On Saturday, Basel won their first friendly match against Thun, 2-0, with Xherdan Shaqiri officially appointed as the new captain of the team for the remainder of this season.
Those who watched the match up close were somewhat surprised.
On Xherdan Shaqiri’s 33-year-old jersey, there was also a large “C.”
“Xherdan Shaqiri is the new captain of the club,” Basel wrote on their official website.
“I had this in mind since he returned to Basel,” said coach Fabio Celestini regarding the captaincy issue.
“Shaqiri is the number one of the team in terms of experience and quality,” wrote Blick on Saturday.
Basel’s coach said there was no problem with either Taulant Xhaka or Dominik Schmid, who had been the team’s captains previously.
Shaqiri was substituted 30 minutes before the end, and the captain’s armband was then passed to Xhaka.
