Swiss delight in St Ottmar and his upset team

By Ulli Bruenger Jun 17, 2010, 15:22 GMT

Durban - Switzerland was a party mood on Thursday, the day after their football team's 1-0 upset over mighty Spain, and coach Ottmar Hitzfeld got most of the praise.

The Blick daily suggested a free Swiss passport for 'St Ottmar' and rated the German coach higher than the likes of Jose Mourinho and Louis van Gaal.

'Ottmar Hitzfeld towers above them all. Maybe we will not win the World Cup. But we know that we have the best coach in the world,' said Blick.

It was a dramatic turnaround for Hitzfeld, who had to swallow an embarrassing 2-1 home defeat against Luxembourg in his second match on the national team job in 2008.

The Neue Zuercher Zeitung spoke of 'a magical masterpiece' and the players readily joined the choir after the biggest surprise result of the tournament.

'Hitzfeld is a stroke of luck for Swiss football. His many titles speak for themselves,' said goalkeeper Diego Benaglio.

Hitzfeld, 61, won several Bundesliga crowns, the Champions League and the Intercontinental Cup with Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich. Born in Loerrach near the Swiss border, he has played for and coached Swiss clubs in the past.

On Wednesday, he showed his tactical finesse again against the Spaniards, one of the top favourites for the title after their convincing Euro 2008 title and a perfect 10-0 run in World Cup qualifying.

Spain dominated possession and had their chances, but a strong showing from Benaglio and a disciplined defensive effort paved the way for the winner from Gelson Fernandes.

'You will be outplayed if you try to match Spain on the pitch,' said Hitzfeld on Thursday in explanation of his game plan.

Another key to victory was Hitzfeld's decision to field the defensive midfielder Fernandes on the left wing.

'Fernendes jumped on to the World Cup train late but played his way into the squad with top showings,' said Hitzfeld.

Fernandes, 23, returned the compliments, saying that Hitzfeld 'had a great game plan for us.

'I am not really a goalgetter. I will probably only realise at the end of my career what happened,' he said.

Hitzfeld visibly still enjoyed the moment on Thursday, but knows perfectly well from all his experience that nothing has really been achieved so far at the World Cup.

'We have achieved nothing yet. We have to confirm this performance if we want to make the round of 16,' Hitzfeld said.