Sunderland captain Granit Xhaka has been speaking while away on international duty with Switzerland
You get the impression that Granit Xhaka never switches it off, maybe because he simply cannot.
For the Sunderland skipper, those same leadership qualities that convinced Regis Le Bris to hand him the captaincy as soon as he walked through the door at the Stadium of Light are seemingly non-negotiable - not some act or rhetoric that he adopts when he laces up his boots, but rather an outlook that is hardwired into psyche. In essence, he might as well have the armband tattooed around his left bicep.
At the present moment in time, the midfielder is away on international duty with Switzerland. On Friday evening, he completed a full 90 minutes in the engine room as he and his teammates saw off Kosovo in resounding fashion, scoring four without reply. Xhaka himself was in typically metronomic form, completing 102 passes and generally conducting proceedings in that measured way of his.
The 32-year-old’s own interpretation was, perhaps unsurprisingly, a little more sober in its analysis than most. “Our first half was almost perfect. We saw a very strong Switzerland. This victory sends a strong message to everyone,” he told Le Temps.
“We didn’t completely manage to stick to the plan. We see that we have very young players, and we need to improve in this area. It’s essential at this level. That must be our ultimate goal. The question is not whether we could have scored more goals, even if we need to take care of the goal average which can ultimately be important, but to understand how to better hold our positions throughout a match so as not to put ourselves in danger.”
The Sunderland star goes on to admit that he is well aware his latest comments could “come across as excessively demanding”, but in his mind, a harsh approach has to be taken to deliver the progress needed to rehabilitate the reputation of a Swiss side that have been subjected to widespread criticism on home soil since finishing bottom of their UEFA Nations League group.
He continued: “We didn’t always live up to expectations. I often heard, before facing Kosovo, that the Swiss team was no longer the team of the previous three years. And that really annoyed me. That’s why at the beginning of this meeting [international break], we all spoke very openly. We agreed that this was no time for speeches, that we had no time to waste. We have to deliver, and now!”
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And while few Sunderland fans will care too deeply about the fortunes of the Swiss national team, Xhaka’s comments once again act as a reminder as to the kind of mindset he brings to Wearside. In a dressing room largely populated by young talent who have very little in the way of Premier League experience, he is both the ballast and the catalyst - exemplary on the pitch, yes, but also striving for the very best in every aspect of his performance away from it too.
If Sunderland are to survive in the Premier League this season, that kind of presence could prove to be a vital asset. Certainly, the early signs are that he has already made a notable impact on those around him in the North East. And if nothing else, the Black Cats can absolutely rely on him to never ease up, to never let those standards drop. It is, after all, just who he is.
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