Switzerland is still unbeaten in the European Championship qualification, but two draws in a row are affecting the mood. The captain criticizes the training, the coach defends himself.
Captain Granit Xhaka sharply criticized the preparation for the game after the Swiss national football team’s disappointing 2-2 draw in Kosovo. “The way we played today is what the whole week looked like. You can’t go from zero to one hundred,” said the Bayer Leverkusen midfielder after the final whistle: “It looked like we were playing a friendly game here, right in the park. Unfortunately it doesn’t work that way.”
In the European Championship qualifying game, the Swiss gave up what they thought was a certain victory by conceding a goal in stoppage time – just like in the previous game against Romania (2:2). According to Xhaka, the main reason for this is poor training performance. “You can’t – if you don’t do so much all week and aren’t focused – invent a new rhythm,” said the 30-year-old: “I personally can’t do that and I don’t think any player in the world can either.”
When asked about his captain’s statements, national coach Murat Yakin defended himself. “We trained as usual, everything was under control,” said the former Bundesliga professional. He wanted to “discuss in private” with Xhaka and find out “what the idea behind his statements is.”
Xhaka admitted that he was even more reserved in his criticism. He was “a little more pissed off than usual – and rightly so.” He tries “not to find too bad words,” because “then it will backfire.” It is “lucky” that Switzerland will be playing at home against outsiders Andorra next Tuesday “and not against a bigger nation”.
Source: Stern
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