Petric picks Croatia over Switzerland

Grasshopper-Club forward Mladen Petric has finally decided to play for Croatia rather than Switzerland.

'Better possibilities'
The 21-year-old, who has dual citizenship, took the decision after lengthy talks with his personal adviser. "I felt very good in the Croatian team and I see better possibilities with them," Petric said.

Door opened by retirements
Petric has actually played three games for Croatia as well as matches for both countries' under-21 teams but had not played in a competitive fixture. His decision also took into account the possibilities of staking a claim for a place in the full Croatia team after the retirements of Alen Bokšic and Davor Šuker.

Baric crucial
He narrowly missed out on selection for the FIFA World Cup finals in Korea/Japan after being left out by former coach Mirko Jozic. "Petric was always emphasising that he wanted to take a final decision first after speaking to the new Croatia coach Otto Baric," said Swiss national coach Jakob Kuhn. "We now have to rely entirely on our own attackers."

Chance for Chapusiat
Kuhn has not ruled out a return for one veteran forward. "The story of Stéphane Chapuisat is not closed yet," Kuhn added. It remains to be seen if the 33-year-old BSC Young Boys striker will play for Switzerland in a 21 August friendly against Austria.