Recently, Shaqiri sealed a 2-1 victory for Switzerland against Serbia in the second match of Group F of the 2018 VCK World Cup. Before this match, The Players' Tribune published the midfielder's confidences about his life and career.
Shaqiri's family originally came from Kosovo but moved to Switzerland to live when he was only 4 years old. However, life in this Central European country is not simple for them.
His father started by washing dishes in restaurants before switching to construction workers. Meanwhile, his mother works as a cleaning job in high-rise office buildings in the city.
Listen to Shaqiri talk about his small house: Our house doesnt have a thermal storage system, just a large fireplace. That is a very, very old house on a farm in Basel. I didn't even think about it.
I had to keep warm myself by running around the house like crazy. My brother always complained about the cold because his room was in the attic up, away from the fireplace. He had to sleep with five layers of blanket in the winter.
Life is more challenging when Shaquir's parents have to send money back to relatives still living in Kosovo. The high cost of living in Switzerland makes it impossible for his family to cover expenses, except for a birthday gift for him.
Shaqiri confided: A really interesting story, Ronaldo (Brazil) is my idol. A original Ronaldo. His way of playing football is magical to me. In the 1998 World Cup final, when he was injured and Brazil lost to France, I was sad and cried for him.
About 3 months later, I will have my 7th birthday. I told my mother every day for the three months: I want Ronaldos yellow shirt as my birthday gift. I just need that shirt.
On my birthday, my mother gave me a box. I opened it and it was Ronaldo's yellow shirt. But that is just a T-shirt that you can buy at the market. I didn't even think it had a badge. That was just a yellow shirt with 9 green numbers.
My parents didn't have enough money to buy a real shirt. However, it's not a problem for me. That was the happiest day of my life. 10 days later, I wore that shirt every day. I have a few yellow shorts so I should wear them too.
