Cod Almighty | Article

by Martin Handsley

17 October 2002

Well, that was a turn up for the books wasn't it?

I'm not talking about the Mariners' win over Ipswich, a win that saw the Tractor Boys' manager George Burley sacked after losing to the "likes of Grimsby", but to Switzerland's 2-1 win over Ireland in Dublin.

I can't understand why Swiss football is always so underestimated (sometimes even by me!). The national team are doing well, FC Basel are doing well in the Champions League, and yet every team that comes up against a Swiss side is expected to win.

I predict that the Swiss are going to do pretty well in European and world football within the next five years, and in my opinion it's all down to how the game is being played over here at the base level.

I've written before about how the footballing facilites here in Switzerland are second to none, and that's for all levels of the game. I play in a seniors league that covers Basel canton, and I must say I have never seen facilities as good as this - available even to players of my meagre ability - anywhere else in the UK or Europe.

Unlike Sidney Park and 'the Ploggers', the amateur grounds in Switzerland have hot showers and changing rooms available and we don't have to go around clearing up the dog shit before playing. The playing surfaces are normally more like Blundell Park than any of the council-run grounds in Grimsby and Cleethopes I've played on. Most piches have floodlights; some even have terracing for supporters. We even have bars and restaurants so that we can enjoy a beer and a meal with the opposing team after the game.

I know there are some facilities in Grimsby and Cleethorpes that match the above criteria, but these are few and far between, whereas over here this is the norm.

So in terms of facilities your average Swiss player learns to play the game in a near-perfect environment, and it's this that will see young players continue to progress into the professional game over here.

There is a slight downside to this pleasurable footballing existence, and ironically it's mainly due to the very fact that the facilities are excellent. Because the playing surfaces are so perfect, the weather has to be pretty much perfect for us to be allowed to play a game on these perfect pitches. In the Grimsby/Cleethorpes Sunday football league it would be rare for a game to be called off, whereas over here games are called off if there's a slight chance that there'll be a raindrop or two.

It's also odd getting used to the winter break. In mid-November all amateur league football will stop until March or April next year. The professional game will stop in mid-December and restart late in February. I love playing football, and used to really enjoy getting up (normally with a hangover) on a cold and wet Sunday morning in January so that I could play in the Grimsby and District Sunday League. But I must admit to enjoying not getting up during the winter even more!