| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 12 April 1986 | ||
| Place of birth | Tetovo, SFR Yugoslavia | ||
| Height | 1.79 m (5 ft 10 1⁄2 in) | ||
| Playing position | Midfielder | ||
| Club information | |||
| Current club | Napoli | ||
| Number | 20 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1995–1996 | Oerlikon Zürich | ||
| 1996–2000 | FC Unterstrass | ||
| 2000–2001 | YF Juventus | ||
| 2001–2003 | FC Zürich | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 2003–2007 | FC Zürich | 111 | (9) |
| 2007–2009 | Bolton Wanderers | 0 | (0) |
| 2008–2009 | → Torino (loan) | 30 | (0) |
| 2009–2010 | Torino | 0 | (0) |
| 2009–2010 | → Parma (loan) | 19 | (1) |
| 2010–2011 | Parma | 30 | (1) |
| 2011– | Napoli | 10 | (2) |
| National team‡ | |||
| 2006– | Switzerland | 15 | (0) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 22 May 2011. † Appearances (Goals). |
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Blerim Džemaili (Albanian: Blerim Xhemaili) (born 12 April 1986) is a Swiss football midfielder of Macedonian origin who plays for Napoli.
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Džemaili was born in Tetovo, Macedonia, to Fekredin and Shemije Džemaili.[1] Džemaili's family originate from Bogovinje and are of Albanian heritage.[2] At the age of 4, Blerim and his family migrated to Zürich, Switzerland.[2] At the age of 9, Blerim joined youth club Oerlikon Zürich for one year before moving to FC Unterstrass. At the age of 14, Blerim moved to third league team YF Juventus as a youth player before moving to FC Zürich in 2001. While at FC Zürich, Blerim Džemaili gradually rose through the ranks and finally broke into the senior team at the age of 17.
Džemaili started his senior career at Swiss side FC Zürich. In his first season for Zürich, he made thirty appearances, scored twice and had three assists. Džemaili played either as a central or defensive midfielder. In the 2004–05 season, Džemaili helped the club win the Swiss Cup. Džemaili imposed a strong influence on the field as he possessed accurate passing capabilities as well as a fast and aggressive approach to the game.[3] This led Džemaili to taking the role of captain in the 2005–06. Džemaili was 19 when he was chosen captain and is one of the youngest captains in Swiss football history. Džemaili led his team to glory as FC Zürich won the Swiss Super League in the 2005–06 and 2006–2007 seasons.
After winning the Swiss cup and league, Džemaili moved to the English Premier League side Bolton Wanderers.
Džemaili signed a preliminary contract agreement with Bolton Wanderers on 9 February 2007, meaning that he would sign for the Premiership outfit once his contract ran out in the summer of 2007.[4]
Former Bolton manager Sam Allardyce was quoted as saying: "Džemaili is a fantastic player, who has played for the best team in Switzerland for the past three years. For someone so young, he has a wealth of experience. At the tender age of 20, he is the skipper of FC Zurich and is expected to become a regular international for Switzerland in the years ahead. He has hardly missed a game for FC Zurich since he started playing for them at the age of 17. I am excited by the prospect of working with Blerim next season".[5]
However things did not go as planned for the pair; Džemaili sustained a rupturing cruciate knee ligaments and was out for six months.[6] Džemaili made his debut as a substitute in the club's FA Cup defeat to Sheffield United in what proved to be his only showing of the 2007-08 campaign. Džemaili insists he would not change anything about his time at Bolton following his season-long loan move to Torino.[7]
Džemaili joined Torino on a season-long loan deal, on 1 September 2008, making his debut with Torino on 24 September 2008, and became a staple fixture in their side for the season. Despite their relegation to Serie B, Torino confirmed they had signed him on a permanent basis after they agreed an undisclosed fee with Bolton.[8][9]
After having played just once for Torino at Coppa Italia,[10] Džemaili completed a loan move to Parma on 31 August 2009. In exchange, Daniele Vantaggiato moved to Turin.[11] His first and second halves were then bought by Parma in the summers of 2010 and 2011.[12]
On 25 June 2011 he signed for Napoli with Fabiano Santacroce and Manuele Blasi going the other way to Parma. Džemaili has been a consistent performer so far for Napoli. Džemaili has been well received by the fans as he has scored twice and assisted once in eleven appearances in the Serie A.[13] His first was a right footed shot from outside the box to the bottom left corner following a corner in a match against Lecce[14] and his second was struck late to earn an equaliser as Napoli earned a point at Novara.[15] Džemaili has also appeared four times in the UEFA Champions League group stages and helped Napoli into the final 16.[13]
He is a member of the Swiss national team, and was called up to the 2006 World Cup.
Blerim Dzemaili can speak Albanian, English, Swiss German and Italian
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