Switzerland captain Granit Xhaka has played down reports of tensions with manager Murat Yakin, stating that they are now on good terms.
This comes as a relief ahead of their opening Group A match against dark horses Hungary in Cologne on Saturday.
Switzerland is under pressure to deliver a strong performance to dispel fears that their impressive record of reaching the tournament’s knockout rounds could come to an end.
The team’s poor qualifying campaign, which saw them squander leads late in matches against Israel and Kosovo, led to reports of tension between Yakin and his players.
Fans even called for the manager’s dismissal. However, Xhaka’s statement puts those rumors to rest, and the team can now focus on the task at hand.
Xhaka said:
“We are adults enough to clarify everything.
So I’ve had a great relationship with the coach in the last six, eight months.
It has been better than the past.”
“He came to see me many times … We had dinner together.
We’ve drank a lot of wine together. So everything is going fine. We are both ambitious and we want to be successful for ourselves and for the team.
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“We are glad to have a coach listening to us who wants to talk to us.”
Midfielder Xhaka, one of Switzerland’s key players, has earned a reputation for his fiery temperament and occasional tantrums at being substituted.
The 31-year-old has mellowed since his move away from Arsenal and played a pivotal role in Bayer Leverkusen’s emphatic Bundesliga title triumph this season.
Switzerland have reached the knockout stages of the last five major tournaments but Xhaka would not be drawn on his team’s chances of making it six from a group that includes Hungary, Scotland and hosts Germany.
“We know that I don’t like to talk with ifs, buts and hypotheses,” he said.
“We would like to give an important sign tomorrow with a good match, trying to win all the games of the group stage.”
Switzerland will need to be at their best to overcome the Hungarians, who have been dubbed dark horses due to their impressive recent form.
