Swiss Watch: Shaqiri, Lugano, and more...

For the last five years, it’s been difficult to separate the Fire as a club from Switzerland. The connection between the Men in Red and the Alpine Confederation has been strong between chairman Joe Mansueto’s purchase of FC Lugano, the five-year tenure of sporting director Georg Heitz, and a host of Swiss players.

Ahead of an all-important Super League clash tomorrow, we checked in on the Fire's Swiss-based alumni.

Habemus Xherdan

The Catholic Church yesterday chose Leo XIV to become its first American – and Chicagoan – pontiff, but the FC Basel Ultras already billowed white smoke last week in honor of another former Chicago resident. Xherdan Shaqiri is having, statistically, by far the best season of his career, with 17 goals and 20 assists already; the 33-year-old is leading the Swiss Super League in both categories despite joining the team over a month into the season, having terminated his Chicago Fire contract just before the trade deadline on August 14th. Basel are now one win away from clinching their first title in eight seasons.

https://twitter.com/FootballSwissEN/status/1916501056864899535

They’ll have the opportunity to do so tomorrow, against, of all teams, Lugano. Shaqiri trained with the Bianconeri in 2022 in the gap between the end of the MLS season and the start of Switzerland’s FIFA World Cup camp. Earlier this season, his 87th-minute equalizer at Lugano also marked a key moment in the title race, as since then, Basel have pulled nine points clear at the top of the league.

“It was really special to come back home,” Shaqiri said in an interview with FourFourTwo UK. “I love being here every day to train and play at a wonderful stadium in front of my family and the amazing fans, who deserve to celebrate something again.”

“It’s my goal to get the club back where it belongs, winning titles and enjoying European nights. I’m still the same player, but I’m more experienced and mature, and I’m trying to bring that winning mentality to the young players. It’s important for them to understand what it means to play for FC Basel.”

He’s been successful in that mission so far, putting up numbers practically unmatched across Europe, a shock for Fire fans given his relatively abysmal tally in Chicago (including just 2 goals and 1 assist from 12 appearances in his final MLS season). His incredible form has caught the eye of fans throughout the old continent, as well as his former teammates back stateside.

“(Basel) are the team of the hour right now,” Swiss-born Fire winger Maren Haile-Selassie said this week. “Shaq is playing with confidence now too. He’s very decisive there.”

“I’m happy for him,” the Zürich native added. “I’m happy that he’s enjoying his football again and producing these numbers. He’s a very important player for (Basel) and it looks like they’re going to win the title race.”

Retrospect and Eurovision

Both Shaqiri and now-Lugano Head of Sport Sebastian Pelzer looked back at the DP’s time in Chicago in recent interviews. It’s been almost one year since his final game with the club, so now that the dust has settled, the discussion is beginning to open up somewhat.

Shaqiri himself spoke positively of the experience, even if his last year-and-a-half in MLS was quite underwhelming.

“It was good to experience the different lifestyle, different culture and also different football,” Shaqiri said. “You could see how good they are at marketing and putting on a show! It was important for me to learn about America, but I feel at home in Europe. I played with Jhon Durán in Chicago. It’s a shame he left Aston Villa for Saudi Arabia, but it’s his decision and it was a good deal for the clubs.”

Pelzer, on the other hand, was more open in an interview with Bluewin.ch this spring. When asked why his form in Chicago was not at the same level as what he’s shown in Switzerland this season, he admitted it was partially the fault of the club.

“Shaqiri also played great games in the MLS, but overall we were clearly not successful enough as a team,” Pelzer said. “We obviously didn't manage to create an environment in which Xherdan could develop to his full potential.”

It will be a busy week in Basel. In addition to the near-certainty of clinching the league title in the next two matches, the Eurovision Song Contest will also be held in the city next week. Switzerland won the right to host this year’s edition when it emerged victorious in the 2024 competition, almost exactly a year ago. Shaqiri was actually asked for comment on the win at that time…

“Switzerland? Eurovision? I’m proud, man,” Shaqiri told MIR97 Media in St. Louis, Missouri at the time.

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Lake Effect

Things haven’t been quite as smooth sailing in Lugano since the turn of the new year, however. After starting the season well and being at the center of a razor-thin title race for months, they struggled to maintain their pace down the stretch and are now 12 points off the top, clinging to the final UEFA Europa Conference League qualification spot.

Several former Chicago Fire players have been involved with Lugano this season. Georgios Koutsias has impressed fans there, recording seven goals and one assist in his first 19 games since joining on an initial loan in the winter. The Greek youth international is not expected to rejoin the Fire even once the loan concludes, so it would appear that a permanent move to Switzerland could potentially be on the cards.

Other ex-Fire players there include Ousmane Doumbia, who’s appeared in 30 of the team’s 34 Super League matches this season, and Ignacio Aliseda, who is in his fourth season with the club after a disastrous two-year spell in Chicago from 2020 to 2021. Forward Kacper Przybyłko, who also had his fair share of troubles in the Windy City, has seen his minutes mostly evaporate since Koustias’ arrival, and missed a crucial penalty in Lugano’s heartbreaking Conference League shootout loss to NK Celje.

Finally, the most recent player to move between Lugano and Chicago was right back Allan Arigoni, who spent 2024 on loan with the Fire. He has only made three league appearances since returning to Switzerland.

“I’m still in touch with (Arigoni),” Haile-Selassie said. “I’m following Lugano’s results. Hopefully they can take momentum into the next games and qualify for Europe. I’m watching them and wishing them all the best, even with the coach I’m sometimes exchanging texts.”

Haile-Selassie won’t be able to watch the big Basel-Lugano clash this weekend, as the Fire’s early kickoff means they will be essentially simultaneous. But he won’t be the only member of the club keeping tabs on that game, especially with the stakes as high as they are for both teams.

Read more:

https://meninred97.com/im-proud-of-switzerland-xherdan-shaqiri-reacts-to-nemos-eurovision-victory/

https://meninred97.com/georgios-koutsias-moves-to-fc-lugano-on-loan/

https://meninred97.com/source-xherdan-shaqiri-chicago-fire-agree-to-mutual-termination/