Ottmar Hitzfeld, one of European soccer’s most distinguished coaches, finally bowed out on Tuesday and in doing so left a wonderful legacy for the sport in Switzerland.
The 65-year-old had already announced that he would retire at the end of the FIFA World Cup and was ushered out when Switzerland suffered a heart-breaking 1-0 loss to Argentina during extra-time in their last-16 match in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
While Hitzfeld is remembered in the Bundesliga for the seven league titles and two Champions League crowns he won with Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund, Switzerland fans have just as much reason to be grateful to him.
In six years in charge of the national squad, Hitzfeld and his trademark beige raincoat led the side to two World Cups, transformed their dour defensive style and left behind a talented, young team that should serve incoming coach Vladimir Petkovic for years to come.
Hitzfeld’s vibrant side of second-generation immigrants, epitomized by the cheeky skills of Kosovo-born Xherdan Shaqiri, were a far cry from the teams that bored fans stiff with their equally rigid playing style at the 2006 and 2010 World Cups.
Switzerland scored four goals and conceded none to reach the second round eight years ago, where their goalless draw against Ukraine is widely seen as one of the low points of modern World Cup history.
Four years ago, they went out in the group stage with the thoroughly unremarkable, if consistent, record of one win, one draw, one defeat, one goal scored and one against.
This time, their four games produced more goals and excitement than their previous two campaigns combined, with seven for and seven against, including a memorable Shaqiri hat-trick against Honduras.
Left-footed Shaqiri, 22, is the pick of the bunch, with the close control and long-range shooting of a South American player, while Ricardo Rodriguez, 21 is already regarded as one of Europe’s top leftbacks.
Centerback Fabian Schaer, 22, who had an outstanding game as the Switzerland defense kept Argentina at bay for nearly two hours on Tuesday, is another youngster with huge potential.
Attacking midfielder Granit Xhaka, dubbed “Little Einstein” by his teammates, is already a regular for Borussia Moenchengladbach and looks to be a fixture in the Switzerland side for several years.
Meanwhile, all four forwards in the Schweizer Nati, Josip Drmic, Admir Mehmedi, Haris Seferovic and Mario Gavranovic are in their early 20s.
There are other players, such as midfielder Pajtim Kasami and defender Steven Widmer, who did not make the World Cup squad.
Perhaps the crucial question for Switzerland is how the players fare in their club careers.
Some of the more experienced players in the Switzerland squad, such as defenders Johan Djourou and Philippe Senderos, have already experienced the cruel side of soccer, with injuries and long spells in the reserves at club level.
At present, Xhaka and Rodriguez, who was ever-present for VfL Wolfsburg last season, and Mehmedi, who helped steer SC Freiburg clear of relegation, are already well-established at their Bundesliga clubs.
Drmic scored 17 goals for Nuremberg last season, but his side were relegated and he will have to start at Moenchengladbach next season.
Seferovic has flitted from club to club and is now at La Liga side Real Sociedad, where he struggled for a game at the end of last season.
The biggest doubt concerns Shaqiri, who saw precious little action at Bayern Munich last season and cannot afford another season on the sidelines.
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