Granit Xhaka sought calm leadership advice from Régis Le Bris at Sunderland | OneFootball

Granit Xhaka sought guidance from Régis Le Bris on calm leadership, and the Sunderland head coach stressed balance while lauding the midfielder’s influence. The pair have built a highly effective partnership on and off the pitch this season.

“He’s very special. He’s a football freak in a positive way. I call him like a second Arsène Wenger. He’s always under control and this is maybe for my future. He gives me some advice which is very helpful.” he told The Times earlier this year.

“I have to balance him out,” Le Bris joked. “As a manager you set the tone for the players. If you are too high or too low it becomes a problem but you have to stay real to yourself as well.”

“It’s a privilege to coach a player like Granit Xhaka, he’s so demanding with himself and he creates the condition to be demanding with others,” he said. He added, “Granit is emotional and intense and when he becomes a manager - I don’t know when, there’s no rush - he’ll have to respect this personality as well.”

“When I was younger, yes [I lost my temper], but it was a big mistake,” he said. “Not really now. When I feel something to say it should be intense, at half-time sometimes, at the end of the game once or twice this season. When I was younger I had to make these mistakes to learn from them.”

Source: Sunderland Echo