Shaqiri is calm about the debates after the Serbia game. He prefers to talk about the round of 16 against Portugal and his pride at having scored in three World Cups – like Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.
Big crowd: Xherdan Shaqiri at the media event, two days after qualifying for the round of 16.
Clear the stage for Xherdan Shaqiri: Two days after qualifying for the round of 16, the Swiss Football Association is asking for a media event at the training camp. The auditorium seems a bit small for Shaqiri, in the theater you would see the note “Sold out!” hang on the entrance gate. But it’s not theater that’s being performed in the suddenly very narrow tent for the Swiss mixed zone, which has always offered enough space for everyone. That’s different now. Enter Shaqiri.
The media people come from Brazil, England or Germany and of course from Portugal, the country of the round of 16 opponents – in short: they come from all over the world. In these one knows Shaqiri. Like the top player Cristiano Ronaldo, like the top player Lionel Messi. Because Shaqiri did in the match against Serbia what Ronaldo and Messi did too: score at three different World Cups. So: are you a top player, Xherdan Shaqiri?
“I was angry after the substitution”
It is then quite a small event how Shaqiri’s eyes flash with a smile after such a question while he waits a little as if he is looking for the answer to a complicated math problem. Because of course he knows the answer, he’s actually known it for many years, perhaps “top player” was one of the first words he learned as a boy. When the pause for thought is over, he says: «I think I’m a top player. But otherwise I’m a normal, down-to-earth guy and I always try to help the team.”
How Shaqiri helped the team was also obvious at this World Cup. He played the decisive pass to Breel Embolo’s goal against Cameroon, he was missing against Brazil and was instrumental in the 3-2 win against Serbia in addition to scoring the other two goals. But he was upset when coach Murat Yakin substituted him in the 69th minute. He threw a water bottle through the coaching zone and smashed his fist into the plexiglass pane.
“I was angry, the coach knows that too, but name me a player who isn’t angry after three goals when he has to leave the field,” says Shaqiri. “I wanted to help us score another goal, I wanted us to win the group. But the coach decides, I have to accept that as a player.”
In addition to tactical considerations, Yakin may also have played a role in the fact that in the charged atmosphere, Shaqiri ran the risk of becoming involved in a pack formation with an unfortunate outcome. When Shaqiri made it 1-0, he put his finger to his lips as he celebrated the goal, turned towards the Serbs’ fan curve and pointed to his name on the back. Was that a provocation?
“It was quite normal, they booed me, I scored a goal against them,” says Shaqiri. And Granit Xhaka, whose crotch grip, the Jashari shirt? “Oh, you always make it so big,” says Shaqiri, “I saw a few pictures afterwards, I don’t think Granit wanted to make an extra greeting or did something wrong. Everything else you have to ask those involved.”
Shaqiri can not be disturbed. Of course, the emotions were high and the atmosphere on the pitch and in the stands was heated. “We knew from the 2018 World Cup what was in store for us. I prepared for that, I just focused on the game. I did that too, we won and we’re happy that we qualified for the round of 16,” he said.
It’s not the place and time to talk about “what you always make so big” or to whom an “extra shoutout” could be directed. Here is World Cup stage, Ronaldo, Messi, Shaqiri. Portugal, World Cup Round of 16. It’s already the third World Cup round of 16 in which Shaqiri is there. The 0-1 draw against Argentina in São Paolo is a fond memory. “We played well and I liked everything about it in Brazil,” he says. He doesn’t say so many words about the dull 0-1 draw against Sweden four years ago.
Confidence for the third round of 16 attempt
But there is great confidence that he could make it through to the third knockout round of the World Cup. He says: “Portugal are a good team, we’re a good team, if we all go beyond our limit and have a good day, we can beat them.”
In the meantime, Shaqiri has crossed over in front of the cameras of the international media people, he talks in English, nobody wants to know anything about the Serbia game and all the background noise. Shaqiri hands out notes of respect to Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, to the Portugal stars like Bruno Fernandes or André Silva. Shaqiri is on the stage that he feels a part of.
He played 111 international matches, at the big tournaments he was always the difference player, who ensured lasting images and memories and was instrumental in Switzerland becoming a household name in international football. Shaqiri says: «I hope there will be a nice game that everyone will remember. And that we win.” curtain closed.