Xherdan Shaqiri has scored the most life-affirming hat-trick of 2026 to date | OneFootball

Hands up who knew Xherdan Shaqiri was still going? Liars.

Shaqiri dropped off most of our radars after leaving Liverpool in 2021 and fell into a black hole after announcing his international retirement following Euro 2024.

At his Stoke City peak, the Swiss playmaker was a footballer with the build of an Olympic strongman and the feet of a ballerina.

Managing to bewitch a football so effectively that it’s a surprise to learn he didn’t moonlight at Hogwarts in his youth, Shaqiri has scored some outrageous strikes in his career.

Piledrivers from somewhere near the Austrian border. Chips that redefine the word ‘dainty’. Finishes after dribbles that leave defenders with twisted blood and doctors administering emergency oxygen in the dressing room.

You name it, Shaqiri has scored it. Not a great goalscorer, but a scorer of great goals.

Now aged 34, he is the Captain, Leader, Legend of his hometown club, Basel.

The perennial Champions League plankton won the Swiss Super League last season, but that was their first title since 2017 and they’re currently 10 points behind leaders Thun.

With sights lowered to scrapping for a Conference League play-off place, their focus has narrowed to the intense derby with FC Zurich.

Switzerland has a reputation for cool neutrality, but the football scene is more intense than given credit for.

It might not be Istanbul or Marseille, but bumping into a group of Swiss ultras in a darkened alley would still necessitate a pair of trousers. The atmosphere at the Letzigrund was feverish.

Zurich and Basel thrashed out a minor classic on Sunday afternoon, trading goals like expensive watches or decadent bars of chocolate.

Never adverse to tucking in, Shaqiri had already helped himself to two goals and an assist as the match entered injury time with the scores locked at 3-3.

It would either take something special or something ridiculous to win it. Our cuboid-built hero was on hand to oblige with a goal that showcased all facets of his class.

From outmuscling one Zurich defender to evading the lunging challenge of another, Shaqiri worked himself into a shooting position with two more opponents gawping with wonder nearby.

A crisp into the far corner sealed a dramatic victory for Basel. Shaqiri celebrated in front of the Zurich ultras, with an expression akin to a cat who’s just won a lifetime’s supply of cream.

Deep into the autumn of his brilliant career, Shaqiri is now firmly in his happy place with slippers on and feet resting on a fire-adjacent chair.

Post-Liverpool spells at Lyon and Chicago Fire had their moments, but scoring 18 goals and providing 20 assists during Basel’s title-winning season last year was fairytale stuff.

During an era where top-level football is increasingly optimised and compromised, it’s a heart-warming sight to see a pure footballer strutting his stuff away from the limelight.

You suspect Shaqiri will enjoy his retirement. We’re still enjoying his name popping up on our timelines as a much-needed palette cleanser.