GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – They said it themselves: “to make the Europa League, the goal seemed unattainable not long ago” but Sunday troubled football club Servette defeated Basel 2-1 in a surprise finish, to earn their way into the league. Swiss champion Basel put out its B team and left its stars on the bench, but FC Servette nevertheless showed its mettle to win smartly.
The Geneva club continues to fight for its life, with new president and owner Hugh Quennec trying to raise enough money to keep the club in business.
BASEL, SWITZERLAND – It took three times but FC Basel has finally accepted the crown as Swiss football champions, in one of the stranger sagas of trying to make it to the top. The club defeated Lausanne 3-1 but the bigger battle was with FC Luzern, which theoretically could have overtaken the Basel club but its 2-2 draw with Zurich Grasshoppers over the weekend ended that possibility.
FC Luzern has been embroiled in a case to be decided by the CAS (Court of Arbitration for Sport) that could give the team additional points for the season.
Swiss football has been plagued in recent months by bankruptcies and scandal and disputes, the most recent of which has been Geneva Servette’s efforts to avoid bankruptcy. Financier Hugh Quennec, part-owner of Geneva Servette Hockey Club, is currently scrambling to raise the necessary money to retain the club’s license.
Hugh Quennec, fighting for Geneva Servette Football Club in a year marred by scuffles and more
Four of the top Swiss clubs saw their requests to renew their licenses turned down last week, and Neuchatel Xamax filed for bankruptcy in January 2012. One of the teams turned down is Sion, which has defied Uefa and Fifa over 36 points deducted because they fielded ineligible players in a European match. “Switzerland, famous for its organization, is the home of world governing body FIFA and European equivalent UEFA but its domestic football has endured a chaotic year with the problems centered around Sion and Neuchatel Xamax,” Sports Illustrated recently reported.
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – Hugh Quennec is a familiar name to Geneva Servette Hockey Club fans, as one of its two owners, with Chris McSorley. The Swiss Canadian, who runs Continental Capital Markets, which has offices in Nyon and Zurich, has now stepped in to save another Geneva Servette, the city’s football club.
GSFC said early this week that it was bankrupt, and as the door appeared to be swinging shut, Quennec quietly stepped in, and the relief throughout the world of Geneva football and sport in general was audible.
The club has 30 days to find some CHF3 million to settle short-term debts, after Quennec paid a symbolic CHF1 to take over the shares of Majid Pishyar, former owner. Quennec is putting up CHF650,000 and will now hustle to find investors to make up the difference. The critical task right now, he says, is to get a clear picture of the overall financial situation.
Links to other sites: RTS public TV, Tribune de Geneve
Dutch ride over England
Update 23:00 BERN, SWITZERLAND – Three goals from Lionel Messi gave Argentina a 1-3 win over Switzerland in their friendly match, 29 February. The game was balanced until the last few minutes when a defensive error gave Messi the chance for a little piece of brilliance. The last goal was from a penalty. The young Swiss team played well, keeping control for extended periods and demonstrating technical skills. Unfortunately Lionel Messi was on the other team.
England lost to The Netherlands 2-3 at Wembley.
Home friendly for Switzerland with Argentina
Two big ones are England vs The Netherlands and Germany vs France
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – Football fans who are not heading to Bern for the 29 February evening friendly with Argentina are likely to be glued to the TV, with this game broadcast on RTS (new name for Swiss TV and radio) and two major matches also being aired: England versus The Netherlands friendly at Wembley and Germany vs France in Bremen.
BASEL, SWITZERLAND – Basel drew attention to itself again in the football world Wednesday night, defeating powerhouse Bayern Munich 1-0 with a goal in the 86th minute by substitute Valentin Stocker. Strong work from goalkeeper Yann Sommer throughout the match kept Bayern at bay.
This is the second shock Basel has thrown the football world in less than three months. FC Basel scored a famous victory when they beat the stars of Manchester United 2-1 in the final game of the group stage of the Champions League 7 December 2011.
Basel has more recently been in the news because of its young star Shaqiri. SI/AP reported late Wednesday that “pre-match talk had centered on Basel star Xherdan Shaqiri, who will join Bayern next season after the clubs agreed a reported $15.3 million transfer this month.
Bloomberg reports that Basel last reached the quarterfinals 38 years ago.
Mohamed Bin Hamman, 2010
LAUSANNE, SWITZERLAND – The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in Lausanne has agreed to hear the case of Mohamed Bin Hammam vs Fifa, the international football body 18 and 19 April.
He was given a life ban from football in 2011 after a scandal surfaced in May over alleged payments for votes in an election bid to unseat Sepp Blattner as president of Fifa.
AP reports that Bin Hammam is also involved in a legal tussle with the Asian football body: “Bin Hammam, who denies wrongdoing, is involved in a second appeal to stop the Asian Football Confederation from replacing him as president.”
The group’s elections are scheduled for March. He earlier lost an appeal to CAS to hear his case against the same group for dismissing him as its president.
BERN, SWITZERLAND – Sion Football Club lost another round in its legal dispute with the Swiss Football Assocation, which docked it 36 points for breaking regulations. A Bern regional (Mitteland) court has ruled in favour of the association, which leaves the club at the bottom of the nine-team Swiss top division.
Sion FC, reports Sports Illustrated, “flouted rules by trying to register six players signed during a transfer embargo imposed by FIFA because the club’s 2008 signing of goalkeeper Essam el Hadary breached regulations.”
But the judge, in his decision, notes that the SFA broke its own rules and overstepped the limits of its own statutes by stripping the club of 36 points, reports Le Nouvelliste in canton Valais. The SFA acknowledged the ruling but says it will not comment further, which FC Sion points out on its own web site. The judge nevertheless refused to provisionally restore the points.
The club says it will now appeal to the Bern cantonal court, noting the urgency of restoring the points in order to have a “normal” championship.
Basel’s Xamax club just declared bankruptcy, reducing the division’s ranks.
Xherdan Shaqiri, moving to Munich from Basel in 2012 (photo, Wikipedia)
BASEL, SWITZERLAND – Months of speculation in the football world ended Thursday 9 February with the announcement by football club Bayern Munich that it has signed Swiss player Xherdan Shaqiri to a four-year contract.
The transfer from FC Basel 1893 takes place 1 July 2012.
Shaqiri, an international player who plays for Basel in the Swiss Super League as well as on the national team, is just 5-foot six tall.
The midfielder was described as “one of the most sought-after talents in European football” by Bayern director of sport Christian Nerlinger.
The 20-year-old grew up in Basel and in January 2009, despite being wooed by other clubs, he signed his first professional contract with FC Basel.
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – Egyptian state television is reporting that at least 73 people have died, and numbers are being revised upwards late Wednesday 1 February, after two football teams’ fans clashed in Port Said. More than 150 people are reported to be injured. Fans of Masry and al-Ahly teams, both in the top group, poured onto the football field after a match between the two. Masry won 3-1, an upset that triggered the violence. The BBC reports that some fans appear to have carried knives into the stadium, with policy keeping a lower than usual profile after riots in 2011 that was often directed at police under former President Hosni Mubarak’s regime.
Links to other sites: BBC, Reuters
Aljazeera video
LAUSANNE, SWITZERLAND – Frederic Veseli, a Swiss Under-17 defender, says he is “very happy” to be joining Manchester United, which pinched him from rival Manchester City. He moves onto the team’s reserve side initially.
Veseli, 19, went to Manchester City in 2008 from Lausanne Sport. He made his name in 2009 when he captained the Swiss team to the Under 17s World Cup championship.
ZURICH, SWITZERLAND – Xamax, the Neuchatel football team, lost its license Wednesday 18 January, the latest in a string of major distractions off the field, for the team and Swiss football fans. Controversial club owner Bulat Chagaev has five days to appeal and show that the club is financially sound.
TSR, Swiss public television, Wednesday evening carried a series of reactions to the club’s bump from the Super League as the result of the move by the Swiss Football Association.
The license was taken away after a string of financial incidents, from unpaid supplier bills to unpaid social security bills and alleged fake statements showing that the Chechen owner has $35 milion with which to back the club.
Fox Sports reports that the license loss has prompted an ownership group to prepare “to save the publicly humiliated club from an apparently inevitable demotion of at least two divisions, and possible bankruptcy under its current Chechen owners.” TSR, Swiss public television, reports Wednesday night that
Swiss football has been suffering in recent weeks from other off-the-field fights, with Sion being fined 36 points by the Swiss Football Association, a move the club has hotly contested.
Swiss first division football teams meet in Geneva.
Location: 16, route des Jeunes, Geneva
Link out: http://www.stade.ch/index.html
Date: 6 Nov 2011
ZURICH, SWITZERLAND – Football hooligans: Zurich doesn’t want you. The city’s executive committee decided Monday to pursue a zero tolerance programme, folowing confrontations between fans of Grasshopper and FC Zurich Sunday 2 October. The winter pause will see Letzigrund stadium renovations that include separations between groups of fans and the players and referees. Any fireworks will result in the match ending immediately.
The next match at the stadium, between FC Zurich and Basel, considered high risk, will be covered by what the Swiss Football League calls emergncy measures, without detailing these.
BASEL, SWITZERLAND – Basel FC has moved to the top of the Champions League after defeating newcomer Otelul Galati of Romania 2-1 in Basel 14 September. Manchester United slipped after a 1-1 draw against Benfica in Lisbon, with an unimpressive opening. The favoured UK team never rose to the challenge.
Uefa announced 13 September that all 32 clubs taking part in this year’s Champions League can expect a minimum of euros 7.2 million, while the winner stands to take in at least euros 31.5 million.
Uefa also confirmed earlier this week that FC Sion, under disciplinary action, will not take part in the Europa League and will be replaced by Celtic FC.
LAUSANNE, SWITZERLAND – A 32-year-old Swiss man was treated in hospital and received 9 stitches when someone attacked him from behind and took a knife to his ear following a fourth league football match in Saint-Barthélemy, canton Vaud. Spectators at the match between FC Talent and FC Cugy began to whistle and verbally abuse each other after the second half started and shortly after the match three members of one team attacked a member of the other team. Fans and some team members then got into a free-for-all.
The player who was knifed was not involved in the fight and was leaving the field when he was attacked.
Bystanders called an ambulance, but the emergency team, too, was attacked when it arrived and had to call for police reinforcements.
Six police teams and a police dog found about 50 people when they arrived. Two were arrested later in the evening after several people were questioned. The police Hooligans squad will now determine if they are to be banned from Swiss football matches.
LAUSANNE, SWITZERLAND – Skipass, a subsidiary of Kudelski, Lausanne-based world specialist in digital security, will be supplying secure access to half of the 2012 European Football championship matches, including those in Ukraine and at Poland’s largest stadium, the national stadium.
The Salzburg-based company said Monday it signed a contract in July to supply ticketing and secure entry facilities as well as food services ticketing.
Police check Servette supporters' buses en route to Sion for football match
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – Football (soccer) fans in Switzerland have had a lively weekend, starting with a peaceful protest by Turkish fans Friday in Nyon and ending with Geneva Servette fans setting fire to a field, among other hooliganisms, in Sion.
Turkey lays a club to rest in Nyon
Canton Vaud police say a protest Saturday 27 August by about 100 supporters of Turkey’s Fenerbahce football club gathered at Uefa, the European football offices in Nyon, to protest the club’s exclusion from the Uefa Champions League by the Turkish Football Federation. The group, which hadn’t received permission to gather, came from several areas in Europe and starting at 15:00 put on a fake funeral, laying wreaths at Uefa’s door. Police learned about the planned meeting in advance, via the Internet, and had patrols posted in the area as a precaution, but there were no incidents, they say.
Blatter gives date for promised cleanup plan
Associated Press reported Sunday 28 August that Fifa’s president, Sepp Blatter, will provide details of his promised plan to clean up football in October, following a 20-21 October executive committee meetings in Zurich. Blatter promised to rid the sport of corruption when he was re-elected in June on the heels of a scandal that saw several officials, including his opponent for president, Mohamed bin Hammam, banned from football on various charges of corruption.
Basel improves feeble Super League season start, Servette moves up
Basel, Super League current national champions, improved their feeble start to the season by defeating Thun 2-1, after only six points during their first six matches of the season, on home ground.
Servette moves up “after inflicting a 4-0 away defeat on Uefa Europa League participants FC Sion,” reports Fifa, the International Football Federation. “Servette had the points all but wrapped up after netting three times in the opening 24 minutes through Christopher Routis, Mathias Vitkieviez and Ishamel Yartey, and Vitkieviez completed the triumph with his second in the 65th minute.
“The victory sees Servette move up to third, level on 11 points with fourth-placed Sion, who this week progressed through to the group stages of the Europa League after knocking out Celtic in the play-offs.”
Rubber bullets used after hooligans set fire to field, bash toilets
Police put out fire set in field near Sion by football fans
Servette’s victory was marred, however, by hooligans, who were kept in check, but with difficulty, by 180 police officers monitoring the Sion event, including 30 from Geneva.
Police initially intercepted buses with supporters from Geneva heading for Sion and checked them before escorting them directly to the Tourbillon stadium in Sion, to avoid confrontations between groups of supporters.
Servette supporters then broke through the security system to avoid checks at the entrance and once inside caused considerable damage, breaking doors and WCs. A young woman was hospitalized after being seriously cut in the hand.
Police remained on alert during the match, given that 20 or so supporters who have been banned from Swiss stadiums were spotted in the area. Once the match was over “clans” from the two groups of supporters, which had “copiously insulted each other” during the match, say police, tried to clash, with Sion fans rushing the other groups, but police kept them apart, using rubber bullets and pepper sprays.
Two police officers were checked at the hospital after being hit by rocks. Four FC Sion supporters were arrested, ages 33, 30, 28 and 19.
Swiss sports, football
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – The Geneva football team Servette will face local rivals Lausanne FC in the Super League, the top Swiss division, at the Stade de Genève, 17:45, 6 August. It is their first top level meeting for almost 10 years as they have battled against relegation and financial breakdown. The two clubs were promoted to the Super League at the end of last season.
Servette has added a little more spice to the confrontation by calling it “Le derby du lac de Genève” rather than “Lac Léman.”
Zurich will meet Bayern Munich in the play-off qualifying round of the European Champions League, following the draw made at the UEFA headquarters in Nyon, 5 August. The pick of the matches is Arsenal against Italian team Udinese Calcio.
Links to other sites: Le Matin, Tribune de Genève
International sports, football
WEMBLEY, LONDON, ENGLAND – Switzerland let slip the chance of a famous victory as they went from a two-goal lead to a 2-2 draw against England at Wembley, 6 June. Tranquillo Barnetta scored both Swiss goals from free kicks that beat English goalkeeper Joe Hart, once at the far post and once at the near post. England fought back with a penalty by Frank Lampard and a powerful blast by Ashley Young. The new-look Swiss team played some of the best football the fans have seen recently, but the single point is not going to see the team qualify for the finals of the Euro 2012 tournament.
SION, SWITZERLAND – Sion fans were celebrating Sunday night after their team defeated Neuchatel Xamax 2-0 in a one-sided match, with Neuchatel never rising to the occasion.
It was Sion’s 12th Swiss Cup victory in 12 finals.
The train trip to Basel, site of the final, left a less positive trail, with one person injured by the crowd as it passed through Lausanne, according to ATS news agency. The train cars were heavily damaged, with two fires set in one train and windows broken. A dozen people were reportedly arrested, mainly for having fireworks.
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – It was a fine weekend for sports fans, with the best and the brightest putting on good shows:
Football – Barcelona defeated Manchester United 3-1 in a master class performance, with the Man United team and coach graciously afterwards that Barcelona is simply the best team in Europe. Details, The Guardian
Tennis – Roger Federer smoothly sailed past fellow Swiss player Stanislas Wawrinka 6-3, 6-2, 7-5. He now has his 28th consecutive Grand Slam quarter-final place. Details, Roland Garros
Formula 1 – Sebastian Vettel won in Monte Carlo, with Fernando Alonso second and Jenson Button in third. Details, Formula 1 de Monaco
Mohamed bin Hammam dropped out of the presidential race early Sunday and Fifa provisionally suspended him Sunday evening
ZURICH, SWITZERLAND – Fifa, the international football body, Sunday 29 May provisionally suspended four officials from any involvement in football worldwide while it continues it investigation into possible breaches of the organization’s code of ethics.
But the case against President Sepp Blatter was dismissed. Blatter appeared before the committee Sunday. He is now running for re-election, with no one else in the race.
Vice-president Jack A Warner and Fifa executive committee member Mohamed bin Hammam may not take “part in any football-related activity (administrative, sports or any other) worldwide after [the ethics committee examined] their cases in relation to alleged violations of the Fifa Code of Ethics linked to the upcoming FIFA presidential election”, the committee said in a statement issued Sunday evening in Zurich.
The election is scheduled for 3 June. “The allegation can be summed up as follows,” Petrus Damaseb, vice-president of the ethics committee said at a press conference after the all-day meeting. “The meeting was called to take place at the 10-11 of May in Port au Prince in Trinidad & Tobago, and at that meeting individuals there present were offered sums of money to vote for Mr bin Hamman, that is the essence of the allegation.” The sum in question was $40,000.
Petrus Damaseb, speaking for Fifa's ethics committee, led a press conference Sunday night
“The ethics committee considered that a provisional suspension was required while the investigation continues, taking into account the gravity of the case and the likelihood that a breach of the Fifa code of ethics and the Fifa disciplinary code has been committed. Meanwhile, regarding the ethics proceedings opened against Fifa President Joseph S Blatter at the request of Mohamed bin Hammam for a potential breach of the Fifa code of ethics, all charges were dismissed in full, as the ethics committee found that no breach of the code of ethics had been committed.”
Two Caribbean Football Union officials were also provisionally suspended: Debbie Minguell and Jason Sylvester. Their possible breaches of the code are also under investigation.
The members of the ethics committee panel reviewing the various accusations are: deputy chairman Petrus Damaseb (Namibia) and members Juan Pedro Damiani (Uruguay), Sondre Kaafjord (Norway), Les Murray (Australia) and Robert Torres (Guam).
Update 29 May 18:55 ZURICH, SWITZERLAND – (Ed. note: AFP is reporting Sunday evening, but it is not yet confirmed elsewhere, that Blatter has been cleared, bin Hammam has been suspended while the investigation continues, and the 1 June election is to go ahead)
The contentious vote for the new president of Fifa, the international football governing body, became a lot simpler Sunday 29 May, with current president Sepp Blatter remaining the only one running. Mohamed bin Hammam, who opposed him, declared on his web site in the early hours of Sunday that he is pulling out of the race.
The two appeared for hearings as part of an investigation by Fifa’s ethics committee, which is meeting Sunday 29 May.
“I cannot allow the name that I loved to be dragged more and more in the mud because of competition between two individuals. The game itself and the people who love it around the world must come first. It is for this reason that I announce my withdrawal from the presidential election,” he notes on his site.
“I will not put my personal ambition ahead of FIFA’s dignity and integrity. Besides, I believe my candidacy has been a catalyst for debate within FIFA and has brought change to the top of the agenda. I pray that my withdrawal will not be tied to the investigation held by the FIFA Ethics Committee as I will appear before the Ethics Committee to clear my name from the baseless allegations that have been made against me.”
Sepp Blatter (photo: Agencia Brasil, Roosewelt Pinheiro/Abr)
ZURICH, SWITZERLAND – Down to the wire, with less than a week to go in the election for the post of president of Fifa, world football’s governing body, and the fight for the job is sullied by allegations of corruption against both candidates. The Fifa ethics committee Friday 27 May agreed to summon President Sepp Blatter, who is standing for re-election, acting on yesterday’s request by executive committee member Mohamed bin Hammam.
Blatter is to appear before the committee Sunday, three days before the election.
Bin Hammam was summoned to appear before the committee Wednesday.
The committee is investigating charges made last week of alleged cash payments to delegations attending a special meeting of the Caribbean Football Union. The latest accusations of corruption against Fifa officials continue a string of scandals, as well as questions about how the 2018 and 2022 games were awarded.
Britain’s sport minister, Hugh Robertson, said in a statement Friday that “The Fifa presidential election campaign has descended into a farce,” Robertson said in a statement.” Robertson has “hinted” that national football/soccer bodies may want to break away from Fifa, Reuters reports.
ZURICH, SWITZERLAND – The FA, England’s national football association, has decided against voting for the next president of Fifa, the Zurich-based International Football, saying in a brief statement issued Thursday afternoon 19 May that it cannot support either candidate. AP sports writers put it more baldly, saying that the FA is “unable to choose between two candidates tainted by allegations of corruption scandal”.
The statement issued by FA Chairman David Bernstein, in its entirety:
“There are a well-reported range of issues both recent and current which, in the view of The FA board, make it difficult to support either candidate.
The FA values its relationships with its international football partners extremely highly. We are determined to play an active and influential role through our representation within both UEFA and FIFA. We will continue to work hard to bring about any changes we think would benefit all of international football.”
The two candidates are Sepp Blatter, who is seeking a fourth term from 2012 to 2016 and Mohamed bin Hammam of Qatar, who successfully obtained the 2022 World Cup Games for his country.
Blatter has headed Fifa while a scandal involving members of the executive board unfolded, while there have been charges that Qatar paid Fifa board members to vote for it.
Chateau de Bethusy, Lausanne, where the CAS sports arbitration court, holds its hearings
Lausanne, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - The CAS, the international arbitration court for sports in Lausanne, says it has accepted for review the appeals by two former officials of the international football federation, Fifa.
Former Fifa executive committee member Amos Adamu of Nigeria has asked that he be found not guilty and his three-year suspension overturned.
Ahongalu Fusimalohi of Tonga is asking that his ban be lifted.
The two were part of a group of six officials found guilty on various corruption charges linked to the 2018 and 2022 football World Cup bidding contests. Fifa in November 2010 handed out fines ranging from CHF5,000 to CHF10,000 and the officials were banned from participating in any football-related activities for a period of one to four years.
The CAS has not yet set a date for the hearings.
Rangers FC was quick to get the bad news to fans
Update 22:00 Geneva / Nyon, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – Scotland’s Rangers football club has been handed a 40,000 euros fine and its fans have been banned from the team’s next away match, by the European football union, Nyon-based Uefa, Thursday 28 April. The Uefa decision noted that the fine and sanctions come “as a result of the discriminatory behaviour of fans in a tie against PSV Eindhoven.”
The team expressed bitter disappointment at the decision, after putting forth the case that it has made clear it does not support and tries to weed out fans who sing “sectarian songs” at matches, such as the Glasgow anti-Catholic and anti-Irish version of “Billy Boy”. The club has argued that it is being singled out unfairly, since the practice of racist or otherwise discriminatory singing is widespread, but to little avail.
Martin Bain, chief executive, said in a statement, “To be clear, we condemn sectarianism and there is no doubt the mindless behaviour of an element of our support has exposed the Club to a very serious situation. The people who engage in this type of behaviour are damaging the Club they claim to support. It is abundantly clear from this decision that if there is any sectarian singing at future matches the suspended bans will take effect. Those fans who engage in such activity need to take that message on board.”
A second away-game ban was issued, but suspended, as was a home game fans ban with additional 40,000 euros fine, which now hang over the club.
Links to other sites: Guardian, The Scotsman, Sky Sports, Rangers site
Chelsea and Man United will face off during the UEFA quater-finals
Geneva and Nyon, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - The Friday morning Uefa draw for the Champions League quarter-finals will provide real tension for the 5-6 and 12-13 April matches. Chelsea and Manchester United face off, and as the Uefa report on the draw points out:
“Sir Alex Ferguson’s team denied Chelsea a first European Champion Clubs’ Cup in a dramatic penalty shoot-out in Moscow three years ago, and the London club will have a shot at revenge next month. While Chelsea are reigning English champions, United currently lead them by nine points in the Premier League and have history on their side in the competition having been crowned Europe’s finest three times.”
FC Internazionale Milano will meet FC Schalke 04. The two clubs last met in a major tournament in 1997.
Nine-time trophy winners Real Madrid CF is up against Tottenham Hotspur FC, so Madrid escapes playing Barcelona at this stage, but the Spanish teams could face each other in the semi-finals if FC Barcelona chases out FC Shakhtar Donetsk.
Quarter-final draw (5/6 and 12/13 April)
Real Madrid CF (ESP) v Tottenham Hotspur FC (ENG)
Chelsea FC (ENG) v Manchester United FC (ENG)
FC Barcelona (ESP) v FC Shakhtar Donetsk (UKR)
FC Internazionale Milano (ITA) v FC Schalke 04 (GER)
Semi-final draw (26/27 April and 3/4 May)
1: Inter/Schalke v Chelsea /Manchester United
2: Madrid/Tottenham v Barcelona/Shakhtar
Final (28 May, Wembley)
Winner semi-final 2 v Winner semi-final 1
Zurich, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – Ottmar Hitzfeld, German coach who took Switzerland’s football team to the World Cup in 2010, will stay on until the summer of 2014, the Swiss Football Federation announced Thursday 10 March. Hitzfeld is widely considered one of Germany’s most successful football coaches; he joined the Swiss team in 2008 for a contract until 2012.
He will now stay on long enough to see Switzerland into the next World Cup if the team qualifies.
