Big Shaq is back – how Xhedian Shaqiri turned it around for both himself and his boyhood club
A few months ago, I made an article about the intense title race in which I predicted there could be a shifting of the tides in the Swiss Super League. In truth, for anyone who closely follows football in Switzerland it has come as little surprise that Young Boys, the nations dominant force for over half a decade, have dramatically fallen off. Embarrassingly dumped out of the Champions League in last place having lost every game, and now miles off the title, the final nail has been put in the Young Boys coffin.A truly embarrassing semi-final cup loss to 3rd division amateur side Biel/Bienne (who were actually former Swiss champions all the way back in 1947).
However, today it is the team that will be facing the amateur club in the final of that competition is who I want to focus on today. You see, as Young Boys have descended from the top, they have been replaced by FC Basel – in a move that mirrors Basel’s own fall from the top 8 years ago. For those of you who don’t follow Swiss football you would be forgiven for still believing that Basel are still king. They were of course one of the most dominant teams in all of European domestic football under decade ago, producing and nurturing young talents and going far in European competitions. However, they have been off it for some time now, thanks to mismanagement within the club – including a crazy fall off of their scouting and youth department. Fittingly, this is where Xhedian Shaqiri comes in. Whilst Basel have been unable to see soaring profits in youth sales that used to keep them competitive, they have instead turned to a 33-year-old in the twilight of his career. Shaqiri (or known to many as Big Shaq) actually began his career in Basel, joining the club all the way back in 2001 at the age of just 8 years old. Shaqiri would go on to make 127 competitive games for the club until he was snapped up by Bayern for a little over 11 million euros.
However, it would be fair to say that Shaqiri regressed throughout his career (many people joke that it reads backwards), starting with Bayern and Inter and then strangely Stoke City. However, arguably his best football came with the Potters, and it was during his time here that he scored his most memorable goal – a piece of true brilliance for Switzerland in euro 2016. Let’s not also forge that Big Shaq is both a Premier League champion and Champions League winner with Liverpool, although it must be said that he played a bit role in both wins. When Shaqiri announced he was joining Chicago Fire in 2022, I like most footballing fans believed this would be it for him, a record breaking singing most likely on a lucrative contract playing in the MLS all before his 30th birthday: a true fall from grace.
And in some ways Shaqiri’s career perfectly mirrors that of the club that got it started for him. Whilst Shaq was putting up 7 goals a season in the MLS, Basel too were underperforming. A 9th place finish in the regular season of 23/24 put Basel into the relegation group, battling it out against the other 5 teams who finished in the bottom half. Thankfully, relegation never came but it was a serious possibility at one point of last season. But everything changed on the 16th August 2024, when Basel announced that the Kosovan born Swiss international would be returning after 12 years. And wow, what a return it has been! Shaqiri has a whopping 14 goals and 17 assists in the super league this season, making it 31 goal contributions in 33 games. In Europe’s top 15 leagues, only Mohammed Salah and Harry Kane have contributed more domestically in terms of output, with Shaqiri placing above the likes of Lewandowski and Chris Wood. This in itself would be noteworthy enough, but it is the way in which Shaq has rejuvenated his boyhood club which makes this story so special.
Basel were a club in crisis less than a year ago, and he has almost single handedly turned things around. Basel are on course for their first title in 8 years, entering the championship group this year instead of the relegation group. And without trying to tempt fate, it seems as if Basel are almost certainly going to wrap the league up before the final day. Just 5 games are in their way, with a 6 point lead ahead of 2nd place Servette.
In fact, Shaqiri’s team are playing Servette on the 4th May, so watch out for that one. On top of this, if things weren’t already good enough, Shaqiri has led Basel to a Swiss cup final, scoring against Lausanne to help the team face the aforementioned Biel/Bienne. In total, a double is extremely likely this season, and the plaudits have to be directed to the Swiss man, who, at 33, finally seems to have found a permanent home – fittingly at the place where it all began.
