Ahead of the test match against Luxembourg, the question arises as to who will provide the offensive impetus for Switzerland. There is currently a vacuum in the position behind the front line.
25.03.2025, 05:01
25.03.2025, 07:04
SDA
A good 75 percent possession, but fewer shots than their opponents: it was the statistics that gave most food for thought in the 1-1 draw against Northern Ireland. The Swiss dominated the game, but were frighteningly lacking in ideas and harmless in attack. The Northern Irish concentrated mainly on defending, but were more determined in their attacks and even closer to scoring the winning goal.
From a Swiss perspective, Michel Aebischer had a poor evening. Of the three central midfielders, he was supposed to take on the offensive role. However, it became clear that this role was less suited to him. Time and again, he dropped back and was barely able to make an offensive impact. After an hour, coach Murat Yakin substituted the Bologna international.
Aebischer was the fourth player in the last four games that Yakin has deployed centrally behind the front line. The national team coach had previously tried Simon Sohm, Zeki Amdouni and Fabian Rieder. The three of them showed some good approaches, but none of them were completely convincing. It is clear that the retirement of Xherdan Shaqiri has left a big gap, even if he was no longer part of the squad at the end.
The ten has become rare
The classic ten, named after the shirt number worn by the players in this position, has become rare in modern football. Dynamics and tactics have changed since players like Zinedine Zidane, Ronaldinho or Riquelme. Creativity alone is no longer enough; defensive work is also required of the players in the center. Playmakers therefore increasingly find themselves in more defensive positions or even on the wings.
This is also the case with Yakin. For years, the number 10 in the national team has been assigned to captain Granit Xhaka, who is known to play more as a six or eight. In his absence, it is worn by Vincent Sierro, another defensive midfielder, in the current squad.
At the successful European Championships, the Swiss national team coach played a 3-4-3 system, with attacks being forced down the wings. Recently, however, he has increasingly reverted to the 4-2-3-1, which is actually designed for a ten-man defense. Yakin defends the experiment with Aebischer: "After his injury, I wanted to give Michel a few minutes of action. He has running qualities, a strong presence in the box and knows our game."
Another candidate for sparking ideas in attack would be Alvyn Sanches. After coming on as a substitute in Northern Ireland, he brought a bit more drive to the attack, but his debut ended bitterly. He limped off the pitch after a tackle, and on Sunday his club Lausanne-Sport announced that the 22-year-old had suffered a cruciate ligament rupture and would be out for several months. "It's a great pity and it hurts us all not to see this great footballer on the pitch," said Yakin. The team released a video on Monday in which all the players join together to wish Sanches a speedy recovery.
Rieder from beacon of hope to problem child
Fabian Rieder could therefore be given another chance in the central attacking position against Luxembourg. The 23-year-old has been seen as a beacon of hope for some time and underlined his potential, not least with strong performances at the European Championship in Germany. At club level, however, the Emmental native has not really got into his stride since leaving YB. After a difficult year in Rennes, he was happy to be loaned out to Stuttgart last summer.
Rieder initially made regular appearances for the Swabians, but this year coach Sebastian Hoeness has hardly used him at all: in eleven Bundesliga matches, he was substituted three times for the closing stages. Otherwise he was always on the substitutes' bench, and in the last match against Bayer Leverkusen he was even sent to the stands. While the club recently extended Hoeness' contract, the option to buy Rieder is unlikely to be exercised.
And so we inevitably end up back with Shaqiri. In an interview with the "NZZ" newspaper, Shaqiri raised eyebrows when he said that he was ruling out a return to the national team "at the moment". When asked, he simply said that you never know in football. Nevertheless, there is little to suggest a comeback.
Yakin must therefore ask himself whether he will stick with the 4-2-3-1 system and still find the ideal attacking playmaker, or whether he will switch back and rely on passes from defensive midfield. The match against Luxembourg, who are likely to play a similar defensive style to Northern Ireland, could give him new clues in this regard.
