More than two years have passed. The player gave way to the sports director of Servette Chênois and the co-commentator of the Swiss team on RTS. But the memories of a final appearance on this same pitch at Bramall Lane in Sheffield have not faded for the former number 8 of the national team, Sandy Maendly.
On July 17, 2022, Switzerland challenged the Netherlands in the superb Bramall Lane arena for their third match of Euro 2022, after conceding a draw against Portugal and a defeat against Sweden. Double or nothing. In the 13th minute, while the score was still frozen at 0-0, Maendly fired a sumptuous shot narrowly diverted for a corner by Daphne van Domselaar. Some forty-five minutes later, the former Servette player gave way to Svenja Fölmli. End flap.
“My shot? Yes, I think about it often“, admits the 36-year-old from Geneva in the press room at the Sheffield United stadium. “It was perhaps still a little early in the match to know if a goal could have been decisive. But it would of course have made me happy to be able to score during a Euro. The Dutch goalkeeper unfortunately decided otherwise.“
Time passed and regrets gave way to much sweeter feelings. “There is nostalgia, emotion. These are just good memories. Coming back here, especially for a match against England, is a real pleasure. Just after seeing the field again, I felt a little heartbroken. It is a beautiful enclosure with a wonderful lawn. When you’re a player, it’s these matches, in such a setting, that you love to play. It’s gripping.“
On July 17, 2022, Switzerland left the Euro after a great battle against the reigning European champions Dutch and Maendly bid farewell to the competition. On December 3, 2024, a new beautiful memory will perhaps be written for the former No. 8 in the venerable enclosure of Bramall Lane.
Sheffield, Ludovic Perruchoud
Swiss
