Ruben Vargas is involved in both of Switzerland's goals in the 2:0 win against Italy. And coach Murat Yakin can once again state that his tactics worked perfectly.
Ruben Vargas is obviously an excellent listener. And when his captain Granit Xhaka tells him something, the 25-year-old takes it all the more to heart. Like during the break in the European Championship round of 16 against Italy. It would be good if he scored a goal, Xhaka said to Vargas in the belly of the venerable Olympic Stadium in Berlin. And when less than a minute has passed in the second half, Vargas receives the ball from Michel Aebischer in the penalty area and Xhaka shouts behind him: "Shoot", the Lucerne native does just that. And seconds later, he celebrates his eighth goal in the national team jersey after a wonderful flick.
Yakin's focus on the team
Vargas sits on the podium in the huge press room in the stadium's basement as he recounts the episode with Xhaka. "It's still funny," he says with a grin. Vargas has a good laugh at this moment. In the 2:0 win against Italy, he was not only the scorer but also the provider. He set up Remo Freuler perfectly in the penalty area before making it 1-0. Accordingly, the FC Augsburg attacking player is the "Man of the Match".
However, it would not do this Swiss team justice to single out a single player from the collective. This is also important to coach Murat Yakin as he sits in Vargas' chair shortly beforehand. "This team celebrates football," he says at one point. Or: "The atmosphere in this team is so good - you can feel and see that on the pitch."
Satisfaction instead of satisfaction
Yakin has had the opportunity to address the media with a sense of satisfaction on several occasions during this tournament. After the first win against the Hungarians, for example, when his nominations of Michel Aebischer and Kwadwo Duah initially raised eyebrows. After the 1:1 draw against Scotland, when he brought on Xherdan Shaqiri, who would later score the goal, or after the 2:0 win against Italy, when he was forced to make changes on the right flank again due to Silvan Widmer's suspension. However, Fabian Rieder and Dan Ndoye performed this task well.
But the national team coach is not keen to point the finger at critics and prove them wrong. "It's not about satisfaction," he says. "I feel a sense of satisfaction. And you have to enjoy moments like that." The 49-year-old knows that the results of this European Championship have long since spoken for him again. That all those who were still speculating before the end of qualifying whether Yakin would have to be replaced before the finals now have a thin line of argument.
Flexible outfield positions
"The system works," says Yakin, explaining that the outfield positions do not necessarily have to be occupied by skilled full-backs, but that Ndoye or Rieder could also play there from time to time. "It always depends on the opponent who fits best." The next opponent will either be England or Slovakia. And then?
Both Vargas and Yakin are asked several times how far this Swiss team can go. Yakin says: "We have to keep our feet on the ground. So much can happen in one game. But our journey is not finished yet." And Vargas says: "We want to go much further."
If they have heeded a much-quoted piece of advice from Granit Xhaka, they have their bags packed for the final anyway.
SDA
