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German coach adopts Swiss football team
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Ottmar Hitzfeld at Zurich airport on Monday.
The German football coach said he gets teary listening to the Swiss
anthem (Keystone)
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German star football coach Ottmar
Hitzfeld said he would be proud to lead the Swiss national team when he
takes on the mantle after the European championships.
Speaking to the media in Zurich on Monday, Hitzfeld spoke of the strong
attachment he felt to his adopted country. He will succeed current coach
Kobi Kuhn in July with a mandate to qualify for the 2010 World Cup in
South Africa.
The appointment of Hitzfeld, announced earlier this month, has been greeted
by the Swiss with optimism and high expectation. Nicknamed "The General",
he is regarded as one of the best tacticians in the world.
He became only the second manager to win the prestigious Uefa Champions
League trophy with two clubs - once with his current German side Bayern
Munich and once with Borussia Dortmund - and has twice been crowned "World
Coach of the Year".
The Swiss national team is no stranger to foreign coaches,
but Hitzfeld has a particular affinity with the country, having played
for and managed clubs in Switzerland. He grew up in the south of Germany
close to the Swiss border and lived in Engelberg, canton Nidwalden, during
his recent two-year sabbatical from the game.
"My father used to take me to Swiss matches in Basel when I was a
child and I have always had a very close connection to the national team.
It seemed an automatic development to represent Switzerland as manager
of this team," he said.
"When I hear the Swiss national anthem, I sometimes have to fight
back the tears. I hope this does not happen when I am the head coach."
Hitzfeld turned down the opportunity of coaching his own country four
years ago because he wanted a break from the game.
"Four years ago I would not have said yes to Switzerland either as
I was burned out. But the timing of this offer was perfect," he explained.
Hitzfeld also revealed that he would be working with Kuhn's current assistant
coach Michel Pont rather than bring his own long-term deputy Michael Henke
with him from Bayern. This is because Pont can communicate better with
the French-speaking players and has an intimate knowledge of Swiss football.
In-fighting
Hitzfeld refused to be drawn on the strengths or weaknesses of his next
charges out of respect for Kuhn, who still has to negotiate the European
championships, held in Switzerland and Austria in June.
One thing Hitzfeld does share with Kuhn is a strong will and an intolerance
of misbehaving players.
Last year Kuhn ditched captain Johann Vogel as in-fighting gripped the
squad in the wake of their successful 2006 World Cup campaign. Hitzfeld
too has ejected troublesome players in the past, transforming Bayern Munich
from a team dubbed "FC Hollywood" into a tight-knit and successful
outfit.
Hitzfeld's first task is to qualify Switzerland for the 2010 World Cup.
He then has the option of renegotiating a longer term if both parties
are happy with results.
"The expectations are high, but I am a positive person and I view
this as a great challenge. Switzerland are capable of qualifying for the
World Cup, but there is a lot of work to do first," he said.
Matthew Allen in Zurich
swissinfo,
March 3, 2008
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