The Switzerland boss Murat Yakin swears by him. Their captain, Granit Xhaka is regularly in contact with him and he has been integral to Switzerland’s impressive displays at the Euros, as they outclassed Italy and came within minutes of beating Germany.
Kevin Ehmes is German but has been the Head of Analysis and Development for Switzerland since 2021 and is the man dedicated to plotting England’s downfall on Saturday.
Born in Offenbach near Frankfurt, Ehmes came into contact with the Swiss FA ten years ago, progressing to become a first-team analyst for their youth and women’s teams in 2018.
Now the 32-year-old sits in the dugout during the men’s games providing live analysis.
‘He (Ehmes) is very close to the manager,’ says one source. His relationship with Murat is more than just as an analyst. Murat is a great supporter of his work. They are close friends and go out to eat together and often watch football together. Kevin is the data man, full of ideas and Murat takes that on board.’
Kevin Ehmes (left) is German but has been the Head of Analysis and Development for Switzerland since 2021 and is using data to help the Swiss succeed
Switzerland boss Murat Yakin (pictured) is hoping his side’s attention to minute details can help them claim victory against England on Saturday
Switzerland’s form at Euro 2024 may partly be down to Ehmes’ work behind the scenes
At their base camp in Waldau, on the outskirts of Stuttgart, less than 100 miles from the German-Switzerland border, the Nati have made their home away from home, even going as far as using the same U-shaped table that they use in Bern for analysis meetings.
Ehmes may be the youngest member of the Swiss coaching team but is responsible for analysing Switzerland and the opposition and goes by nicknames like ‘Kevinpedia’ and ‘The Eye.’
Those within the Swiss camp praise him though insist that his passion and obsession for the game means he struggles to sleep, often getting only four hours a day.
‘Kevin doesn’t stop working. He loves football. Whenever you walk past the coaches office on an evening, he is still there. Even at 11pm in the evening. He doesn’t sleep a lot,’ another source says.
But what is it about Ehmes that sees him ranked so highly by the Swiss? According to Yakin, he is ‘the silent worker in the background’ who ‘takes the opponent apart in his analysis to the last detail.’
Away from the data, most talk about his frankness. During games, he is in regular contact with his number two Selcuk Sasivari who watches the game from a higher vantage point.
Ehmes then relays his thoughts to assistant Giorgio Contini or directly to Yakin.
Ehmes regularly provides his analysis to assistant manager Giorgio Contini (right) who feeds the insights to the team’s manager Yakin (left)
Tactical suggestions are visually presented to the squad at half-time through video sequences made by Ehmes, as Yakin speaks to his team
Switzerland advanced to the quarter-finals after sealing a 2-0 victory against defending champions Italy in the last 16
At half-time, any tactical suggestions are visually presented via video sequences by Ehmes with Yakin speaking to the players.
‘In our squad, we always say that he is very German,’ says a source. ‘That German origin is good for us because he is straight to the point. He tells you what you need to know precisely without speaking too much and the players love that.’
Switzerland’s preparation for their quarter-final against England began at the start of the tournament with Ehmes and the Swiss FA deploying a team of five junior analysts to travel around Germany watching potential opposition.
The impact of that was seen when they tormented Italy, with Ehmes himself watching five Italian games in full after the group stage to prepare.
At their training sessions at the Stadion auf der Waldau under the shadow of the world’s first TV tower, drones are a regular sight recording the entirety of training.
Germany manager Julian Nagelsmann praised the clever tactics of Switzerland after their 1-1 draw in Frankfurt, with Ehmes telling Neue Zürcher Zeitung (NZZ) that the Swiss performance was ‘tactically excellent for a long time’ in that game.
When laptops from Swiss FA scouts were stolen in a rented office space in Dusseldorf before their clash against Germany, Switzerland went as far as confirming that no sensitive data would be accessible.
So how will they prepare for Saturday? The day after they beat Italy in Berlin, Ehmes analysed Switzerland’s performance with the help of artificial intelligence before getting into England.
Usually three days before the match, information on the opposition is fed to the players.
Gareth Southgate’s (pictured) England side will be favourites to win on Saturday against Switzerland, but it will be a huge test for the Three Lions
A dramatic 2-1 win in extra-time against Slovakia will give England plenty of confidence after Southgate’s side have faced much criticism for their performances at Euro 2024
Yakin (right) and his side toppled Italy after drawing to both Germany and Scotland and are using Ehmes’ insights to gain an upper hand on their opponents
Ehmes will send each player, including Xherdan Shaqiri (left) their own personalised dossier ahead of the match, which will contain analysis videos on their direct opponents
One of his learnings from the 2022 World Cup was to schedule any team video sessions for before training, rather than doing it in the evening at the team hotel.
In the days leading up to the game, Ehmes will send a message into the team WhatsApp group that provides an interactive analysis of England.
Each player also receives a personalised WhatsApp dossier with video features on their direct opponents in a manner akin to matchups in cricket. So Manuel Akanji will receive insight on Harry Kane, Granit Xhaka on Declan Rice and so on.
Such is the attention to detail that on matchday, players can refresh their knowledge by going on the tablets that are available inside the changing room.
Whereas some managers and players are reluctant to embrace such data, Yakin is a firm believer and is regularly seen on his iPad.
He arrived in Germany under pressure but his side have been one of the standout teams and will go into Saturday’s clash, confident of reaching a first-ever semi-final.
‘He (Yakin) has a quick grasp of data, his tactical understanding is outstanding and decisions are based on clear considerations,’ Ehmes told NZZ last week.
Yakin (left) is a firm believer in the analytics tools and is regularly seen looking at his ipad or delivering snippets of info to his players (Granit Xhaka, pictured right)
Even Germany boss Julian Nagelsmann (pictured) praised the clever tactics of Switzerland after their 1-1 draw in Frankfurt
Swiss players will be able to access insights on England stars including Declan Rice (front-centre) both before the game and at half-time
Manuel Akanji (centre) will already know many of the England squad from playing against them in the Premier League
But there is a growing sense of confidence in their countryside outpost, with Switzerland having excelled so far at Euro 2024
Over the next couple days, the Swiss will finalise their plans for Dusseldorf and fly north as favourites.
Even if one of the coaches refuses to accept that tag when I put it to him. He mentions the data, of course.
‘Switzerland cannot be the favourites against England. Just look at the numbers – the value of their squad and their FIFA ranking. It’s a small country against a big country,’ he says.
But quietly, there is a growing sense of confidence in their countryside outpost – with a team that looks greater than the sum of its parts.
Germany’s loss in Ehmes is perhaps Switzerland’s gain but the Germans may be thanking one of their own come Saturday evening.
