The national coach Murat Yakin is thinking about using the crowd favorite Xherdan Shaqiri only as a joker. Good idea?
Only a substitute? After the 0-0 draw against Denmark, Xherdan Shaqiri showed little understanding for the thoughts of Murat Yakin and Giorgio Contini.
Peter Klaunzer / Keystone
There are scenes in Copenhagen on Saturday evening that are memorable. First, assistant coach Giorgio Contini puts his arm around Xherdan Shaqiri, number 23, and explains to him what he has to do on the pitch in the final phase against Denmark. Then, already on the sidelines, coach Murat Yakin spoke briefly to Shaqiri and gave him a pat on the back before he was substituted for Ruben Vargas in the 76th minute.
Maybe these are images that you have to get used to. Xherdan Shaqiri, the substitute – in the final phase of his long career as an international player. 5,134 days before his 120th international match, he made his debut for Switzerland with the number 23 in March 2010 in a 1-3 friendly against Uruguay at the age of 18 years and 5 months. At that time he was considered a talent, a particularly gifted person, and at least in the selection, Shaqiri often kept what was expected of him. For years he has been the most spectacular and offensively most important national player with over 60 goals.
🤯 Name a better EURO goal than this!
🇨🇭 Happy birthday, Xherdan Shaqiri 🎈#HBD | @SFV_ASF | @XS_11official pic.twitter.com/iCbYxtnMli
— UEFA EURO 2024 (@EURO2024) October 10, 2020
Xherdan Shaqiri is the Swiss footballer for extraordinary actions – with wit, class and shooting strength. He is the crowd favorite who has provided as many magical moments since 2014 as all the other national players combined. At the World Cup ten years ago: hat trick against Honduras. Two years later at the Euro, the fantastic side kick in the round of 16 against Poland. The emotionally special goals against Serbia at the 2018 and 2022 World Cups. At the last European Championship: two goals against Turkey, one in the quarterfinals against Spain.
And now this Xherdan Shaqiri, at only 32 years old, should only be a reservist?
The national coach Murat Yakin has recently emphasized several times that every player must know his role exactly. There are doubts about Shaqiri’s fitness and defensive qualities. And in Copenhagen, Yakin also said that Shaqiri lacked match practice. He only played two or three games in the season that has just begun in the USA. To be precise, there were four appearances as captain, Shaqiri scored a penalty goal and was substituted four times between the 69th and 86th minutes.
Yakin is not always precise in his communication, but that is hardly what Shaqiri meant when he said in Copenhagen: “Statistics never lie.” He also said that it was important to field footballers who could perform at the right moment – even at big tournaments. And it can be heard from those around the player that Shaqiri has not had such good fitness values for years.
The new system actually suits Shaqiri well
After the 0-0 draw in Copenhagen, Xherdan Shaqiri impressively managed to show little understanding for Yakin’s and Contini’s considerations and only use him as a part-time worker, especially in games against strong opponents, without directly criticizing the coaches. Shaqiri said with this formation it was clear that things would be a little more difficult offensively. In any case, it was just a test match, the coach was experimenting, that’s okay, but his own role always remains the same. And: “We will analyze whether the line-up was good or not.”
Shaqiri’s analysis may differ from Yakin’s. And therein lies a problem that the national coach should not underestimate. He and captain Granit Now it would be in Yakin’s mind to find a way to deal with Shaqiri that doesn’t cause upset and anger.
Paradoxically, Murat Yakin has even found a tactical orientation in the 3-5-2 system, which was first interpreted in Denmark, in which Shaqiri’s defensive deficits could be easily compensated for. Ruben Vargas from FC Augsburg played as the second striker on Saturday, but he comes into his own better as an outside player and doesn’t come close to Shaqiri’s performance.
Shaqiri even proved in his short stint in Copenhagen why he can function as a striker in this unusual central role and enliven the offensively harmless selection. Thanks to his ball handling and overview and his ability to remain calm in small spaces, he is predestined to develop surprising ideas. In addition, in close duels, such as those to be expected at the European Championships against Hungary, Scotland and Germany, standard situations are often decisive. And Shaqiri is by far the best player in the national team in this discipline.
Shaqiri is also not free from vanities
Shaqiri will be in the starting line-up in the friendly against Ireland in Dublin on Tuesday. And it is difficult to imagine that he will willingly accept the role of luxury joker at the European Championships. Because of his standing, Shaqiri’s past and class, but above all because of his self-image, this matter could be more complicated than Murat Yakin imagines.
Shaqiri may not be considered as power-conscious as Xhaka, but he also has a history as a national player who is not free from vanity. There was a dispute with Yakin’s predecessor Vladimir Petkovic for months: it was about Shaqiri’s position and who could be captain in Stephan Lichtsteiner’s absence. Shaqiri didn’t understand why Xhaka, who was a year younger than him, received this honor. Xhaka said at one point: “If that’s really the problem, he can have the captain’s armband.”
Granit Xhaka has long been the boss of the national team. He has two more international matches than Shaqiri, who, however, would be a record player if he had not only played two of thirteen international matches between November 2018 and October 2020, among other things because of the dispute with Petkovic.
This is how Murat Yakin finds himself in the Shaqiri trap. The national coach can get out of this with clear communication, possibly combined with an individual fitness plan for Shaqiri in the next few months. And above all with a stringent concept for the European Championship.
In fact, Shaqiri will hardly be able to be in the starting line-up every four days in the summer. But he could be an important factor against Hungary and Scotland for 60 or 70 minutes, create another magical moment with the number 23 with a Shaqiri action – and then be used as a joker against group favorites Germany. So he would be ready for a European Championship round of 16, which could also improve Yakin’s record as national coach.
