Former Swiss striker Kubilay Türkyilmaz
Host nation Switzerland may have been eliminated from Euro 2008 yesterday, but both they and fellow hosts Austria have contributed greatly to the cultural diversity of football both now and in the past.
This can be illustrated through the seemingly surprising number of national footballers of ethnic minority origin in both countries.
In Switzerland, where the Turkish footballing influence is strong, the first player from a minority background is also Switzerland’s joint highest all-time goalscorer. The legendary Kubilay Turkyılmaz made a huge impact in the country.
Superstar Murat Yakin is the best-known Swiss of Turkish origin with over 50 caps, most of them won during his period captaining his hometown club of FC Basel.
His younger brother, Hakan Yakin, is also a well-established international currently playing for Young Boys Berne.
The number of black players in the Swiss national team has been a source of controversy in the recent past, with the far-right Lega dei Ticinesi party declaring that: "One chocolate-coloured footballer can be accepted. Three seems like going much too far."
It was a reference to FC Twente striker, Blaise Nkufo, Arsenal defender Johan Djourou and Manchester City midfielder, Gelson Fernandes.
The Swiss FA responded by saying it was 'proud' that players of such quality had chosen to play for Switzerland and so will the nations football fans this summer as these players show just why the Swiss could spring one or two surprises.
Across the border, one of Austrian football’s greatest players was born in Moravia, in eastern Czechoslovakia. Matthias Sindelar moved in 1905 to Vienna and settled in the district of Favoriten with a large Czech-speaking community.
Sindelar played centre forward in Austria’s much-celebrated 1930’s 'Wunderteam' and captained them at the 1934 World Cup. He was voted the best Austrian footballer of the 20th Century.
The first black Austrian international, Helmut Koglberger, was born to an Austrian mother and a black American soldier in 1945. Making his debut in 1965 he earned 28 caps and scored a total of 211 goals in 425 First Division matches.
