Vladimir Petkovic is alone in the training zone

Vladimir Petkovic races up and down during the match against Sweden in the practice area. (Image: Jason Cairnduff / Reuters)

For a while, Vladimir Petkovic was standing in front of Plasticwall, where the first interviews of the players were to take place. Some photographers were squatting in front of him, but they had not Petkovic in front of the goal, but enthusiastic Swedes on the spot. It seemed that the Swiss coach hesitated a few seconds to ask himself if he should go on the pitch to comfort his players. But the coach has disappeared into the player's tunnel. He probably needed a brief break to reflect on what would follow: mandatory dates, interviews, attempts to explain, disappointment.

It was much more than hope that the Swiss Sweden wins and reaches the quarter-finals. It was also more than confidence, it was almost a certainty that Petkovic had aired before the game – the certainty that the Swiss would make the jump to the quarterfinals of the World Cup. And now that – a team that remained well below their capabilities in the crucial ninety minutes or well below what Petkovic and his players had proclaimed as their own. Petkovic's void was to be bottomless in those seconds when he was seeking protection after the referee whistled.

No Flow, No Emotions

When Petkovic took an hour later, he was sitting on the podium in the big press conference room. he seemed composed. "The disappointment is great," he said. "We wanted to do more – the Swedes did what they usually do – it was good enough against us – we could have done more, but it was not enough for us." [19659007] Petkovic was a little surprised with his range. No Haris Seferovic, but Josip Drmic that he had designated as attacker. And instead of Breel Embolo, he trusted Steven Zuber from the start. On the other hand, he had not decided to let Xherdan Shaqiri play on the side instead of being in a short final stage before in the center.

Already at the beginning of Petkovic felt that his team needed support. He was at the front of the practice area, moving from the left edge to the right, trying to put the game in order. He made signs of the hand, his players had to getting closer, his face remained tense, he saw that the Swiss did not face the limited but dedicated Swedes.

They did what they always do. That they attacked the Swiss early and aggressively attacked the ball into the penalty box was not surprising. It was surprising that Petkovic did not develop a recipe to adapt to it. "We did not put a river into play," said Petkovic, "we were a bit stuck." He had tried in vain to solve this "collage". And he remained standing in front of the training area.

Suspended Stephan Lichtsteiner was lacking because of his mentality, his ability to bring emotions into play and his desire to win the kind of fire the Swiss lacked. "We could not develop the playful emotions," said Petkovic, "we were sadly missing today."

No lightness, no prescription

Maybe the Swiss had entered the game with a certain confidence in them. The low granite Xhaka, for example, had declared on the eve of the match that he had "other goals than the match against Sweden", and the coach had repeatedly stated that he was not satisfied with the round of 16. As always, he did not want to talk about the opponent. Maybe he was not thinking too much about the opponent. Then he would have prevented, for example, that the Swiss always look for luck with high balls.

This was the game that could take this Swiss generation to a higher level. Has he and his players found the burden of making the story unique is too heavy? Petkovic said: "We did not get into the game with ease, we were the favorites, we could not cope with that role, we did not solve the problem."

Petkovic n & # 39; He did not progress with his team, he was not ready at the crucial moment to cope with the task he had set himself. he saw a "good development." The question of how to deal with this defeat, comes again and again, they had already been in 2016 in the Euro after the penalty against Poland or 2014 at the World Cup in Brazil after the 0: 1 against Argentina.And now, after the 0: 1 without bloodshed against Sweden in St. Petersburg? "The team is on the right track, said L & rsquo; Coach, there was no sign of this disappointing afternoon, Petkovic will have to think about the future of this path, there were no signs in the p Then Petkovic rose and left. He went like a loser.