Dzemaili wants to return to football: “Nati job? I would listen to it”

Did you need a break?
Absolute. Absolute. I had to unplug and stay away from football for a while.

How are you?
Excellent. I discovered a new quality of life. When you have been a professional for twenty years, you are stressed: you are constantly thinking about the next training, the next competition, you have to pay attention to all kinds of things, nutrition, regeneration and so on. Now that the stress is gone, I can spend a little longer on Saturday nights eating dinner or something. This is a big change that is good for me as a person.

For someone who hasn’t been a professional for 20 years, how do you imagine this stress?
It is extremely mentally demanding. I played many years in Italy, including three years in Naples, where football has the status of religion. I was at Galatasaray, where it’s all about football 24/7. That’s huge, I don’t think people can understand it. You think so much about football that sometimes it becomes too much. You can never switch off. And life in a professional team is no fun. You have to give one hundred percent in every training, because the competition is enormous. And even if you hold your place for the time being, if you play poorly at the weekend, you’ll be on the bench for the next game. This wears off over the years.

So you don’t miss football?
There are things I no longer have. What everyone who has retired says is true: the camaraderie in the locker room, the teammates, the adrenaline on game day – you miss that somehow. But I don’t miss pedaling now. I did. In the Champions League, in the top European competitions, at World Cup and European Championship level.

You are currently working with Valon Behrami as a TV expert for Ticino television. You’re not crazy about football.
Yes. And I can also imagine that I will soon be playing football again. I was just in Fuerteventura, visiting my son and watching him at football training. The coach had a lot of fun with these juniors. That got me thinking. I never wanted to be a trainer. But now maybe I could imagine that too.

Ohhh. Bo Henriksen’s contract as FCZ coach is expiring. Will you take over immediately in the summer?
(laughs) Calm down. I’m not quite there yet, I will have to obtain a few more diplomas in the coming years. But in recent months I have visited several clubs in Europe and spoken to coaches and sports directors to gain insights. I am currently building my house near Zurich, and from January I am open to interesting projects. For me, the feeling has to be right. There are too many ex-professionals who started something too early in their career and never succeeded. I still have regular contact with Henriksen.

They played under him last season. How do you assess his work?
He’s doing very well. When you see where he has taken over the team, how he has stabilized it and is now playing up front thanks to the best defense in the league, it is a great achievement.

What are his strengths?
He’s an incredibly good guy as a person. And his work on the training field is very good.

Do you think Henriksen will remain FCZ coach after the summer?
Don’t know. I don’t talk to him about this subject either. But I say from experience, if a coach’s contract expires in June and has not been renewed by December, there is not a particularly strong belief on at least one side that it should be continued.

The contract of Nati coach Murat Yakin also expires after the European Championships in the summer. How do you assess the situation in the national team?
I think we are at a crucial point there. If there is so much unrest and discord in the team and around it, it will eventually be visible on the field. That’s what happened to the national team now. It is right to critically question Yakin’s work. The last few games have been anything but good. At the same time, I think it is good to continue with Yakin. He deserves to participate in the European Championship, especially after the sensational World Cup qualification a year ago.

What homework does he have to do for the European Championship?
I am not in a position to give the national coach homework. But I think the group needs to speak out.

So the national team needs group therapy?
Honest, direct conversations are needed. Someone probably has to make the first move. But if these things are in order, I believe the national team can achieve great things at the European Championships. And then it can get exciting. If I were Murat Yakin, I wouldn’t worry too much about sports.

What do you mean?
When you look at the Nati team, you have to say: this team can achieve a lot. Why would a European Championship quarter-final be no longer possible? If Yakin can do that, he has very good arguments for a contract extension. And one more thing: we are actually in a luxury situation.

How?
We have time. We have qualified for the European Championship, we should also qualify for the World Cup in 2026 – I mean there are 48 teams there. We need to take advantage of this and start adding talented players now with prospects for 2026.

So you would have called up Ardon Jashari for the A-Nati in the fall?
Yes. Even though I don’t think it was right how he reacted to the fact that they wanted him to play in the U21s again.

Why is he one for Yakin?
Because he is a very dominant midfielder in the Super League who can become an important player of the national team in the coming years. Strong in football, strong-willed, with phenomenal development in recent years. What more could you want from a 21 year old?

But Xhaka, Shaqiri and Co. will probably be with us for a while.
And that’s a good thing. Granit is an incredible leader who sometimes I feel is overextending himself in the national team. With Shaqiri it would be best if he played somewhere in Europe in the next six months until the European Championship.

Do you think the MLS in the US is too bad?
I played in Montreal for six months myself. Because there is no relegation in the MLS, the pressure is simply not high enough. We probably won’t get the best Shaqiri.

They worry a lot about the national team. To hear you talk like this: The association is thinking about appointing an ex-player as a link between Nati director Tami and the team. Actually the perfect job for you.
(laughs) I wouldn’t rule that out in advance. Of course I will listen if the association wants to talk to me. Like I said, I’m open to discussions starting in January.