How a star coach tries to ignite the fire in good-natured Switzerland

When Pia Sundhage was a guest at a football bar in Basel at the end of April, she was asked about her goal for the European Championship. She replied: "Survive." As is often the case with her appearances, the Swiss national coach's response drew laughs. Sundhage is refreshingly responsive to a world of platitudes, such as football. The 65-year-old is eloquent, carries herself with self-confidence, and embodies a winning mentality that has led her to major football titles: the Olympics, the World Cup, the European Championship, the Copa América, and the World Coach of the Year.

At the moment, however, the laughter is a bit stuck in your throat because Sundhage's answer, three days before the tournament, rings with a lot of truth. The national team's performances have been unsatisfactory in recent months. It can't be confidently claimed that the Swiss women will rise above themselves, buoyed by the joy of hosting the European Championships on home soil. But that's exactly what they need if they want to reach a European Championship quarterfinal for the first time – in a field in which only three of the sixteen teams are ranked below them in the world rankings.

The final friendly match on Thursday against the Czech Republic ended 4-1, a victory for self-confidence, especially because four different players scored. The Swiss had previously not won eight consecutive matches. In their six Nations League matches this year, they scored just four goals, three of them in a turbulent 3-3 draw with Iceland. To make matters worse, two of the team's pillars, Lia Wälti and Ramona Bachmann, were battling health issues: Bachmann spent time in a clinic with an anxiety disorder and tore her cruciate ligament, while Wälti has been in poor health since undergoing surgery.

When she signed in January 2024, Sundhage was looking forward to the journey with the rare goal of a home tournament because she had already experienced what such an event can trigger: At the 2013 European Championships, she was the national coach of her home country Sweden.

Switzerland was also optimistic. Who, if not a coach of their caliber, would be able to build a strong team in such a short time?

Sundhage took over the national team during a period of uncertainty, marked by a turbulent year under Inka Grings and the low point of a 7-1 defeat to Spain at the end of October 2023. The team is also undergoing a period of transition. Key players are 32 or older, while players of a new, promising generation, such as Sydney Schertenleib and Iman Beney, are only 18 years old.

Sundhage knew she faced a challenge. For the first time, she's coaching a team that she can't build from the world's best players, as she once did in the USA, Brazil, or Sweden. "I have to produce something that's different from anything I've done before," she said at the start. Individually, Switzerland has no chance against the competition. "But if we perform as a team, anything is possible."

For Sundhage, the team spirit was paramount, even at the top nations. In the USA, she managed to unite a partially divided team around stars like Hope Solo. She uses the metaphor of the two legs needed to move forward: one represents performance, the other the team's environment. Drawing on her past, she has high standards for performance: high intensity, physical strength, and a lot of running. She demands courageous players who dare to venture outside their comfort zone without fear of making mistakes.

"Football is a game! It should be fun, trigger emotions," she likes to shout. Her passion for the game shines through when she talks about her childhood, when playing football was still forbidden for girls, or when she talks about losing in football-mad Brazil.

The preparatory camp in the weeks leading up to the European Championship was physically demanding. Previous coaches have criticized Switzerland's athletic deficiencies compared to international standards, while Sundhage wanted fit players. Some found the training too tough, while others felt the high intensity had brought the team closer together. "I want the best team, not the best players," is one of her mantras.

Sundhage demands that the players accept, internalize, and fulfill the role she assigns them. "That will be the key to success," she emphasized at the roster announcement. To build unity, she likes to use unconventional methods. Classic team-building exercises aren't her thing. Instead, she often sings—always at the start of her term or during the game, sometimes to lighten the mood, sometimes with a message.

As coach of the Swedish women's team, she suddenly encouraged all the players during a casual warm-up lap to spread their arms and run around the field like airplanes. Lia Wälti, captain of the Swiss team, describes Sundhage's sometimes peculiar ideas this way: "She's a very special character, and I mean that in a good way. She definitely doesn't care what others think of her." Sundhage wants to draw the Swiss players out of their shell. She considers them too quiet, too well-behaved, too uncommunicative.

For Sundhage, it's important to ignite the fire. American player Abby Wambach once said, "I love Pia so much because she showed me what it means to love the game." Sometimes Sundhage deliberately provokes to elicit a reaction: Before the European Championships in Sweden, she told journalists that Sweden only had a chance of success if Lotta Schelin scored a lot of goals. This put the striker under considerable pressure – and it worked. Schelin became the tournament's top scorer.

Sundhage, however, doesn't seek closeness to the players. Years ago, she once said that she tried to be interested in their private lives, but that she simply couldn't. She relies on her staff to build a relationship with them. Does that work as well with the Swiss players as it does with star players? Or do they need a little more attention, especially when the team is going through a fragile phase like this spring?

Ahead of the European Championships at home, the big question remains how well Sundhage and her ideas have been received by the Swiss. Will they rise to the challenge, harness the energy they've unleashed – or will they appear unsettled? In recent weeks and months, there has been considerable skepticism about Sundhage's decisions. For example, there was the late announcement of the final European Championship squad, just nine days before the tournament. When most nations had long since announced their 23 names, Sundhage was still training with more than 30 players. No one should feel safe; each would have to fight for their place until the last training session.

After the decision, the mood in the team, which the players generally describe as positive, was noticeably more liberated, said defender Nadine Riesen. However, in the bubble of the final squad, there were only a few days to practice routines and automatisms – because the goalie question was also open until then.

Sundhage committed to Elvira Herzog as the new number one goalkeeper early, at the end of 2024, so the defense could coalesce into a stable, well-rehearsed structure. But then Herzog regularly showed signs of insecurity, while number two Livia Peng was voted the best Bundesliga goalkeeper of the season. Sundhage relied on Peng for the last two competitive matches before the European Championship, where she promptly made a gaffe against France, but otherwise performed well. Now Peng will also be in goal at the tournament.

The rest of the lineup was also a much-criticized, ongoing topic, and at times confusing: In her 3-5-2 system, which can be expanded to a 5-3-2, some players occupy positions that are unfamiliar to them. For example, Iman Beney, who played right forward for YB but right back in the national team. Sundhage is stubborn, she openly admits, and she wants to "get Beney going" in this position. The experimentation is partly due to necessity: Sundhage doesn't have a selection of 40 to 50 players as in previous engagements. Criticism doesn't faze the charismatic coach: She answers all questions with profound confidence and conviction, but always with a touch of humor.

Will the Swiss women be able to implement Sundhage's ideas well enough in time? Can they compete against teams that have made greater progress than them in recent years? And will Sundhage manage to make a team without world-class stature shine at the crucial moment? Will she be able to use her experience to make the right personnel decisions?

When Sundhage left the USA after numerous titles, several players said what they particularly appreciated about her. It was her unshakeable belief that you can still win in any situation. The composure and calm she exuded, even when everything was against the team. Those aren't the worst qualities for surviving the European Championships under the given circumstances.

An article from the « NZZ am Sonntag »