Basle, Switzerland - Switzerland loves Oranjes as from now on it will be supporting the Dutch at Euro 2008. With the Swiss bowing out of the tournament, the country is looking for another team to support - and it looks as though the Dutch have won their hearts.
With four official languages - German, French, Italian and Romansh, and around 10 per cent of the population speaking other languages - there would seem to be plenty of scope for partisanship.
But language doesn't necessarily come into it.
In Basle to support the Swiss against Portugal, Joelle Galley and three friends from a French-speaking part of the country near Lausanne, were adamant that one team they wouldn't be supporting was France.
"France, never!" she said. "The French speak too much, always saying 'we are the best'. It's too much."
Portugal are a personal favourite but the main support of she and her friends now goes to the Dutch team, known as the Oranje, whose fans - just about everyone of them wearing an orange shirt - have descended on Switzerland in their tens of thousands.
Why Holland?
"Because I like flowers," she said. "They play good football, and they like to party. They are very nice."
Similar views on the Oranje are held by a great deal of her countrymen and women at the Euro 2008 tournament.
According to a survey carried out for SonntagsBlick newspaper by Le Matin Dimanche and Il Caffe, around one in four of Swiss fans are now supporting the Netherlands, far more than any other team.
The survey shows that 22.3 per cent back the Dutch, with 15 per cent supporting Portugal, 12.5 per cent Italy, 7.2 per cent Germany, 7 per cent Spain and 2.8 per cent France, with the rest all under 2 per cent, down to Russia, which failed to register at all.
The teams for which the Swiss have least sympathy are Turkey (24.2 per cent) and Germany (15.8 per cent) followed by France (7.5 per cent).
The Netherlands and Portugal are equally tipped to win the tournament (26.6 per cent).
Michael Grossenbacher from Berne, wrapped in a Switzerland flag for the last appearance of the Nati - the national team - at Euro 2008 against Portugal, has no doubts where his allegiance lies from now on.
"I am from Berne and so it has to be Holland," he said.
The Dutch fans have practically taken over Berne where the team's group matches are being played.
"The party in Berne was the greatest thing you ever saw. It was an explosion - the biggest party in the history of the city," he added.
"I have now bought a Holland shirt. Together with my son we will be supporting Holland, because of the fans."
Mother and son Christina and Christian Puchner from near Davos were also backing the Dutch, "because they are friendly and playing good football," said Christina. "I would have supported England but they didn't qualify," said son Christian.
Sociology professor Kurt Imhof explained to SonntagsBlick that the Swiss like the Netherlands because it is also a small country.
The Swiss Germans, on the other hand, do not like the "big canton" Germany because of feelings going back to the Nazi dictatorship, while immigration issues puts the Turks offside, and ski rivalry makes it impossible to support co-hosts Austria.
That doesn't leave too many candidates. And so in Basle on Sunday night, Swiss fans sang Hopp Schwiiz! or Go, Switzerland! for the last time as Switzerland defeated Portugal 2-0.
From now on, it's Hup Holland!
