Granit Xhaka is not yet satisfied. After a pretty satisfactory year at Bayer Leverkusen, with the Bundesliga-German Cup double, the Swiss midfielder wants even more successes and even more trophies. “We want even more. Not just this year, but obviously we want to play at the top in the coming years”, admitting that the championship race against Bayern Munich will be very tough. “We know that the pressure is a little higher now than last year. That also depends on us. But of course we want to be able to handle the pressure well. That’s why it’s necessary for us, the more experienced players, to stand alongside the young players. And we mustn’t think that everything will resolve itself.”
Taking a step back, when in the summer of 2023 he chose to pack up his tents fromArsenal For move to LeverkusenXhaka said: “For me it wasn’t a step back, but rather two steps forward. Because I had the precise feeling, discussing with the coach (Xabi Alonso, ed.) and with Simon Rolfes, that something special could happen here in the next few years,” explained the 31-year-old from Basel.
Continuing on with his physical conditionsafter having torn muscle fiber at the European Championships: “It was my first holiday with an injury. Something completely different for me.” Physiotherapist Sven Elsinger took Xhaka on holiday for three days for exercises and treatments, “so that I could stay fit and do my runs, my program that the club had given me. After 13 or 14 days I started to tingle again. More than two weeks of holiday was enough for me. I am free of pain and that is the most important thing for me,” he concluded.