Muller unaware of his reputation in Ireland

PATRICK Muller looks a little perplexed.

His displays in the heart of the Lyon defence, as they captured dramatically their first French league title last year, earned decent reviews in L’Equipe, but he never realised his steadily-rising profile had reached these shores.

Yet, here, Muller sits in the lobby of a Portmarnock hotel, amid several Irish journalists, giving a brief assessment of Damien Duff and Robbie Keane as he prepares to replace Stephane Henchoz at the heart of the Swiss defence.

His English is patchy, but he can string sentences together more fluently than a bevy of Ireland’s sporting hacks can muster in French.

Despite being the crown in the tight Olympique Lyonnais defence that snatched the French title from Lens on the last day of last season, Muller has spent most of his international career prowling the left wing. Given his pace and comfort on the ball, Muller is always an option as a left-sided attacker, it is where he started his professional career.

“With Lyon, I play in central defence and it is my favourite position. However, when Henchoz plays with the national team, he plays in defence with Murat Yakin, and I move to midfield. That is where I usually play for Switzerland, but it depends. I have played midfield before, so it doesn’t matter. But, I do prefer to be in defence,” he explains.

After starting as a left winger for his first club, Meyrin, a transfer to Servette saw an evolution to sweeper and a Swiss league title in a season when Muller was voted the best defender in Switzerland. His performances for Servette in Europe courted interest from Juventus, but he would move onto Grasshoppers before taking the short trip across the Swiss border to Lyon.

Muller won his 33rd cap in Saturday night’s draw with Albania, a result that has tempered public sentiment in the land-locked country, after an encouraging start against Georgia.

So, what were his and Swiss expectations heading into Group 10?

“It was a difficult group for us, but we never thought it was impossible for us to qualify. If we get a result tonight, it would help our cause. We expect to go to European Championships in Portugal. Why not? That is what we play for. If we don’t, we will watch it on TV, like we did the World Cup,” he laughs.

Muller is one of several Swiss players with Champions League experience, unlike Ireland, who have a solitary campaigner in the cream of European football, Shay Given (if John O’Shea does not start). He believes European experience with Lyon last season and this season has developed him as a player, as has the unexpected success of Basel.

“Yes, Basel’s success in the Champions League has been good, because Switzerland have a lot of Basel players. And the under-21s did very well in the European Championships. So, it is up to the national team to put up a good performance tonight. It might be decisive in helping Switzerland get the European Championships in 2008,” he says, a veiled reference to the fact we are battling Swiss not only on the pitch tonight, but in the UEFA boardroom this winter.

There are other similarities. Take Chapuisat, the marquee name and familiar face of the Swiss side. Last year, he wandered into international exile for his own reasons. Unlike our own exiled talisman, he is now firmly back in the fold. Muller believes his return may be a catalyst for the Swiss to qualify.

“Chapuisat is a very important player for our team. He has played for a long time in Germany, and he has won many things in his career. He can create the goals which could bring us to the European Championships and we need him in our team,” the 25-year-old explains.

While Irish fans know the talents of Chapuisat and Hakan Yakin, what Irish stars have left a mark on Muller’s mind?

“Robbie Keane is a good player, he had a good world cup, and so is Roy Keane, but he is not there anymore, is he?” Muller says, smiling at his faux pas.

“We don’t draw too much confidence from the fact that Roy Keane won’t be playing. But, every player here knows Roy Keane. He is one of best player for Manchester United. For us, it doesn’t matter too much that he is not playing. We have to look at the other players who are good for Ireland.”

So, does the stylish defender detailed to curb the influence of Duff and Keane this evening, alongside another stylish centre-half in Murat Yakin, think Switzerland can emerge victorious from Lansdowne? “Yes, why not?” he grins.