Gezim Pepsi[a] (born 12 July 1998) is a professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for Swiss club Basel U21. Born in Switzerland, and a former Albanian and Swiss youth international, he has most recently represented Kosovo at under-21 level.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 12 July 1998 | ||
| Place of birth | Basel, Switzerland | ||
| Height | 1.81 m (5 ft 11 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Defensive midfielder | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Basel U21 | ||
| Number | 6 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| –2016 | Basel | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2016–2018 | Basel U21 | 42 | (3) |
| 2018–2020 | Basel | 0 | (0) |
| 2018–2020 | → Aarau (loan) | 29 | (0) |
| 2020–2022 | Winterthur | 52 | (6) |
| 2022–2023 | Vaduz | 15 | (0) |
| 2023–2024 | Pirin Blagoevgrad | 2 | (0) |
| 2024– | Basel U21 | 11 | (1) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2014 | Albania U17 | 3 | (2) |
| 2015 | Switzerland U18 | 4 | (0) |
| 2016 | Switzerland U19 | 4 | (0) |
| 2019–2020 | Kosovo U21 | 4 | (0) |
|
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 20 April 2024 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 13 October 2020 | |||
Club career
editEarly career
editPepsi is a product of the Basel youth academy. He played for the U17, U18, U19 and U21 teams making a total of 99 appearances, scoring nine goals and assisting two. In 2018, Pepsi was loaned to Aarau as part of a partnership between the two clubs.[2] Pepsi made 33 appearances for the Aarau. In February 2020, Pepsi told teammates he would be leaving Aarau,[3] and subsequently was sold by parent club Basel to Winterthur.[4]
Winterthur
editUpon return from loan, Pepsi was bought by Winterthur in February 2020.[5][6] His first goal for the club would come against Vaduz in June, the first match in the Swiss Challenge League since the COVID-19 enforced break.[7] He scored against his former club Basel in the 2020–21 Swiss Cup round of 16, a game which Winterthur won 6–2.[8] In May 2022, Pepsi was given a one-year contract extension with Winterthur.[9]
Vaduz
editOn 30 August 2022, Pepsi joined Swiss Challenge League side Vaduz, on a one-year contract with the option of a further year.[10] His debut with Vaduz came a day later in the 2022–23 Liechtenstein Cup round of 16 against Triesen II after being named in the starting line-up and scored his side's two goals during a 0–18 away deep win.[11]
International career
editOn 3 September 2014, Pepsi received the Albanian passport and this paved the way for him to represent Albania,[1] which he represented at under-17 level in the 2015 UEFA European Under-17 Championship qualifications,[12] making three appearances and scoring two goals against San Marino.[13] He switched to Switzerland and made eight appearances for the under-18 and under-19 teams.
On 11 March 2019, Pepsi received a call-up from Kosovo U21 for the friendly matches against Turkmenistan U21 and Malta U21.[14] His debut with Kosovo U21 came on 26 March in the friendly match against Malta U21 after being named in the starting line-up,[15] while the competitive debut came on 15 November in the 2021 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification match against Albania U21 again after being named in the starting line-up.[16]
Notes and references
editNotes
editReferences
edit- ^ a b c "Dekret për dhënie të shtetësisë shqiptare nr. 8701" [Decree for granting Albanian citizenship no. 8701] (in Albanian). President of Albania. 3 September 2014.
Gezim Rexhep (Redžep) Pepši (Pepshi)
- ^ "Aarau verliert Supertalent an Basel: Die Hintergründe eines ungewöhnlichen Transfers" [Aarau loses super talent to Basel: the background of an unusual transfer] (in German). Aargauer Zeitung. 4 October 2018.
- ^ "Gezim Pepsi hat sich verabschiedet - warum er trotzdem weiterhin mit dem FC Aarau trainiert" [Gezim Pepsi said goodbye - why he still trains with FC Aarau] (in German). Aargauer Zeitung. 24 January 2020.
- ^ "Abgang nun definitiv: Gezim Pepsi verlässt den FC Aarau und spielt künftig für Ligarivale Winterthur" [Definite departure now: Gezim Pepsi is leaving FC Aarau and will play for league rivals Winterthur in the future] (in German). Aargauer Zeitung. 11 February 2020.
- ^ Gezim Pepsi at WorldFootball.net
- ^ "Gezim Pepsi". SFL. Retrieved 24 June 2022.
- ^ "Spielbericht: FC Vaduz vs. FC Winterthur 4:1" [Match report: FC Vaduz vs. FC Winterthur 4:1] (in German). FC Vaduz. 19 June 2020.
- ^ "6:2! Winterthur demütigt harmlosen FC Basel" [6:2! Winterthur humiliates harmless FC Basel] (in German). SRF. 17 February 2021.
- ^ "Stadion, Team, Trainer – wie sich der FC Winterthur für die Super League fit macht" [Stadium, team, coach - how FC Winterthur is getting fit for the Super League] (in German). Watson. 25 May 2022.
- ^ "FC Vaduz verstärkt sich mit Gezim Pepsi" [FC Vaduz strengthens with Gezim Pepsi] (in German). FC Vaduz. 30 August 2022.
- ^ @VaduzFC (31 August 2022). "Unsere Startelf heute gegen den FC Triesen 2 | Kickoff 20:15 Uhr | #hoppvadoz #supportFCV #fcvaduz #TRIVAD" [Our starting eleven today against FC Triesen 2 | Kickoff 20:15 | #hoppvadoz #supportFCV #fcvaduz #TRIVAD] (Tweet) (in German) – via Twitter.
- ^ "Kombëtarja U-17, gati per Eliminatoret" [The National U-17 Team, ready for the Eliminators] (in Albanian). Albanian Football Association. 6 October 2014.
- ^ "Shqipëria U-17 e mbyll me goleadë ndaj San Marinos" [Albania U-17 closes with a win over San Marino] (in Albanian). Panorama Sport. 13 October 2014.
- ^ "Prekazi publikon listën e futbollistëve për miqësoret e marsit" [Prekazi publish the list of footballers for friendlies of March] (in Albanian). Football Federation of Kosovo. 11 March 2019.
- ^ "Kombëtarja U21 fiton edhe në miqësoren kundër Maltës" [The national U21 team also wins in the friendly against Malta] (in Albanian). Football Federation of Kosovo. 26 March 2019.
- ^ "Albania U21 vs. Kosovo U21 2–1". Soccerway. Retrieved 15 October 2019.
External links
edit- Gezim Pepsi at Soccerway
- Gezim Pepsi at WorldFootball.net