Granit Xhaka

Basel

Xhaka started his youth football with Concordia Basel and, together with his brother Taulant, moved to the youth department of Basel at the end of 2002. He played for various Basel youth teams regularly advancing through the ranks. In the 2006–07 season he was member of the U-15 team that won the Swiss championship, creating a record for eternity. They managed to win all championship games in that season to win the Swiss championship at that level. This was achieved with a goal difference of 104:13. Since competitive football began in Switzerland, no team had achieved this before. In the 2007–08 season he was member of the U-16 team that won the Swiss championship at that level, remaining undefeated throughout the entire season. During the 2008–09 season Xhaka advanced to the U-18 team, but was nevertheless called up to Basel's U-21 team, who played in the third tier of Swiss football, by their coach Patrick Rahmen and on 15 November 2008 Xhaka was substituted on in the 83rd minute as Basel won 2–1 against Cham. During the second half of the season Xhaka played nine further games for the U-21, scoring one goal and at the end of the season became division champions and won the championship at U-21 level. To the beginning of the 2009–10 season Xhaka advanced to become member of the U-21 squad, however was still eligible to play for the U-18 team, who at the end of the season became Swiss champions at their level. To the beginning of their 2010–11 season, Xhaka…

2008–2011: Youth levels and senior debut

Xhaka has played for Swiss youth squad at the U-17 level. He participated in the Under-17 World Cup in 2009 in Nigeria. The Swiss team won the World Cup. He played his first game for the Switzerland national under-19 team on 25 May 2010, as a substitute, as the team beat Austria national under-19 football team 3–2 in the Schwaz, Austria. He scored his first goal for the U-19 on 7 September 2010 as the team won 3–0 against the Czech Republic. Xhaka played his first game for the under-21 side on 3 September 2010, as a substitute, as the team beat the Republic of Ireland 1–0 at the Cornaredo Stadium in Lugano. This was the last game in the qualification Group 2 to the 2011 UEFA European Under-21 Championship. Xhaka was member of the Swiss U-21 squad that competed in the final tournament, hosted by Denmark, between 11 and 25 June 2011. The Swiss team reached the final without conceding a goal, but lost to Spain 2–0.

2011–present: Senior tournaments and captaincy

Before making his international debut for Switzerland, Xhaka was still undecided whether to play for his birth country or Albania, and he complained to the Albanian sports media that the Albanian Football Federation was ignoring him whilst the Swiss Football Association was showing much more interest. Xhaka debuted for Switzerland at Wembley Stadium against England in a 2–2 UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying draw on 4 June 2011. On 15 November 2011, during his sixth…

A technically gifted player with good shooting abilities, Xhaka started out playing as an attacking midfielder before being moved to the role of deep-lying playmaker in front of the defence, either in the centre of a 4–3–3, or as one of the double pivots in a 4–2–3–1 or 3–4–3. In this role, he helps dictate the tempo of his team's gameplay through his clever range of passing. He his also known for his aggression, defensive contribution, and leadership qualities, having served as Arsenal's captain. However, he has also occasionally drawn criticism in the media over his inconsistency and aggressive temperament, which has led him to receive cards, as well as due to the perceived inferior quality of his club performances in comparison to his international performances.

The younger brother of Basel player Taulant Xhaka, Granit Xhaka was born on 27 September 1992 in the city of Basel, Switzerland, into an ethnic Albanian family from Besianë, Kosovo. The family moved from Besianë to Basel in 1990.