Memorable duels between Switzerland and Germany in team sports

Nothing is better than a win against Germany. This could be the credo of the Swiss national handball team when they play the opening match of the European Championship in front of 53,000 fans on Wednesday evening in the Merkur Spiel-Arena in Düsseldorf. A victory would not be a sensation, but at least a surprise.

There have been many hot and memorable duels in team sports between the two countries, such as the one during the 1982 World Handball Championship, when Peter Jehle became a ‘ghost’. Time to pick out some other games and revisit them.

Switzerland’s third international match was Germany’s first. The match took place at the Basel Landhof in front of 500 fans. Most German players only met by chance during the self-paid train journey to Basel. Switzerland took advantage of this and won.

It was a sensation. At the third World Cup ever, Switzerland won 4-2 in the replay after a 1-1 draw against Grossdeutschland, the union of Germany and Austria. And that after being 0-2 behind.

Switzerland has a great chance of finally reaching another World Cup semi-final. And what do the hockey players do? Against host country Germany, they hit the post a total of four times. The 60 minutes are just over when everything goes out of hand. Massive brawl, 121 penalty minutes and long faces for the Swiss.

Some people might have thought it was just for milking mice. In the tough Olympic tournament, Switzerland meets Germany in the preliminary quarter-finals and plays poorly. After 60 minutes the score is 1-1, Yannic Seidenberg shoots the Germans further in extra time. Switzerland is crying, the Germans will soon win silver.

Switzerland plays abroad against Germany for 7th place. The match is special because Swiss coach Armin Emrich was previously with the Germans. And on the other side was Arno Ehret, the man who looked after the Swiss national team until 1994. Switzerland lost 16:23, but received a diploma. Captain Stefan Schärer also carried the Swiss flag during the opening ceremony.

Zurich’s Hallenstadion is completely sold out, with more than 10,000 fans cheering on new coach Michael Suter’s team. Andy Schmid leads the way and scores five goals. The lead changes again and again, eventually Luka Maros takes the throw that could have led to the equalizer. He whizzes just past the box.