Olawale Ajimotokan
10 November 2009
Ijebu Ode — Though Switzerland is officially a French and German speaking country, the strong bond between the Swiss U-17 side and Nigerian fans has been partly narrowed down to the ability of the former to communicate in English, the official lingua franca of Nigeria. Aside the Golden Eaglets for obvious reason, Switzerland has been one of the few sides that have been able to attract local support on consistent basis at Nigeria 2009.
Coach Dany Ryser's side has ridden the crest wave on the strength of the support of Nigerian fans by reaching the semi final of the FIFA U-17 World Cup in only their first appearance in the tournament.
England based Switzerland keeper, Benjamin Siegrist, who stopped a dramatic penalty kick taken by Italy's Marco Fossati,
in the quarter final at Ijebu Ode on Sunday revealed that they have earned Nigerian public sentiment because most of the players could communicate in English.
"We are equally surprised as to why Nigerians adopted us as the alternate team. The love for us in Lagos, Abuja and Ijebu Ode is profound. We feel, they ( the Nigerians) bond with us because most of us could speak English which is the language understood by the local people. You have to be able to communicate with the fans. They also like to wave and smile at us whether we are at our hotel or having training sessions. Our open attitude to Nigerians is a trick that has paid off to our advantage", Siegrist, who plays for Aston Villa admitted.
Aside from that the young Swiss ability to play end to end positive football has not failed to catch the eye as they have succeeded in drawing the spectators to their side in the process.
Ryser's side is the only remaining side in the competition to have mustered a 100 per cent performance with victories over Mexico, Japan, Brazil, Germany and Italy.
"Nigerian fans have been our rock of support here. They are very warm to us both on and off the pitch. In Lagos, Abuja and Ijebu Ode, the booming drums and deafening chant of the vuvuzelas helped our cause. Of all the centres, I must admit our experience in Ijebu Ode was exceptional-- a very cool town with fans that have real love for football. The atmosphere against Italy is unbelievable", said Nassim Ben Khalifa whose parents hailed from Tunisia.
Despite the professed love for Nigeria, when Siegrist was asked if he would like a Switzerland versus Nigeria final on November 15, he diplomatically responded:" We have Colombia to think about first in our semi final in Lagos on Thursday".
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