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The head coach of the Swiss national team, Köbi Kuhn, announced on Thursday that he did not invite the captain of Sevilla, defender Johann Vogel, to the team. The player was not included in the list of twenty players for two friendly matches with the Jamaican and Colombian national teams.
According to the official statement of the Swiss Football Association, Kuhn made this decision "due to tense relationships between the team and the player both on and off the field."
Upon learning of the decision, Vogel reacted "very emotionally," as stated in the announcement. Therefore, according to Kuhn, it is unlikely that Vogel will return to the national team.
Celebrating his thirtieth birthday on Thursday, the footballer stated on his website that he was surprised by the coach's decision, but added that he intends to fight for a place in the team, most likely after Kuhn's departure in 2008.
Vogel represented the Swiss national team at the 1996 and 2004 European Championships and was the team captain from the beginning of the qualifiers for the 2006 World Cup.
After losing in the knockout stage to the Ukrainian national team at the World Cup, the Swiss press reported that Vogel had clashed with the team's top scorer, Alex Frei.
According to the media, the team was also divided into camps of French-speaking and German-speaking players.
Switzerland was the only team in the World Cup to not concede a single goal, but was also the only team that did not score a goal in the penalty shootout. Vogel, who decided not to take a penalty in that shootout, was often criticized by Swiss fans for a overly defensive playing style of the team.
In 2005, Vogel, who played 94 matches and scored 2 goals for the national team, moved from Eindhoven's "PSV" to "Milan", but did not establish himself in the Italian club and after a year moved to Sevilla's "Betis".
Switzerland automatically qualified for the 2008 European Championship, which will be co-hosted with neighboring Austria.
