Blerim Džemaili

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Blerim Dzemaili (Macedonian Cyrillic: Блерим Џемаили, Albanian: Blerim Xhemajli; born April 12, 1986 in Tetovo, Macedonia, Macedonia) is a Swiss football midfielder of Albanian origin. He currently plays for Torino as a midfielder.

[edit] Club career

Dzemaili started his career at Swiss side FC Zürich. There he was part of the 2005–06 and 2006–2007 Swiss Championship winning team.

Dzemaili signed a preliminary contract agreement with Bolton Wanderers on February 9, 2007, meaning that he would sign for the Premiership outfit once his contract ran out in the summer of 2007.^[1]

Former Bolton manager Sam Allardyce was quoted as saying: "Dzemaili 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".

However things did not go as planned for the pair; Dzemaili sustained a long-term injury only months prior to his move. Dzemaili 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.

Dzemaili 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.^[2][3]

[edit] International career

He is a member of the national team, and was called up to the 2006 World Cup.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Bolton Wanderers Profile at Burnden Aces
• Blerim Dzemaili career stats at Soccerbase
• Player profile
• FC Zürich stats

v • d • e Switzerland squad – 2006 FIFA World Cup 1 Zuberbühler • 2 Djourou • 3 Magnin • 4 Senderos • 5 Margairaz • 6 Vogel • 7 Cabanas • 8 Wicky • 9 Frei • 10 Gygax • 11 Streller • 12 Benaglio • 13 Grichting • 14 D. Degen • 15 Džemaili • 16 Barnetta • 17 Spycher • 18 Lustrinelli • 19 Behrami • 20 Müller • 21 Coltorti • 22 Yakin • 23 P. Degen • Coach: Kuhn

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