Two years ago, the group stage of the 2014 FIFA World Cup™ featured a high-profile brotherly battle between Germany’s Jerome Boateng and Ghana’s Kevin-Prince Boateng that ended in a 2-2 draw befitting the similarly impressive skills of the two siblings.
This summer, UEFA EURO 2016 in France will bring two more brothers together on the international stage as Taulant Xhaka’s Albania open their Group A campaign against Switzerland in Lens on 11 June. The Swiss will call upon the considerable talents of Taulant’s brother Xhaka, who recently completed his move from Borussia Monchengladbach to Arsenal. Neither brother particularly welcomed the draw, while their father is even more perturbed by the prospect. “To be honest, I hoped they would only ever meet each other in the final,” Ragip Xhaka admitted.
Taulant and Granit Xhaka’s Albanian parents fled Kosovo many years ago to settle in Switzerland, where both siblings grew up in Kleinbasel and found their footballing home at FC Basel. “Playing against each other was the last thing we would have wanted, and our parents felt the same,” 23-year-old Granit recently explained.
“We weren’t too pleased about it at first, but then we thought about the fact that we’ll be playing each other for the first time at international level. We talked about it at home and now we’re both looking forward to the match,” he concluded. “My father says it’s lucky he has two hands, as that means he can keep his fingers crossed for both of us,” added Taulant, who at 25 is the older of the pair.
While there are several instances of footballing brothers who play in the same position and have similar playing styles, such as Germany twins Lars and Sven Bender, these Swiss-Albanian siblings possess different strengths. As the better-known and arguably more gifted Xhaka, Granit is most comfortable in central midfield and is potentially Switzerland’s most valuable player after joining the Gunners last week. His older sibling is somewhat more versatile, frequently featuring in both central midfield and at full-back, and even putting in a shift at centre-half if called upon to do so.
He’s a role model for me both on and off the pitch, and we’ve stuck together in good times and bad.
Granit Xhaka on big brother Taulant
Taulant was loaned out to Grasshoppers after initially failing to make the transition into Basel’s senior ranks, clearing the path for a first meeting between the two brothers in the Swiss league on 10 March 2012, when Taulant and his Zurich-based team-mates lost 2-0 at home to Granit’s Basel. “It wasn’t an easy game – it was a very unusual but special situation,” said Granit, while Taulant recalled: “As I was playing at right-back in those days and he was in centre midfield for FCB, we didn’t actually have to deal with each other directly,” he explained, adding: “It will be a different story at the EUROs.”
“The 18 months he [Taulant] spent at Grasshoppers were so good for him, not just as a footballer but also as a person,” the 23-year-old reflected. “He has come on so much as a player and can push on from here despite getting started a little later than I did.” When Granit talks about Taulant, he sounds like an older brother talking about his younger sibling rather than the other way around. Indeed, the Arsenal player recounted with relish how, even as youngsters, their parents preferred to entrust their younger son with the front-door key. With a laugh, he added: “He has it now; after all, I’m not at home these days.”
Nevertheless, it would be wrong to assume that there is a longstanding rivalry between the pair. “I get on really well with my brother,” Granit told FIFA.com. “We talk on the phone almost every day. He’s a role model for me both on and off the pitch, and we’ve stuck together in good times and bad. I didn’t have a particularly easy time in my first six months at Gladbach, while he also struggled at Basel under [former coach Thorsten] Fink. Sticking together is crucial at times like that.”
While both brothers value their bond, neither will be going easy on the other on 11 June – something the older sibling readily acknowledges. “I definitely won’t be changing the way I play, as my main aim is to help Albania win, so it makes no difference whether I’m playing against my brother or not,” Taulant explained. “It’s football, not chess. It’ll be tough but fair!”
One question that still needs answering is why one brother represents Switzerland while the other plays for Albania. “It’s very simple,” said Granit. “In my case, Albania weren’t interested in me but Switzerland were, whereas for Taulant it was the other way around.” Mystery solved.
Both brothers are optimistic about their teams’ chances of progressing at UEFA EURO 2016. Reflecting on Albania’s prospects, Taulant said: “We believe we can beat anyone after winning in Portugal during qualifying, but there’s no doubt that France and Switzerland are the favourites in our group. Although both teams probably have stronger individuals in their ranks, it’s our team spirit that defines us.”
“Although we lost friendlies against both Bosnia and Ireland, I’m certain we’ll be ready for the EUROs,” explained Granit when asked to give his prognosis for Switzerland. “We’ve also got a golden generation of players, but you sometimes need a little bit of luck too if you want to achieve something special. We played brilliantly against Argentina at the last World Cup and while we didn’t deserve to go home when we did, none of us questioned our abilities after the tournament.”
Granit Xhaka also shared his view on the teams most likely to lift the trophy this summer. “What Greece achieved [by winning the tournament in 2004] was unique and I don’t think it’ll ever happen again,” he explained, before turning his attention to the usual suspects.
“As world champions, Germany are certainly among the favourites, but France have a fantastic team and shouldn’t be underestimated, while Belgium might prove to be the dark horses.” In the Xhaka household, however, all attention will be focused exclusively on Albania and Switzerland – with fingers crossed for Taulant on one hand and Granit on the other, of course.