Granit Xhaka moved from Arsenal to Bayer Leverkusen for 15 million euros in the summer. With his experience, the 31-year-old Swiss is the leader of the team at the league leaders. On Sunday (3:30 p.m., in the WELT sports ticker), the Werkself welcomes the crisis-plagued Union Berlin team.
Ask: Mr. Xhaka, the words “Hunger for Success” are shining behind you. That is a motto of Bayer Leverkusen’s season. How hungry are you?
Granit Xhaka: If you don’t have this hunger for success, you’re in the wrong place in professional sports. Only with hunger and work can you be successful.
Ask: After almost a third of the season you are in first place. On par with FC Bayern.
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Xhaka: What does being on equal terms with Bavaria mean? We decide for ourselves where we end up. We have to win our games, then all the other teams can do whatever they want. If we can’t do that, it won’t help to be on equal terms with others. We know that we have worked well to date. After ten match days, no club has yet become champion. I am convinced that our young team is hungry to achieve great things.
Ask: Is Bavaria due?
Xhaka: Once again: Bavaria doesn’t play a big role for me. Of course, they are a force after 11 championships in a row. I have great respect for that, as well as for the other competitors. What is crucial is that we have to push ourselves to the limit, training after training, game after game.
Leverkusen are flying through the season so far and are inspiring us with great offensive football
Quelle: Getty Images/Markus Gilliar
Ask: When you presented in Leverkusen in July you said: “I am someone who thinks big.” Was your expectation exceeded?
Xhaka: I came here to be successful – to win something. In the conversations with the club and the coach, I had the feeling that Leverkusen wanted to go exactly this way. The fact that we had an excellent start speaks for our quality and shows that we have been working well since day one.
Ask: What does the next development step look like?
Xhaka: We have to decide games faster. At the moment we are still giving our opponents the opportunity to hold on to their last hope, even though we are clearly dominating games. For example, we had a chance to make it 3-0 in the 2-1 win against Freiburg. If we score the goal, the game is over. So we concede the 2:1 through a standard situation. Then you start to think about what can happen on the pitch. It was the same in Hoffenheim. But: Part of development is also surviving such situations. In May no one asks anymore whether it was close against Freiburg or Hoffenheim. The only thing that counts is the account. And …
Ask: Yes, please …
Xhaka: The question is how consistently we can do our thing. Whether we can manage to always start from scratch and say to ourselves before every game: “We’ll win again today.” To be able to push ourselves to the limit again and again and again. That’s the art.
Ask: Do you feel the will?
Xhaka: I am convinced that we have a great mix of young, great players and experienced ones. Everyone is ready to take this path. This can be felt in training. If we have a phase of five to ten minutes in which we are not particularly focused, we players push each other, demanding: “We have to do more.” In addition, the coach immediately takes us back to task when we do ease up. That was the case recently. He said: “We didn’t win anything. We have to do more, we have to be awake.”
Ask: Xabi Alonso appears very confident on the outside. What is he like behind closed doors? Can he really be evil?
Xhaka: He is brutally honest with us. This is very important for us in this phase when everyone is praising us and when we are dominating our opponents. It’s not so easy to stay grounded when you’re constantly hearing how good you are. The trainer makes sure that we classify everything correctly.
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Ask: Alonso experienced these situations regularly as a player. Does that make him particularly credible for the team?
Xhaka: If anyone knows it, it’s him – we feel that every day. There have recently been rumors about which clubs he could go to in the future (including Real Madrid, the editorial team). Xabi is still very calm, very focused and hungry. We feel that his thoughts are only here with us and that he wants to be successful with us.
Ask: You said that even at 31 you learn from Alonso every day. What did he teach you?
Xhaka: Xabi was one of the best players in the world in his position. I’m lucky to play in this central midfield position like him. He gives me important tips for certain game situations, body language and positioning. I take a lot from him. I’m 31, but not yet at my limit. When I no longer have the passion to want to improve, it’s over.
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Ask: You were hired not only as a leader, but also because of your aggressive charisma on the pitch. Now you don’t have to be aggressive because everything is going smoothly.
Xhaka: I didn’t come to shout aggressively and play boss. From my position and with my experience, I can perhaps see a little more on the pitch and can help with my character by pointing out solutions. But I’m also happy when others help me.
Ask: Florian Wirtz whirls in front of you. He now seems even stronger, more mature, more effective. Does the trust of new national coach Julian Nagelsmann make him even better?
Xhaka: I’ve followed him over the past few years and found him very, very good. Now I see every day what potential he has. He is extremely young and has already overcome a serious injury (Cruciate ligament tear 2022, the editorial team) and came back so strong. He is having an outstanding season so far. He is a player who makes the difference. The fact that he now has full trust and playing time in the national team makes him stronger. We feel that.
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Ask: You moved from Mönchengladbach to Arsenal at the age of 23. Should Wirtz, who is now 20, also wait before making a move?
Xhaka: Everyone has their career plan. We want to keep Flo here as long as possible. He can still grow as a personality with us. We know that he will leave at some point. The important thing is: If he wants to take the next step at some point in the future, he first has to find the right club. It would have to be a club where he can play his football.
Ask: How do you in Leverkusen?
Xhaka: Absolutely. The coach and I were both of the opinion that I would play better as a six here. At Arsenal I was more attacking. I prefer to have the game in front of me. That’s why the new role suits me better. And I’m happy to be back in the Bundesliga, in a great club. What is developing here with the fans is sensational. There were 3,000 fans in Sandhausen on a Wednesday evening for the cup. There were 5,000 in Mainz. There is great euphoria here because people see what is happening. There is nothing better for a player than to feel that support.
Xhaka (r.) was in Leverkusen’s starting eleven in all ten Bundesliga games of the current season
Those: picture alliance/Laci Perenyi
Ask: You are the only player who has played under the most sought-after young coaches in Europe: Mikel Arteta at Arsenal, Xabi Alonso at Leverkusen. What connects them, what differentiates them?
Xhaka: They are very similar in mentality and playing style, both are ambitious, determined and honest. Arteta shows more on the board, Xabi shows things himself on the pitch. He still has the quality to be able to play along himself. That’s the biggest difference. For me it is a privilege to be able to play under both of them. This is a gift.
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The interview was conducted for the Sports Competence Center (WELT, SPORT BILD, BILD) and first published in SPORT BILD.
