[ad_1]
Pajtim Kasami, do you have supernatural powers?
Pajtim Kasami: It’s not that I know why you think
Because you’ve practically never been injured in your ten years as a professional. Good genes or luck?
Knock on wood (laughs). Luckily I never had a serious injury and that has to do with luck. But you can also control yourself a lot. With good nutrition, with enough sleep. Ice baths help after games. I have a team that takes care of me and advises me. But still, there is always a change somewhere because the tension in our sport is great. And because soccer is not tennis or swimming. It is a contact sport.
But even a model athlete like you can’t do anything against Corona. How do you live the current situation?
It is difficult for each of us. But we are all in the same boat, we all have to participate and follow the rules. It doesn’t surprise me that there are more and more cases, many of them were probably too relaxed on the subject.
What role does soccer play?
Soccer is fun and contributes something to society. It is sad for the fans and also for the players that they are not allowed to enter the stadium. I think for everyone, not just soccer, it would be good if the pandemic could be brought under control as soon as possible.
How did you stay in shape during the quarantine?
We have a group chat, where we always get the necessary information from the coaches. But of course: if you are not allowed to go more than ten meters from the apartment, then you have to be creative.
How were you received within the team?
As I still know many players from the national team and also from the Super League, it was an easy start. It makes a lot of things easier if you know the league and speak the language.
FCB has 30 players on the squad. For two competitions. How does the competition live?
Everyone wants to play, everyone gives their best in training. That is good for the team. But in the end we have a coach who decides who can play.
What do you think of Ciriaco Sforza?
He is a coach who talks a lot with the team, gives a lot of instructions, pays attention to details. That is important at this level. He often corrects players, wants to improve everyone.
When you were at GC Junior, Sforza was the head coach.
I wanted me to stay at GC and join the first team, but by then I had already decided on Liverpool and abroad.
Did you move abroad too early back then?
Not necessarily. But in hindsight, things didn’t turn out the way they should. He was only 15 years old and maybe a little naive.
Pajtim Kasami was born on June 2, 1992 in Andelfingen ZH. He spent his childhood at Zürcher Weinland and played as a youth for FC Winterthur and GC. In November 2009 he entered the big football stage: with the U-17 team he was proclaimed world champion in Nigeria. Below are some well-known stations: Liverpool, Lazio, Bellinzona, Palermo, Fulham, Lucerne, Olympiacos, Nottingham, Sion. The interesting aspects? With Fulham he descends to the championship, but he is an indisputable regular. With Olympiakos he is twice champion of Greece and one cup. This summer, the twelve-time Swiss national player moves to FCB.
You could have moved abroad this summer, but you stayed in Switzerland. Did you have to cut back financially?
You could say that I gave up the FCB money, yes. It was a sporty change. He had more lucrative offers financially, but that was not critical. I want to attack again and I think I am in the right club for that.
You’ve played almost every game for FC Sion in the last three years, but mostly you’ve only fought relegation. Do you regret moving to Valais?
No, that made me stronger. I was really born there. Every soccer player wants to play for a successful team. If you don’t win, you get frustrated. But I’ll only take the positives with me, it was an educational moment.
Now you switch from one turbulent club to the next. Do you feel the discomfort around FCB?
No. That passes me by, my focus is 100 percent on the field. I cannot and would not like to judge what it was.
FCB has been courting you for years. Why did it finally work?
He was specific a couple of times, yeah. But something was always missing. And of course I had a contract with Zion and it would have cost me a transfer.
You completed your last serious fight in early August. Are you ready for the game against St. Gallen?
In any case, I have not forgotten how to play football.
You are seen as a player who can hurt your opponent, but you have never been thrown off the field in your career. Why is that?
If I already have a yellow one, I’ll be careful. In many situations, this has to do with the intelligence of the game. If you don’t have your head on the matter, it will go quickly. I always see soccer as a game of strategy. I can’t hit my opponent on my knee with a straight leg after five minutes.
You can play on the grand piano, at ten, at eight, in a storm. Where do you feel most comfortable?
More in the center. But the coach decides where I play.
He scored his miraculous goal for Fulham against Crystal Palace from the wing. How often are you actually approached about this success?
Often. And again. Of my friends. From strangers. It seems to me that it happened recently, and that was seven years ago.
At that time, many experts trusted you to play an important role in the Swiss national team. However, he has only played twelve international matches so far. Will more be added?
My job is to show my performance with FCB, the rest will come alone.
In the first weeks you got lost in Basel. Find your way now?
Well I’ve been quarantined for almost ten days, that didn’t really help (laughs). But I was in town once or twice before. Basel is a great city.
Larger than Andelfingen in Zurich. How do you relate to your hometown?
A great. I grew up there and went to school. My parents live there, my brothers also, and I am at home very often. But the current situation has complicated things.
What are your hopes for the future?
That we are playing for the championship title with FCB. And may we all stay healthy.
