"I'm only 21 years old." This is what Riola Xhemaili says in an interview for "20 Minuten." Despite this, the great Swiss football talent has experienced much more in her career than other players of this age.
At the age of 15, she was Basel's captain. She is still one of the youngest players in Swiss history. She made her debut in 2020 at the age of 17.
Xhemaili, who has 29 caps for the national team, gained experience in the Bundesliga at Freiburg. She then moved to one of the biggest teams in the world for women's football, Wolfsburg. As a substitute, she won the German Cup. And now she is shining in Eindhoven.
There are also difficulties, of course.
He played less at Wolfsburg than expected. Before the 2023 World Cup, he was suddenly fired by then-coach Inka Grings.
"She needs to invest more," Grings had said.
Riola is enjoying his time in Eindhoven, Netherlands. In the summer, he extended his contract with Wolfsburg and was loaned to PSV.
"Wolfsburg really wanted to keep me and didn't want to sell me. But I wanted to move," Xhemaili explains.
"The only reason was the European Championship at home, in Switzerland. I knew I needed this game time and that I needed to work on my confidence. And I can only do that by playing."
In 11 matches she has scored five goals and prepared three more. The coach counts on her. Xhemaili was in the starting lineup in all matches. She is a crucial part of the team.
"I'm thriving. I can show my qualities here, from start to finish."
Among Riola's qualities are his understanding of football, intelligence in the game, good technique and heading.
Thanks to the Swiss player, Eindhoven is appearing in three competitions. Three trophies are possible this season.
"Eindhoven as a city is bigger than Wolfsburg and significantly livelier. People here love life, the weather is good, everyone is outside. This is different in Switzerland and Germany, where there are not many things to do," says the footballer.
She has her own apartment in the Dutch metropolis.
He is in constant contact with his family, even though they are hundreds of kilometers away. He speaks every day on the phone with his parents and his twin brother, Rioni, who plays for the second team of Winterthur.
"We're not constantly in physical contact, but we're constantly in touch over the phone," she says, laughing.
He has the same mood when he talks about the European Championship that will be held in the summer.
"It's one of the main things in my career, no matter what comes next."
She doesn't know exactly what coach Pia Sundhage's plan is, but she believes that if she shows her best, she will have the chance to play.
"And if I have the chance, I will continue to show my best."
The ball artist laughs a lot. It is clear that she enjoys football. And that she enjoys life. She knows what she says and that she can defend herself. Last fall, for example, when she and her family were racially abused on social networks, because of their origin, Xhemaili spoke clearly in a long video.
"I can deal with the hatred towards me, I can handle it. But the hatred towards my family? I don't accept that. I fight against that. Protecting my family is the most important thing to me."
She wants to be even more successful.
"I always want more, I'm always hungry. I'm addicted to success more and more," says Riola Xhemaili.