Remo Freuler was allowed to leave Nottingham Forest for Bologna in the summer, and last night he captained Switzerland. The 31-year-old participated for the entire 90 minutes as Belarus held his nation to a 3-3 draw.
When Freuler was permitted to leave the City Ground ranks, it wasn’t a surprise. He didn’t participate in any of the final six games of 2022–2023, and it seemed like the end was near.
But the player always gave Forest his all. He demonstrated a persistent work ethic, but unhappily, Steve Cooper’s preferred kind of football just wasn’t a good fit for the way he played.
Freuler makes his debut for Switzerland today.
By no means was this a strong effort by the Swiss yesterday. However, they were able to avoid losing, which allowed them to execute with some character.
Swiss publication 20Min commended Freuler for his efforts. They gave him a 3/5 and stated: “Remo Freuler seems to be benefiting from the match practice at Bologna. He consistently shone thanks to his hard ball wins and pressuring. However, his attacking strategies continued to fail.
Switzerland is still in a good position to win Euro 2024 qualification. They are now second in Group I and have three games left to try to secure their spot at the event next summer.
Freuler hopes to remain in shape for Bologna, says Forest.
Forest’s inability to offload Freuler during the summer transfer window came as a bit of a shock. However, taking some of his pay off the books is a good thing, and they will hope that a long-term agreement can be reached in the future.
Freuler didn’t really do well at Forest, which is a shame. He only cost the team £7.5 million, and as the season went on, it appeared that his expertise might greatly benefit a young Forest team.
In the end, the player simply didn’t fit Cooper’s pragmatic style. He was thereafter considerably exposed and had trouble having any kind of an impact on the Premier League.
