June 19, 2008	Thursday	Jamadi-us-Sani 14, 1429

GENEVA (Switzerland), June 18: FIFA President Sepp Blatter is blaming Switzerland’s coach for his home country’s early elimination from the European Championship.

Blatter said in an interview with the Swiss daily Le Matin that he advised the Swiss Football Association to dump coach Koebi Kuhn after the team’s second-round loss in the 2006 World Cup.

“We had reached the ceiling with this coach,” Blatter said he told Swiss FA president Ralph Zloczower at the time. He said that Zloczower replied by saying: “You know my hands are tied. It’s the league that controls the national team.”

Blatter criticised Kuhn for being too loyal to established squad members.

“That trust works with the juniors, but doesn’t work at this level,” Blatter said.

“He should have made braver choices.”

Blatter neglected to mention that the 64-year-old coach axed World Cup captain Johann Vogel and fielded an entire midfield under the age of 24 at the European Championship.

“Why did he insist on (Marco) Streller in place of someone faster?” Blatter asked, referring to the 27-year-old striker who started in Switzerland’s opening 1-0 loss to the Czech Republic. “And why deprive yourself of (Mario) Eggimann?” Blatter added, speaking of the defender and captain at Bundesliga side Karlsruhe, who Kuhn left out of the squad.—AP