A 1990s Swiss teamsheet wasn’t complete without Stephane Chapuisat.
With the exception of one period when he was absent with a ruptured cruciate ligament, he was virtually ever-present throughout the decade (no mean feat for a striker) and winning more than 100 caps (also no mean feat for a striker) across 15 years reflected that.
Even when he wasn’t scoring, Chapuisat was always nearby. His career highlight, winning the Champions League with Borussia Dortmund, was perhaps fitting in that regard. Having done the hard yards, helping Dortmund into the final and then into a 2-1 lead, Chapuisat was substituted for Lars Ricken, who promptly netted a sublime lob with his first touch to finish off Juventus.
But the Yellow Wall recognised Chapuisat’s importance – after all, he did score more than 100 goals in little more than 200 Bundesliga games – and so did fans of the Swiss national team.
He made his senior international debut aged 19, then became Roy Hodgson’s starting striker as Switzerland reached the knockout stages of the 1994 World Cup. Six goals in qualifying and another in the group phase, reacting with typical quick-thinking to a penalty-box scramble against Romania, meant that his Nati form kept apace with his service in Germany.
Chapuisat would also feature at Euro 96 and Euro 2004, eventually retiring upon Switzerland’s exit from the latter, a week before his 35th birthday.
The Swiss made a limited impact in either competition, yet Chapuisat was the danger man being watched by opponents – including Euro 96 hosts England, as they were restricted to a 1-1 draw at Wembley. He would come up against the Three Lions again in 2004.
It was incongruous that a forward so prolific in the German Bundesliga should retire from international duty with 21 goals from 103 caps. The full story, though, is that Stephane Chapuisat was Switzerland, and Switzerland was Stephane Chapuisat.
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