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Huggel earns recall to Swiss squad

Huggel kicks out in the brawl that cost him a four-match UEFA suspension.

BERNE, Switzerland -- Midfielder Benjamin Huggel has been recalled to the Swiss squad after completing a four-match ban for his part in the brawl that followed the World Cup playoff win over Turkey in November.

The Eintracht Frankfurt player is in a 20-man squad to face Venezuela and Costa Rica in two friendlies to be played in Switzerland on September 2 and 6.

Huggel, 29, was originally handed a six-match ban for kicking out at Turkey assistant coach Mehmet Ozdilek during the violent post-match scenes in Istanbul.

Since Switzerland are co-hosting Euro 2008 with neighboring Austria, and do not play any competitive matches until then, the six-match ban would have effectively prevented Huggel from playing until the end of that tournament.

FIFA's subsequent decision to reduce the ban to four matches, along with Switzerland's progression to the second round of this year's World Cup, means that Huggel is once again eligible.

Swiss coach Koebi Kuhn has included Zurich defender Steve Von Bergen and Sion striker Alberto Regazzoni for the first time.

Regazzoni presented a strong case for an international try-out at the weekend when he scored twice and set up two further goals in Sion's shock 4-2 win over Basel.

There i no place for striker Johan Vonlanthen, however, who controversially tried to challenge his expulsion on medical grounds from the Swiss World Cup squad.

The 20-year-old Salzburg forward damaged a hamstring in the build-up to the World Cup and was ruled out by team doctors but then attempted to force his way back in after obtaining a contrary diagnosis from a private doctor.

Vonlanthen will have a chance to rehabilitate himself in next month's under-21 European Championship qualifiers, having been named in the squad to face Moldavia and England.

First team regulars and World Cup squad members Johan Djourou, Tranquillo Barnetta, Blerim Dzemaili and Xavier Margairaz have also been temporarily put back into the under-21 squad in a bid to boost Switzerland's qualifying chances.

Squad:

Goalkeepers: Pascal Zuberbuehler (West Bromwich Albion), Fabio Coltorti (Grasshoppers), Diego Benaglio (Nacional)

Defenders: Philipp Degen (Borussia Dortmund), Stephane Grichting (Auxerre), Ludovic Magnin (Stuttgart), Patrick Mueller (Lyon), Christoph Spycher (Eintracht Frankfurt), Steve Von Bergen (Zurich)

Midfielders: Ricardo Cabanas (Cologne), David Degen (Borussia Moenchengladbach), Daniel Gygax (Lille), Benjamin Huggel (Eintracht Frankfurt), Johann Vogel (AC Milan), Raphael Wicky (Hamburg), Hakan Yakin (Young Boys)

Forwards: Alex Frei (Borussia Dortmund), Mauro Lustrinelli (Sparta Prague), Alberto Regazzoni (Sion), Marco Streller (Stuttgart)

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