Valon Behrami facts for kids
Behrami with Switzerland in 2018
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Valon Behrami | ||
| Date of birth | 19 April 1985 | ||
| Place of birth | Titova Mitrovica, Yugoslavia | ||
| Height | 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Midfielder | ||
| 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 | → Hellas Verona (loan) | 33 | (3) |
| 2005–2008 | Lazio | 65 | (4) |
| 2008–2011 | West Ham United | 58 | (4) |
| 2011–2012 | Fiorentina | 48 | (0) |
| 2012–2014 | Napoli | 54 | (0) |
| 2014–2015 | Hamburger SV | 22 | (0) |
| 2015–2017 | Watford | 43 | (0) |
| 2017–2019 | Udinese | 39 | (2) |
| 2019 | Sion | 4 | (0) |
| 2020–2022 | Genoa | 53 | (0) |
| 2022 | Brescia | 5 | (0) |
| Total | 450 | (13) | |
| International career | |||
| 2005–2018 | Switzerland | 83 | (2) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Valon Behrami (born 19 April 1985) is a Swiss former professional footballer. He played as a midfielder, a player who helps both attack and defense. Valon started his football journey in Switzerland. However, he spent most of his career playing for teams in Italy. He also played for two clubs in England and one in Germany.
Behrami played for the Swiss national team 83 times. He represented his country in four FIFA World Cup tournaments. He also played in the UEFA Euro 2008 and UEFA Euro 2016 championships. He played for Switzerland from his first game in 2005 until he stopped playing internationally in 2018.
Contents
Early Life and Family
Valon Behrami was born in Mitrovica, Kosovo. At that time, it was part of Yugoslavia. His parents were Kosovar Albanians. When Valon was five years old, his parents lost their jobs. His mother, Halime, was a secretary, and his father, Ragip, managed a plastics company.
Because of this, Valon and his family moved to Stabio. This is a village in Ticino, a part of Switzerland where people speak Italian. Valon's mother said he was always full of energy. She mentioned that running was his favorite thing to do as a child. He never seemed to get tired and always needed a ball to play with.
Club Football Journey
Starting Out in Switzerland and Italy
Valon Behrami began his football career playing for Swiss clubs. These included FC Stabio, FC Chiasso, and FC Lugano. He played very well for Lugano. Because of his strong performances, Italian team Genoa signed him in the 2003–04 season. He played for Genoa in Serie B, which is Italy's second-highest football league.
In 2004, Genoa loaned him to Verona. He played another season in Serie B with Verona.
Playing for Lazio
After a good season with Verona, Lazio, a big Italian club, signed Valon in July 2005. He quickly became an important player for them.
One memorable moment for Behrami at Lazio was in March 2008. He scored a winning goal in the 92nd minute against their rivals, Roma. This win was very important for Lazio and helped stop Roma from winning the league title that year.
Time with West Ham United
On 23 July 2008, Valon Behrami moved to England. He joined West Ham United and signed a five-year contract. He played his first game for West Ham in August 2008. Valon was a very flexible player. He could play in different positions in the midfield. Sometimes, he even played as a right-back. This made him a key player for West Ham.
He scored his first goal for West Ham in November 2008 against Sunderland. Sadly, in March 2009, he got a serious knee injury during a game against Manchester City. This injury meant he couldn't play for the rest of that season.
Valon returned to play in September 2009. However, injuries continued to bother him for a while. He scored his only goal of the 2009–10 season in February 2010 against Hull City.
Moving to Fiorentina and Napoli
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In January 2011, Behrami moved back to Italy. He joined Fiorentina and signed a three-and-a-half-year contract. He played his first game for Fiorentina just a few days later, against his old team Lazio.
In July 2012, Valon and his teammate Alessandro Gamberini joined Napoli.
Playing in Germany and Back to England
On 31 July 2014, Behrami moved to Germany. He joined Hamburg and signed a three-year contract. He played for Hamburg for one season.
On 11 July 2015, Valon Behrami returned to England. He signed a three-year contract with Watford.
Later Career in Italy and Switzerland
In August 2017, Behrami signed a two-year deal with Italian club Udinese.
In July 2019, he joined Swiss club Sion. However, his contract with Sion ended by agreement in October 2019.
On 2 January 2020, Behrami joined Genoa for the second time in his career. He played his first game back with Genoa on 5 January 2020.
On 31 January 2022, Valon Behrami signed with Brescia, a club in Italy's Serie B.
International Career for Switzerland
Valon Behrami played for the Swiss national team at different age levels. He played for the Under-18 and Under-19 teams before joining the main "A" team.
He represented Switzerland in four FIFA World Cup tournaments: in 2006, 2010, 2014, and 2018. He scored an important goal against Turkey in a qualifying game for the 2006 World Cup. During the 2006 tournament, he had a groin injury.
In the 2010 World Cup, Valon received a red card in a game against Chile. This made him the first Swiss player to be sent off in a World Cup match.
Behrami was part of Switzerland's team for the 2018 FIFA World Cup. In their first game, a 1–1 draw with Brazil, he played very well. He was noted for constantly bothering Brazil's star player, Neymar. Valon Behrami made history by becoming the first Swiss player to play in four World Cups in a row.
Personal Life
In July 2018, Valon Behrami married his girlfriend, Lara Gut. Lara Gut is a famous Swiss alpine ski racer. They had been dating for a few months before getting married.
Honours and Achievements
Club Trophies
- Napoli
- Coppa Italia: 2013–14 (This is a major Italian cup competition.)
Records
- Valon Behrami is the only Swiss player to have played in four World Cups in a row:
See also
In Spanish: Valon Behrami para niños
