Int. friendly
Video: Full game
Wed. 21 June 1989
Kick-off:
St. Jakob-Stadion, Basel
Att.: 13,000
Ref.: Mr John Blankenstein (HOL)
Preview
Brazil boss Sebastião Lazaroni had brought a squad over to Europe to decide which players would complete his Copa América squad. They would kick off the continental tournament on home soil in Salvador on the first day of July, and this would preceed the World Cup qualification, which would commence on July 30, also at home to the lowly Venezuelans. Having lost by the margin of 2-1 to Sweden in Copenhagen, Denmark, in the Danish FA’s centenary tournament on June 16, the Brazil select went on to be thrashed by the hosts two days later: 4-0 was an abysmal result from their point of view. Compared to the side that had been beaten twice in Scandinavia, Lazaroni would have available to him a stronger squad for the fixture in Basel. In particular their midfield looked impressive with Alemão of Napoli and Dunga of Fiorentina being added to the squad. Around them would be both players from the domestic league and from European clubs: In the latter category belonged players who were with clubs in Italy and Portugal.
Switzerland had two weeks earlier been beaten 1-0 at home by Czechoslovakia, a third successive qualifying defeat for them, and it had also all but ended their quest for Italy ’90 participation. Having sacked manager Daniel Jeandupeux who had been in charge of their opening three qualifiers, the Swiss FA had found his successor in former West German international Uli Stielike, famous for having missed a penalty during the 1982 World Cup semi-final shoot-out between his country and France (though West Germany would still progress to the final, where they eventually were beaten 3-1 by Italy). Stielike had an accomplice in former Swiss international Paul Wolfisberg alongside him on the touchline for the 1-0 defeat against Czechoslovakia, but would take sole charge for the first time with the visit of Brazil.
Martin Brunner had by now seemed to firmly establish himself as the country’s top goalkeeper, and he was one of eight starters from the defeat against Czechoslovakia who would also take to the field for kick-off against Brazil. The three changes that Stielike had made were Türkyılmaz back in the starting line-up at the expense of René Halter, debutant Herbert Baumann in as a left-sided defender for René Sutter, whilst a second debutant in wide man Stéphane Chapuisat had replaced captain and Swiss playing legend Heinz Hermann, who was rested. It is well worth noting that this was Switzerland’s first international in almost ten years without their long-haired talisman. Not since a 2-0 home defeat by Poland in a qualifying match for the 1980 European Championships in Italy, played in September ’79, had he missed out.
The full-back positions had seemed to cause Swiss managers a lot of selection headache so far in their qualification campaign, with players such as Marco Schällibaum, Patrice Mottiez, Urs Birrer and Claude Ryf also playing some part. Stielike was happy to reward left-sided attacking defender Baumann with his debut in national team colours. At the heart of defence he would have stalwart Martin Weber alongside Peter Schepull, with Marcel Koller as libero, whereas their usual libero Alain Geiger, possibly their best player now by the summer of ’89, would operate in midfield alongside Alain Sutter, and with freshman Stéphane Chapuisat out on the left wing. Beat Sutter, a mainstay in the team, would again take to the pitch in his right-sided attacking role in what was more or less an interesting 3-4-3 from Stielike.
This was the sixth ever meeting between the two countries. Brazil had won two, whilst the Swiss had managed three draws, most notably in Brazil’s preparation for the 1982 World Cup in Spain, when a May friendly in Recife had ended 1-1. Brazil had played their legendary team with Sócrates, Zico, Falcão, Júnior and Éder to name the biggest players. A first half equalizer from Grasshoppers striker Claudio Sulser had done the trick for the visitors after Zico had put Brazil ahead. Their last meeting had come almost to the day six years earlier, when Brazil had won 2-1 at this same pitch in Basel.
Referee was 40 year old Dutchman John Blankenstein, who was in charge of his third international after making his debut 14 months earlier, also with Switzerland involved: West Germany had won 1-0 in a Kaiserslautern friendly just over a month before the 1988 European Championships on West German soil. Blankenstein had also been in charge of Albania v England in the ’90 qualification.
Tactical line-ups
Stielike had set his team up in a 3-4-3. Admittedly, the formation was not as straight forward as that, but a 3-4-3 it was nevertheless. Koller was tasked with the libero role, and his interpretation was clearly an adventurous one. He would often, surprisingly often, be seen ahead of rather than behind the two central defenders, of which Schepull was to the left, Weber to the right. It could also be said that Marini, originally placed on the right hand side of midfield, was of a clearly more defensive nature than Baumann on the opposite flank. Marini almost operated as a right-back, while Baumann enjoyed an attacking left-sided role and combined well with the more advanced Chapuisat on several occasions. Geiger, usually the libero, had been given captain’s responsibilities in the rare absence of Hermann, and he had been moved into the centre of midfield, where he had A Sutter to his right and slightly more advanced. B Sutter kept the Swiss right hand flank, and Türkyılmaz had the central striker’s role.
The visitors could be said to line up in something resembling a 4-3-3. The back four was quite simple to work out, with André Cruz as the right-sided centre half, captain for the afternoon Ricardo Gomes to his left and in a slightly deeper role. Paulo Roberto and Mazinho were full-backs, and the former seemed to enjoy a bit more attacking freedom than the latter, though this was probably just as much down to the nature of the respective players rather than tactical decisions from the manager. Dunga sat in the deep central midfield role, and had Alemão to his right, and with Valdo in almost a left-sided role. However, Valdo would abandon the left hand territory and contribute from more central locations as the match progressed. Tita’s role appeared to be as an “inside left half” just behind centre forward Gérson, whilst Renato Gaúcho was orientated towards the right, though more advanced than Tita, and often exploiting the space behind Baumann.
There was a host of Swiss substitutions from half time and onwards: five to be precise. Let’s guide you through them:
Substitute goalkeeper Lehmann was brought on to replace Brunner at half time, in order to give him some match time at international level in what was the Sion goalie’s debut. A Sutter had to be replaced early in the second half as he was struggling with an ankle injury. He was replaced by his brother R Sutter, who slotted into Alain’s midfield position. However, R Sutter would soon take up the wide left position when Mr Stielike brought on Piffaretti for debutant Chapuisat next. This meant that the latest substitute went into the central right midfield position originally occupied by A Sutter, then by R Sutter. The fourth substitution saw Türkyılmaz come off after a knock in a collision with André Cruz, and he was replaced by centre forward Zuffi. The final Swiss substitution saw their fourth debut of the afternoon when midfielder Burri replaced B Sutter, pushing Piffaretti out into the wide right role, and with Burri coming into Piffaretti’s role, thus seeing the fourth player of the afternoon in the inside right midfield position.
Brazil boss Lazaroni made two substitutions during the second half, both coming on in 74 minutes: right-back Paulo Roberto was replaced by left-back Branco, prompting original left-back Mazinho to take over at the opposite flank. Midfielder Geovani was the other substitute, with striker Gérson coming off. This brought about a few changes, with Tita going into the striker’s role, Valdo from a central left position into a more wide left role, and with Geovani into Valdo’s previous midfield slot. Towards the end of the match, Alemão, who by his standards had had a very quiet match, came higher up in the pitch to lend Renato Gaúcho support along the right hand side.
Match Report
First half:
The home side were buoyant in West Germany legend Uli Stielike’s first match in charge. However, it will have been a disappointment that they were unable to attract more than a paltry 13 000 to the stadium in Basle. Perhaps a lot of people had decided to stay at home as Heinz Hermann was not in the squad? For the first time since the late 70s, the five straight times ‘Player of the Year’ star from Neuchâtel Xamax was not in the Swiss starting line-up. And with Lucien Favre also absent, Mr Stielike had to rebrand his midfield. He elected to promote the excellent libero Alain Geiger from defence into central midfield, pairing him with Alain Sutter, an undoubted talent whose international career so far had perhaps not gathered expected pace. In giving the fair headed playmaker the opportunity to play in a more central role than what his predecessor had done, Mr Stielike was surely hoping to see A Sutter involved more. The formation was also different to what the Swiss had been about under Mr Jeandupeux, and there were two players winning their first ever caps from kick-off: Herbert Baumann and Stéphane Chapuisat, both appearing down the left hand side. Beat Sutter, no relation to Alain, was in a right-sided forward role. Libero was Marcel Koller, a national team stalwart and a jack of many trades. As centre halfs, Stielike had picked Peter Schepull and the trusted Martin Weber.
Brazil had just come from two defeats in Scandinavia, and were not particularly keen to extend this losing run. They had strengthened the squad since the defeats against Sweden and Denmark by bringing in midfielders Dunga and Alemão, so their starting line-up had a relatively decent look to it, even if it was obvious that some of these players would not feature had this been a match of greater importance. At centre half, manager Sebastião Lazaroni had chosen two left-footed players, possibly giving their defence less stability. It was André Cruz, the least experienced of the two, who had to take the right-sided role, with Ricardo Gomes to his left. The latter was captain, just like he had been in both matches on Nordic terrain. In what resembled a somewhat lopsided 4-3-3, with Tita often drifting inside from his original left-sided position, Dunga was sitting in front of his defence, with Alemão and Valdo operating to his right and left respectively. Renato Gaúcho was another newcomer to the squad since the matches up north, and he slotted in as the right-sided attacker.
Brazil were clearly looking to exploit the Swiss left hand side, which was in total disarray early on. Baumann was playing wide left of midfield, and time and again let the opponents in behind him, as he exposed huge areas for Brazil to take advantage of. This meant that Schepull would often have to cover for him defensively, but it was obvious that Schepull could not do work meant for two, so Brazil had a feast until Switzerland realized they had to adjust their left hand side. In fact, the first opportunity for the visitors came as early as 26 seconds in, when Gérson had got in behind Baumann and tried to aim for Tita in the centre. Luckily for the home side, Weber is there to get a foot on Gérson’s ball in and stop it from reaching the visitors’ number 10. Tita would’ve been odds-on to score.
They are direct in the early exchanges, are Brazil. With only three and a half minutes on the clock, right back Paulo Sergio knocks it long in behind the Swiss defence, and with Renato Gaúcho storming through onside, it is goalkeeper Brunner who has to come out from his goal and act as sweeper. He manages to head the ball away for a throw-in to avert the danger. However, it is not only the left hand side of defence which appears to be Switzerland’s worry: For whatever reason Koller is playing in a very advanced libero role, meaning he is often in front of rather than behind the central defenders, almost as a defensive midfielder. This leaves Marini dropping off quite a lot, and though he is a designated right-sided midfielder in Stielike’s 3-4-3, he is acting more or less as an out and out full-back. The home side could have done with a lot more practise for their new formation, which seems to bemuse each and every one of their players. But then again this is a friendly, and so they’re expected to try out new tactics and formations. Anyway, at this point in the qualification, they’re realizing that they will be also-rans and little else, so they could possibly even be using the rest of their qualifiers to rehearse for the next major event.
Inside the opening 14 minutes, there’s a staggering eleven Brazilian attempts along the right hand side. Some of them are called offside, but it shows just how much of a problem the left hand side was to the Swiss early on. To be operating with two players who were both making their international debuts sure did make them struggle. Gérson has the best opportunity when he flicks a Renato Gaúcho cross from the right (of course) wide of Brunner’s upright. However, it might just have come off Weber, who did a strong job in putting a challenge in. Had they been efficient early on, the visitors could have been out of sight by half time. As it were, the Swiss grew gradually into the game and even created some openings for themselves. If Baumann was part of a dysfunctional defensive left hand side, he was also an attribute when coming forward, even if he was playing second fiddle to the lively Chapuisat, who gave Paulo Roberto some trouble. The best opportunity falls to Türkyılmaz after ten minutes: His burst of pace takes him past André Cruz and into the area, but his angle for a shot is not the best, and Taffarel can get a strong hand to the ball and divert it out for a corner. Then there’s a long range shot from A Sutter easily gathered by the ‘keeper.
Some of the visitors’ players do not seem fully motivated, and it can be questioned whether the presence of Alemão is actually beneficial to Brazil when his motivation is scarce. He does not stamp any authority on the match whatsoever. Dunga is also not throwing himself about in challenges like he would have done if this were a World Cup match, and then there’s Tita, who also does not look too keen. Despite carrying a few passengers, it is Brazil who are on top and dominating the hosts, but they are not distinct enough in the final third of the pitch, and although they do get into a couple of decent positions through Renato Gaúcho other than Gérson’s flicked effort, there could not be too many arguments against a 0-0 half-time scoreline. Mr Stielike did manage to adjust his left hand side, with Brazil less prone to attack along their right hand side as the half progressed. Despite his wastefulness in front of goal, Roma forward Renato Gaúcho was probably Brazil’s most lively player during the opening 45. Weber gave another fine account of himself at the heart of the home side’s defence.
Second half:
Türkyılmaz and B Sutter set the second half rolling. The home side have made a change during the break, replacing goalkeeper Brunner with debutant Lehmann. This had probably been agreed beforehand. Brunner did seem to have made the goalkeeper’s jersey his own after seeing off competition from Joël Corminbœuf. To give 25 year old Lehmann some playing time ahead of the remaining qualifiers was a good decision. Brunner’s strengths were known anyway.
A Sutter had done well in his central midfield position during the first half. He is assured on the ball, and is able to take a man on and drive forward with the ball at his feet. This gives Switzerland another dimension in central midfield, as neither Hermann nor Favre longer had too much pace about their play; the Swiss midfield had sometimes been static. And with Geiger in the slightly deeper role, there appeared to be a better dynamic about them. However, they were up against an opponent which also had a lot of players who were strong on the ball, but Brazil only sparingly used pace as a weapon, and in midfield the Swiss were able to follow both Dunga and Alemão around, as neither played to the full of their capacity. Valdo was the better of the visitors’ central midfielders, but Brazil favoured to attack down the right through Paulo Roberto and Renato Gaúcho, and so his energy was sometimes wasted.
Less than four minutes into the second half, the referee decides to award one of the softest penalties you’ll ever see: Chapuisat plays a ball up along the left hand side which is flicked on by Schepull, and with Paulo Roberto out of position, Türkyılmaz can sprint towards Taffarel. The visiting ‘keeper comes out to face the Swiss forward, and he dives down at his feet and grabs hold of the ball; it is an excellent intervention. However, the Dutch referee is of the opinion that Taffarel has brought Türkyılmaz down, as the striker had taken a tumble to the ground when the goalkeeper picked the ball from his feet. Even Türkyılmaz must struggle to understand how he can have won a spot kick. To their credit, the Brazilians remained calm. The Bellinzona striker tucked away the penalty low to the right of Taffarel, who had dived the right way but been unable to get a hand to the ball. It was the striker of Turkish heritage’ third goal in what was his twelwth appearance in the national team jersey.
Those who think that Brazil will step up a gear after the goal will be disappointed. They continue their laboured approach, and they do not work Lehmann an awful lot. Just five minutes after the goal, the home side make their second substitution when an ankle injury forces Alain Sutter off. He is replaced by his two year older brother René, who had only made his international debut in their previous outing, the 1-0 defeat to Czechoslovakia in Bern two weeks earlier. R Sutter takes over his brother’s role to the right of Geiger in the Swiss midfield.
One gets frustrated on behalf of the visitors. And perhaps of some of the ‘neutrals’ inside the ground who have come because of Brazil’s fearsome reputation. However, this could be a third successive summer defeat if they don’t get their act together. Sure, they have had opportunities to bury a ball or two, but their general play had declined after their energetic opening burst, and the Swiss were finding them easier to handle when Brazil did not go direct. As Valdo had seemed inspired earlier, why not try to get him more often on the ball? And as long as Alemão continues to look the opposite, then why not bring someone else on who is more than willing to make an effort? Apart from the two players who will later be brought on, it is unclear who is present on the Brazilian bench. But there is a good chance that no matter who it was, they would have made a greater impression than Alemão. When the Napoli midfielder is at the top of his game, he’s a world class player. Playing like this, he would struggle to get into any Swiss top flight side.
All of a sudden the visitors come to life: Dunga sidesteps Geiger in an advanced midfield position and finds Renato Gaúcho, who has drifted inside. As he comes forward, he proceeds to play a clever ball between Weber and Koller, and Gérson is clean through. The Brazilian striker nets the equalizer with a deft finish, but the linesman on the near side has raised his flag: offside. He would have been, had it not been for the minor fact that he was half a yard onside as Renato’s pass came. Yet again a vital decision has gone against the visitors, who again, and almost unbelievably, to their credit remain fairly calm. There’s a couple of players venting their frustration at the lino, but other than that there’s not a lot of protesting. Maybe they don’t care? Oh yes, they do. No team likes losing football matches. And some of the first half tackles, especially from the hosts, had shown that this was not your typical ‘friendly’, even if a result was probably of greater importance to Switzerland than it was to the visitors. And when had Brazil last suffered three successive defeats?
Stielike will have seen some danger signs in having R Sutter in a central midfield position. He is hardly of a physical nature, even if he does make a couple of fine interceptions and tries his best to contribute defensively. Immediately after the disallowed equalizer, Stielike withdraws debutant Chapuisat and brings on Piffaretti. This rotates R Sutter into Chapuisat’s role, a role which his younger brother Alain had also held a good few times in national team colours, whilst the strong running Piffaretti is on in R Sutter’s central right midfield position. Where was the 23 year old Sion man, though, when Valdo came to the byline and crossed for Tita in front of goal three minutes later? Piffaretti will have held Marini responsible for dealing with Valdo, but the Swiss number 2 let the tricky Benfica player past him so he could get his cross in. Luckily for the hosts, Baumann got close enough to Tita to disturb him and see the Pescara man flick his header harmlessly wide rather than bury it past Lehmann for 1-1.
The home side are content with sitting back and soaking up whatever it is Brazil have to offer. Which, as you will have understood by now, is not a lot. They try to make use of counter-attacking tactics, do Switzerland, and on one occasion Baumann had received the ball from Geiger and ran towards the byline in what was at this point a rare foray from him. Brazil captain Ricardo Gomes got across in time to deflect the ball out for a left wing corner, and from the flag kick, B Sutter gets up to direct a header towards goal, though it lacks both power and precision, and drifts harmlessly over Taffarel’s crossbar. A couple of minutes onwards, there’s three changes in quick succession, and the visitors are behind two of them when they replace right-back Paulo Sergio with left-sided defender Branco, as well as bring midfielder Geovani into the fray for striker Gérson. This sees Mazinho switch from left-back to right-back, with Branco taking up his natural role to the left, and Geovani goes into a central midfield position, just to the left of the deeper-lying Dunga, pushing Valdo into a wide left role, and with Tita replacing Gérson up top. For the home side, Türkyılmaz comes off after taking a knock in a challenge with the beefy André Cruz on the halfway line a few minutes earlier. Zuffi is the player replacing him.
All these changes have also contributed to making the game a rather slow affair, even if the favourites have only made two on their part so far. With Zuffi on for the more mobile Türkyılmaz, it is hardly a substitution promoting a more adventurous Swiss approach. With 15 minutes remaining, though, Stielike is more than content: A win against Brazil in his debut match as the national team manager will be a scalp almost beyond his imagination. Especially with a couple of important players missing. After adjusting his left hand side, where in particular Chapuisat had been taking a lot of defensive responsibility until he had been taken off, they had almost nullified the Brazilian goal threat, and after Tita’s missed far post header 20 minutes into the second half, there will only be Geovani’s effort from distance ten minutes later that creates a heart-stopping moment for those in favour of the hosts; it had just whistled past the right hand post with Lehmann stranded. Tita made a half-hearted attempt to win a penalty off Koller just over a minute from time, and then in injury time it is André Cruz who will get an opportunity to bring about a late, late equalizer as he gets to strike a free-kick from just outside the 18 yard box. It was Geiger, who had a fine game in midfield, but who had been called back into defence for the last few minutes of the match, who had brought Renato Gaúcho down more than a minute into time added on. The central defender’s effort, however, goes straight into the wall and can be cleared away for a corner from the impressive Weber. Brazil’s last chance had gone.
A word of mention also for the Swiss’ fourth debutant: Hanspeter Burri came on for B Sutter with seven minutes remaining, which saw Piffaretti come into Sutter’s right-sided role, and with Burri slotting into Piffaretti’s central midfield role, making him the fourth player to appear next to Geiger during the match.
Conclusion:
Switzerland gained a memorable win, but they did owe part of it to the Dutch referee who had awarded them as soft a penalty as you’ll ever see and then decided to wipe out Gérson’s equalizer for offside despite the striker being half a yard on. Other than that, new boss Stielike tried out a formation which did seem to bemuse a few of his players, even if they made progress during the game. Brazil took advantage of some almost comical defending from the hosts early on, where their left hand side of defence was left exposed time and again, but Switzerland eventually adjusted and coped with whatever the visitors threw at them. On background of opportunities created, Brazil should have won, but football is, fortunately, also about keeping your opponent out, and the Swiss could claim the bragging rights at the end.