There’s a terrific interview from David Lynch with Xherdan Shaqiri in the Evening Standard today.
The journalist has discussed many things with the Swiss, and you can follow the link to check out Shaqiri’s quotes in more detail.
SEE MORE:
LFC using new left-back in 1st-team training after EFL Cup game
But the section we enjoyed most was the Swiss playmaker’s no-nonsense response to Charlie Adam’s summer criticism, with the Scottish midfielder part-blaming Shaqiri for Stoke’s relegation a few months back.
In fact, Shaqiri was Stoke’s top-scorer and registered the most assists to boot, while Adam endured a stinking campaign!
“It’s not true what they wrote because I’m a totally different type of [person],” Shaqiri began.
“Some ex-football players, or ex-teammates, they spoke to the media and it looks like I am a bad boy or something but I’ve never been a bad boy or had some problems at a club!
“For me, I’m a nice guy who likes to joke, so I think the people who spoke about me were totally wrong..
I think it’s just frustration maybe or jealousy because I had a good move.
“I was surprised that he spoke like this about me but that is sometimes the character of a player.
“I know what he said was totally wrong because at that time I played there – especially when times were hard – I was there and I was scoring a lot of goals.
“I was one of the only ones who helped the team with goals in difficult games and he was that guy who took the red card in [important] league games (against Everton) and missed a penalty (against Brighton).
“I don’t have to prove Charlie Adam or some people that are speaking about me wrong,” he adds.
Shaqiri’s full Premier League debut for Liverpool only lasted 45 minutes against Southampton, but he did enough to show he’s going to be a very good player for us.
Against Chelsea in the EFL Cup, he impressed again. Shaqiri is bullishly powerful, but possesses speed and vision, as well as a terrific left-foot.
We don’t think he’ll start at Stamford Bridge, but will provide a great option off the bench should we need more firepower or a technical option to help maintain possession and see out the game.