It was such a historical match for any football fan in Switzerland, when FC Basel knocked Manchester United out of Champions League 2012-2013.
Basel vs Man Utd (December 7th, 2011)
Venue: St. Jakob Park, Basel. Attendance: 36,894
Basel starting lineup vs Man Utd: Sommer, Steinhofer, Abraham, Dragovic, Joo-Ho Park, Shaqiri, Cabral, Granit Xhaka, Fabian Frei, Alexander Frei, Streller.
Man Utd starting lineup vs Basel: De Gea, Smalling, Vidic, Ferdinand, Evra, Ji-Sung Park, Giggs, Jones, Young, Nani, Rooney.
FC Zürich mengakhiri perjalanan mereka di kompetisi antarklub Eropa musim ini dengan kepala tegak. Meskipun sudah dipastikan tersingkir dan menjadi juru kunci grup B Europa League, mereka berhasil mengalahkan Vaslui di pertandingan terakhir. Pada pertandingan yang dilangsungkan di Stadion Letzigrund, Zürich, tanggal 14 Desember 2011 tersebut, skor 2-0 sudah cukup bagi tuan rumah untuk membuat wakil Rumania itu tersingkir. Pendukung fanatik FC Zürich pun pulang ke rumah masing-masing dengan hati tenang.
Dua gol dari Oliver Margairaz dan Oliver Buff di babak kedua menegaskan keunggulan Zürich dari klub Rumania tersebut. Vaslui, yang diperkuat mantan bintang Bologna, Adailton Martins, tidak berhasil membuat peluang berarti di sepanjang pertandingan. Pertandingan itu sendiri berlangsung di bawah guyuran hujan dan hanya disaksikan oleh sekitar 6.000 penonton. Jumlah tersebut tidak sampai seperempat dari kapasitas total stadion yang mencapai 25.000.
Meskipun sudah dipastikan tidak lolos ke babak 32 besar, para pemain FC Zürich seolah tidak ingin kalah dengan saingan mereka, FC Basel, yang baru saja menorehkan prestasi gemilang lolos ke babak 16 besar Liga Champions dengan menyingkirkan Manchester United. Praktis, Vaslui hanya memperoleh satu peluang bersih sepanjang pertandingan melalui striker mereka asal Brasil, Bello, namun dipatahkan oleh kiper Andrea Guatelli. Setelah itu, praktis FC Zürich menguasai jalannya pertandingan.
Boleh jadi, para penggemar FC Zürich menyayangkan permainan cantik tim kesayangan mereka yang seolah terlambat. Ya, ini memang bukan musim yang menggembirakan bagi runner-up Liga Super Swiss musim lalu tersebut. Terdampar di peringkat 8 Liga Super Swiss, alias hanya dua strip di atas zona degradasi, tentunya sangatlah mengecewakan.
Padahal, Zürich memulai kampanyenya dengan peluang untuk tampil di Liga Champions musim ini bersama wakil Swiss lainnya, FC Basel. Apa daya, karena kalah kelas dari Bayern Muenchen, Zürich harus menyerah dengan skor agregat 0-3 dan terlempar ke fase grup Liga Europa. Di kompetisi kelas dua UEFA ini, FC Zürich tergabung ke grup B bersama Sporting Portugal, Lazio dan Vaslui. Pelatih FC Zürich, Urs Fischer, awalnya mencanangkan target untuk lolos ke fase 32 besar. Apa daya, kekalahan atas Sporting di matchday ke-lima mengubur impian tersebut.
Menunggu Kebangkitan Sepakbola Swiss
Jika dibandingkan dengan Indonesia, Swiss adalah negara yang sangat kecil, baik ditilik dari luas wilayah maupun jumlah penduduk. Namun, untuk urusan fanatisme terhadap tim sepakbola, warga Swiss boleh diadu. Persamaan Swiss dan Indonesia sekarang adalah, kedua Negara sama-sama menunggu kebangkitan sepakbola masing-masing. Jika Indonesia pernah berbangga menjadi tuan rumah final Piala Asia 2007, Swiss juga menjadi host Piala Eropa 2008 bersama Austria. Namun, pasca euphoria singkat mengalahkan Spanyol di pertandingan pertama Piala Dunia 2010, tim nasional Swiss tidak pernah lagi berprestasi. Swiss, yang ditangani pelatih bertangan dingin Ottmar Hitzfeld, sudah dipastikan hanya menjadi penonton di Piala Eropa 2012, setelah kalah bersaing dengan Inggris dan Montenegro di babak kualifikasi.
Di tingkat kompetisi antarklub Eropa 2011/2012, para wakil Swiss satu demi satu bertumbangan. FC Zürich disikat Bayern Muenchen sehingga terdepak dari Liga Champions, hanya untuk menjadi bulan-bulanan lagi di Liga Europa (lihat liputan di atas). Sementara wakil Swiss lainnya, yaitu FC Young Boys dan FC Thun lebih duluan tersingkir. Salah satu wakil lainnya, FC Sion, malah didiskualifikasi karena melakukan transfer pemain di luar batas waktu yang ditetapkan UEFA. Nama terakhir bias terancam sanksi lebih jauh lagi, karena sampai sekarang kasus tersebut masih berlarut-larut.
Untungnya, wajah sepakbola Swiss sedikit diselamatkan oleh kejutan FC Basel. Tidak ada yang menduga sebelumnya bahwa juara bertahan Liga Super Swiss itu ‘meledak’ di pertandingan terakhir penyisihan grup Liga Champions dengan mengalahkan finalis Liga Champions tahun lalu, Manchester United.
Bisa dipastikan, seluruh penggemar sepakbola Swiss akan meninggalkan atribut klub mereka masing-masing untuk mendukung satu-satunya wakil mereka di kompetisi Eropa musim ini, yaitu FC Basel. Di babak 16 besar, hasil undian mempertemukan Basel dengan tim yang sebelumnya menyingkirkan FC Zürich, yaitu FC Bayern Muenchen. Sampai sejauh manakah dukungan publik Swiss akan menyokong prestasi Basel musim ini? Kita tunggu saja.
Zürich hammered Vaslui ( Europa League)
FC Zürich ended their journey in European club competition this season with their heads held high. Although they were already knocked out and currently positioned on the bottom of the group B, they managed to beat Vaslui in the last game. In the match held at Letzigrund Stadium, Zürich, on December 14, 2011, the 2-0 score was enough for the host to also knock the Romanian side out of the competition. FC Zürich’s loyal supporters were able to walk home each with a bit of lightened hearts.
Two goals from Oliver Margairaz and Oliver Buff in the second half affirmed FCZ’s superiority against their Romanian opponent, Vaslui, who had the service of the former Bologna star, Adailton Martins. The Brazilian veteran failed to make meaningful opportunities throughout the match. The match itself takes place under heavy rain and was only watched by more or less 6,000 spectators. That is less than a quarter of the total stadium capacity, which is over 25,000 seats.
Although they failed to qualify for the round of 32, FC Zürich players did not have to feel so far behind from their rivals, FC Basel , who had just chalked brilliant achievement to qualify for the last 16 of the Champions League on the expense of Manchester United. During the FCZ vs Vaslui match, the Romanian side only got one clear chance clean through their Brazilian strike, Bello. However, the chance was saved brilliantly by FCZ goalkeeper Andrea Guatelli.
FC Zürich fans had the right to regret the beautiful play shown their team. Yes, it was definitely not a joyous season for the 2010/2011 Swiss Super League runner-up. Stranded on the 8th position in the Swiss Super League, which meant only two stripes above the relegation zone, was definitely a disappointing achievement. In fact, Zürich began their campaign with a chance to play in the Champions League this season with the other representative of Switzerland, FC Basel. Well, there was nothing much to say, because they gave up to Bayern Munich, with the aggregate score 0-3 and got thrown into the Europa League group phase. In the UEFA’s second-degree competition, FC Zürich foun themselves into group B with Sporting Portugal, Lazio and Vaslui. FC Zürich’s coach Urs Fischer, initially set a target to qualify for the last 32 phase until the defeat of Sporting in matchday five had that dream buried.
Waiting for the Rise of Swiss Football
Compared to Indonesia, Switzerland can be considered a very small country, seen from its aerial size and population. However, Swiss citizens may be pitted for their football fanaticism. Both Switzerland and Indonesia are waiting for the resurrection of their football. Indonesia was a proud host of the 2007 Asian Cup, while Switzerland also became one of the hosts of Euro 2008 with Austria. However, after the brief euphoria of beating Spain in the first match of the 2010 World Cup, the Swiss national team failed to make further surprise . ‘Die Nati’ the nickname of Swiss National Team, who are managed by the cold-handed coach Ottmar Hitzfeld, disappointingly became a mere spectator in the European Cup in 2012, after getting knocked out by England and Montenegro in the qualifying phase.
On the stages of European club competition 2011/2012, the representatives of Switzerland were knocked out one after another. Bayern Munich eased out FC Zurich in the Champions League, leaving FCZ out cold again in the Europa League (read the coverage above). While other Swiss representatives , namely FC Young Boys and FC Thun, were eliminated on the earlier qualifying phases. Another Swiss club, FC Sion, got disqualified for violating UEFA rules by signing players outside the transfer deadline. FC Sion could face further sanctions, as the case had been dragged on to higher court.
Fortunately, the face of Swiss football was a little saved by the surprising success of FC Basel. No one had expected earlier that the Swiss Super League champions performed so explosively in their final game of the Champions League group stage by beating last year’s Champions League finalists Manchester United.
It can be expected that Swiss football fans will leave their clubs attributes behind in order to support their only representative in European competition this season, FC Basel. In the round of 16, the Swiss champion found themselves drawn together with FC Bayern Munich, the one knocking out their fellow Swiss league participant. How far would the Swiss champion find themselves on the Champions League title challenge this season? Let’s wait and see!
Swiss Football Diary 