The goal: to make Eli Desa dizzy. Meet Ruben Vargas - voila! sport

An article about Murat and Khan Yakin (Sport1)

Ruben Vargas didn't score in Switzerland's 5-0 drubbing of Belarus on Saturday in Euro 2024 qualifying. He didn't score any of the goals either, but the quick-footed winger created, juggled and coaxed plaudits from the Swiss media for his 66 minutes on the pitch - before who went to rest ahead of the game against Israel tonight (Tuesday, 9:45 p.m.).

Vargas will be placed under the striker with a tendency to the left and a pull towards the line.

In the game against Israel, it is likely that we will see quite a few of his confrontations with Eli Desa, and the captain should prepare with maximum care and concentration for the meeting with someone who has already taken a permanent place in Murat Yakin's lineup.

For the benefit of Desa and the viewers, here are 10 quick facts about the player who created quite a few headaches tonight.

Stefan Lichtsteiner posters on the wall.

Vargas (Photo: GettyImages, Eurasia Sport Images)

1.

24-year-old Vargas is the son of a Dominican Republic father and a Swiss mother.

He represented the youth team of Switzerland and as a senior has already accumulated 31 appearances.

He started his career in Lucerne and in 2019 was bought by the German Augsburg for about 4 million euros.

So far he has made 108 appearances in the Bundesliga in which he scored 14 goals and assisted 11 more.

He is mostly compared to Jordan Shaqiri.

Although Vargas is right-handed while Shakiri is left-handed, they both like to play on the wing with the opposite foot, enjoy an excellent dribble, quick feet and get out of the spot quickly.

The veteran Shaqiri has always provided much better numbers and this is an element where Vargas still needs to improve significantly.

Coach Murat Yakin believes in him very much and placed him in the lineup for all of the last eight games of the Swiss team, including the four in the World Cup.

At the same time, Vargas has never completed 90 minutes in a national team match.

The footballer he admired was none other than Stefan Lichtsteiner, ex-Juventus who made 108 appearances for the national team.

In 2019/20, Lichtsteiner's retirement season, they played together in Augsburg.

They were born and raised in the same town (with approximately 5,000 inhabitants) and Vargas previously said: "I've known Stefan since I was a child. He is probably the most famous athlete to come out of our town. When I was a child I had his posters on the wall."

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Fast and technical, but needs to improve on physicality and pressure play.

Vargas in Augsburg uniform (Photo: GettyImages, Boris Streubel)

6.

Among the teams that were interested in him in the past and followed him religiously, are Borussia Monchengladbach, Wolfsburg and Sevilla.

The last one whose name was linked to and according to the reports there were also contacts, was Udinese last January.

Finally, the Italians signed Florian Toban for this position on a free transfer.

In Germany, they talk about an agile, technical, offensively excellent player - but also about physicality and pressure play that need improvement.

As in the national team, he also has very few 90-minute games in Augsburg.

This season, for example, he only has one.

At the beginning of his career, he encountered quite a few difficulties and recently said: "When I was a teenager, I was smaller and weaker than most of the other players. In teams up to the age of 13 and up to the age of 15, I hardly got any chances because of that. There were nights when I would cry until I fell asleep."

The first sporting influences on him as a child were from his Dominican father.

Vargas played baseball - the most popular sport in the Dominican Republic - and picked up a golf club at the age of three, as his father made a living teaching golf in central Switzerland.

His mother was a trampoline jumper who even participated in the European Championships.

.

At the beginning of his career, when he played in Lucerne, he insisted (at the urging of his mother and grandfather) to specialize in another profession in case he would not be able to make a living from football.

And so he went through an internship at a construction company as a painter.

Just like his teammate, Renato Stefan.

• sport

• world football

Tags

• Swiss national team

• Israel's national team

• Ruben Vargas