Amir Abrashi

At 34 years old, Amir Abrashi has this physical status:

Amir Malush Abrashi (born 27 March 1990) is an Albanian professional footballer who plays for both the German club Freiburg and Albania's national team.

Source

Club career

Abrashi was born in Bischofszell, Switzerland, to Albanian parents from Gjakova, Kosovo, who had emigrated in Switzerland before his birth. He grew up in the Canton of Thurgau and started his career with FC Bischofszell, his hometown club. He made the switch to FC Weinfelden-Bürglen, where he spent two years before returning to his hometown club FC Bischofszell. However, just a month after his return, Abrashi and his family migrated to Winterthur, where he joined local team FC Winterthur, where he will continue with him for the remainder of his youth career.

Abrashi was first called up to the reserve team shortly after his debut against GC Biaseli on May 16, 2007, when Micha Iseli was still in the 81st minute. For the 3–2 home win over FC Chur 97, he was in the starting lineup ten days later. He played in 14 appearances in his first season with the reserve team.

He joined the youth team in the first season but was later promoted a few months later in the season, and in a 4-3 loss to FC St. Gallen II, he came on as a late replacement. He started with a 4–1 win over FC Herisau, in which Abrashi scored his first competitive goal in the final moments. He was a regular in the squad's starting lineup for the second half of the season, scoring his second against Baden on his second game of the season. In the 2007–08 season, Abrashi played 16 games and scored two goals.

Abrashi's outstanding results in the reserve team drew the attention of first team coach Mathias Walther, who drafted the 18-year-old in his squad for the Challenge League class against La Chaux-de-Fonds on April 27, 2008. In the 1–0 away loss, Abrashi came on as a 67th-minute replacement for fellow Albanian Sehar Fejzulahi. He made two more appearances off the bench for the senior team against FC Lugano and SR Delémont, respectively.

Abrashi had his breakthrough season in 2009-09, in which he appeared in 24 matches and scored once. In the 0–2 away win over La Chaux-de-Fonds on August 8, 2008, that goal was scored. He also played in the 2009–2010 season, appearing in 28 league appearances and scoring 3 goals as Winterthur finished third in the championship, but only by three points.

Abrashi played in 55 league appearances and 3 cup appearances, scoring 5 goals before transferring to Grasshopper Club Zürich, a top flight team.

In July 2010, Abrashi was given a one-year loan at Grasshopper Club Zürich. In the team's 2–0 away loss to FC Zürich, he was given squad number 8, and made his competitive debut on July 25th. This was also his first appearance in Swiss Super League in his career. Abrashi was also included in Ciriaco Sforza's squad for the 2010–11 UEFA Europa League campaign, making his debut against Steaua București in the first leg of the play-off round on August 19th. Despite Abrashi's winning his attempt, he played in the returning leg as the regular and extra time finished 1–0 for Grasshopper, which culminated in the match going to penalty shootouts, where the team was defeated 4–3 in the game.

In the 0–12 hammering of Gumefens/Sorens in Round 2 of the Swiss Cup, Abrashi scored his second Grasshopper goal on October 17th. On matchday 14 in an eventual 2–0 home win over St. Gallen, his first scoring sheet appearance in league came on matchday 14. Despite Abrashi's goal and being disqualified in the play-off round of Europa League, he played in his first season with Grasshopper, including 27 in league, scoring 4 goals, equaling his personal record set in the previous season.

Abrashi's transfer was made permanent by a fine of €600,000. In the league match against Luzern on August 27, 2011 he sustained a Cruciate Ligament Rupture injury, which kept him sidelined until February of next year. Abrashi's on field return occurred on March 17th as he participated in the last minutes of a 2–0 home win over Young Boys in the Swiss Super League matchday 25. During this season, he was only able to make 16 appearances, 15 of which were in league, totaling 1091 minutes.

Abrashi captured his first silverware with Grasshopper in the 2012–13 season, including the final, as the team defeated Basel 4–3 on penalties, ending regular and extra time until winning their 19th Swiss Cup in history. It was also the club's first trophy in ten years. In the 0–2 away victory over Luzern on August 19, he scored his first league goal in almost two years. He played 33 games in league and cup, scoring 3 times as the team finished runner-up in the championship, losing the title to Basel for only 3 points.

Grasshoper's second appearance in the championship tournament meant they had qualified for the 2013-2014 UEFA Champions League third qualifying round. In the first leg against Lyon, which resulted in a 1–0 away loss, Abrashi made his UEFA Champions League debut on July 30th. In the UEFA Europa League play-off round, where the team met Fiorentina, the team was also defeated in the second leg and was suspended. In the 2013-14 Swiss Cup Round 2 against Stade Nyonnais, Abrashi scored his first and only goal of the season on September 14th; he scored the goal in the 121st minute to propel Grasshoper to a 4–1 victory and into the next round. In the 4–1 home win over Luzern in the matchday 35, Abrashi made his 100th Swiss Super League appearance on May 15, 2014. He played in 40 games in his fourth Grasshoper season, a new personal record in the team's fourth appearance in the championship, as the team finished runner-up once more.

Abrashi scored his first European goal in the 2014–15 season. The goal was scored on 5 August 2014 during the 2014–15 UEFA Champions League third qualifying round against Lille; the match finished 1–1 away draw, which was not enough for Grasshoper who was eliminated 3–1 on aggregate. Abrashi revealed in December 2014 that he did not renew his deal with the club. He revealed in February 2015 that the 2014–15 season would be his last with Grasshoper, as well as a move outside of Switzerland. He played in all seasons, including 36 in league, scoring 3 times in his 5th and final season with Grasshopper. Overall, Abrashi played 127 matches in league, 18 in cup and 10 in UEFA competitions, scoring 11 goals.

It was announced on June 3, 2015, that the Abrashi had successfully transferred to SC Freiburg, Germany. He was signed on the same day, where he signed the three-year contract and was given the squad number 6.

In the first match of 2, Abrashi made his official debut with the club on July 27, 2015. In a 6–3 home victory, the Bundesliga defeated Nürnberg in a full 90 minutes. In Freiburg's 2–0 win over Kaiserslautern on September 11, he scored his first goal for the team. He quickly settled in the starting lineup, making him a key piece in the team's midfield, playing 33 league games throughout the season as the team won the promotion to Bundesliga by winning the league.

Abrashi made his Bundesliga debut on August 28th, 2016--17 season, with the team losing 2–1 away to Hertha BSC in the last moments. After being on the bench for half of September, he returned and scored his first top flight goal in Freiburg's 3-1 victory over Werder Bremen on October 29. He decided on a contract extension on December 19th, but the new deal did not contain a significant wage increase.

Abrashi sustained an injury in November 2017 that kept him off the track for the next two months. He returned to action in the first days of 2018 by scoring a header in a friendly against Bundesliga side Hamburger SV, which resulted in a 1–1 draw. He was hospitalized again in the league match against Hertha BSC in the 29th minute, resulting in his absence for the remainder of the season. He was sidelined for almost a year, returning to fitness in January 2019, and played his first match against Schalke 04 in a goalless draw.

Abrashi was on loan to Swiss club FC Basel on January 27, 2021.

He returned to Grasshoppers on a two-year deal on June 23, 2021.

International career

Amir Abrashi was a key player of Swiss youth national teams, winning more than 40 caps in total. The highlights of his father's career were his participation in the 2011 European Under-21 Championship as a second-half replacement, and his subsequent participation in the 2012 Summer Olympics as a regular player, where Switzerland lost in group games against Mexico (0–1) and Bronze Medalist South Korea (1–2), respectively, in a 1-1 draw against Gabun.

Abrashi, a Swiss army soldier, had stated consistently that he wants 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." Nevertheless, Valon Behrami, team captain Gökhan Inler, Granit Xhaka, Pajtim Kasami, Gelson Fernandes, Fabian Frei, or Pirmin Schwegler all made him reconsider his decision. In a long chat with Ottmar Hitzfeld in May 2013, the Swiss national team coach told Abrashi that he is following his growth closely and would like Abrashi to play for Switzerland in the future, but that he will need patience in order to gain a regular spot in the squad. After this discussion, Abrashi decided to play for the Albanian football association in the future, saying: "It hurts that I can't play for Switzerland, which would have been my first choice," he said, but becoming a national team player is vital in this phase of my career as a footballer. I can't wait until I'm 26 years old.

Not only does Abrashi himself but also his parents, who hail from Kosovo, must apply for Albanian passports in order to become a national team player for Albania. Abrashi and four other Albanian international players at the time, Jurgen Gjasula, Ilir Berisha, Azdren Llullaku, and Vullnet Basha received Albanian citizenship on May 24th.

Abrashi received his first call up by boss Gianni De Biasi for the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifier against Norway. FIFA approved Abrashi's participation in international tournaments on June 3rd.

Abrashi earned his first Albania cap in August in a friendly match against Armenia; he started for 76 minutes as starter, assisting the team in beating 2–0 at Qemal Stafa Stadium. Abrashi was part of the team against Slovenia and Iceland in September; his competitive debut came against Slovenia, who defeated Albania 1–0 at Stoice Stadium, with Abrashi playing in the final ten minutes.

Abrashi was called up for the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification matches against Slovenia and Iceland on September 10th. In the 80th minute, he made his official international debut against Slovenia on September 6, 2013 against Slovenia as a substitute. Abrashi made three appearances in Albania's miserable campaign, placing them in fifth place with just 11 points after splitting Group E in fifth place.

Abrashi was named in Albania's preliminary 27-man squad for UEFA Euro 2016 on May 21 and in Albania's final 23-man UEFA Euro squad on May 31.

Albania lost 0–0 and Switzerland, which they also lost 1–0 in the first match and 1–0 in the closing match, with Armando Sadiku scoring every minute of all Group A matches. Albania finished third in third place with three points and a difference of two goals, and was ranked last in the third-placed teams, which eventually dropped them.

Source