Uran Bislimi

Uran Bislimi (born 25 September 1999) is a Swiss professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Swiss club Lugano. A former youth international for Switzerland and Kosovo, he played for the Kosovo national team in a pair of friendlies before switching back to play for the Switzerland national team.

Uran Bislimi
Personal information
Full name Uran Bislimi
Date of birth (1999-09-25) 25 September 1999
Place of birth Basel, Switzerland
Height 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Position(s) Midfielder
Team information
Current team
 Lugano
Number 25
Youth career
0000–2015 Concordia Basel
2015–2017 Basel
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2017–2019 Basel U21 42 (3)
2019–2022 Schaffhausen 84 (6)
2022– Lugano 30 (2)
International career‡
2018 Switzerland U19 1 (0)
2022 Kosovo 2 (1)
2023– Switzerland 1 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 29 May 2023
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 19 June 2023

Club career

Lugano

On 19 July 2022, Bislimi signed a four-year contract with Swiss Super League club Lugano.[1] Five days later, he made his debut in a 2–1 away defeat against Grasshoppers after coming on as a substitute at 72nd minute in place of Mattia Bottani.[2]

International career

Switzerland

In March 2018, Bislimi becomes part of Switzerland U19 with which he made his debut in a 2–2 home draw against Finland U19 after being named in the starting line-up.[3]

Kosovo

On 2 September 2019, Bislimi received a call-up from Kosovo U21 for the 2021 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification match against England U21,[4] but he was an unused substitute in that match.[5]

Bislimi was planned to be called up from Kosovo in September 2022 for 2022–23 UEFA Nations League matches against Northern Ireland and Cyprus, but he declined to be part of the national team as he wanted to focus on playing at club level.[6][7] On 11 November 2022, he accepted a call-up from Kosovo for the friendly matches against Armenia and Faroe Islands.[8] His debut with Kosovo came five days later in a friendly match against Armenia after being named in the starting line-up.[9] Three days after debut, Bislimi scored his first goal for Kosovo in his second appearance for the country in a 1–1 home draw over Faroe Islands.[10]

We need players who feel this team, this country, but Bislimi is not one of them. He has closed the door to himself in Kosovo, for him there is no longer a key, he will now look at other options, he is no longer part of us.

—The opinion of the head coach of Kosovo, Alain Giresse about Bislimi's dilemma.[11]

On 20 March 2023, Kosovo manager Bajram Shala during the media conference before the UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying matches against Israel and Andorra said that Bislimi still has dilemmas about which national team he will play for and so we have decided that this player will no longer have a place in the national team.[12]

Return to Switzerland

On 31 May 2023, Bislimi was named as part of the Switzerland's reserve squad for the UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying matches against Andorra and Romania.[13] Nine days later, he was included in the finalized Switzerland squad for the UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying matches against Andorra and Romania to replace the injured Breel Embolo.[14] On 19 June 2023, Bislimi made his debut with Switzerland in the UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying match against Romania after coming on as a substitute at last minutes in place of Xherdan Shaqiri.[15]

International goals
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
Kosovo goals
1. 19 November 2022 Fadil Vokrri Stadium, Pristina, Kosovo  Faroe Islands 1–0 1–1 Friendly

References
  1. "Uran Bislimi dallo Sciaffusa all'FC Lugano" [Uran Bislimi from Schaffhausen to FC Lugano] (in Italian). FC Lugano. 19 July 2022.
  2. "CZ supera il Lugano (2–1)" [CZ overtakes Lugano (2–1)] (in Italian). FC Lugano. 24 July 2022.
  3. "Switzerland – Finland 2:2 (U19 Friendlies 2018, March)". WorldFootball.net. 26 March 2018.
  4. "Prekazi: Anglia favorite, por ne do të japim më të mirën" [Prekazi: England is favorite, but we'll give our best] (in Albanian). Football Federation of Kosovo. 2 September 2019.
  5. "England U21 vs. Kosovo U21 2–0". Soccerway. Retrieved 9 September 2019.
  6. "Mediat zvicerane: Yjet e Kosovës janë të zemëruar – Uran Bislimi e refuzon thirrjen" [Swiss media: Kosovo stars are angry – Uran Bislimi rejects the call]. Albora.ch (in Albanian). 22 September 2022.
  7. "Uran Bislimi që refuzoi Kosovën: "Të luash për Zvicrën, ëndërr e secilit futbollist"" [Uran Bislimi who rejected Kosovo: "Playing for Switzerland, every footballer's dream"] (in Albanian). Koha Ditore. 22 September 2022.
  8. "Giresse publikon listën e futbollistëve për miqësoret e nëntorit" [Giresse publishes the list of footballers for the November friendlies] (in Albanian). Football Federation of Kosovo. 11 November 2022.
  9. "Formacionet zyrtare, Kosovë – Armeni: Tre lojtarë të Superligës startojnë nga minuta e parë, shumë debutime te Dardanët" [Official lineups, Kosovo – Armenia: Three Superleague players start from the first minute, many debuts at the Dardanians] (in Albanian). Telegrafi. 16 November 2022.
  10. "Kosova zhbllokon ndeshjen, Uran Bislimi shënon gol të jashtëzakonshëm" [Kosovo unlocks the game, Uran Bislimi scores an extraordinary goal] (in Albanian). Telegrafi. 19 November 2022.
  11. "Giresse: Uran Bislimi ia ka mbyllur vetës derën te Kosova" [Giresse: Uran Bislimi has closed the door to Kosovo for himself] (in Albanian). Telegrafi. 20 March 2023.
  12. "Bislimi ka refuzuar Kosovën, nuk do të ftohet më" [Bislimi has rejected Kosovo, it will not be invited again] (in Albanian). Telegrafi. 20 March 2023.
  13. Bolzplazz | Swiss Football Platform [@Bolzplazz] (31 May 2023). "There are a couple of big surprises on the Swiss reserve list: 1st call-up on stand-by for Austria Vienna striker Haris Tabakovic (28), Lugano midfielder Uran Bislimi (23) & YB defender Aurèle Amenda (19)!" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  14. nati_sfv_asf [@nati_sfv_asf] (9 June 2023). "Update: Breel Embolo fällt verletzungsbedingt aus. Haris Seferovic und Uran Bislimi sind neu im Kader. | Breel Embolo è out per infortunio. Haris Seferovic e Uran Bislimi sono convocati" [Update: Breel Embolo is out through injury. Haris Seferovic and Uran Bislimi are new to the squad.] (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  15. "Schweiz 2:2 Rumänien" [Switzerland 2:2 Romania] (in German). Swiss Football Association. Retrieved 19 June 2023.
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