 home victory over new European champions Portugal in September last year in their opening World Cup qualifier.

However, they also held hosts France to a goalless draw in their Euro 2016 group and only exited that tournament after a penalty shootout against Poland in the round of 16. A trademark stunning strike from Shaqiri had taken that tie to extra time.

Apart from Portugal, admittedly, World Cup European qualifying Group B was an easy one, also including Hungary, the Faroe Islands, Latvia, and Andorra, but the Swiss performed pretty convincingly, winning nine matches, scoring 23 goals, and conceding just seven.

With players at Arsenal, Juventus, AC Milan, Benfica, Borussia Moenchengladbach, Hoffenheim, Mainz, Bayer Leverkusen, Schalke, and, er, Stoke City, there's no doubting that Petkovic has more talent available to him than Michael O'Neill has as at his disposal.

////////////////////////////////

THE Swiss are used to heights but it might have even come as a surprise to them to be placed third in the world in the early days of the Fifa Rankings.

Their average position in the quarter-century of the scheme has been a more believable 31st - but as recently as August of this year they were rated fourth best, behind only Brazil, Germany, and Argentina.

They have since slipped down to 11th, which happens to be their average year-end ranking over the past four years.

In comparison, Northern Ireland have never been higher than the position of 20th they reached in September this year, with their overall average placing being 69th.

Over the past four seasons, NI just made the top 50 on average, with year-end placings of 89, 48, 30, and 32.

The Swiss will expect to qualify – the only recent tournament they have missed out on since not going to the 2002 World Cup was Euro 2012, although their participation in Euro 2008 was as co-hosts with Austria.