Big hit in Pristina: these seven Kosovar Swiss want to annoy the national team

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Saturday there is a brother duel in the European Championship qualifier. Switzerland meets Kosovo in Pristina. A highlight for Nati stars Xherdan Shaqiri, Granit Xhaka and Uran Bislimi, who have their roots in Kosovo. But it is also a very special match for the other side, after all, there are seven Kosovar players who learned to play football in Switzerland.

Three years ago, the ex-GC junior received a visit from women in the team hotel despite Corona, a few months later he would have appeared dazed at the national training and was removed from the team by Bernard Challandes. While Challandes is no longer Kosovo’s coach, Schlieren ZH’s husband is now the permanent keeper despite the escapades. Also curious: Because the former Montenegro U21 goalkeeper does not speak Albanian, Muric communicates with his frontmen in Kosovo in English or German.

In June 2017, the right back, who grew up in the Emmental, made his debut for the Swiss national team before responding to Kosovo’s call a little later. Why? Because the competition for its position in Switzerland was simply too great. The country change was possible because the former YB player had made his debut in a test and not a competitive game.

The Basel resident’s family hails from Preshevë – an area in southern Serbia populated mainly by Albanians. He himself played two friendlies for Albania before becoming a long-running player in Kosovo and has now made 46 appearances for the Kosovo national team. 4th place in the country’s history. The defender is also doing well at club level: Aliti became champion with FCZ (2022), champion in Albania (2018 with Skenderbeu) and champion in Moldavia (2016 with Sheriff Tiraspol).

Born in Valais, he moved to the youth team of YB at the age of 14 and played there until the U21. He did not come to a breakthrough and via Chiasso he found his way to FC Lugano. With the Bianconeri, the 1.85m defender won the cup in his first season and has since become an absolute fixture. He has not been to Kosovo; his last appointment was almost a year ago. Now the former Swiss U17 national team player wants to show it to everyone.

In April 2022 he played with Rapperswil-Jona in the Promotion League, a year later Beka was allowed to make his Kosovo debut against Switzerland. In the Blick interview, Frauenfelder, now a permanent fixture at FC Luzern, reveals that the first team was not just special to him: “My mother cried when she found out.”

Willy Gnonto switched from the big Inter to the manageable Super League at FCZ in the summer of 2020. A few months earlier, youngster Hoti took the opposite route. The man from Volketswil ZH never made it to the senior team at Inter, but still gained a lot of experience in the youth department of the Nerazzurri. In addition to Albanian, German and English, the former FCZ junior also speaks fluent Italian. Hoti – who now plays in the 2nd Bundesliga – is part of the Kosovo selection for the first time.

Fazliji’s family is also from Preshevë. He himself grew up in Rebstein, a municipality in the Rhine Valley of St. Gallen, and became infected with the FCSG gene at a young age. After a trip to St. Pauli, the crowd favorite is back – and he is looking forward to the game in Pristina: “We have already played a friendly against Switzerland, but this is now something very special. It will be a real emotional chaos,” said the former Swiss junior international.

Source : Blick