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SWANSEA, WALES – OCTOBER 07: Granit Xhaka of Switzerland during the EURO 2012 Qualifying Group G match between Wales and Switzerland at the Liberty Stadium on October 7, 2011 in Swansea, Wales.
Few stars have drawn the attention of Sir Alex Ferguson at the tender age of 19, and then show enough guts to shun a possible dream move to Manchester United for a far less glamorous side in the form of Bundesliga outfit Borussia Monchengladbach. Swiss starlet Granit Xhaka is a player full of ambition, and a level head to choose a league where he will get to showcase his immense talent week-in and week-out rather than get loaned out by the Red Devils for a possible acclimatization to the English game.
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Born to parents of Albanian descent, Xhaka is one of an impressive line of young Swiss players who have taken European football by storm over the past few years, and their success corresponds to that of FC Basel in the last few seasons.
All eyes over the last couple of seasons have been on another rousing Swiss talent of Albanian descent who has also earned himself a move to Germany, in the form of Bayern Munich. 20-year old Xherdan Shaqiri is probably the best talent in Switzerland at the moment, though compatriot Granit Xhaka is not far behind, and national team boss Ottmar Hitzfeld has dubbed him as the Swiss Schweinsteiger. Many believe he is the one man who can take the national team to new heights over the coming seasons.
Switzerland are in a period of transition, having to replace players like Hakan Yakin, Alexander Frei and Marco Strellar. Players like Xhaka and Shaqiri have added a new dimension to this team that play fearless football quite reminiscent of the characters of these young footballers.
At the end of the Swiss season last May, the country honoured Granit Xhaka and Xherdan Shaqiri with the Best Young Player and the Player of the Year awards respectively, highlighting the rich talents of the former FC Basel players.
Blessed with an incredible passing ability, Xhaka impressed last season with his versatility, and his understanding of the game. Having graduated from Basel’s youth team, Concordia Basel, the six foot tall midfielder can be used both as a playmaker, and a link between attack and defense. Any team can utilize his incredible pace to co-ordinate the momentum of the game.
Borussia Monchengladbach are trying to repeat last season’s success by investing on players such as Xhaka and Luuk de Jong, yet losing players such as Marco Reus, Dante and Roman Neustadter in the transfer window has suddenly put pressure on the new arrivals to impress the home faithful. Granit Xhaka is a rare talent, and a typical European player who strives under pressure. Revert back to the 2011-2012 Champions League season when Basel defied all odds to dump Manchester United to the Europa League, and then created a fuss by beating German giants Bayern Munich 1-0 in the round of 16 first leg at home, before the Bavarians taught the young Basel side a footballing lesson, winning 7-0 at the Allianz Arena. Guess who shined in that game although all attention was focused on Xherdan Shaqiri? Granit Xhaka’s creative play was highlighted by an incredible passing stat that made him the leading pass-maker in the 1-0 victory over Bayern. With a passing accuracy of 84%, Xhaka out-passed every one on the pitch and was the only Basel player making frequent passes. At 19, this is an amazing statistic.
Life in Germany might be real hard for the young Swiss, yet there is ample scope for learning and gaining experience. Furthermore, he will be exposed to a considerably tougher environment that will eventually make him a better player, and a mature human being. The importance of the player in both Switzerland and Germany was highlighted when both the Swiss Football Association and Monchengladbach had to come to an agreement which allows the player to skip the London Olympics, where he was due to play for the Swiss national team, so that he can concentrate on his new club’s pre-season preparations. More importantly, the Champions League qualifiers that the German club earned by finishing fourth last season will count more, but he will return for Switzerland’s August friendly against Croatia.
Monchengladbach’s sporting director Max Eberl described how the club were “pleased that Granit is here”, after the agreement was made between the two parties.
“This decision is good not just for Borussia, but also for Granit himself. We believe we have found a good comprimise. It’s important to take part in pre-season for a new club for Granit. But his career with the national team is also important, so it’s good that he can be there for the international match in Croatia in August,” he stated.
There are ample opportunities for Granit Xhaka to shine further this season both in the Bundesliga, and in Europe. Capped six times by Hitzfeld, there is more to come from the boy from Basel as the Swiss embark on a difficult road to qualification for Brazil 2014.
