Kuhn making Swiss hopefuls sweat

As the countdown to UEFA EURO 2004™ gathers pace, uefa.com considers what the coming months might hold for the 16 finalists. Today we look at Switzerland.

By Marco Keller

Although Swiss football is in the deep of winter and league games will not resume before mid-February, there is tension in the air. The competition for places in Switzerland coach Jakob 'Köbi' Kuhn's squad for UEFA EURO 2004™ is tough and one consequence is the unusual amount of transfer activity.

Streller surprise
Midfield player Ricardo Cabanas has returned to Grasshopper-Club after six months in France with EA Guingamp, while young striker Marco Streller made an earlier than expected move from FC Basel 1893 to VfB Stuttgart. Playmaker Hakan Yakin, meanwhile, considered a move to Fenerbahçe SK only a few months after returning to Basel from Paris Saint-Germain FC, the club he joined but never actually played for.

Reason is clear
Then there are Patrick Müller and Fabio Celestini, players who have been mulling over transfers away from Olympique Lyonnais and Olympique de Marseille respectively, after finding themselves on the bench. The reason for their restlessness is clear: Switzerland are soon to play in their first major tournament since EURO '96™ and nobody wants to miss out.

'Increase my chances'
The 25-year-old Cabanas, who should be in his prime when Switzerland co-host the 2008 finals with Austria, said of his return from France: "I wanted to increase my chances of being in the team for the EURO."

Long memory
Kuhn has a long memory. He knows which players helped him to achieve qualification in a difficult group containing Russia, the Republic of Ireland, Albania and Georgia. These players are certain to be rewarded so it can be assumed at least 15 of the 22 places in the squad for Portugal are already assigned, injuries and loss of form notwithstanding.

Squad hopefuls
Switzerland have four friendlies scheduled ahead of the finals, including games against fellow finalists Greece and Germany. The players who will hope to convince Kuhn they are worth including are Servette FC's Léonard Thurre, now back after a long-term injury, and Basel's Mario Cantaluppi, who declined a place in the squad last year for personal reasons.

N'Kufo is keen
For Cantaluppi it could be difficult to regain Kuhn's confidence and the same applies to striker Blaise N'Kufo. The Congo-born player, now based with FC Twente in Holland, issued a statement last week saying he was eager to rejoin the Swiss squad. However, Kuhn may take some convincing. N'Kufo walked out of the camp in August 2002 just hours before a friendly against Austria after learning he would start only from the bench. He later claimed he had been a victim of racism.

Place in Portugal
N'Kufo will have to keep scoring goals for Twente - he has already struck in victories against AFC Ajax and Feyenoord this season - to stand a chance of inclusion in Portugal, where Croatia, England and France between Switzerland and progress from Group B.