Blerim Džemaili

Blerim Džemaili

Džemaili playing for Galatasaray in 2014
Personal information
Full name Blerim Džemaili[1]
Date of birth (1986-04-12) 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 team
 Genoa
(on loan from Galatasaray)
Number 31
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)
2011–2014 Napoli 86 (16)
2014– Galatasaray 11 (0)
2015– → Genoa (loan) 10 (2)
National team‡
2004–2008 Switzerland U-21 16 (4)
2006– Switzerland 45 (5)

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 18 January 2015.
† Appearances (goals)

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 12 October 2015

Blerim Džemaili (Albanian: Blerim Xhemaili [blɛˈɾim dʒɛˈmaili]; born 12 April 1986) is a Swiss professional footballer who plays for Serie A club Genoa as a midfielder.[2]

He made his debut for the Swiss national team in March 2006 and was selected for their squads at the World Cup in 2006 and 2014.

Club career

Childhood and early career

Blerim was born to Fekredin and Shemije Džemaili,[3] an Albanian family from Bogovinje, in Republic of Macedonia.[4] At the age of 4, he and his family migrated to Zürich, Switzerland.[4] At the age of 9, he 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, Džemaili rose through the ranks and made the senior team at the age of 17.

FC Zürich

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.[5] 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.

Bolton

Džemaili signed a preliminary contract agreement with Bolton Wanderers on 9 February 2007, meaning that he would sign for the Premier League outfit once his contract ran out in the summer of 2007.[6]

Former Bolton manager Sam Allardyce was quoted as saying: "Blerim 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 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".[7]

However things did not go as planned for the pair; Džemaili sustained a rupturing cruciate knee ligaments and was out for six months.[8] 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.[9]

Torino/Parma

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.[10][11]

After having played just once for Torino at Coppa Italia,[12] Džemaili completed a loan move to Parma on 31 August 2009. In exchange, Daniele Vantaggiato moved to Turin.[13] His first and second halves were then bought by Parma in the summers of 2010 and 2011[14] for a total fee of €7 million.[15]

Napoli

On 25 June 2011, he was signed by Napoli for €9 million[15] with Fabiano Santacroce (loan) and Manuele Blasi (free)[15] 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.[16] His first was a right footed shot from outside the box to the bottom left corner following a corner in a match against Lecce[17] and his second was struck late to earn an equaliser as Napoli earned a point at Novara.[18] Džemaili has also appeared six times in the UEFA Champions League group stages and helped Napoli into the final 16.[16] At the end of his first season with Napoli, Dzemaili has made 28 appearances in the Serie A, scoring three times and providing four assists.[16] On 25 March 2012, he scored a notable long distance goal against Catania.[19]

Džemaili had appeared regularly for the side in the Coppa Italia, and played the entire match in the final in which they defeated Juventus 2–0.[20]

On 30 March 2013, he scored a hat-trick described by Goal.com as "spectacular", in a 5–3 win away at Torino.[21] He netted the second goal in a 2–0 win against Genoa just a week later, making it four goals in two games. He also scored Napoli's third goal in a 3–0 win against Pescara on 27 April.[16]

Džemaili was an unused substitute as Napoli won the 2014 Coppa Italia Final 3–1 against Fiorentina.[22]

Galatasaray

On 1 September 2014, Džemaili signed a three-year contract with Turkish Süper Lig team Galatasaray for €2.35 million transfer fee.[23] He signed a three-year contract, worth €2.4 million, €2.1 million and €2.1 million respectively.[23]

Genoa C.F.C.

On 30 August 2015, Džemaili moved back to Serie A club Genoa. Galatasaray also bored €1.3 million of Džemaili's €2.1 million wage.[24] On 27 September, Džemaili scored his first goal for the club with a direct free kick that took a deflection off of Giacomo Bonaventura, the lone goal in a 1-0 win over A.C. Milan. On 18 October 2015, Blerim Džemaili received his first red card for the club, after getting two yellows (47' and 55') in a 3-2 win over Chievo Verona.

International career

Džemaili marking Lionel Messi in a friendly against Argentina in 2012

Džemaili made his debut for the Switzerland national football team in a friendly match against Scotland on 1 March 2006.[25]

He was a member of the Swiss squad at the 2006 FIFA World Cup without making an appearance.[25]

On 6 September 2013, Džemaili scored his first international goal from a penalty kick in a 4–4 home draw in a World Cup qualifier against Iceland.[26]

On 2 June 2014, Džemaili was named in Switzerland's 2014 FIFA World Cup squad by national coach Ottmar Hitzfeld.[27] In the team's second match, Džemaili came on at half time for Valon Behrami and on the 81st minute, Dzemaili fired a long range low free-kick which went through the three-man wall and beat French captain Hugo Lloris.[28] He scored the first direct free kick of the tournament in a 5–2 loss to France.[29][30] Džemaili scored his third international goal against San Marino on 10 October 2014 in Euro 2016 qualifying, heading in Ricardo Rodriguez's corner to give the Swiss a 3-0 lead in an eventual 4-0 victory.

Džemaili scored twice for Switzerland on 10 June 2015, the second of which came from a direct free kick in a 3–0 friendly victory over Liechtenstein at Stockhorn Arena in Thun.[31]

Style of play

In his time in Serie A, Džemaili differered from most other midfielders in his more box-to-box role in the attacking midfield. He is good at timing his runs and getting into the box unmarked. Otherwise, Dzemaili has a decent shot and great passing range, usually completing around 90% of passes per game.[32]

Career statistics

Club

As of 20 May 2015.
Club Season League Cup Other Europe Total
AppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Bolton Wanderers 2007–08 001000—10
Total 0 0 1 0 0 0 — 1 0
Torino 2008–09 30020——322
Total 30 0 2 0 — — 32 0
Parma 2009–10 19120——211
2010–11 30110——311
Total 49 2 3 0 — — 52 2
Napoli 2011–12 28350—60393
2012–13 347000072419
2013–14 24610—40296
Total 86 16 6 0 0 0 17 2 109 18
Galatasaray 2014–15 110510040201
Total 11 0 5 1 0 0 4 0 20 1
Career Totals 176 18 17 1 0 0 21 2 214 21

International goals

No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1. 6 September 2013 Stade de Suisse, Bern, Switzerland  Iceland 4–1 4–4 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification
2. 20 June 2014 Arena Fonte Nova, Salvador, Brazil  France 1–5 2–5 2014 FIFA World Cup
3. 14 October 2014 San Marino Stadium, Serravalle, San Marino  San Marino 3–0 4–0 UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying
4. 10 June 2015 Stockhorn Arena, Thun, Switzerland  Liechtenstein 1–0 3–0 Friendly
5. 3–0

Honours

Club

FC Zürich
Napoli
Galatasaray

References

  1. ↑ "2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil: List of Players" (PDF). FIFA. 11 June 2014. p. 30. Retrieved 25 June 2014.
  2. ↑ "Pandev ve Xhemaili Galatasaray'da". Kralspor. Retrieved 31 August 2014.
  3. ↑ Dzemaili.com
  4. 1 2 "Die Schönen und das Biest" (in German). schweizer-illustrierte. 17 April 2009. Retrieved 26 December 2011.
  5. ↑ "Blerim Dzemaili". Goal.com. 26 December 2011. Retrieved 26 December 2011.
  6. ↑ "Bolton swoop for Dzemaili and Cid". BBC Sport. 9 February 2007. Retrieved 16 June 2009.
  7. ↑ "Bolton swoop for Dzemaili and Cid". FIFA. AFP. 9 February 2007. Retrieved 16 October 2011.
  8. ↑ "Dzemaili suffers bad blow". SkySports. British Sky Broadcasting. 9 February 2007. Retrieved 26 December 2011.
  9. ↑ "Dzemaili has no regrets". SkySports. British Sky Broadcasting. 9 February 2007. Retrieved 26 December 2011.
  10. ↑ "Džemaili quits Bolton for Torino". BBC Sport. 15 June 2009. Retrieved 15 June 2009.
  11. ↑ "Džemaili signs for Torino". Sky Sports. 15 June 2009. Retrieved 15 June 2009.
  12. ↑ "Torino vs Figline 1–0" (in Italian). Torino FC. 9 August 2009. Retrieved 1 September 2009.
  13. ↑ Nadia Carminati (31 August 2009). "Parma pounce for Dzemaili". Sky Sports. Retrieved 22 April 2010.
  14. ↑ "Movimenti di mercato e compartecipazioni" [Market movements and co-ownerships]. Parma F.C. (fcparma.com). 24 June 2011. Retrieved 24 June 2011.
  15. 1 2 3 Parma FC Report and Accounts on 30 June 2011 (Italian)
  16. 1 2 3 4 "Blerim Dzemaili Stats". ESPN soccernet. 26 December 2011. Retrieved 26 December 2011.
  17. ↑ "Cavani at the double". ESPN soccernet. 3 December 2011. Retrieved 26 December 2011.
  18. ↑ "Dzemaili levels late on". ESPN soccernet. 11 December 2011. Retrieved 26 December 2011.
  19. ↑ Goal against Catania
  20. ↑ Graffeo, Vito (20 May 2012). "Coppa Italia, finale Juventus-Napoli: tabellino, risultato, video". Sport Live. Retrieved 21 June 2014.
  21. ↑ Caferoglu, Livio (30 March 2013). "Serie A Round 30 Results: Lazio prosper on Klose return as Roma & Fiorentina fall flat in top-three race". Goal.com. Retrieved 21 June 2014.
  22. ↑ "Partenopei come out on top in Coppa Italia final". Goal.com. 3 May 2014. Retrieved 7 May 2014.
  23. 1 2 "Profesyonel Futbolcu Blerim Dzemaili'nin Transferi Hakkında". Galatasaray (in Turkish) (Turkish Public Disclosure Platform (KAP)). 1 September 2014. Retrieved 5 March 2015.
  24. ↑ Galatasaray (1 September 2015). "Blerim Dzemaili - Geçici Transfer" (in Turkish). Turkish Public Disclosure Platform (KAP). Retrieved 6 November 2015.
  25. 1 2 "Blerim DZEMAILI". FIFA. Retrieved 21 June 2014.
  26. ↑ "Switzerland 4-4 Iceland". The Guardian. Retrieved 21 June 2014.
  27. ↑ "Switzerland World Cup 2014 squad". The Telegraph. 2 June 2014. Retrieved 16 June 2014.
  28. ↑ "(Roundup) Costa Rica beat Italy to advance, England eliminated". globalpost. 20 June 2014. Retrieved 21 June 2014.
  29. ↑ "Switzerland 2-5 France". BBC. 20 June 2014. Retrieved 21 June 2014.
  30. ↑ "Blerim Džemaili scores the first direct free kick of the World Cup". SBNation. 20 June 2014. Retrieved 21 June 2014.
  31. ↑ Smith, Adam (10 June 2015). "Switzerland 3-0 Liechtenstein: Blerim Dzemaili and Xherdan Shaqiri star in Thun as the Swiss make it six games unbeaten". Daily Mail. Retrieved 10 June 2015.
  32. ↑ Jiang, Allan (2 July 2014). "Scouting Report: Can Blerim Dzemaili Be Arsenal's Michu?". Bleacher Report. Retrieved 19 May 2015.

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