Valon Behrami

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search
This article's lead section may not adequately summarize its contents. Please consider expanding the lead to provide an accessible overview of the article's key points. (January 2011)
Valon Behrami
080603 behrami01.jpg
Personal information
Full name Valon Behrami
Date of birth 19 April 1985 (1985-04-19) (age 26)
Place of birth Titova Mitrovica, SFR Yugoslavia
Height 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)
Playing position Midfielder
Club information
Current club Fiorentina
Number 85
Youth career
1993–1997 Stabio
1997–2000 Chiasso
2000–2002 Lugano
Senior career*
Years Team Apps† (Gls)†
2002–2003 Lugano 2 (0)
2003–2005 Genoa 24 (0)
2004–2005 → Verona (loan) 32 (3)
2005–2008 Lazio 65 (4)
2008–2011 West Ham United 58 (4)
2011– Fiorentina 34 (0)
National team‡
2005– Switzerland 30 (2)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 19 January 2012.

† Appearances (Goals).

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 25 January 2011

Valon Behrami (born 19 April 1985) is a Swiss footballer of Albanian descent who plays for Fiorentina in the Italian Serie A, as well as the Swiss national team.

Contents

[edit] Early life

Behrami was born in Titova Mitrovica, Yugoslavia (Kosovo) to Kosovan-Albanian parents. When Behrami 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.[1] As a result, Behrami along with his parents and older sister Valentina moved to Stabio, a village in the Italian-speaking part of Switzerland.[2] 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."[1]

[edit] Club career

[edit] Early career

Behrami started out playing football with Swiss club sides FC Stabio, FC Chiasso and FC Lugano. After a number of impressive appearances with Lugano, he was signed by Italian teams Genoa in the 2003–04 season, and played for Genoa in the Serie B championship. In January 2004 he joined Udinese along with Rodrigue Boisfer in exchanged for Mohammed Gargo and Vittorio Micolucci, in flopped transfer price in co-ownership deal to create "paper" profit.[3]

In the 2004–05 season, Genoa bought out Udinese' rights to the player and loaned him out to Verona, again in Serie B.

[edit] Lazio

After an impressive season with Verona, Lazio signed him on 25 July 2005, as first a co-ownership deal for €2.7 million.[4] and Lazio bought him outright in January 2006, for the same price.[5]

Despite his clearance hitting Rodrigo Taddei'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 on 19 March 2008 and virtually finished the Scudetto hopes for rivals Roma.[6]

[edit] West Ham United

Valon Behrami at Upton Park 11 September 2010

On 23 July 2008, West Ham United signed Behrami from Lazio, with the player signing a five-year contract for a fee of £5 million.[7] Behrami made his debut for West Ham in the 2–1 home win over Wigan Athletic on 16 August 2008.[8] 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 at right back. He scored his first goal for West Ham in the 1–0 away win against Sunderland on 23 November 2008.[9] During the home win over Manchester City on 1 March 2009,[10] he suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury in his left knee[11] 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 Wigan Athletic.[12] 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 on 20 February 2010.[13]

[edit] Fiorentina

On 26 January 2011 Behrami moved to Fiorentina for an undisclosed fee, signing a three and a half-year contract.[14][15]

[edit] International career

Behrami has also been capped for the Swiss national team at the Under-18, Under-19 and "A" levels.

For the Swiss national team, Behrami scored a key goal against Turkey in the Stade de Suisse in the first leg of their World Cup 2006 qualifier playoff tie.

During the 2006 World Cup, he endured a groin injury which put him on the sidelines for the first two group matches. In the third match against South Korea, he was substituted late in the game in the 88th minute. He did not participate in the loss to Ukraine in the last 16 knockout round of matches.

Behrami was in the starting eleven of Switzerland for all three matches during the 2008 UEFA European Football Championship playing a total of 272 minutes.

On 21 June, in the 2010 World Cup, after appearing to elbow Chilean player Arturo Vidal, Behrami was sent off with a red card in the second Group H match against Chile and became the first Swiss player to be sent off in a World Cup match.[16] [17]

[edit] International goals

Scores and results list Switzerland's goal tally first.
# Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1 12 Nov 2005 Stade de Suisse, Berne, Switzerland  Turkey 2–0 Win 2006 World Cup qualifying
2 24 May 2008 Stadio Cornaredo, Lugano, Switzerland  Slovakia 2–0 Win Friendly

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b "Valon Behrami: a Kosovo-born Swiss". Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation. 14 June 2006. Archived from the original on 15 November 2007. http://web.archive.org/web/20071115005950/http://www.sdc.admin.ch/en/Dossiers/Dossier_Fussball_WM_2006/Valon_Behrami. Retrieved 4 November 2009. 
  2. ^ "Player Profile – Valon Behrami". West Ham United F.C.. http://www.whufc.com/articles/valon-behrami-west-ham_2228487_38551. Retrieved 4 November 2009. 
  3. ^ "Udine, indagati Pozzo e Pierpaolo Marino" (in Italian). Tutto Mercato Web. 31 July 2008. http://www.tuttomercatoweb.com/?action=read&id=116072. Retrieved 10 August 2011. 
  4. ^ "SS Lazio draft 2005–06 annual report" (in Italian). SS Lazio. http://www.sslazio.it/images/stories/documenti/pdf/investor_relator/progetto%20di%20bilancio%20al%2030.06.06.pdf. Retrieved 10 August 2011. 
  5. ^ "SS Lazio 2005–06 third quarter report" (in Italian). SS Lazio. http://www.sslazio.it/images/stories/documenti/pdf/investor_relator/relazione%20trimestrale%20al%2031.03.06.pdf. Retrieved 10 August 2011. 
  6. ^ "Lazio 3–2 Roma: Derby della Capitale Goes to Lazio, Are Roma’s Scudetto Chances Now Really Over?". Soccerlens.com. http://soccerlens.com/lazio-3-2-roma-derby-della-capitale-goes-to-lazio-are-romas-scudetto-chances-now-really-over/6690/. Retrieved 28 April 2010. 
  7. ^ "Valon Behrami signs 5 year deal with West Ham United FC". Whufc.com. http://www.whufc.com/page/News/0,,12562~1346270,00.html. Retrieved 28 April 2010. 
  8. ^ McIntyre, David (16 August 2008). "West Ham 2–1 Wigan". BBC News. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_prem/7551169.stm. Retrieved 28 April 2010. 
  9. ^ McKenzie, Andrew (23 November 2008). "Sunderland 0–1 West Ham". BBC News. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_prem/7727249.stm. Retrieved 28 April 2010. 
  10. ^ Stevenson, Jonathan (1 March 2009). "West Ham 1–0 Man City". BBC News. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/eng_prem/7905878.stm. Retrieved 28 April 2010. 
  11. ^ Wilson, Steve (11 March 2009). "West Ham's Valon Behrami ruled out for six months". London: Telegraph. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/west-ham/4972501/West-Hams-Valon-Behrami-ruled-out-for-six-months.html. Retrieved 19 October 2010. 
  12. ^ Shea, Julian (12 September 2009). "Wigan 1 – 0 West Ham". BBC News. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_prem/8243832.stm. Retrieved 23 May 2010. 
  13. ^ "Hammers too strong for Hull". Whufc.com. http://www.whufc.com/articles/20100220/hammers-too-strong-for-hull_2236884_1971927. Retrieved 28 April 2010. 
  14. ^ "Transfer round-up: Behrami to Fiorentina". Uefa.com. 26 January 2011. http://www.uefa.com/memberassociations/news/newsid=1588271.html?rss=1588271+Transfer+round-up:+Behrami+to+Fiorentina. Retrieved 26 January 2011. 
  15. ^ "Behrami departs". whufc.com. 26 January 2011. http://www.whufc.com/articles/20110125/behrami-departs_2236884_2275530. Retrieved 26 January 2011. 
  16. ^ "BBC Sport – Football – World Cup 2010: Ottmar Hitzfeld slams Behrami red card". BBC News. 21 June 2010. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/world_cup_2010/8752505.stm. Retrieved 22 June 2010. 
  17. ^ "Fifa World Cup 2010 , Group H , Chile , Wins , Switzerland , Port Elizabeth – Oneindia News". News.oneindia.in. 30 October 2007. http://news.oneindia.in/2010/06/22/fifa-world-cup-2010-chile-win-switzerland.html. Retrieved 22 June 2010. 

[edit] External links

ACF Fiorentina – current squad
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Valon_Behrami&oldid=473350771"
Personal tools
Namespaces
Variants
Actions
Navigation
Interaction
Toolbox
Print/export
Languages