It has been a case of gritted teeth rather than stiff upper lip for the British expat community in Geneva, bereft of a team as Euro 2008 is played out under their very noses.
At the Pickwick Pub in the city center where Brits have been gathering in front of the giant screen, manager Cindy Clerc says the atmosphere has been fairly muted.
“A lot of the customers were supporting Switzerland but now that’s finished many of them have chosen Holland or Portugal,” he said.
Soccer-mad Brits in Geneva have been casting around for a team to back with some bizarre logic involved.
“I was really disappointed when England were out but I am going to support Croatia because they knocked England out in the qualifying round. If they win it would mean England would have come second,” said media officer and Manchester United supporter Richard Elliott who has worked in Geneva for two years. “Well that’s what I like to think.”
His wife Sally, who has a preference for Middlesborough, said: “I can’t drum up any enthusiasm because England aren’t in it. It’s no fun if you don’t know the players.”
Norfolk-born Michelle Burke, a nurse and part-time assistant at the International School, is also backing Croatia.
“We are a Croatian household as far as the tournament goes,” she said, admitting that she, her husband and two children were a Tottenham Hotspur family as far as club loyalties are concerned.
“My husband’s from Wales. They’re not in it clearly and he’s not bothered about England. He says he’s backing Croatia because they have a Spurs player [new signing Luka Modric], but I don’t know whether really it’s because they knocked out England.”
Adam Beaumont, an editor of the English language radio service, World Radio Switzerland, was pulling no punches.
“I’m not going to miss England. I don’t think they would have done very well,” said the Arsenal fan.
“I won’t miss the fans and I think the tournament will be better without them. I wasn’t even that upset when England didn’t qualify. To be honest it was a blessing in disguise. The way they were playing at the time was terrible,” he said.
“The last game against Croatia was unreal. If we had qualified we would have fallen flat on our faces,” Beaumont said.
“It’s nice to cheer your country on but they are nowhere near as good as some of the teams here. I’m backing Holland,” he said.
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