For Roy Hodgson, at least there is a silver lining. England’s first qualifying game for Euro 2016 might be their hardest. A meeting with a vibrant, young Switzerland side might look like the last thing the 67-year-old needs. It might feel as though a setback in Basle on Monday would deepen the gloom surrounding the national team, compounding the sense of drift that is threatening to engulf Hodgson’s reign.
Yet there will be a part of him that does not mind any of that. At a time when he is starting to feel the searing heat of scrutiny that comes with his position, the chance to spend some time in a country where his reputation remains unimpeachable will be a welcome one.
In Switzerland, Hodgson will for ever be King Roy. After all, as one of his former players says, he is the man who “helped everyone see we can make footballers, not just cuckoo clocks”.
Hodgson was 44 when he was appointed to the position that would make his name, in January 1992. He had been working in Switzerland for two years, his spell at Neuchâtel Xamax — the team Sepp Blatter supports — creditable but unspectacular.
The Swiss Football Federation had been impressed by his record in Sweden, eliciting eye-catching results with limited resources; Hodgson saw the job as a stepping stone. “I thought if I got to go to the World Cup, it would lead to a job in a bigger league,” he said.
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That was rather easier said than done. Switzerland had not been to a leading tournament since 1966; they had been drawn in a qualifying group for the 1994 World Cup with Italy, Portugal and Scotland, a rather more daunting prospect then than now. Hodgson’s team eased through.
After reaching the last 16 in the United States, Hodgson repeated the trick in qualifying for Euro ‘96 — the Swiss were the first team to secure a place in England.
As soon as they had made it, Hodgson left for Inter Milan. He had what he wanted; so did the Swiss.
Those who worked with him identify different secrets to his success. “He had a clear idea,” Alain Sutter, the iconic forward, said. “You knew exactly what he wanted on the pitch and off the pitch. He was very predictable, everyone knew the rules, and as a player when you know what [the manager’s] ideas are, it makes it much easier. He was open to talking to you too. He liked it when people spoke their minds.”
Sutter’s strike partner, Stéphane Chapuisat, praised his tactical nous, his thoroughness.
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“He knew how to prepare for games really well,” the former Borussia Dortmund forward said. “He always played with the same system, and he was always very well organised. He had total faith in his group: he demanded a lot on the pitch, but he left you alone off it. He gave us autonomy.”
Then there was his humour: very English, according to Marc Hottiger, whose performances for Hodgson in the United States were enough to earn him a move to the Barclays Premier League. “Not everyone was convinced when he was appointed,” the defender said. “But he proved that he was the right man. He matched the youth of the team with a tactical discipline, and he did it with a personal touch. He renewed Swiss football.”
It is this point that ensures Hodgson, nearly 20 years after he left the country, retains the affection of his former public. His ultimate heir, Vladimir Petkovic, will send out a side on Monday brimming with blossoming talent: Xherdan Shaqiri, Josip Drmic, Granit Xhaka, Ricardo Rodriguez and the rest.
Their emergence is to the immense credit of the Swiss federation, of course. The work started by Hansruedi Hasler and his successor as the country’s technical director, Peter Knabel, would put much larger nations to shame. Facilities have been improved, relations with clubs strengthened, the standard of coaching increased and work undertaken to reach out to immigrant communities, all in the search for talent. So determined are the Swiss not to allow anyone to fall through the net that they have even instituted policies dictating that players born later in the season — at a natural size disadvantage early in their careers — are equally represented in youth teams. Malcolm Gladwell, whose work has addressed that issue, would be impressed.
In Switzerland, they see Hodgson as the man who started that process. “Before Roy, we had an amateur youth structure,” Peter Gillieron, the president of the Swiss federation, said. “He started a whole new system and that work continues today.”
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Even Joachim Löw, the Germany coach who met Hodgson as a player in Switzerland, agrees. “It was under him that the Swiss revolutionised their youth development,” he said.
“He was a very modernising influence,” Vega said. “He put a lot of systems and structures in place. He changed things for the first team, but also for everyone who came after us.
“He recognised that is key to success. He knew we had to look forward. That is why he is given such credit.
“The players of this new generation have not had to deal with being seen as a second-class nation. That is because of what we did, and what Roy helped us do. That is why he is King Roy.”
Career landmarks
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National teams that Roy Hodgson has guided: Switzerland, United Arab Emirates, Finland, England
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Years that Hodgson spent in charge of Switzerland. He has coached the other three countries for about two years each
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Successful qualifying campaigns for leading tournaments: Switzerland: 1994 World Cup and Euro 96 (did not manage in latter tournament); England: 2014 World Cup (also led them at Euro 2012 after Fabio Capello’s exit)
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Hodgson’s age — he is the oldest England manager
Words by Bill Edgar