2023-10-14 14:15:00
freshfocus
“I want to enjoy tomorrow,” says Granit Xhaka a little more than 24 hours before the game once morest Belarus (Sunday, 6 p.m.). It’s a special one for the 31-year-old: Xhaka will play his 118th international match – and join Heinz Hermann as the national team’s record player. “That makes me proud,” said the Nati captain.
There will be no special preparations for him. “But at best there will be a little celebration,” he announces. After all, the game is already at 6 p.m. Will there then be praise from the father, who basically never praises? “I don’t know, I still have to play,” he laughs. It was good for him that he was never praised.
The best player in history?
“That drove me to perform better and better,” said Xhaka. However, he mightn’t say whether he was the best Swiss player in history. The Leverkusen star: “It’s not up to me to judge.” But he expresses his opinion openly and directly, thinks further than today and tomorrow. Xhaka: “My personality has taken me very far.”
Best or not, he will most likely be the player who has played the most games at least once. This will probably be the case in the European Championship qualifying games in November. Xhaka leaves it open how long things will continue following that. “I just decided that I’m going to keep going until 2028,” he jokes. “As long as I’m still fit, I’ll keep playing. I don’t want to commit to a number.” Ultimately, he just wants to make Switzerland proud. And achieve something else with the golden generation: “We have big plans and are hungry.”
Most emotional game once morest your brother
Xhaka was also asked regarding the most emotional, best and worst game of his Nati career. He classifies: “The most emotional game was at the 2016 European Championships once morest Albania and my brother Taulant, the best at the 2021 European Championships once morest France and the worst at the 2018 World Cup once morest Sweden.”
The entire press conference can be read below.
1697302813
#Press #conference #Granit #Xhaka #international #match #record
