“Yes! Yes! Number one!”
These were Xherdan Shaqiri’s first words in Melwood after he was crowned Premier League champion with Liverpool. Club photographers could not help but capture the joy of the Swiss international.
However, it was not easy for the Swiss international to sail this season.
Injuries didn’t help his case under Jürgen Klopp, but he collected less than 200 minutes of Premier League football.
Since gossip columns continue to associate his name with a departure when the broadcast window is opened again, the title could well be his farewell gift.
Not that his reaction in Melwood was from a man who was desperately dissatisfied with his situation. This was not his first championship – far from it – and he has been in this situation before.
The 28-year-old Shaqiri added the Premier League to a trophy cabinet that already contained two Bundesliga medals and two Champions League crowns, as well as two UEFA Super Cups and FIFA Club World Cups each.
Not that it impressed everyone.
Andreas Boeni, soccer director of the Swiss daily Blick, pointed out that Shaqiri played a subordinate role in most of these successes.
The Liverpool striker took it at his own expense.
His answer was published on social media the day after he was appointed English Master. A simple picture of him celebrating with his 17 career trophies, accompanied by a short letter.
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“Dear view and Andreas Boeni,” he said. “While you’re bored in the office, here’s a picture for the next front page.”
He signed off with a kiss.
Shaqiri would be forgiven for being frustrated. When he won the Bundesliga with Bayern Munich in 2013 – his first season with the German giants – he only missed eight league games, scored four goals and assisted six others.
In the Champions League, he played all but one of the group games before being stingy in the knockout stages for two minutes when Bayern defeated Borussia Dortmund – managed by Klopp – in the final.
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The next season was similar. The winger played in almost every league game for which he was available, despite missing half of the season due to injury. He played in both games at the World Club Cup and in the Super Cup win against Chelsea.
But here, too, Shaqiri was a part player in Europe.
Sounds familiar? It should.
In the knockout phase of the Champions League for Liverpool last season, he only played 90 minutes.
We all know how it ended.
They were perhaps 90 of the most famous minutes in the club’s history, and Shaqiri – who started in the semi-final against Barcelona due to injuries to Mohamed Salah and Roberto Firmino – supported Gini Wijnaldum’s tie on the third goal of the night.
Nobody in Liverpool would dare to say that Shaqiri had played a small part in their later triumph, even if he had on paper.
Klopp repeated it several times during his tenure and actually repeated this point this week. Every squad needs a Shaqiri and Liverpool is no different.
“If you’re a football fan, you want him and him to back up, even if you’re completely happy with everyone, you want backups,” he said.
“We have many … we don’t have a first XI, I say we have a first 16 or 17, they can all play at the same level.”
Shaqiri has proven time and time again that he is able to play according to the standard required by Klopp. He’s just unhappy behind three of the best strikers in the world and unable to groove.
But what about Barcelona? The double against Manchester United? His appearance against Everton in December?
They give Shaqiri every right to enjoy the success he has achieved on Merseyside. Although Boeni and Blick missed the point, its end in Liverpool should still be sad.
It’s sad because he’ll probably still go and he never let Liverpool down when they needed him the most.
You’d think Klopp would want to keep him – especially in an uncertain financial landscape – but at the beginning of his career Shaqiri will know its value.
He’ll know that he can be a star somewhere else.
At the moment, his reaction to winning the title suggests he’s happy on Merseyside, but if he leaves, he doesn’t have to write a letter to Liverpool.
This season may be just six games in the Premier League, but anyone connected to the club knows it’s more.
Without Barcelona and the subsequent Champions League victory, would Liverpool have had the confidence to assert and challenge itself again this season?
This Premier League title could be the perfect kiss to sign out of.
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