Nati star Shaqiri for a hit: ‘We have to take into account whistles in Kosovo’

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His 115th international match is special: Xherdan Shaqiri plays for the first time against Kosovo, the country where he was born and where he has many relatives. Before the duel against his own past, the 31-year-old Chicago professional takes time for a media round. And talk about…

“I was one year old when our family came to Switzerland because of the war. But my parents both have nine siblings, so you can imagine how many relatives want to come to the game on Saturday. I got about 50 ticket requests and luckily I was able to fulfill them all. For many, it is not possible to get your hands on a game in the US or Western Europe due to visa regulations. I’m all the happier to see the people. I hope that family is more important than nationality and that relatives will keep their fingers crossed for me. But most of all they have to have fun in the game. Many have written to me asking not to score a goal. I am an athlete, I give everything for Switzerland. But I will not celebrate a goal out of respect for Kosovo; my teammates should do that for me.”

“I am convinced that we will be well received. We certainly don’t have to worry about being attacked during the walk before the game. But we have to account for whistles from a small percentage of people. The atmosphere will be different from last year’s friendly in Zurich. Kosovo got off to a bad start in qualifying for the European Championship, which surprised me given the quality of the squad. With the new coach (Primoz Gliha; ed.) They want to turn things against us, so we have to prepare well for that. And, unlike Romania, you have to be there until the last whistle.”

“When the association was approved for official competitions in 2016, I was very happy, first of all for the country and the people there. There was the possibility for players with roots in Kosovo to switch national teams. I was also in talks with those responsible at the time. But then came the emerging economy with Switzerland. And because I played there, the problem was solved automatically.”

“It would be nice to go down in national history as a record player. It is much more important to me that Swiss football fans remember me as something special, as one of the best national team players in history. You should think: the Shaqiri has brought us many beautiful moments. »

“Even at 31 years old, I am still very happy to come to the national team. Even if the journey from the US takes a little longer. I tolerate the time difference well, the journey back to Chicago is quite difficult. Will I be there at the 2026 World Cup in the US? That’s too far away, I’m living in the moment, for me now there’s the match in Kosovo. Of course it’s a dream to win a title in a tournament one day. All 25 players have to be on performing at the highest level and that takes luck. But I think as the Swiss like it: stay grounded and do the duty first.”

“We are the clear favorite in our qualifying group and victory is expected in every game. We also demand that of ourselves. The 2-2 against Romania in June felt like a defeat. For us, the group is a good test of how seriously we can carry out compulsory tasks. If we can do that, we can hold our own against great nations. But you also have to see that the small teams have made big strides. Andorra defended itself very well against us. These teams want to win every game these days.”

“More and more people are looking at the US. There were many stars in the league before, but with Messi, the popularity of football in the country has only increased. We will play against Miami in October, it will not be my first game against Messi, but it will be for my teammates. I’m sure there will be a few questions about him.”

“Of course I noticed the many changes there, but I haven’t thought about it myself yet. I feel comfortable in the US and have a contract there next year. I also regularly get questions about moving to Chicago’s partner club Lugano. I trained for the World Cup in Ticino last year, I really enjoyed it. I follow the Lugano Games with great interest. Football is moving fast, let’s see what happens.”

Source : Blick