Sunderland fans of a certain vintage may remember two particularly no-nonsense yet inspirational quotes from Kevin Ball following the Lads’ 1998/1999 Division One title-winning campaign.
The first was delivered on the pitch at Gigg Lane following the emphatic 2-5 victory over Bury that sealed our promotion back to the Premier League, with Ball declaring to ITV Tyne Tees’ Jeff Brown that “Sunderland would become a force now”.
Weeks later, after the end-of-season bus parade had made its way down to the seafront,
the midfielder stood on the balcony at the Seaburn Centre, hoisted the trophy aloft and simply said “This is for every one man jack of you”.
The reason I mention this is because as we continue to reflect on the astonishing fact that as of right now, we’re fans of a newly-qualified Europa League football club, I thought there were remarkable parallels between the sentiment behind Ball’s words over twenty five years ago and those expressed by our current captain, Granit Xhaka, during Sunday’s glorious post-match celebrations.
As I stood in the North West Corner after the whistle blew, with the players celebrating wildly and the reality of European qualification began to dawn on everyone, it felt like being part of a scene that we’ve all watched at other clubs but seldom experienced at Sunderland. Nobody leaving in case they missed something special. A gaggle around the tunnel as the players’ re-arrival was awaited, and nothing to be heard but raucous cheering and singing as the party got going.
Shortly afterwards, following Régis Le Bris’ brief yet noticeably animated speech to the red and white faithful (which only added to the appeal of the man, in my view), it was the turn of our figurehead, our general, and our captain to speak — and boy, did he grab the attention.
Simply put, Xhaka’s interview in the centre circle was quite possibly the most inspiring I’ve ever heard from a Sunderland captain.
He’d ran himself to a standstill in a winning cause against Chelsea, yet looked as fresh as a daisy and spoke with the clarity of a man about to kick off the season instead of ending it; indeed, when he declared that “This is just the beginning”, it stirred the emotions as effectively as any of the victories or goals we’d witnessed during 2025/2026.
After we secured our top flight status with a scratchy draw at Wolves, I wrote an article thanking Xhaka for what he’d done, at the time hoping yet not truly believing that European qualification was still a realistic prospect.
Skippering the Lads’ to mid-table security at the first time of asking would’ve been impressive enough, but leading them into the Europa League via our league position for the first time ever? That’s something different entirely and I just want to pay another tribute to him.
What you get with Xhaka — in every facet of his approach to football — is the very embodiment of leadership.
Deeds first, words second. Make that challenge, chase that seemingly lost cause and ask questions later. OK, in keeping with the ways of modern footballers, he’s active on social media and he clearly understands the scale of his influence, but that’s fine, because it’s not performative and it’s not superficial.
Instead, he backs it up every time he takes to the pitch and the working relationship he’s forged with Le Bris, with captain and coach united behind a common goal, is mightily impressive.
From Arsenal to Bayer Leverkusen and then to Wearside, Xhaka may be closer to the end of his career than the beginning, but the fact he’s enjoying such a stellar run of form on the banks of the Wear has been absolutely vital for the club’s fortunes on our return to the top flight.
Captaining Sunderland AFC isn’t the easiest role to fulfil, yet Xhaka has carried himself with the aura and presence of someone for whom the armband could’ve been custom fitted.
Not once has he looked overawed, uncomfortable or as though he’s not relished the challenge of leading this club to new heights — something that was accomplished during 2025/2026, without a doubt.
Given how dismally our previous Premier League campaign had ended and the scars that past failings had left, Sunderland essentially needed to learn how to compete and ultimately how to win at this level once again, and that comes down to mentality.
Boasting such an impressive strike rate from our summer signings — most of whom have contributed significantly — has undoubtedly helped with that, but how do you gauge a team’s resilience under pressure, its ability to salvage results from tricky positions, and its capacity to last the course during a gruelling campaign?
With a serial winner and world class midfielder at the heart of the operation, it gives you a supreme chance of eking out more than you even thought possible — and I don’t think it’s incorrect to state that Xhaka has inspired his teammates as much as he’s inspired the supporters.
You can search high and low but no matter how hard you try, you won’t find a Sunderland fan with a bad word to say about him. And for a player that’s been here for less than a year, that illustrates the scale of the impact he’s made.
His legacy at our club has been cemented.
He’ll be a key player during next season’s European campaign and he’ll remain a hero in these parts long after his playing days are over, but for the final proof of just how influential Xhaka has been, look no further than the fact that he was recently ranked number one on The Athletic’s list of all Premier League signings for 2025/2026 — above players who cost three times as much, top flight title winners and a multitude of electrifying attackers.
“Not even a genius like Rayan Cherki has transformed a dressing room like Xhaka, as well as bringing a new culture to the club,” read the accompanying summary.
That, for me, truly sums it up.
One player can’t change the trajectory of a club but he can play a major role in doing so, and this Swiss talisman has done that and then some. In the eyes of the modern generation of Sunderland fans that’ve been swept along on a wave of excitement ever since he first pulled on the red and white stripes, he’s surely as revered and respected as someone like Raich Carter would’ve been a century ago.
Can there be any higher praise? I think not.
