Xherdan Shaqiri Biography

Xherdan Shaqiri, born on October 10, 1991, in Zheger, a locality in the Gjilan district then in the SFR of Yugoslavia and currently in Kosovo, is a Swiss international football player who plays right-winger for

and Switzerland national team.

He made a name for himself playing for Basel, Switzerland's top club. He was promoted to the first team in 2009 and won three consecutive Swiss League titles. Bayern Munich signed him on February 9, 2012, and he joined the famous German club at the end of the 2011-12 season. During his spell at Munich, the Swiss player won Bundesliga, DFB Pokal, Champions League and many other titles.

He joined

on loan on January 8, 2015, which later signed him on a permanent basis. After the end of the 2014-15 season, on July 1, 2015, he transferred to Stoke City. He was hired by English giants Liverpool on July 13, 2018. Since he arrived at Liverpool, he has won many titles including the English Premier League and UEFA Champions League.

He made his senior national team debut on March 3, 2010, in a friendly match against

. He was the highlight of Switzerland's campaign at the 2014 FIFA World Cup. He scored all three goals in the victory over Honduras in the third match of Group E, which also included

and Ecuador. Switzerland qualified second in the group and was eliminated in the round of 16 by Argentina (1-0) in extra time.

All You Need to Know About Xherdan Shaqiri Biography

Shaqiri was nominated for the best young player of the World Cup, but Paul Pogba was the winner. He scored a stunning bicycle goal in the UEFA Euro 2016 round of 16 matches against Poland but was unable to prevent their elimination on penalties.

Xherdan Shaqiri Information

To let you know him more, in this section of Xherdan Shaqiri biography, we will share some more general information about him such as Xherdan Shaqiri nationality. Stay tuned.

Xherdan Shaqiri Bio

• Full Name: Xherdan Shaqiri

• Nickname: The Magic Dwarf

• Profession: Professional Footballer

Xherdan Shaqiri Physical Stats

• Weight: 72 Kg

• Height: 1.69 m

• Eye Color: Brown

• Hair Color: Dark Brown

Xherdan Shaqiri Football Information

• Position: Winger

• Jersey Number: 23

• Professional Debut: 2007

Xherdan Shaqiri Date of Birth and Personal Info

• Date of Birth: 10 October 1991

• Birth Place: Gjilan, SFR Yugoslavia

• Zodiac Sign: Libra

• Nationality: Swiss

Now stay tuned in this section of

Xherdan Shaqiri biography

as we want to share some more information about

Xherdan Shaqiri childhood

and more.

Xherdan Shaqiri Early Life

Xherdan Shaqiri was born on October 10, 1991, in Zhegër, a locality in the commune of Gjilan, Kosovo, in the RSF of Yugoslavia, to Albanian parents. In 1992, when he was only one year old, his parents left the country for Switzerland. He has two brothers, Arianit and Erdin, the latter being his agent, and a sister named Medina.

Xherdan started playing youth soccer with SV Augst in 1999 before moving to Basel in 2001. In 2007 with the under-15 selection he was awarded as the best player of the Nike Cup, an important youth competition. In 2007-2008 he played his first match in the reserve team against

Under-21 and afterwards, he made 19 appearances and scored 8 goals.

Xherdan Shaqiri Profile

After two years of playing for the reserves team of FC Basel, eventually, Shaqiri signed his first professional contract with FC Basel on July 2, 2009.

FC Basel

He made his Super League debut as a substitute against FC St. Gallen on July 12, 2009. He scored his first Super League goal against Neuchatel Xamax FC at the Parc Saint-Jacques on November 9. Following Carlitos' injury, he quickly made his way into the team. In the same season, he won the Cup and Championship double with FC Basel.

He became a starting player in the FC Basel team and on September 15, 2010, he played his first Champions League final phase match against

. On November 3rd, he scored his first European goal against AS Roma.

On the last day of the Swiss league (36th matchday) where FC Basel and FC Zurich had 70 and 69 points respectively, Shaqiri scored the winner in the 2-0 victory over Lucerne. As a result of this victory, Basel became the Swiss champion of the 2010-2011 league.

He received the Credit Suisse Player of the Year award in Bern on August 8, 2011. This title was awarded to the best Swiss player of the year in 2011, and he was the youngest player to receive it. Later, on October 1, 2011, he broke another record by becoming the youngest FC Basel player to reach the 100-match mark at just 19 years, 11 months and 20 days.

He was the decisive factor in Basel's 2-1 win over Manchester United on December 8 in the sixth and final day of the group stages of the Champions League on the sixth and final day of the group phase, achieving the feat of qualifying for the Round of 16 while eliminating the Manchester giants.

He was one of the 40 nominees for the 2011 Golden Boy trophy in November 2011 with his fellow countryman Granit Xhaka to replace Mario Balotelli who had won the 2010 Golden Boy award.

A few days before the match against Bayern Munich, he signed for 12 million euros for them. The transfer was effective the following July. In the Round of 16, despite a 1-0 victory in the first leg against Munich, FC Basel was eliminated after a 7-0 defeat in the second leg. Nevertheless, the Basel team was proud of their achievements.

Shaqiri scored an acrobatic scissor-kick in the third minute against FC Lucerne on the 28th day of the Swiss league. The goal proved his talent and his signature for Bayern Munich. He scored a double in the 1-5 victory over FC Zürich on May 6, 2012, in Zurich, where they were already the Swiss league champions.

On May 16, he scored the winning penalty kick in the Swiss Cup final against FC Luzern. This was his second league and cup double with FC Basel.

In the last match with FC Basel 1893 (his 129th), he scored his 9th goal of the season in the league championship against Young Boys and finished 3rd top scorer behind his teammates Frei and Streller.

Other than 19 matches he played for FC Basel U21, during his time with the club he played a total of 130 matches for them, scoring 23 goals and providing 27 assists to his teammates. Now stay tuned in this section of

Xherdan Shaqiri biography

as we want to share some more information about his

career.

Bayern Munich

He left FC Basel and joined Bayern Munich on July 1, 2012, for a fee of €11.6 million. His contract was valid until June 2016. He quickly established himself in the team and scored six goals in the first friendly matches with his new team. He won the German Super Cup, where Bayern beat

2-1.

A few days later, in his second official match, he scored a goal and provided two assists against SSV Jahn Regensburg in the German Cup. He also played in place of Franck Ribéry on the first day of the Bundesliga. He played a major role in the 3-0 win against Greuther Fürth.

He gave a decisive pass on the 5th and 6th matchday of the Bundesliga to Mario Mandžukić. Despite the fact that the duo struggled since the beginning of the season, the Swiss player continued to surprise with his energy and great skills as a winger.

Once again he made a strong impression against

, where he provided a decisive pass to Ribery in the first defeat of the Bavarian club that season. On December 5, he scored a goal and gave an assist against the same BATE on the final day of the Champions League group stage, thus making a major contribution to Bayern's victory and enabling his club to narrowly snatch first place in the group from FC Valencia.

He scored his first Bundesliga goal against Borussia Münchengladbach on December 14. He scored again in the German Cup, against FC Augsburg with a flat foot, following a Thomas Müller assist.

Munich defeated Hamburg 9-2, in which he scored a goal and delivered a decisive pass. In the next match against Nuremberg, Shaqiri scored again and helped his team to a 4-0 victory, thus confirming them as German Bundesliga champions. A few days later in the cup, Shaqiri scored and provided three assists and Bayern qualified for the cup final.

In the 2012-13 season, Shaqiri made history with Bayern Munich by winning the Champions League, German Cup,

and the Super Cup at the start of the season. Shaqiri scored a mere 8 goals and gave 13 assists in 38 games, although he was rarely in the starting line-up. He proved to be a great talent at only 21 years old.

From the beginning of the 2013-14 season, he played less and less and had to wait until the winter transfer window of the 2014-15 season to leave the Bavarian club.

Over his three seasons spell at Munich, Xherdan Shaqiri played a total of 81 matches in all competitions, scoring 17 goals and giving 19 assists. Now stay tuned in this section of Xherdan Shaqiri biography as we want to share some more information about his career at Inter.

Inter Milan

In January 2015 he moved to Inter Milan on loan, with a buyout clause at the end of the season. He played his first Serie A match on 17 January, in the draw against Empoli; four days later he scored his first goal, in the Coppa Italia 2-0 win against Sampdoria. Despite a good start, including goals in the Serie A match against Atalanta and in the Europa League against Celtic, he then suffered a drop in performance that compromised his starting place: he was used less frequently by coach Roberto Mancini, and was unable to make an impact during an entirely lackluster season.

He played his last match for Inter in the 3-2 defeat against Genoa. Shaqiri finished his Inter Milan loan with 15 matches at Serie A, 3 games at Europa League and 2 Coppa Italia appearances where he scored 1 goal in each competition. He also provided two assists to his teammates at Seria A.

Stoke City

Following a half-season at Inter, Shaqiri left Milan on August 13, 2015, for the English club

for their record Premier League transfer of 17 million euros and signed a contract until 2020. Mark Hughes made him his starter on the Potters' right flank and in his first match against Norwich City, he made his first assist from a free-kick followed on December 5 by two assists for Marko Arnautović in a 2-0 win against Manchester City. Xherdan Shaqiri opened the scoring with a double for Stoke City after a crazy game against Everton where the Potters won 3-4 against the Toffees.

In the 26th and 27th matchday of the 2015/16 English Premier League, he played full 90 minutes against Bournemouth and Aston Villa, giving an assist on each match. On 3 February 2016, in Stoke’ home game against Newcastle United, Xherdan Shaqiri scored a goal to complete his great performances in February 2016.

 The very same season, he missed two matches against Watford and Swansea City due to a hamstring injury. He also gave an assist to his team’s only goal in the 4-1 defeat against Liverpool.

 He started the next season with a goal against Middlesbrough in the first matchday of the

, however, he wasn’t able to play the next four matches due to a calf injury.

On 22 October 2016, in an away game against Hull City he scored a double and helped his team to win the match 2-0. In the return match against Hull City, he scored again and also gave an assist to help his team win 3-1.

During his three seasons at Stoke City, Xherdan Shaqiri played in a total of 92 matches, scored 15 goals and provided 15 assists to his teammates. All of his goals and assists were in the league, as he never managed to put on good performances in the FA Cup and EFL Cup.

 Liverpool

On 14 July 2018, his transfer to Liverpool for a fee of almost €15 million was made official; and it was announced that he will wear the number 23 shirt. He scored his first goal with the Reds in the 4-1 win over Cardiff City on 27 October 2018. At Liverpool Shaqiri made his mark from the start, even managing to play as a starter on a few occasions in Jürgen Klopp's offensive 4-2-3-1.

On 5 November 2018, he did not travel with the team ahead of the match played (and then lost 2-0) in Belgrade against Red Star in the

after he was threatened by Serbian fans because of his Albanian origins and his celebration at the World Cup in Russia. On 16 December 2018, he scored his first double after he came on from the bench in the match won 3-1 against Manchester United.

During the season he scored 6 goals in 24 Premier League games, winning (albeit as a substitute and without playing in the final) his second Champions League title with a 2-0 win against Tottenham.

After a 2019-2020 season in which he played very little (however scoring a goal in the derby won 5-2 against Everton), in part due to physical problems, in 2020-2021 he returned to the squad rotations of coach Klopp.

Switzerland National Team

He was called up for the first time to the national A team for a friendly match against Uruguay. On March 3, 2010, for the 700th game in the history of the Swiss national team, Shaqiri started the match, but Switzerland lost 1-3, despite Inler's opener.

He was surprisingly selected for the 2010 World Cup, during which

was eliminated in the group stage despite a 1-0 victory against Spain.

In a match against England in the qualifiers for Euro 2012, he scored his first goal for the national team when he was only 18 years old, breaking away from several English players to unleash a left-footed shot from 30 yards that went into the top corner of England goalkeeper Joe Hart's goal.

At the Euro 2011 U21 Championship in Denmark, Switzerland played against host nation Denmark. He scored in the 48th minute by dribbling past two Danish players and beating the goalkeeper with a cross-shot, earning himself the man of the match award. On June 22, Shaqiri and his team made it to the final thanks to a fine goal by Admir Mehmedi in the 114th minute.

 Shaqiri was also named man of the match in that game. In the final, against Spain, Shaqiri and his team were unable to compete against the Spaniards who won 2-0. But despite second place, the players were welcomed as heroes when they returned to Switzerland.

On September 6, 2011, during the 8th day of the Euro 2012 qualifiers against Bulgaria, Shaqiri scored a hat trick. This enabled the Swiss team to come back from 0-1 to 3-1 and to hope for a qualification. He scored the first goal after a one-two with Eren Derdiyok and a nice shot, the second with a cross-shot and the third with a shot in the top corner. In the end, this win did not help Switzerland qualify for the finals.

On February 29, 2012, during the friendly match between Switzerland and

in Bern, he managed to equalize after a goal from Messi but the superior Argentinians won the game 1-3.

In the 2014 Football World Cup qualifiers, Shaqiri and Switzerland got Albania as their opponents. Shaqiri said it will be an emotional match against his home country. On September 11, 2012, the day of the match, he declared with Granit Xhaka (also of Albanian origin) that they will not celebrate their goals if they score against their home nation. After scoring during the match against Albania, he kept his word. The same scenario occurred again during the return match in Albania, where Switzerland qualified for the World Cup.

On June 25 during the 2014 World Cup, in the third match of Group E against Honduras at the Arena Amazônia in Manaus, he scored a historic hat-trick that propelled the Swiss team into the Round of 16. He also scored the 50th hat-trick in the history of the competition.

In the Round of 16 match between Switzerland and Poland at Euro 2016, he scored the goal of the competition from sixteen meters with an acrobatic volley.

Selected for the 2018 World Cup, he helped Switzerland to overthrow Serbia by scoring the winning goal in the 90th minute. His celebration with Granit Xhaka provoked controversy since, as Albanians and Kosovars of origin, they mimicked the eagle of the Albanian flag with their hands, a political gesture towards Serbia, which does not recognize independence of Kosovo, a region that is now predominantly Albanian.

On August 30, 2019, he refused to respond to his coach's invitation to play in the Euro 2020 qualifying matches against Ireland and Gibraltar, preferring to stay in his Liverpool club to try to squeeze in some playing time.

Now stay tuned in this section of Xherdan Shaqiri biography as we want to share some more information about his playing style.

Style of Play

A natural left-footed, he is a flexible football player, able to act both as an offensive outside player and as a trequartista; he stands out in particular for his vision of the game and his technical skills, with which he makes up for his not excellent physicality.

Reception

As a very talented footballer, Xherdan Shaqiri made a name for himself in Switzerland from a very young age, even playing at the 2010 World Cup at just 19 years age. In 2010, he was included in the list of the best footballers born after 1989 compiled by Don Balón. Man pundits consider him to be one of the best players in the history of Swiss football.

Goal Celebration

As a winger, Shaqiri has scored some great goals during his career and although he did not have a signature goal celebration, this hasn’t stopped him from making headlines by celebrating his goals. In a 2018 World Cup qualifying match against Serbia, he scored in the last minutes to help his team win the match. After scoring the goal he mimicked the eagle of the Albania flag with his hands, an act that caused controversy and forced FIFA to charge the player.

Xherdan Shaqiri outside Football

Being a professional football player, Xherdan Shaqiri is not technically permitted to ski or snowboard. Nonetheless, he and his two older brothers entered into a partnership with Switzerland Tourism and the resort of Arosa at the end of 2013 with the aim of promoting winter sports among second-generation immigrants living in Switzerland. The main aim was to directly address Shaqiri's roughly 1,900,000 Facebook fans.

Xherdan Shaqiri Personal Life

In this section of Xherdan Shaqiri biography, we will take a deeper look into his personal life and share some information about things like

Xherdan Shaqiri life story

and

Xherdan Shaqiri religion

with you.

Family, Children and Relationships

Xherdan Shaqiri was born to Albanian parents in 1991. When he was just a few months old, the family immigrated to Switzerland in search of a better life.

In late 2020, it was announced that Xherdan Shaqiri is dating a beautiful Kosovan pop singer named Dhurata Ahmetaj. In a few months leading to the time of reports, the stunning pop star was seen in England.

Philanthropy

As a famous figure in his home country, Xherdan Shaqiri takes part in many charitable projects and is actively involved in helping different charities.

Legal Issues

After the controversial goal celebration in the 2018

qualification match against Serbia, FIFA charged the player 10,000 Swiss francs. After the news broke out, a campaign was started in Albania to raise money for Shaqiri to make up for his fine. The campaign raised over 14 thousand US dollars in less than 24 hours.

Xherdan Shaqiri Career Statistics

In this section of Xherdan Shaqiri biography, get ready as we are going to share some information about his career stats both on the club and international level.

Club

Since starting his career at FC Basel U21, Xherdan Shaqiri has played a total of 401 matches for six different teams, scoring 74 goals. During his career, he has also provided assists to his teammates on 72 occasions. He played most of his career at FC Basel, during his tenure at the top Swiss club he played 130 matches and scored 23 goals.

International

After playing 27 matches for various Switzerland youth ranks and scoring 4 goals between 2007 and 2009, he played his first match for the senior national team on March 3, 2010, when he was 18 years, 4 months and 21 days old.

So far Xherdan Shaqiri has played a total of 83 matches for his country and scored 22 goals. He has also provided 22 assists to his teammates in international matches.

Xherdan Shaqiri Honors

Shaqiri is no doubt one of the most decorated Swiss football players. During his career up until now, he has won many awards at the club level including Swiss Super League and Swiss Cup with FC Basel, Bundesliga, DFB Pokal, DFL-Supercup, UEFA Champions League, UEFA Super Cup and FIFA Club World Cup with Bayern Munich, English Premier League, UEFA Champions League, UEFA Super Cup and FIFA Club World Cup with Liverpool.

On the international level, he finished second in the UEFA European Under-21 Championship with the Switzerland U21 team.

Of his notable individual titles and awards, we can include the Swiss Golden Player Award "SFAP Golden Player", the Swiss Golden Player Award "Best Young Player", UEFA European Championship Goal of Tournament and UEFA Nations League Finals Team of the Tournament.

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