Of course Brian Kerr had the best description of Xherdan Shaqiri’s physique

Matthew Gault

Brian Kerr is the gift that keeps on giving at this World Cup.

The former Ireland manager has lit up RTÉ’s coverage of the showpiece in Russia with his hugely entertaining soundbites on co-commentary duties.

I’ll refer the uninitiated to the below.

Brian Kerr has been the real star of the #WorldCup so far! 😂 pic.twitter.com/qxvgpMGGRe

— SportsJOE (@SportsJOEdotie) June 18, 2018

“Got done for playing a banger” – you just wouldn’t get that on BBC or ITV.

Unsurprisingly, Kerr was in fine form once again for Switzerland’s pulsating comeback win over Serbia on Friday night. Serbia had led through an Aleksandr Mitrovic header only for the Swiss to roar back, with goals from Granit Xhaka and Xherdan Shaqiri clinching three precious points to put them level with Brazil in Group E.

Shaqiri was the Swiss hero, scoring the winner in the 90th-minute after a rapid counter-attack.

His celebration has gathered as many headlines as the match. The soon-to-be former Stoke City playmaker took off his shirt to reveal that, yes, he is, in fact, an absolute unit.

Shaqiri sparked debate after his Albanian Eagle celebrations, seen by some as an unwise and deliberately provocative move against Serbia, but Kerr seems more preoccupied with the 26-year-old’s physique.

“He’s the funniest shape of any player in the Premier League,” the 65-year-old said of the former Inter Milan, whose nickname is ‘Power Cube.’

“He’s like a bloke you might see standing outside the pub on a Sunday morning with his bag and his boots and saying ‘I wonder where we’re playing today, and then a white van comes and picks him up.”

“He’s a little chunky fella, about 5ft 3in (he’s actually 5ft 7in), he’s wide at the hips and that’s probably being generous to him and the jersey looks like it’s bed into him too. He just looks so different than any player in the Premier League.

Listen to Kerr on Shaqiri below.