Blerim Dzemaili about his time in Naples

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Sometimes centimeters determine whether you become immortal or not. Blerim Dzemaili (37) knows that too. At the 2014 World Cup, the pole stood in the way against Argentina in the round of 16. A year earlier, the 69-time international again experienced such a moment with his club. It is March 2013. Napoli are second in Serie A, six points behind Juventus when they face each other. A win – and the title race would be open again. At halftime it is 1-1. Dzemaili is coming.

Naples are playing well. Should be in the front. It is still fifteen minutes until the final whistle: Marek Hamsik shoots from 30 meters. Buffon bounces. I sprint into the penalty area. The ball bounces in my direction. Buffon is still on the floor. The gate is almost open. At the level of the penalty point, slightly shifted to the right, I finish with my right instep. The ball misses the target by a hair’s breadth to the left,” recalled Dzemaili.

A loud “Noooo” echoes through the Stadio San Paolo. Because it remains 1-1 and Napoli blunders against Chievo Verona shortly afterwards, the dream bursts. “If I had scored that goal I am so convinced we would have won the Scudetto.” Dzemaili is said to have become immortal to the Neapolitans. After all, it is normal to remember the winning goalscorers against Juventus. Forever.

“Earned Something”

Ten years later, the Scudetto is a fact. It is the third in the club’s history. Since 1990, the inhabitants of the Vesuvius city have longed for this moment. “It is so deserved. They made the best of their chances », Dzemaili is happy for her. We meet the FCZ player in his favorite pizzeria in Zurich, the Arcade Pizzeria Napoletana. He recalls that no one Napoli on the favorites list, also because players of the caliber of Lorenzo Insigne, Dries Mertens and Kalidou Koulibaly have left the club.

Nevertheless, Napoli now have the best team in Serie A, Dzemaili is sure. “I don’t see a better midfield, no better storm. They also have the best central and right-back in Kim Min-jae and Giovanni Di Lorenzo.” Also the man on the sidelines – Luciano Spalletti – should not be forgotten. “Everyone who talks about him raves about him on the highest note.”

The championship celebrations in Napoli continue throughout the summer. The fans have been over the moon for weeks. Eventually Dzemaili will be there too. He doesn’t know exactly when. His eyes sparkle when he talks about Napoli. “The three years were like ten years elsewhere.” Between 2011 and 2014 he played football at the foot of Mount Vesuvius. “It was the best time of my career.”

Rented Cannavaro’s house

When the pizza is eaten and the coffee is ordered, Dzemaili is excited about the apartment he lived in. In the picturesque and hilly neighborhood of Posillipo it was. On Via Stazio. “Mozzafiato” is the view from there. So breathtaking. «You can see the open sea, the elegant houses of the Riviera di Chiaia and in the background Mount Vesuvius completes the panorama. The sun sets in the sea. Unique.”

The owner of the apartment is Naples’ most famous football player, world champion captain Fabio Cannavaro. His brother Paolo, who was eight years his junior, was Napoli captain at the time. “Everything was easier with him. Thanks to him, I immediately had a good atmosphere around me,” says Dzemaili when the waiter serves the espresso. Cannavaro also explained to him how life as a footballer works in this city. The players are heroes. Almost gods.

An anecdote about his team-mate at the time, Ezequiel Lavezzi, shows how special life as a Napoli professional can be. “It was said once that he was with Louis Vuitton. The road was immediately closed. People stopped their car with the engine running and got out to see him.” You can’t really compare Napoli to anything.

People live football 100 percent. That every day. “You have to be mentally strong. Everyone is talking about you. There are ten magazines, a hundred websites and countless radio stations. If you eat a pizza, it will be in the newspaper tomorrow. You must be the man. Whoever isn’t, is sitting there on the wrong place.” A former teammate once asked him if he should go to Napoli because he had received an offer. “I honestly told him he wasn’t the type.”

Recorded in Legends chat

Dzemaili played 109 matches for Napoli, scoring 18 goals and 10 assists. With Napoli he played in the Champions League and won the Coppa Italia twice, which is why he has been added to the Legends Whatsapp chat. Players from the championship years 1987, 1990 and from the cup winning teams 2012 and 2014 are in it. “We won the first title after 22 years. That was somehow the origin of today’s success,” says Dzemaili.

In any case, the architect of the most recent successes is the same: President Aurelio de Laurentiis, who is married to a Swiss woman. Dzemaili takes his hat off to the film producer and hopes that the successes can be repeated. “You need investments for that.” Whether Victor Osimhen or Chwitscha Kwarazchelia should be sold. “We also sold Cavani at the time and got Higuain for that.” The decisive factor is who is used as a replacement.

Dzemaili has now finished his espresso. But there’s something else on the tip of his tongue. “I recommend everyone to watch a game there and taste the atmosphere. It is really something very special that I have not experienced anywhere else.”

Source : Blick

Emma

I’m Emma Jack, a news website author at 24 News Reporters. I have been in the industry for over five years and it has been an incredible journey so far. I specialize in sports reporting and am highly knowledgeable about the latest trends and developments in this field.