«Long live the half-forwards! shock striker? penalty area lunger? A dying species. This trend can be seen not only in Switzerland, but worldwide. Let’s take the Champions League final. Karim Benzema is probably stronger than ever. But at the same time less strikers than ever! Just look at his body compared to ten years ago. The Frenchman has become much more delicate. From sprinter to 10,000 meter runner. Or Liverpool: Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mané, Luis Diaz. So the Reds stormed. With three men. But a real striker? Not there!
Kubi would also have become a 10,000 meter runner
If Stéphane Chapuisat, Marco Grassi, Christophe Bonvin or I were playing today – we would all be half forwards with the bodies of 10,000 meter runners. Only Adrian Knup and Nestor Subiat would be the ones lurking in the middle.
I do not condemn or regret this development in any way. It’s just the way things are going that today the athlete comes first and only then the type, for example the striker. And that’s not a bit different in the Swiss national team.
Embolo the undisputed number one
Take Breel Embolo, the clear number one up front. The Basler is such a Benzema type. Actually also a crusher, but it works a lot. Have to work. Sometimes I think: It’s almost too much. He might be a bit more explosive if he had to run a little less.
For me, Salzburg’s Noah Okafor is the clear number two in this position behind the man from Gladbach. Then Mario Gavranovic from Kayserispor.
Seferovic only there thanks to four games
And Haris Seferovic, the returnee who was there for the last time in September 2021? He played so little at the club that I’m sure: If there weren’t four games to play – which, by the way, I think is terrible nonsense at the end of the season – the mercenary would not have been called up by Benfica Lisbon. He played two games from the start at his club in January. After that he was injured and later a supernumerary. It wasn’t until April and May that he was allowed to play once more briefly three times. He last scored in 2021 … These are not the numbers that usually legitimize being a national striker.
Bottani als Shaq-Back
The other offensive players in the squad are those who primarily operate on the wings, i.e. Mattia Bottani, Ruben Vargas, Steven Zuber and Renato Steffen. When something is really at stake, it’s crystal clear to me who should play. Embolo at the front. Behind Okafor, Shaq and Vargas.
What makes the constellation interesting: I think Bottani is Shaqiri’s most interesting backup as a man behind Embolo. Let’s see if Murat Yakin asked the Luganesi to try it that way.”
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