Henchoz the loser as Swiss divide affects team selection

THE tension within the Swiss camp between the German and French elements is expected to be reflected in their team selection against Ireland with Liverpool's centre-back Stephane Henchoz as the main victim.

Henchoz, who played for Switzerland when they were beaten 4-1 by Russia in Moscow last month, is expected to lose out to Patrick Muller of Olympique Lyonnais because of a perceived inability to form a good partnership with Murat Yakin of FC Basel.

Yakin, elder brother of Switzerland's star player, Hakan Yakin, is regarded as the strong man of the Swiss defence and proved as much at Lansdowne Road twelve months ago when he was outstanding at the heart of a tough and rugged defence.

Significantly he was partnered on that occasion by Mueller and their success against Damien Duff and Robbie Keane must be a consideration when manager Kobi Kuhn finalises his team.

All three centre-backs are well experienced Henchoz has 60 international appearances, Murat Yakin and Muller have 40 each. But Swiss observers here suggested that the failure of Henchoz and Yakin to exchange even one pass in the course of the match in Moscow testified to an antipathy between the pair.

"There is nothing wrong between me and Stephane Henchoz or Jorg Stiel. Ask them, they'll tell you the same thing," Yakin said yesterday.

"I have slept well all the time, and it is not me who provoked the whole argument. I am not the flower in the grass, I am like the others. Everything is forgotten."

We shall wait to see whether this proves accurate. But talks of a German/French strain have not been exaggerated and its existence has been widely discussed here by the Swiss press.

They point to the existence of only three players of French persuasion in the expected Swiss line-up Stephane Chapuisat, Patrick Mueller and midfielder Johann Vogel (Eindhoven).

Chapuisat, with 95 caps the most experienced of the Swiss, is an acknowledged first-choice striker, Mueller is said to be more popular than Henchoz and Vogel is described as a 'competitor'.

Chapuisat, incidentally, intends to retire from international football after this championship. It is certain that he will bring his total of international caps to more than 100 if they reach the finals in Portugal, but he will depart short of that figure if they are eliminated.

The conventional wisdom is that the Swiss team to play Ireland will be very close to that which won in Dublin.

Switzerland will be without suspended Guingamp midfielder Ricardo Cabanas, and he will be replaced by the relatively inexperienced Benjamin Huggel who has played just two internationals. Injured Werder Bremen defender Ludovic Magnin is another absentee.

Huggel plays with the local team, Basel, who are running away with the Swiss league and the club is so strongly represented in the team selection that the fans will be in high glee for a game that looks very intriguing.

Switzerland (probable): (4-3-1-2): Stiel; Haas, Murat Yakin, Mueller, Berner; Huggel, Vogel, Wicky; Hakan Yakin; Chapuisat, Frej.