Bojan Dimic, who knows both countries perfectly, analyzes Switzerland-Serbia on Friday evening. Despite the draw, the assistant coach of Servette FC, a former LNB player, found the performance of Murat Yakin’s squad quite interesting.
Thomas Häberli’s assistant at the SFC had already dissected the first leg for RTS sport in October. Who else than him could better gauge the evolution (or not) of the two teams, after the 1-1 draw for Murat Yakin’s squad on Friday evening in Zurich…?
RTSsport.ch: Bojan Dimic, no victory for Switzerland, despite good sequences in the 2nd half… What did you overall think of the 90 minutes they played?
BOJAN DIMIC: I found the first period quite soporific, with two teams who really didn’t want to lose. Then the meeting fortunately got heated after the break. There was enthusiasm, desire, and we saw things that frankly weren’t too bad, if not quite interesting.
RTSsport.ch: The entries of Dereck Kutesa, Joël Monteiro and Andi Zeqiri in the 65th minute did some good…
BOJAN DIMIC: Clearly! They were the triggers for a real improvement in the Swiss game. Murat Yakin’s idea of associating them with Zeki Amdouni was excellent, even if I found Noah Okafor not bad too before his release. Kutesa immediately brought something. On his first balls, he went to hit, he put a little life and the goal came from his side, since he was fighting for Ricardo Rodriguez. Zeqiri went to take the depth, stretch and weigh on the Serbian centrals. It was good.
Kutesa, Monteiro and Zeqiri were the triggers for a real improvement in the Swiss game…
RTSsport.ch: Amdouni went for his goal, he was very restless in the 2nd half…
BOJAN DIMIC: Yes, he certainly missed a big opportunity, but he was the most dangerous of all the Swiss. He fought hard and delivered an excellent 2nd period. Zeki is really a very interesting player, who moves, who offers himself, who shoots, tries and tries again.
RTSsport.ch: Fabian Rieder, for his part, disappointed…
BOJAN DIMIC: Breel Embolo too…! But coming back to Rieder, yes I must say that when he was taken out by Yakin, I realized that I had forgotten that he was on the field! However, basically, I thought that his left foot could do good, that he would be able to do something. But the reality is that, in my opinion, Rieder is not a 10. More of a sort of “6 and a half” who can defend and sometimes be the first launching pad, but at 10 it goes way too fast for him.
A new cycle will arrive and whether Switzerland is in Group A or B of the League of Nations does not matter. The most important thing is to build for the World Cup and the Euro.
RTSsport.ch: Defense was the big question mark for the Swiss side. What did you think of the performances of Aurèle Amenda and Eray Cömert?
BOJAN DIMIC: The two found themselves facing two really mischievous guys (Editor’s note: Aleksandar Mitrovic and Dusan Vlahovic). Special mention to Amenda who, in my opinion, came out with more than average, despite losing the ball in the first half. He fought well, was solid in the duels. I believe that despite his young age, he showed Yakin that he can be trusted for the future. Cömert is another subject, because it sorely lacks liveliness. To be outpaced by Mitrovic, who is anything but a sprinter, on the action which leads to the penalty says a lot…
RTSsport.ch: At the RTS microphone during the match, Léonard Thurre said he was less worried about the future of Switzerland than a month ago. Is this also your case?
BOJAN DIMIC: I completely agree with him. Even if they conceded this goal at the end of the match and even if they were relegated, Switzerland did not disappoint me. So yes, the start of the meeting was messy, but after 90 minutes, you tell yourself that the whole thing wasn’t so bad, in any case better than during his last outings. Because we have to remember all the absences, the worries from just a week ago… Personally, I saw young people showing up, pushing the hierarchy a little. In fact, some of those absent last night may have to move a little more to keep and/or find their places. A new cycle will arrive and, whether Switzerland is in group A or B of the League of Nations, ultimately matters little. We don’t care, concretely. The most important thing is to build for the World Cup and the Euro. You just have to find the right system with the right profiles. But I have the impression that Yakin has broadened his contingent, his possibility of choice. The players he called showed something. He prepared more for the future than the Serbs. So yes, despite the accounting reality, it is reassuring.
Arnaud Cerutti
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