Swiss resigned to their sad fate

THE CAR horns were being sounded in celebration again around Zurich last night, with Croatians taking over where the Turks had left off late on Wednesday night in the wake of the dramatic late victory over hosts Switzerland.

The Swiss have generally been accepting their early elimination from the tournament stoically even if the Turks, who viewed their victory as revenge for their controversial and ultimately violent World Cup play-off defeat by Kobi Kuhn's side two and a half years ago, didn't prove to be the best of winners.

A handful of their supporters were arrested in Bern, one of many cities where large numbers gathered to watch the game but local police played down the extent of the problem, insisting the arrests had more to do with excessive drunkenness than any serious element of violence.

Kuhn was as dignified as ever yesterday as he met with the media for what will probably be the last time as the team's coach. It had always been intended he would retire after the championships with former Bayern Munich manager Ottmar Hitzfeld already lined up to succeed him.

The 64 year-old, whose wife has been seriously ill in hospital for the past week or so was philosophical in defeat, accepting that, after losing key players, most notably skipper Alex Frei, to injury the task of qualifying was simply beyond his rather modestly talented team. "Life goes on," he had observed after the game, "but the disappointment is huge".

The media reaction to the defeat was largely sympathetic with most papers suggesting the veteran coach, a hugely popular figure here who played 62 times for the national side before earning the opportunity to manage it thanks to his work with the country's underage sides, deserved a better send-off.

The astonishing conditions on Wednesday in Basle where heavy rain left the pitch badly water- logged also featured prominently in many headlines and reports with Le Matin concluding that "The Swiss drowned themselves".

Another French language daily, La Liberte, observed; "Euro 2008 didn't even last five days for the Swiss" while on its sports pages the headline read: "The Swiss are beaten, the party's over".

Kuhn insisted it would continue and that his countrymen would enjoy the rest of the tournament despite their side having become the very first to go out. One confectionary manufacturer, though, might want to replace stocks of their best-selling bar which they renamed especially for the tournament. Mars bars currently bear the name "Hopp" as in the local chant "Hopp Schwiss" a sort of "Give it a lash," for the locals. As of yesterday the bars, like the car horns, seem like a cruel reminder.