Blerim Džemaili (, ; ; born 12 April 1986) is a Swiss professional footballer who plays for Super League club Zürich as a midfielder. He began his career at FC Zürich, where he won the Swiss Super League twice. He subsequently spent most of his career in Italy, making 280 Serie A appearances for Torino, Parma, Napoli, Genoa and Bologna. Džemaili made his debut for the Switzerland national team in March 2006 and went on to make over 65 appearances. He was selected for their squads at the FIFA World Cup in 2006, 2014 and 2018, as well as UEFA Euro 2016. Childhood and early career Džemaili was born to Fekredin and Shemije Džemaili, an Albanian family from Bogovinje, in SFR Yugoslavia (now North Macedonia). At age four, he and his family migrated to Zürich, Switzerland. At age nine, he joined youth club Oerlikon Zürich for one year before moving to FC Unterstrass. At age 14, Blerim moved to third league team YF Juventus as a youth player before moving to FC Zürich in 2001. While with Zürich, Džemaili rose through the ranks and made the senior team at age 17. In 2021, he revealed that he has been a fan of A.C. Milan since childhood. Club career Zürich Džemaili began his senior career with Zürich. In his first season, he made 30 appearances for the club, scoring twice and creating three assists. Džemaili played either as a central or defensive midfielder. In the 2004–05 season, he helped the club win the Swiss Cup. Džemaili imposed a strong influence on the field as he possessed accurate passing capabilities as well as a fast and aggressive approach to the game. This led Džemaili to taking the role of captain during the 2005–06. Džemaili was 19 when he was chosen captain and is one of the youngest captains in Swiss football history. Džemaili led his team to glory as Zürich won the Swiss Super League in the 2005–06 and 2006–07 seasons. After winning the Swiss cup and league, Džemaili moved to Premier League side Bolton Wanderers. Bolton Wanderers Džemaili signed a preliminary contract agreement with Bolton on 9 February 2007, meaning that he would sign for the Premier League outfit once his contract expired in the summer of 2007. Former Bolton manager Sam Allardyce was quoted as saying, "Blerim is a fantastic player, who has played for the best team in Switzerland