• War in Yugoslavia forced the Shaqiri family to migrate to Switzerland

• Shaqiri received his first senior national call-up for the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa

• Shaqiri is 11 internationals away from overtaking Heinz Hermann as Switzerland's most capped player

Akshat Mehrish Not since his early days in Basel or a brief, peculiar spell in Stoke-on-Trent has Xherdan Shaqiri been the main man for his domestic side. The explosive, unpredictable winger played for some of Europe’s biggest in his career - Bayern Munich, Inter Milan, Liverpool, and Olympique Lyonnais - but his role at each of those clubs was that of a wildcard, often off the bench, rather than the talisman. That’s not the Xherdan Shaqiri the Swiss know, however. For Switzerland, he is the main man, the savior, the leader, the individual who makes things happen. The soon-to-be record breaker? Born in Gjilan in the old Yugoslavia, Shaqiri, along with his parents and siblings, migrated to Switzerland as war broke out in the land. The family settled in Augst in Basel-Country, the namesake of which canton, FC Basel, took in the attacker and introduced him first to professional football. Having impressed for the local Swiss side, as well as the Switzerland international youth teams, Xherdan Shaqiri received a call-up to the senior squad for the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa. Lost in between the familiar names of Swiss football, such as Alexander Frei and Tranquillo Barnetta, he enjoyed a quiet tournament - and returned home to continue his upward trajectory in domestic football. When the tournament returned to Brazil in 2014, the composition of the Switzerland team had changed - as had the expectations. The national team had missed out on the European Championships two years ago, the old guard had retired, and the squad lacked a bonafide talisman. Up stepped Shaqiri, who scored four goals across three games, including a hattrick against Honduras, to book a round-of-16 date with heavyweights Argentina. The Albiceleste, however, broke Swiss hearts when Angel di Maria scored in the 118th minute to settle the tie.

Two years later, on the back of Xherdan Shaqiri’s performances, Switzerland qualified for the Euro 2016 in France. Led by head coach Vladimir Petkovic, the Swiss cruised to the round-of-16 where, in a match-up against Poland, Shaqiri scored a sensational bicycle kick from the edge of the box to take the tie to extra-time and subsequently, penalties, where they lost 5-4 despite him converting his effort. Shaqiri found the net for his third successive major international tournament in 2018 in a come-from-behind win over Serbia in the group stage. Unsurprisingly, he was on target when the European Championships returned in 2021, a year after their original schedule; the attacker scored thrice, twice in a must-win group game against Turkey and the equalizer in a 1-1 draw versus Spain in the quarter-final, only for Switzerland to lose on penalties again. While he is unquestionably the talismanic figure in the current Swiss batch, Shaqiri has the chance to become his nation’s best player outright. A few records stand in his way, however. The winger, having made 108 in his 12-year international career at the time of writing, is 11 away from overtaking Heinz Hermann. Furthermore, he is 16 goals away from leapfrogging Frei into first place and becoming Switzerland’s all-time top scorer.