Compared to age and experience, Mr. Murat Yakin was completely blown away by Luciano Spalletti. But on the Olympiastadion field on the evening of June 29, people with poor reputation and qualifications created a shock.
Those who doubt Mr. Yakin owe this coach an apology. It turns out that the Swiss team under the 49-year-old strategist is one of the most impressive teams at the EURO 2024 finals.
Affirmation
However, few people know that in a survey conducted by Luzerner Zeitung newspaper, up to 63% of opinions agreed with the view that they wanted Coach Yakin to soon pack up and leave the national team. The reason comes from the poor performance of the Swiss team in the EURO 2024 qualifiers, when they drew 5 matches and were far behind Romania - the top team - in points.
Previously, the wave of calls for the Swiss Football Federation to fire Mr. Yakin appeared after the 2022 World Cup, the tournament where the Swiss national team was crushed by Portugal with a score of 1-6 in the knockout round. However, with what he showed at the biggest football festival on the planet taking place in Qatar, Mr. Yakin still received trust.
However, the Swiss Football Federation always has a certain suspicion for anonymous coaches in world football. They wonder where the future of the national team will go and what's new.
This led to the decision that the Swiss Football Federation only confirmed that it would continue to place its trust in Mr. Yakin in December 2023, specifically 4 days before the EURO 2024 finals draw takes place.
Yakin’s contract with the Swiss national team is said to have only a few months left. According to Reuters, the binding effect between the two parties lasts until “mid-2024”, with no specific time frame.
It is likely that the Swiss Football Federation wants to rely on the home team's results at the EURO 2024 finals before making a decision on coach Yakin's future.
When he learned that he could not sign a long-term contract, Mr. Yakin remained optimistic, saying that he "wanted to prove his worth". And this leader can do it. At the Olympiastadion Berlin on the evening of June 29, in the match of the 1/8 round of the EURO 2024 finals, the Swiss team had a convincing 2-0 victory over defending champion Italy.
90 minutes in Berlin saw the Swiss team outperform their opponents in every aspect. They created a very good game, overwhelming the blue team. At the moment Ruben Vargas created a masterpiece to raise the score to 2-0, statistics from FlashScore showed that the Swiss team had 11 shots on Gianluigi Donnarumma's goal. This number for the defending champions was 1.
Not only that, the expected goals (xG) ratio of the Swiss team was calculated at a very high level (0.80). On the other side of the front line, the xG of Spalletti's team was only 0.13. The Swiss team also controlled the ball up to 58%. The above statistics show that the underdog team created a real earthquake.
The Swiss squad for EURO 2024 does not have many world-class stars. In fact, this football platform has never produced a name that is different from the rest. But to Mr. Yakin, that doesn't matter.
The 49-year-old strategist created a team that is a combination of 6 players playing the role of an experienced core force in midfield and defense along with a group of young players. The key pieces of the Swiss team include goalkeeper Yann Sommer, defenders Manuel Akanji, Ricardo Rodriguez, Fabian Schar and midfielder duo Granit Xhaka and Romo Freuler.
The names mentioned above have become solid foundation "bricks" for the Swiss team, helping them handle situations that require experienced players. Meanwhile, the young players contribute to helping the home team play more quickly.
Mr. Yakin was right in his choice of personnel.
So far, Mr. Yakin's personnel choices in each match at EURO 2024 have been correct. Facing Hungary in the opening match of the group stage, predicting that the Swiss team would need speed to break down the opponent's defense, the 49-year-old coach put his faith in Kwadwo Duah, a player who plays in Bulgaria and has only played 2 matches for the national team before.
In the 12th minute, this spearhead scored. At the end of 90 minutes, the Swiss team won 3-1. Facing Scotland, Mr. Yakin felt the need for ingenuity in play, so he surprisingly chose Xherdan Shaqiri to play the role of "false number 9", a position that allows this player to play deep and operate freely. . The 32-year-old winger responded to his teacher's faith by scoring a 1-1 equalizer for the home team.
Facing host Germany in the final match, coach Yakin knew it would be difficult to gain dominant control of the ball, so he chose a defensive counter-attack. The Swiss captain also let Breel Embolo, a speedy and powerful piece, play highest in the attack.
The gamble was to make it impossible for the German defense to comfortably advance, because it would easily fall into a situation of "exposing their flanks", thereby suffering defeat with counter-attacks.
In this match, winger Ruben Vargas started on the bench and was only brought onto the field in the last 25 minutes. Mr. Yakin probably wants the 25-year-old midfielder to recover for the knockout round series.
At the end of 90 minutes against Germany, Switzerland drew 1-1. Notably, they only conceded a goal in the 90+2 minute.
Thanks to having a lot of time to rest, Ruben Vargas entered the match against Italy with full strength. The FC Augsburg midfielder constantly stirred up the defending champion's left side, causing defender Giovanni Di Lorenzo to have a lot of trouble defending.
A few dozen seconds after the break, Ruben Vargas shone with a super goal to seal the 2-0 score for the Swiss team.
One time could have been by accident. Twice is a coincidence. But the third time it was already a deliberate attempt.
Mr. Yakin proved to his fans how skillful his art of using soldiers is. In each match, depending on the strengths and weaknesses of the opponent, the 49-year-old strategist will choose the appropriate personnel.
So far, coach Yakin has rolled the dice for Switzerland, who have now qualified for the quarter-finals, where they will face the winner of the England-Slovakia match.
According to The Athletic, assistant coach Giorgio Contini is a major contributor to Yakin’s success at EURO 2024. Swiss newspaper SRF recently described Contini as “the player’s whisperer”, referring to the “right-hand man” who effectively conveys information to the head coach.
As for the Swiss team, they are becoming the “dark horse” at the football festival in Germany. The better this team plays, the more Mr. Yakin upsets all predictions. Anyone who doubts this coach has made a huge mistake.