Amir Abrashi

Amir Abrashi

Abrashi playing for Switzerland U21 at the UEFA Euro U21 2011
Personal information
Full name Amir Malush Abrashi
Date of birth (1990-03-27) 27 March 1990
Place of birth Bischofszell, Switzerland
Height 1.72 m (5 ft 8 in)
Playing position Midfielder
Club information
Current team
 SC Freiburg
Number 6
Youth career
2002–2003 FC Bischofszell
2003–2005 FC Weinfelden-Bürglen
2005 FC Bischofszell
2005–2007 Winterthur
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2007–2008 Winterthur II 16 (2)
2008–2011 Winterthur 58 (4)
2010–2011 → Grasshopper (loan) 27 (1)
2011–2015 Grasshopper 100 (5)
2015– SC Freiburg 33 (3)
National team‡
2007–2008 Switzerland U17 2 (0)
2008–2009 Switzerland U19 20 (2)
2010–2012 Switzerland U21 18 (0)
2012 Switzerland Olympic 4 (0)
2013– Albania 15 (0)

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 01:29, 16 May 2016 (UTC).

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 7 September 2015

Amir Malush Abrashi (born 27 March 1990) is an Albanian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for the German club SC Freiburg and the Albanian national team. Albanian fans call "The Pitbull".

Club career

Early career

Abrashi was born in Bischofszell, Switzerland, to Albanian parents who had emigrated from Kosovo before his birth. He grew up in the Canton of Thurgau region and began his career at the age of 12 with his hometown club, FC Bischofszell. A year later, in 2003, he moved to FC Weinfelden-Bürglen, where he spent 2 years before returning to his hometown club FC Bischofszell. However, just a month after his return, Abrashi moved to Winterthur along with his family, where he joined local side FC Winterthur, the club where he would remain for the remainder of his youth career.

Winterthur

Following impressive performances with the youth teams, Abrashi was first called up to the reserve side towards the end of the 2006–07 season, making his debut on 16 May 2007 in a goalless draw against GC Biaschesi, coming on in the 81st minute for Micha Iseli. Ten days later he was in the starting formation for the 3-2 away win against FC Chur 97. The following season he started in the youth team but was promoted permanently a few months into the season, and on 11 November 2007 he came on as a late substitute in a 4-3 loss against FC St. Gallen II. The following game he started in midfield against FC Herisau in a game which ended in a 4-1 win, and Abrashi scored his first competitive goal in the 90th minute of this game. He became a regular in the squad's starting line-up for the second half of the season, even scoring again against FC Baden. His performances in the reserve side caught the attention of the first team coach Mathias Walther, who included the 18-year-old in his squad for the Challenge League class against FC La Chaux-de-Fonds on 27 April 2008. Abrashi came on as a 67th-minute substitute for fellow Albanian Sehar Fejzulahi in the 1-0 away loss. He made 2 more appearances off the bench for the senior side against FC Lugano and SR Delémont, respectively.

Grasshopper

In July 2010, Abrashi was loaned for a year to the Grasshopper Club Zürich. After the loan contract ended in 2011, he was bought from Grasshopper for a fee of €600,000. He played together with other Albanian compatriots with origins in Kosovo, such as Shkëlzen Gashi, Shani Tarashaj, Imran Bunjaku, Albion Avdijaj, and Mërgim Brahimi.

SC Freiburg

On 3 June 2015, it was announced the Abrashi had successfully completed a move to German side SC Freiburg.[1] He was presented on the same day, where he signed the three-year deal and was given the squad number 6.[2]

Abrashi made his official debut with the club on 27 July 2015 in the opening match of 2. Bundesliga against Nürnberg, playing full-90 minutes in a 6–3 home win.[3] He scored his first goal for the team on 11 September in Freiburg's 2–0 defeat of Kaiserslautern.[4] He quickly established himself in the starting lineup, becoming an important instrument in the team's midfield, playing 33 league match throughout the season, as the team achieved the promotion to Bundesliga by winning the league.[5]

International career

Switzerland

Amir Abrashi was an important player of Swiss youth national teams, earning more than 40 caps in total. The highlights of his career for Switzerland were the achievement of runner-up at the 2011 UEFA European Under-21 Championship, coming on as a second-half substitute in the final against Spain (0–2), and the subsequent participation in the 2012 Summer Olympics as a regular player where Switzerland lost in the group games against the later Gold Medalist Mexico (0–1) and Bronze Medal winner South Korea (1–2), while achieving a 1–1 draw against Gabun.[6][7][8]

Abrashi, who was serving for the Swiss Army,[9] repeatedly stated his wish to play for the Swiss national team in the future: "That's no question for me. I grew up here and I feel like a Swiss."[10] However, the big competition for a spot in the Swiss national team on his position of central midfield by such players as Valon Behrami, team captain Gökhan Inler, Granit Xhaka, Blerim Dzemaili, Pajtim Kasami, Gelson Fernandes, Fabian Frei, or Pirmin Schwegler made him reconsider his decision. In a long talk with Ottmar Hitzfeld in May 2013, the Swiss national team coach told Abrashi that he is following his development closely and would like Abrashi to play for Switzerland in the future, but given the competition on his position, he would need patience in order to catch a regular spot in the team. After this talk, Abrashi decided to play for the Albanian football association in the future, stating: "It hurts that I can't play for Switzerland, which would have been my first choice, but the step to become a national team player is important in this stage of my career as a footballer. I cannot wait until I'm 26."[11] In order to become a national team player for Albania, not only Abrashi himself but also his parents, who hail from Kosovo, had to apply for Albanian passports.[12]

Albania

Abrashi (#22) lining up with Albania against Austria.

On 24 May 2013, Abrashi received Albanian citizenship along with 4 fellow Albanian international players, Jurgen Gjasula, Ilir Berisha, Azdren Llullaku, and Vullnet Basha.[13]

He played his first match for Albania on 14 August 2013 as a starter against Armenia in a friendly match, which ended as a 2–0 victory for Albania.[14] On 3 June 2013, FIFA gave the go ahead for Abrashi to play for Albania also in international official matches, such as the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification.[15] He made his official international debut on 6 September 2013 against Slovenia, a match valid for the Group E of 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification, in which Abrashi came in as a substitute in the 80th minute in place of Migjen Basha.[16]

Career statistics

Club

As of 20 June 2016[17][18]
Club Season League Cup Continental Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Winterthur II 2006–07 1. Liga Classic 142——142
2007–08 162——162
Total 304——304
Winterthur 2007–08 Swiss Super League 3000—30
2008–09 24100—241
2009–10 28331—314
Total 55431—585
Grasshopper 2010–11 Swiss Super League 271432[lower-alpha 1]0334
2011–12 15010—160
2012–13 27360—333
2013–14 320414[lower-alpha 2]0401
2014–15 262304[lower-alpha 3]1333
Total 127618410115511
Freiburg 2015–16 2. Bundesliga 33310—343
2016–17 Bundesliga 0000—00
Total 33310—343
Career total 2451722510127723
  1. ↑ All appearance(s) in UEFA Europa League
  2. ↑ Two appearances in UEFA Champions League, two appearances in UEFA Europa League
  3. ↑ Two appearances and one goal in UEFA Champions League, two appearances in UEFA Europa League

International

As of 20 June 2016[19][20]
Albania national team
YearAppsGoals
201340
201480
201540
201650
Total210

Honours

Club

Grasshopper[17]
SC Freiburg[17]

References

  1. ↑ "Amir Abrashi ist der vierte Neuzugang" (in German). SC Freiburg. 3 June 2016. Retrieved 20 June 2016.
  2. ↑ "Zyrtare, Amir Abrashi kalon te Freiburg" (in Albanian). Top Channel. 3 June 2016. Retrieved 20 June 2016.
  3. ↑ "Freiburg vs. Nürnberg 6 – 3". Soccerway. 27 July 2015. Retrieved 20 June 2016.
  4. ↑ Adi Metaliu (11 September 2015). "Abrashi e Memushaj shënojnë gola deçiziv" (in Albanian). Super Sport Albania. Retrieved 20 June 2016.
  5. ↑ "Niederlechner schießt Freiburg zur Meisterschaft" (in German). Swr.de. 8 May 2016. Retrieved 20 June 2016.
  6. ↑ "BBC Sport - London 2012 Olympics - Amir Abrashi : Switzerland, Football". Retrieved 15 June 2016.
  7. ↑ "Why Switzerland can reach the World Cup second round". Retrieved 15 June 2016.
  8. ↑ "Amir Abrashi Bio, Stats, and Results". Retrieved 15 June 2016.
  9. ↑ Switzerland, St. Galler Tagblatt AG,. "Spitzen-Rekruten zu Sport-Soldaten befördert". Retrieved 15 June 2016.
  10. ↑ "Amir Abrashi: Einfacher, als im Büro zu sitzen". 7 February 2012. Retrieved 15 June 2016.
  11. ↑ Kern, Von Max. "Er spielt für Albanien: GC-Abrashi gibt Hitzfeld einen Korb! - Blick". Retrieved 15 June 2016.
  12. ↑ Patriot werde ich sicher nicht mehr, 09 October 2013 20min.ch, checked on 18 October 2014
  13. ↑ Ekskluzive: Basha, Gjasula, Abrashi,Berisha e Llullaku me pasaportë shqiptare (dekreti) aSport.al
  14. ↑ "Albania vs. Armenia - 14 August 2013 - Soccerway". Retrieved 15 June 2016.
  15. ↑ FIFA jep leje për Abrashin e Bashën - Sporti Shqiptar Online - Sporti Shqiptar
  16. ↑ "Slovenia vs. Albania - 6 September 2013 - Soccerway". Retrieved 15 June 2016.
  17. 1 2 3 "Albania - A. Abrashi - Profile with news, career statistics and history". Soccerway. 20 June 2016. Retrieved 20 June 2016.
  18. ↑ "Football : Amir Abrashi". Football Database. 20 June 2016. Retrieved 20 June 2016.
  19. ↑ Strack-Zimmermann, Benjamin. "Amir Abrashi". National Football Teams. Retrieved 15 June 2016.
  20. ↑ "Amir Abrashi - national football team player". EU-football.info. Retrieved 20 June 2016.

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