Sunderland star Granit Xhaka has found a defender in Germany full-back Robin Gosens amid claims of a ‘toxic’ atmosphere in the Switzerland squad.
Kicker cover comments from the Germany international today following Switzerland’s win over Canda on Wednesday evening.
Sunderland star criticised
The Sunderland star has found himself in the middle of a media storm back in his homeland following Switzerland’s 1-1 draw with Qatar to open their World Cup campaign.
Swiss newspaper Blick had reported that the atmosphere in the Switzerland dressing room was ‘toxic’ due to Granit Xhaka’s behaviour. That came after he had voiced strong criticism of the team in public.
That reporting was put to Gosens as he appeared in ARD’s World Cup studio as a guest this week. And he was less than impressed, dismissing it entirely.
“How on earth do they know that – that the atmosphere is toxic? I don’t reckon anyone has inside information from the dressing room,” he said.
“These are always the sort of headlines that naturally grab people’s attention; everyone loves to jump on them. But I’ve never thought much of them.”
Granit backing
Rather than relying on second-hand reports, he’s sought out information on the Sunderland man for himself. That first led him to talk to Remo Freuler, who he played alongside at Atalanta.
The general tone of these conversations had always been completely different. According to him, Xhaka was “incredibly important to the team” and Xhaka was “the player his teammates look up to, and he is also the one who leads the way.” The public criticism had been intended more to “protect the team.”
He then, instead, felt that the Sunderland midfielder’s actions and words had been completely blown out of proportion.
“It’s not just hot air. He’s a leader on the pitch; you can see it. The team looks to him for guidance; he directs the team,” he concluded.
“Everyone looks to him when it comes to knowing how to position themselves. He’s the manager’s right-hand man, and that’s important. I simply think a lot of it is being blown out of proportion.”
