Valon Behrami (born 19 April 1985) is a Swiss former professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...

who played as a

midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

. Behrami was

capped In sport, a cap is a player's appearance in a game at international level. The term dates from the practice in the United Kingdom of awarding a cap to every player in an international match of rugby football and association football. In the ea ...

83 times at international level by the Switzerland national team, playing at four

FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often simply called the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the ' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The tournament ha ...

UEFA Euro 2008 The 2008 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2008 or simply Euro 2008, was the 13th UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial football tournament contested by the member nations of UEFA (the Union of European ...

and

UEFA Euro 2016 The 2016 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2016 (stylised as UEFA EURO 2016) or simply Euro 2016, was the 15th UEFA European Championship, the quadrennial international men's football championship of Europe ...

from his debut in 2005 to his international retirement in 2018.

Early life

Behrami was born to Kosovar Albanian parents in Mitrovica, Kosovo, at the time part of

SR Serbia , life_span = 1944–1992 , status = Constituent state of Yugoslavia , p1 = Territory of the Military Commander in Serbia , flag_p1 = Flag of German Reich (1935–1945).svg , p2 ...

within SFR Yugoslavia. When he was five, his parents both lost their jobs; his mother Halime as a secretary and his father Ragip as a manager of a plastics company. As a result, Behrami along with his parents and older sister Valentina moved to

Stabio Stabio is a municipality in the district of Mendrisio in the canton of Ticino in Switzerland. History Stabio is first mentioned in 1067 as ''Stabio''. Excavations in the area around S. Pietro have found evidence of continuous settlements from ...

, a village in

Ticino Ticino (), sometimes Tessin (), officially the Republic and Canton of Ticino or less formally the Canton of Ticino,, informally ''Canton Ticino'' ; lmo, Canton Tesin ; german: Kanton Tessin ; french: Canton du Tessin ; rm, Chantun dal Tessin . ...

, a canton in the Italian-speaking region of Switzerland. Behrami's mother described him as energetic: "As a child, running was Valon's favourite pastime – he just never got tired. Even now, he can hardly sit still for a second. He always needs a ball at his feet."

Club career

Early career

Behrami started out playing football with Swiss club sides FC Stabio,

FC Chiasso FC Chiasso is a Swiss football club based in Chiasso. It was founded in 1905. Chiasso also played in the Italian first league between 1914 and 1923. The team's most glorious period was between 1948 and 1961, when the team was promoted to the ...

and

FC Lugano FC Lugano is a Swiss football club based in Lugano. The club was refounded as AC Lugano in 2004 as a result of relegation and the financial situation of FC Lugano, which was founded in 1908. In 2008, the club reverted to its original name, FC Lu ...

. After a number of impressive appearances with Lugano, he was signed by Italian team

Genoa Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian census, the Province of ...

in the 2003–04 season, and played for them in the

Serie B The Serie B (), currently named Serie BKT for sponsorship reasons, is the second-highest division in the Italian football league system after the Serie A. It has been operating for over ninety years since the 1929–30 season. It had been ...

championship. In January 2004 he joined

Udinese Udinese Calcio, commonly referred to as Udinese, is a professional Italian football club based in Udine, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, that currently plays in Serie A. It was founded on 30 November 1896 as a sports club, and on 5 July 1911 as a ...

along with

Rodrigue Boisfer Rodrigue Boisfer (born 24 January 1981) is a French footballer who plays as a midfielder for Serie B team Gubbio. Career Genoa Born in Marseille, Boisfer started his career at Monegasque club AS Monaco FC. He then left for Italian ''Serie B'' ...

in exchange for Mohammed Gargo and Vittorio Micolucci, in flopped transfer price in co-ownership deal to create "paper" profit. In the 2004–05 season, Genoa bought out Udinese' rights to the player and loaned him out to

Verona Verona ( , ; vec, Verona or ) is a city on the Adige River in Veneto, Italy, with 258,031 inhabitants. It is one of the seven provincial capitals of the region. It is the largest city municipality in the region and the second largest in nor ...

, again in Serie B.

Lazio

After an impressive season with Verona,

Lazio it, Laziale , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

signed him on 25 July 2005, as first a co-ownership deal for €2.7 million. and Lazio bought him outright in January 2006, for the same price. Despite his clearance hitting

Rodrigo Taddei Rodrigo Ferrante Taddei (born 6 March 1980) is a retired Brazilian footballer. Though primarily a midfielder, Taddei was notable for his versatility on the field. During his career he has played in every position except central defender. Once T ...

's head and ricocheting into Lazio's goal to concede their first goal of the match, his 92nd minute winning goal etched Behrami's name into Lazio's history books as they won the ''

Derby della Capitale The Derby della Capitale ( en, Derby of the capital city), also known as Derby Capitolino and Derby del Cupolone, as well as The Rome Derby in English and Derby di Roma in Italian, is the football local derby in Rome, Italy, between Lazio and Ro ...

'' on 19 March 2008 and virtually finished the Scudetto hopes for rivals Roma.

West Ham United

On 23 July 2008,

West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club that plays its home matches in Stratford, East London. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The club plays at the London Stadium, hav ...

signed Behrami from Lazio, with the player signing a five-year contract for a fee of £5 million. Behrami made his debut for West Ham in the 2–1 home win over

Wigan Athletic Wigan Athletic Football Club () is an English professional association football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. The team competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1932, ...

on 16 August 2008. His versatility would see him become a vital part of West Ham's midfield, having begun the season as a stand in for captain

Lucas Neill Lucas Edward Neill (born 9 March 1978) is an Australian former soccer player. Neill played as a defender, often playing as a centre back as well as a full-back. Neill spent almost 15 years of his career playing in England. He represented Austr ...

at right back. He scored his first goal for West Ham in the 1–0 away win against Sunderland on 23 November 2008. During the home win over Manchester City on 1 March 2009, he suffered an

anterior cruciate ligament The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is one of a pair of cruciate ligament Cruciate ligaments (also cruciform ligaments) are pairs of ligaments arranged like a letter X. They occur in several joints of the body, such as the knee joint and th ...

injury in his left knee that required oxygen to be administered on the field during a six-minute break in play. His knee and ankle twisted badly when his studs caught in the turf resulting in a premature end to his 2008–09 season. Behrami made his comeback as a substitute on 12 September 2009 against

. His return was interrupted by injury again for a month from November. He scored his first and only goal of the 2009–10 league campaign with the opener in a 3–0 home win over relegation rivals

Hull City Hull City Association Football Club is a professional football club based in Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England, that compete in the . They have played home games at the MKM Stadium since moving from Boothferry Park in 2002. The club's t ...

on 20 February 2010.

Fiorentina

On 26 January 2011, Behrami moved to

Fiorentina ACF Fiorentina, commonly referred to as Fiorentina (), is an Italian professional football club based in Florence, Tuscany, Italy. The original team was founded by a merger in August 1926, while the actual club was refounded in August 2002 fol ...

for an undisclosed fee, signing a three-and-a-half-year contract. He made his debut with Fiorentina on 29 January 2011, in a

Serie A The Serie A (), also called Serie A TIM for national sponsorship with TIM, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and the winner is awarded the Scudetto and the Cop ...

fixture against his former team

Napoli

On 17 July 2012, Behrami and his Fiorentina teammate

Alessandro Gamberini Alessandro Gamberini (; born 27 August 1981) is an Italian former former professional footballer who played as a central defender. He is working as assistant coach for Virtus Verona. He spent most of his professional career with Fiorentina, ap ...

were signed by

Napoli Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

for undisclosed fees.

Hamburg

On 31 July 2014, Behrami flew into Germany to complete a medical ahead of his €4.5 million move to

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

. The subsequent bonuses could raise the fee to €6.5 million based on 20 appearances in his first season. He committed to a three-year contract with an option for a fourth. On 2 August 2014, the move was completed.

Watford

On 11 July 2015, Behrami watched on as his teammates drew 2–2 with AFC Wimbledon, later that afternoon the club confirmed Behrami signed a three-year contract with

Watford Watford () is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, 15 miles northwest of Central London, on the River Colne. Initially a small market town, the Grand Junction Canal encouraged the construction of paper-making mills, print works, and ...

Udinese

On 16 August 2017, Behrami signed a two-year deal with Italian club

, who are owned by the Pozzo family just as his previous club Watford.

Sion

In July 2019, he joined Swiss club

Sion Sion may refer to * an alternative transliteration of Zion People * Sion (name) or Siôn, a Welsh and other given name and surname, including a list of people and fictional characters with the name * Shion or Sion, a Japanese given name Pl ...

. On 3 October 2019, his contract with Sion was terminated by mutual consent.

Return to Genoa

On 2 January 2020, Behrami joined Genoa for the second time. On 5 January, he came on in his debut as a substitute in a 2–1 home win against

Sassuolo Sassuolo (; egl, label= Modenese, Sasól ) is an Italian town, ''comune'', and industrial centre of the Province of Modena in Emilia-Romagna. Standing on the right bank of the river Secchia some southwest of Modena, the town is best known f ...

in the 72nd minute.

Brescia

On 31 January 2022, Behrami signed with

club

Brescia Brescia (, locally ; lmo, link=no, label= Lombard, Brèsa ; lat, Brixia; vec, Bressa) is a city and ''comune'' in the region of Lombardy, Northern Italy. It is situated at the foot of the Alps, a few kilometers from the lakes Garda and Iseo ...

International career

Behrami was capped for the Swiss national team at the Under-18, Under-19 and "A" levels; playing at

in 2006, 2010,

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

and

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the Unit ...

. Behrami scored a key goal against

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...

at the Stade de Suisse in the first leg of their 2006 World Cup qualifying playoff tie. During the 2006 tournament, he suffered a groin injury which put him on the sidelines for the first two group matches. In the third match against

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula and sharing a land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed by the Yellow Sea, while its eas ...

, he was substituted late in the game in the 88th minute. He did not participate in the loss to

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

in the last 16. Behrami was in the starting eleven of Switzerland for all three matches during the

2008 UEFA European Championship The 2008 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2008 or simply Euro 2008, was the 13th UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial football tournament contested by the member nations of UEFA (the Union of European ...

, playing a total of 272 minutes. On 21 June, in the 2010 World Cup, after appearing to elbow Chilean player

Arturo Vidal Arturo Erasmo Vidal Pardo (; born 22 May 1987) is a Chilean professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Campeonato Brasileiro Série A club Flamengo and the Chile national team. His displays during his time at Juventus led him to be n ...

, Behrami was sent off with a red card in the second Group H match against

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

and became the first Swiss player to be sent off in a World Cup match. Behrami was included in the Switzerland 23-man squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup. In their opening game, on 17 June, a 1–1 draw with

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

, his performance was described as excellent, with note being made of his constant harassment of Brazil's

Neymar Neymar da Silva Santos Júnior (born 5 February 1992), known as Neymar, is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Ligue 1 club Paris Saint-Germain and the Brazil national team. A prolific goalscorer and renowned ...

. He became the first Swiss player to appear in four consecutive World Cup editions.

Personal life

In July 2018 it became known that Behrami married his girlfriend, Swiss alpine ski racer

Lara Gut Lara Gut-Behrami (; ; born 27 April 1991) is a Swiss World Cup alpine ski racer who competes in all disciplines and specializes in the speed events of downhill and super-G. She won the gold medal in the Super-G event at the 2022 Winter Olympic ...

, after only having been dating for a few months.

Career statistics

Club

International

Source:

International goals

''Switzerland score listed first, score column indicates score after each Behrami goal.''

Honours

Club

;Napoli *

Coppa Italia The ("Italy Cup") is an annual knockout cup competition in Italian football organized by the FIGC until the 2009–10 season and the Lega Serie A ever since. History The beginning of the tournament was turbulent, due to the complexity of ...

: 2013–14

Records

*The only Swiss player to appear in four consecutive

World Cups A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...

: ( 2006, 2010,

)

References

External links

Official website of Valon Behrami
* *
Premier League profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Behrami, Valon 1985 births Living people Sportspeople from Mitrovica, Kosovo Swiss men's footballers Association football midfielders Switzerland international footballers Kosovan footballers Kosovan emigrants to Switzerland 2006 FIFA World Cup players UEFA Euro 2008 players Swiss Challenge League players Serie B players Serie A players Bundesliga players Premier League players Swiss Super League players FC Chiasso players FC Lugano players Genoa C.F.C. players Hellas Verona F.C. players S.S. Lazio players West Ham United F.C. players ACF Fiorentina players S.S.C. Napoli players Hamburger SV players Watford F.C. players Udinese Calcio players FC Sion players Brescia Calcio players Swiss expatriate footballers Expatriate footballers in Italy Swiss expatriate sportspeople in Italy Expatriate footballers in England Swiss expatriate sportspeople in England Expatriate footballers in Germany Swiss expatriate sportspeople in Germany Association football utility players 2010 FIFA World Cup players 2014 FIFA World Cup players UEFA Euro 2016 players 2018 FIFA World Cup players