Swiss left crying in the rain

The UEFA EURO 2008™ catchphrase may be Expect Emotions but not even the most pessimistic of Switzerland fans could have envisaged plummeting such depths of despair after only two games of the tournament.

Heartache
The serious injury suffered by captain Alexander Frei was perhaps the harbinger of doom as Köbi Kuhn's co-hosts lost, arguably unluckily, to the Czech Republic in Saturday's Group A curtain-raiser. But at least fans of the Nati held on to hope going into Wednesday's match against another point-less team, Turkey. Coming out of it, though, they had nothing but a lost dream and a guaranteed wooden spoon in the group. Arda Turan's 92nd-minute knife through the heart summed up the Swiss campaign – deflecting, decisively, off the heels of defender Patrick Müller and over goalkeeper Diego Benaglio. A slice of awful luck.

Electric atmosphere
Having picked themselves up off the canvas following the false start at the weekend, Kuhn's willing young side toughed it out in difficult conditions at St. Jakob-Park. You might not readily associate the Swiss with grit, but an uninitiated observer would have benefited from seeing this rousing sequel to the Nati's first-day nightmare. The shiver-inducing atmosphere prompted by the national anthems was maintained after kick-off, alone dispelling misconceptions about the Swiss football stage. Passionless? Sterile? Not a chance. Yes, the stadium's designated away sections were warmed up by a Turkish DJ pre-match – a nod to the fact Basel houses the country's largest Turkish population. But the mood was electric throughout.

Waterlogged
Even the weather joined in. Hot sunshine gave way to sheeting rain early in the first half to enhance the epic quality of the contest. The VIP spectators who were sent scurrying for cover by the storm clouds missed an impromptu 'Son et lumière'. On the pitch, the players of both sides tried to keep their splashing feet as well as their heads, although it was the Swiss, in the opening period, who were winning dirty. Hakan Yakin's 32nd-minute goal was about as clean as the mud-soaked shorts and socks of a home team who dominated under the deluge. One Switzerland player of Turkish extract, Eren Derdiyok, supplied another – via an assist from a puddle – and Yakin did the rest.

Lady Luck 
Feed the Yak and he will score. Except he failed to when presented with a similar opportunity soon after. Maybe Lady Luck had withdrawn the temporary loan of her support. The majority of the 39,730 crowd kept up theirs, but that was not enough to prevent Semih Şentürk heading the equaliser soon after half-time. Arda had missed from an identical position before the break. The same player eventually made amends with a devastating late strike which interrupted irrevocably the promise of Kuhn's EURO team. The Swiss roll never started.