Sport | Football
Two worlds collide as Swiss meet Czechs
Youthful co-hosts set to test themselves against experienced veterans in European Championship opening match.
- Reuters
- Published: 00:05 June 8, 2008
- Greek Theofanis Geka signs autographs for supporters after a training session in Seekirchen.
- Image Credit: EPA
Basel: Euro 2008 gets underway today with co-hosts Switzerland pitting their promising young team against an experienced Czech Republic side keen to prove their best days are not behind them.
Koebi Kuhn's Swiss squad are one of the youngest at these finals but include several players who have already experienced two major tournaments.
"Our players have developed and ripened since the 2006 World Cup," captain Alex Frei said.
"I believe in the quality of the team and I know it is hungry for success. We want to write history and now have the chance to do so."
The former Czechoslovakia won Euro 1976 and recent successes for the side include an appearance in the 1996 final and a run to the 2004 semifinals.
But the international retirements of Karel Poborsky and Pavel Nedved along with the loss through injury of captain Tomas Rosicky have raised doubts over the pedigree of this squad.
Strong team
"I don't know why people would say we are not as good as we were before," midfielder David Jarolim said.
"We have qualified for the last three tournaments in a row. That shows how strong we are and we will prove it again at Euro 2008."
Neutral fans will hope to see plenty of goals with the Group A game bringing together two of the tournament's most prolific strikers. Frei has scored 35 times in 59 matches for Switzerland while towering Czech forward Jan Koller boasts a record of 54 goals in 87 internationals.
Switzerland will struggle to contain the tall Koller, particularly with regular central defender Patrick Mueller yet to prove his match fitness after missing the majority of the season through injury.
"We won't be man-marking Koller," said Swiss assistant coach Michel Pont.
"Our team has coped with Zinedine Zidane [of France] and plenty of other great players in the past without assigning defenders to particular players."
Czech coach Karel Brueckner did not give any hints as to which of those options he would exercise but has faced repeated calls to drop Milan Baros and play Koller alone up front.
Statistics
- The opening match of Euro 2004 in Portugal featured the two teams that contested the final. The hosts were defeated 2-1 by Greece in the opening match and lost the final 1-0.
- The last time these two sides met in Basel the Czech Republic ran out 2-1 winners in a friendly ahead of Euro 96 in England.
Previous meetings:
20/4/1994 Switzerland 3 Czech Republic 0
1/6/1996 Switzerland 1 Czech Republic 2
18/8/1999 Czech Republic 3 Switzerland 0
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