Lorik Cana on Louis-Dreyfus link, his shock Sunderland departure and long bond with Granit Xhaka

Lorik Cana’s Sunderland career lasted only one season, but the former Black Cats captain remains one of the defining figures of the club’s 2009–10 Premier League campaign.

Signed from Marseille for around £5million and appointed captain soon after his arrival, Cana made 35 appearances, became the first Albanian to play in the Premier League and helped Steve Bruce’s side to a 13th-place finish. 15 years on, he remains a hugely popular figure on Wearside.

Speaking to the club programme, Cana reflected on that season, his memories of the Stadium of Light, his admiration for Granit Xhaka and the lasting pull Sunderland still has on him 15 years later. Cana began by discussing the influence of Granit Xhaka, who he knows personally and whose arrival at Sunderland this summer drew comparisons to Cana’s own spell.

Sunderland now have Granit Xhaka exerting a similar influence to what you once did. You and him go back a long way don’t you?

“I have known Granit’s family for more than 30 years. Granit and I have the same background. Our families are from Kosovo. He is generous on the pitch, and he is the same guy off it. As everyone can see he is an amazing player.

“Before he came to Sunderland, we had a chat. He was asking me about the club and I told him what I experienced myself and what are going to be the challenges because Sunderland are a team who have just come up from the Championship and who need to rebuild to respond to the Premier League level. I told him that at Sunderland he would find the passion is one of the best he had ever experienced.”

You joined Sunderland from Marseille where Robert Louis-Dreyfus was in charge. Did you come across him much

“I spent years with Robert in Marseille. He was an amazing man who was so passionate about football and so in love with his club in Marseille. We had that common love for that club. He wasn’t just an owner. He was someone who actually gave all his heart and his finances.

“He had a lot of ideas, as you can imagine but he had an amazing person with him. We lost him in that year when I left Marseille. When I saw that Kiril was here now, this really reminds me of that man’s way of growing as a boy and I really think he can continue to do very well.”

What memories do you have of your season at Sunderland in 2009–10?

“It was just a year at the club, but it was very intense. Everything I discovered at Sunderland was what I was expecting. It is a historical club with a lot of passion and some of the most amazing fans – not only in England but in the world. I enjoyed every moment, but what I enjoyed the most was every match I spent on the way with my team-mates at the Stadium of Light.”

A lot of those moments on the pitch were spent in partnership with Lee Cattermole. The pair of you complemented each other very well. What was he like to play alongside?

“He was terrific. Especially the way we were playing, as we were playing with only two in the midfield, so you needed two profiles who could play the football of the Premier League. That means in terms of energy and challenging but being able to play as well; in terms of controlling the game.

“We arrived at the same time and we started the season very well. We worked in tandem and when we were at our best level, I think we were challenging everyone at that time, but then Lee had an injury, which stopped him. That injury though gave a lot of space to Jordan Henderson.”

When you left to go to Galatasaray it came as a big shock. How did that move come about?

“It happened over that summer, and it was a very fast decision. Sometimes you have to take decisions and at that time I thought it was the best thing to do and I had to take a decision very fast. It didn’t reflect on what I had experienced at the club or the connection I had with the fans because I had an amazing year with Sunderland. Sometimes in the winter I had some issues with injuries, but it was really short.”

You played in a lot of countries. What is different about playing in the Premier League compared to elsewhere?

“I think it is the way you play football. I do not just mean in terms of style and what you present on the pitch, but the way in which you live football here. All the passion of the fans. I didn’t find this so much in other leagues but at Sunderland in every step of the challenge you have people cheering with you through the ups and downs. Whatever you do they are there with you and that’s a huge difference.”

You were back in Sunderland for the first time in 15 years when you were at the Villa game. Clearly with your modern-day Sunderland connections you keep an eye on SAFC but have you always done that since leaving?

“Always. I am always cheering for all of my former clubs and of course I follow Sunderland. I always look for their results and want to know what is going on. Even when the club was down in League One. When you love a club, you are always related to that club.”

What do you do now?

“I have a non-profit foundation, the Lorik Cana Foundation. This is something I started to make a contribution to my place to help the youth with our cultural heritage. I try to promote the Albanian culture worldwide and to promote sports with young people.

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On our sports programme we have an average of between 500 and 600 kids annually. I am the chairman of the board of the foundation, so it takes a lot of time. I also keep doing some TV work and follow the Champions League with Albanian TV. I have been doing that for eight years now and I do some entrepreneurial work in different kinds of fields as well.”

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