Xherdan Shaqiri, a former Stoke City player, was seen as unfit and overweight before to a stunning comeback.
Xherdan Shaqiri was well-paid but rarely played this time last year, with detractors dismissing the former Stoke City forward as unfit and overweight.
He was 32 at the time, had been with the Chicago Fire for two years, and appeared to be on his way to retirement.
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He travelled across the Atlantic for the European Championships and scored a spectacular goal for Switzerland against Scotland, but his only other appearance in the competition was an 11-minute cameo in extra time of a quarter-final against England.
He conducted what the Swiss press described as “a typically entertaining press conference” in which he discussed his frustrations in the MLS and his wish to return to Europe. He would shortly withdraw from international football.
The American football media was unimpressed. Extra Time Talk wrote: “The only answer appears to be a complete lack of effort. Shaqiri has shown signs of dedication to the Fire, but for the most part, he is slow on the pitch and disinterested at news conferences.
Chicago is also objectively a bad team, and there’s nothing about playing for this club that inspires its captain to succeed.”
There was discussion about where in Europe Shaqiri may be tempted, but given his form, age, and exorbitant cost, no one was expecting the fairy tale that has unfolded.
Not least because his boyhood team, Basel, had battled relegation the previous season. Rumours of a return to Switzerland were initially dismissed as “nonsense,” “lies,” “misinformation,” or “impossible” by both him and the team, citing his yearly salary of more than $8 million in Chicago.
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