Xherdan Shaqiri finally has his marquee moment

When Xherdan Shaqiri was unveiled as a Chicago Fire player in early 2022, it was a moment that excited everyone. Then-head coach Ezra Hendrickson praised him as a "game-changer" and someone who can "change the game by the snap of a finger." Sporting director Georg Heitz proclaimed that Shaqiri would bring glory back to the Fire and produce magical, memorable moments.

Nearly two years later, he finally has that signature moment.

The Swiss midfielder, a big-money Designated Player, has had a difficult time in MLS, but in a regular season game that mattered more than any other in recent memory, he delivered the goods and guided the Fire to victory. Despite only scoring from the run of play once in 2023 before last night, his pair of beautiful goals completely flip the narrative of his season and propel the Fire into the playoff places.

Apart from Miami’s Lionel Messi, the greatest player of all time, whose status was in the air right up until matchday, Shaqiri was the most talked about player coming into the game. After all, he had made his name in Europe as someone who always turns up in the biggest moments, whether that be World Cups, European Championships, or cup competitions. For the Fire, this game was about as big as they come, so despite his inconsistency and poor form, there was still hope that he could turn up.

In the 49th minute, he did. Shaqiri had endured a quiet first half, and while the Fire did have chances, he wasn’t finding himself to be the man in dangerous positions in the final third. Then, a quick counterattack marched down the field, and the DP found himself in acres of space as he drifted inside from the left wing. When the ball met his foot, everyone in the stadium knew what was going to happen. In truth, goalkeeper Drake Callender was beaten before the ball even reached Shaqiri.

Two goals from his Swiss compatriot, Maren Haile-Selassie, propelled the Fire into a 3-1 lead, even after Josef Martínez pegged one back for Miami. With the Messi-less visitors reeling, Shaqiri stepped up to deliver the dagger. Another counterattack saw “Shaq” receive a great pass from Gastón Giménez before sliding the ball past Callender to make it 4-1 in vintage fashion.

“Three points was very important today,” Shaqiri told us postgame. “I'm very proud of the guys, how they perform today. We knew that we have to suffer sometimes, and we know the quality of Miami. There's a lot of possession, but we knew also that they have some counter attack problems and we did very well and we take our chances and scored four goals.”

Unlike the majority of his teammates, playing in front of such a crowd was nothing new for Shaqiri. He has experience at the highest level and spent time at giant clubs such like Inter Milan, Bayern München, and Liverpool. However, the atmosphere was something that seemed to energize him, and Head Coach Frank Klopas seemed to agree.

“Maybe [Shaqiri] needs 60,000 fans every game to perform like this,” Klopas said. “I mean, for him, it's a big stage, and I think always big players perform on big stages. And he knew what was at stake today.”

“They cheered a lot, and yeah, we performed well,” Shaqiri added. “We scored a lot of goals, and I think everybody had fun, so I hope it's not the first and last time so much people come.”

Shaqiri’s 24-minute brace probably paid off his $8 million a year salary; the demolition of Miami will be a huge boost for the club on what was a special, record-setting night that will benefit the Fire greatly in the long run. It also puts the team one big step closer to the playoffs. There’s still work to do, starting on Saturday against Charlotte, but things are looking up for everyone associated with the Chicago Fire… especially the “Alpine Messi.”