After 205 games together, Granit Xhaka and Yann Sommer will face each other for the first time on Tuesday. This makes blue Sport expert Marco Streller emotional - and hopeful for their return to FCB.
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- After 205 professional games together, Granit Xhaka and Yann Sommer face each other for the first time in the Champions League on Tuesday - with the better end for Xhaka, who wins 1-0 at home with Leverkusen against Inter.
- Marco Streller, who once played with the duo at FC Basel, admits in the blue Sport Studio: "It's very emotional for me personally because I played with both of them for a long time."
- Streller raves about both of them and hopes that they will return to Switzerland one day.
Granit Xhaka and Yann Sommer have made over 200 appearances together for Basel, Gladbach and the Swiss national team over the course of their careers. However, the two companions will not have to face each other for a long time - until the Champions League clash between Bayer Leverkusen and Inter Milan on Tuesday.
"It's certainly special for them both, having played together as youngsters and early on at FC Basel. And it's also very emotional for me personally, because I played with both of them for a long time," said blue Sport expert Marco Streller before kick-off.
He said he was proud to have spent time with two "giants of European football". "It's great that Switzerland has two such world-class players who have established themselves over the years and are successful," said Streller.
"Yann can easily play for another three or four years"
Streller is still in contact with both the Leverkusen captain and the Inter goalkeeper. "This time, which was wonderful, connects us. It's not like we talk on the phone every day. But when we have time, we hear from each other."
For Streller, it is clear that the careers of the almost 36-year-old Sommer and the 32-year-old Xhaka are far from over. "If you know how Yann looks after himself and you can see that he's not injured, he can easily play for another three or four years. And Granit, the way he's still playing, could maybe even make another transfer," says Streller, laughing: "Maybe they'll come home at some point. I hope so."
