IT WOULD not be inaccurate to say that England’s next opponents in the European Championship are in bullish mood. They are also feeling peckish. Switzerland are hoping that victory tonight over Sven-Göran Eriksson’s side would bring them similar treatment as Roger Federer, the world’s No 1 tennis player, who was presented with a Bernese Oberlander cow after winning Wimbledon last year.
Juliet, the beast in question, was given to Federer on his return to Switzerland by the organisers of the Gstaad tournament, and now the country’s footballers are requesting the same. “Maybe we will have 23 cows waiting for us when we get home,” Bernt Haas, the West Bromwich Albion defender, said. “It would be a great gesture, but I think I would eat mine, with some gravy on the top.”
Perhaps The Farm should have recorded Switzerland’s anthem for Euro 2004, instead of England’s. They certainly have a beef; the Swiss are upset that their achievement in qualifying for their first leading tournament for eight years has not brought greater recognition. “Martina Hingis is a heroine in Switzerland,” Haas said. “Then there is Roger. People think we’ve got good tennis players, but not a good football team.”
Federer, proficient in both sports as a child, concentrated on tennis from the age of 12. “I had more talent in my hands than my feet,” he said. Yet he has surprised squad members of FC Basle — his boyhood team — by regularly turning up for practice sessions at the club’s training ground. It was there that he met Haas, who had returned to Switzerland after an unconvincing stay at Sunderland.
“Roger is a friend of mine,” Haas said. “He comes from Basle, he lives there and is a great supporter of the team. He is more well known than us but, when we did well in the Champions League, he watched every game and he has wished us all the best for this game. Hopefully we will be playing in the final on the same day as he is at Wimbledon.” Federer has predicted a 1-0 defeat for England.
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Whether or not their craving for cattle is sated, the team listed No 47 in Fifa’s world rankings will receive a bonus of £10,000 per man should they emerge victorious at the Cidade de Coimbra Stadium. Each player would earn £30,000 for reaching the quarter-finals.