Eight months to the day after Taulant Xhaka anchored Albania’s midfield as they sealed a place at Euro 2016 with a 3-0 win over Armenia – while his brother, the Swiss international Granit, sent supportive messages on social media – the pair face a scenario neither could have seriously expected when cheering one another on in the qualifiers. Albania and Switzerland face one another in Lens on Saturday and, while that is not unusual in itself, two brothers have never before played against each other at a European Championship. (The Boatengs, Germany’s Jérôme and Ghana’s Kevin-Prince, have twice faced each other in World Cups, though they are only half-brothers.)
Saturday’s confrontation is difficult to play down and last month the brothers, whose parents migrated to Switzerland from the largely ethnically Albanian Kosovo in 1989 when it was still a part of Yugoslavia, could be found holding court at a table within the Fifa Museum in Zurich.
“We’ve made a bet [on the outcome] but have not yet decided on the reward,” Granit said, before seeking to lend some sort of normality to the situation. “I will give my best for Switzerland just as Taulant will for Albania,” he said, but truisms will not be enough to deflect the attention and it is a very modern European football story that will place them in opposite halves of Stade Bollaert-Delelis.
Both brothers, who were born in Basel within 18 months of one another – Taulant in March 1991, Granit in September 1992 – represented Switzerland at youth levels after showing exceptional ability with their hometown club but by April 2011 the question of their future was coming to a head, with Swiss media clamouring for them to show long-term commitment.
“I find it difficult to understand why no one at the Albanian football federation has reacted to express concern that we should wear [Albania’s colours] red and black,” Granit told the Kosova Sot newspaper. “We are Albanians and it is normal that our will and desire is to play for the national team. But nobody has called us, while the Swiss interest is extraordinary because they do not want to lose two players raised in their country.”
Granit proceeded to talk with the Swiss federation and, with Albania still apparently asleep, had made his full debut in a 2-2 draw at Wembley within two months. Whatever the reasons for that inattention, Albania’s loss has since been made resoundingly clear: Granit is close to his 50th cap, has scored at a World Cup finals and his move to Arsenal from Borussia Mönchengladbach last month spoke eloquently of his rise to the top level.
He is tasked with helping Switzerland reach a similar stratum this summer, but his relationship with his compatriots has not always been easy. In May Granit attended Basel’s match in Lucerne and was interviewed on the pitch. He was booed by the home crowd – probably with his well-known support for Kosovo’s admittance to Uefa and Fifa, both of which had recently been confirmed, in mind.
Granit’s team-mates Valon Behrami, Xherdan Shaqiri, Shani Tarashaj, Blerim Dzemaili and Admir Mehmedi are also of Albanian descent, which will give Saturday’s game a derby-like feel. There are concerns that the Kosovans may look to persuade some of the Swiss contingent to switch allegiance after Euro 2016, but there is no sign that Granit will agree to do so. He has reiterated his commitment to Switzerland, but a strong performance this summer might thaw a few relations.
Taulant is one of nine Albania squad members to have been born or raised in Switzerland. He is regarded by his brother as the better player but was an occasional troublemaker in his youth. He made his debut for Albania in September 2014, settled immediately and added to his popularity when, at the infamous “drone” game in Belgrade, he was among the first to seize the “Greater Albania” flag that had been piloted towards the pitch, subsequently starting a riot.
Taulant, a defender by trade but a commanding, dogged force further f
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