Present at a press conference this Thursday, Peter Bosz returned to the case of Xherdan Shaqiri, who had already left just six months after his arrival at Olympique Lyonnais.
American style. Xherdan Shaqiri (30) signed on Wednesday with Chicago Fire, a Major League Soccer franchise in the United States. The Swiss therefore left Olympique Lyonnais just six months after arriving from Liverpool. And if the Gones did not ultimately lose any money in the operation (bought €6 million excluding bonuses, he left for €7 million), this hasty departure leaves a serious taste of unfinished business.
Invited to speak on the subject at a press conference this Thursday, Rhone technician Peter Bosz was completely transparent, with tactical explanations in support. “We used Shaq on the right side at the start. Since we weren’t so dominant, he played in the wide open spaces, both attacking and defending, and I don’t think he can do that.”he said before continuing.
OL failed to play as expected…
“He really is a No. 10 who has to play between the lines, I can even say that he was the best player between the lines for us, with superb technique and vision of the game in small spaces. He can only play No. 10 with us, but there are many players in this position here: Houssem, Lucas, Romain now, Shaq… In our team, he can only play No. 10, but there are has too many players in this position”he confided to justify the departure of a player, “not in his best shape at first”which he had desired last summer.
“Absolutely, I wanted it! Shaq is a very good player, he often played on the right also at Liverpool. But in an extremely offensive team, placed very high on the ground, close to the opposing surface, and there his qualities are expressed. But unfortunately, we weren’t as strong. His qualities are there. We thought we would play differently.”, he analyzed, assuming his share of responsibility and that of the Lyon collective as a whole in the Shaqiri failure. Pity…
