Xherdan Shaqiri shows all his class for the first time since his return to FC Basel. He was directly involved in five goals in the 6-1 win and earned praise from all sides for his gala performance.
No time? blue News summarizes for you
- Xherdan Shaqiri puts in an outstanding performance against Basel.
- FCB coach Fabio Celestini is full of praise after the game.
- But the Winterthur camp and blue Sport expert Alex Frei are also full of compliments for the fine player.
In his first six games for FC Basel, Xherdan Shaqiri scored just one goal. Against Winterthur, the 33-year-old showed what he is really made of for the first time since his return in the summer. The former international star notched up three assists and one and a half goals(Shaqiri's directly converted corner kick was counted as an own goal).
Shaqiri also silences his critics, who criticized his fitness week after week and saw him more as a brake pad than a locomotive.
On Saturday evening, there are no two opinions: Xherdan Shaqiri is the best man on the pitch and is bursting with wit. And it's anything but a bread-and-butter art that the ex-Nati crack shows.
Shaqiri set up the 1:0 and 2:0 before scoring his first Super League goal since May 23, 2012 with a beautiful flick into the far corner in the 33rd minute.
Shortly after the break, he provided the assist for 4:0 before reaching deep into his box of tricks in the 57th minute and converting a corner kick directly. The fact that the goal was counted as an own goal by goalkeeper Stefanos Kapino is a sting in the heart for any football gourmet. After the game, Shaqiri says with a grin on his face: "It's actually my goal."
In the first half, Shaqiri curled a corner kick onto the crossbar, just as he had done in his brief appearance in the European Championship quarter-final against England. In an interview with blue Sport, however, Shaqiri admits that it was not his intention to convert the ball directly from the first corner kick.
However, he did on the second attempt, which resulted in a goal. It is all the more bitter that he is not credited with the goal.
In the 70th minute, the magic dwarf, as he is affectionately known, is substituted when the score is 5:0. And another 20 to 30 minutes later, he was showered with praise from all sides.
FCB coach Celestini praises Shaqiri to the skies
Celestini is extremely satisfied with his team's performance after the game. And when asked about Shaqiri, he really goes into raptures. "I'm lucky to have Shaqiri. I don't need to talk about his technical qualities, but he's also very competitive. He absolutely always wants to win. He came to Basel to be successful and not to take his last two or three years easy. No, he absolutely wants to be successful and he communicates that to the others."
However, it was clear to him that Shaqiri needed time, as he was not in top shape when he came to FC Basel from Chicago after the European Championship. But now Shaqiri feels better and you can see that on the pitch. "To see this left foot is fantastic, absolutely incredible," says Celestini, impressed.
And then the FCB coach laughingly admits that although he never played with Shaqiri, he would have liked to have done so. "I wanted to play with him because when you give him the ball ... he can't lose the ball." And his teammates, who are always trying to play him between the lines, have also noticed this by now. Shaqiri is a completely different type of player to Barry, something that some players have had to get used to.
