His influence on this side in just about every area imaginable is borderline immeasurable.
Unless Kyril Louis-Dreyfus ever opts to write a memoir that includes an in-depth retrospective of his spell as Sunderland owner, it’ll forever be a mystery as to the nature of the discussion between himself and Granit Xhaka as he sought to persuade the Swiss midfielder to join his red and white revolution for the 2025/2026 season.
“Fancy a crack at the Mags, Granit?”
“They’ll love you at Sunderland. You’re exactly the kind of player we need right now”
Hypotheticals aside, whatever was said and however Dreyfus was able to secure the services of this world class operator, thank God he did, because during a whirlwind summer, his was the arrival that arguably sent out the strongest message and the acquisition that really did show we meant business.
Thus far, the addition of the former Arsenal midfielder has proven utterly inspired.
His influence on this side in just about every area imaginable is borderline immeasurable and the combination of Xhaka and Régis Le Bris is a captain/coach axis that many sides in this division would be proud to have — two driven men who are determined to turn Sunderland AFC into a top flight force to be reckoned with.
After a string of superb performances since his arrival, Xhaka’s latest tour-de-force came on Sunday in the heat of a Wear-Tyne derby during which nerves and anticipation had reached fever pitch prior to kick off and a revamped Sunderland side geared up for their first league clash with our rivals from Tyneside in nigh on a decade.
Deep down, is it fair to say that we all knew he would rise to the occasion?
After all, with such an impressive CV and big game experience by the bucketload, he could hardly fail to, but with the Stadium of Light crowd riding waves of pure emotion as we took on Newcastle against the backdrop of the loss of one of our own, Xhaka was immovable, a rock in the middle of the park and a reassuring presence for everyone in red and white.
In contrast to Bruno Guimarães, whose “inspirational” acts on Sunday consisted of arm-waving, on-field grumbling and a post-match rallying cry that felt more like an attempt to play to the gallery than a genuine analysis of the game, Xhaka rallied his troops, he did the hard yards in the middle and he ensured that his teammates — the majority of whom were playing in this fixture for the first time — retained their focus from minute one to ninety.
Whatever Sunderland achieve this season, however far we progress in the FA Cup and wherever we may finish in the league (God knows exactly where Xhaka believes we’ll end up after thirty eight games — would you want to downplay our chances in front of him?), he’ll be at the very heart of it.
Why? Because he’s the very embodiment of that most priceless of qualities: leadership.
When you think of the great Premier League skippers and their finest performances, perhaps Roy Keane’s display against Juventus in 1999 and Steven Gerrard’s one-man rescue job during the 2005 Champions League final come to mind. These were quiet and perhaps socially awkward men off the field but wholly committed on it, and capable of leading through deeds and not just words.
By his nature, Xhaka doesn’t strike me as flashy and I don’t look at him and see a player driven by hubris or a sense of self-preservation.
He took a huge leap of faith in order to join our club and based on what we’ve seen and heard thus far, he’s determined to contribute in as meaningful as way as possible.
Of course, in keeping with the ways of the modern game, he creates Instagram posts in the aftermath of games and partakes in his fair share of interviews, but they always back up rather than attempting to make up for or masking his displays on the pitch, which have been nothing short of colossal.
For years, Sunderland AFC was home to players who believed that we were privileged to bear witness to them; footballers who were far more interested in what the club could do for them instead of what they could do for the club.
I won’t bother to list them, lest I darken the pages of Roker Report with the names of players we’d rather forget, but we all know who they are — as well as being all too aware of the damage they wreaked at the Stadium of Light.
The rot set in over many years and was deep seated. It took a long time, a good deal of pain and a lot of hard work in order to finally emerge from those shadows and into the current era, and the ethos of “team first” is now embodied by the Swiss warhorse.
You don’t have to have a talent for Churchillian rhetoric in order to be an effective leader on a football pitch.
You don’t even have to be the best technician in the team or even the most lethal marksman at the club. Instead, you have to set an example, to conduct yourself in a manner reflective of the position you hold and to be able to unite a dressing room that, in our case, is comprised of players from a wide variety of backgrounds and boasts a range of fascinating personalities.
Xhaka does all of this with aplomb, and he’s the perfect leader for this version of Sunderland AFC — a selfless, inspirational footballer who’s seen a lot and achieved a lot, but is clearly very proud to be the latest wearer of the armband and fully aware of the responsibility that goes with it.
We’re very lucky to have him.
Category: General Sports
