After the moments of deepest disappointment, the players felt immense pride in particular, and back home everyone bowed to their “Nati”. The Swiss national soccer team was eliminated in the quarter-finals of EURO 2021, but they left St. Petersburg with their heads held high. “Bravo for the nice trip. You made us dream,” said Federal President Guy Parmelin full of praise. Tennis star Roger Federer tweeted on Schwyzerdütsch: “Cheer up guys. Dream about the EM with you.”
On that Friday, July 2nd, against Spain, the penalty luck was not on the part of the Confederates, who had previously eliminated none other than the reigning world champion France in the shootout. The Swiss team boss Vladimir Petkovic, whose team had been outnumbered for around 45 minutes, reacted to the failure almost like a defiant child: “My players were the heroes of the evening. We deserved to make it to the semi-finals. “
What is Petkovic doing?
In the penalty shootout, however, there was a lack of strength and precision. If only one out of four attempts ends up in the network, then that’s not enough. No complaining helps. Now it is a matter of continuing on the path we have chosen. With or without Petkovic – that is the big, but still unanswered question.
Petkovic, who is already the Swiss record coach with seven years in office, is said to be courted by Fenerbahce Istanbul and Zenit St. Petersburg, among others. “Fenerbahce have a coach,” he said on Saturday. The day before, Petkovic had only said about St. Petersburg that it was “a beautiful city”.
The Swiss association president Dominique Blanc meanwhile firmly assumes that the 57-year-old will stay. “That’s not an issue at the moment. We are very satisfied with the coach’s performance. He has a contract until the end of 2022. And that’s clear.”
The winter World Cup in Qatar should therefore be a case for Petkovic. And also for Xherdan Shaqiri, who was inspired by the captain’s armband that he had received from the blocked granite Xhaka. The Liverpool legionnaire scored the goal to 1: 1 (68th). “I am proud of the team. The way we presented ourselves is strong. This time we are out of luck.”
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