A Swiss dichotomy played out on football pitches

Last Thursday Swiss football club Servette FC played on one of the biggest stages in football – against Chelsea at their Stamford Bridge ground in the heart of London. Four days earlier, while Chelsea were playing at home against Manchester City, Geneva side Servette FC spent a rainy Sunday afternoon in the opening round of the Swiss Cup at local fifth-tier club Signal-Bernex FC. The 1,500-capacity ground is on the edge of a village, surrounded by vineyards and the occasional cow. The contrast couldn’t have been greater, but it feels familiarly Swiss, a crystallisation of a certain aspect of national identity. Distinctly local roots, a certain whiff of the country air with mud on modest boots, which then get dusted off and polished, ready to perform on a global stage. Without wanting to stretch the analogy too far, just a few days before Chelsea come to Geneva to play the return match tonight, the Swiss foreign minister hosted the UN Security Council in Geneva, all flying in from ...