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Saturday March 14, 2009

Hitzfeld says no place for Yakin in Swiss squad

BERN, Switzerland (AP) - Switzerland coach Ottmar Hitzfeld said Friday he will not pick veteran striker Hakan Yakin in his squad later this month to play two World Cup qualifying matches.

Former Bayern Munich coach Hitzfeld said Yakin would be omitted from home-and-away matches against Moldova because he was currently not playing for his Qatari club side Al-Gharafa.

The 32-year-old Yakin moved to the Gulf state after scoring all three Switzerland goals in the co-host nation's three European Championship matches last June.

Only David Villa, who struck four times for eventual champion Spain, scored more in the tournament.

"The door of the national team is never closed for Hakan Yakin," Hitzfeld said in a statement.

"When Hakan plays regularly, he will again be in my plans."

Yakin, who has scored 20 times in 76 internationals, said he understood the decision while he was out of favor in Qatar.

"The selection policy has always been transparent and, in the situation with my club, I could not hope to be picked," he said.

Hitzfeld indicated he would select central defender Patrick Mueller, now playing for French club FC Monaco.

Mueller played the last of his 81 international matches in a 2-0 victory over Portugal at Euro 2008.

Switzerland travels to play Moldova in Chisinau on March 28 and hosts the April 1 return match in Geneva.

It lies third in the six-team Group 2 of European qualifying for the 2010 World Cup, trailing Greece and Israel with four of 10 matches played.


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