Valon Behrami was born in Titova Mitrovica (Kosovo), on April 19,1985. He is Swiss but of Albanian origin.
When Behrami was five his family moved to Stabio, in the Italian speaking Ticino region of Switzerland. In 1995 his family were almost sent back to Kosovo but Valon's athletics club gathered enough signatures to convince the authorities to let them stay on.
He started his youth career with local clubs Stabio, Chiasso and then Lugano. The latter became his first professional club and in 2002-03 he made two appearances in the Swiss second division.
Despite his lack of experience he was snapped up on a fifty- fifty deal by Italian clubs Genoa and Udinese. He went to play for Genoa where he played 24 games in Serie B. The following year Udinese sold their half to Genoa but Behrami went to play for Verona again in Serie B. He had a good season playing 33 games and scoring 3 goals.
In 2005 he joined Lazio. Initially the Romans only bought 50% but then in January 2006 became sole owners. At Lazio he found manager Delio Rossi and they had a good season coming 6th. It was all however frustrated by the club's implication in the Calciopoli scandal for which Lazio were docked 30 points, ending up 16th and losing their UEFA Cup place. Behrami played 26 league games with 2 goals (Fiorentina, Empoli) and 2 in Coppa Italia.
His second year with the Biancocelesti was an extremely positive one with a 3rd place and a Champions League preliminary qualification. Behrami played 17 Serie A games with 1 goal (Udinese). From January onwards, with the departure of Massimo Oddo to Milan, he also started to adapt from midfielder to full-back.
In 2007-08 he played 22 league games with 1 goal (Roma...more about that soon), 5 in Coppa Italia with 1 goal (Fiorentina) and 5 in the Champions League. His goal against Roma is legendary. In a derby where the Giallorossi were in contention for the title, Lazio struggling in mid-table and with the match on 2-2 in injury time, Behrami fired home a 92nd minute winner thus eternally engraving his name in Lazio history.
In the summer of 2008 he was off to the Premier League. He signed for West Ham United in England. At first, he threatened to use the FIFA article 17 (could free a player under contract by paying a fee) but then agreed to be sold to the Hammers for 6.5 million Euros.
His three years with the Claret and Blue East Londoners were positive but hindered by injuries. In March 2009 he suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury in his left knee. He was out of action for a year and then again for a month in November 2010. He played 63 games for West-Ham (58 in the league) and scored 5 goals.
In 2010-11 he returned to Serie A and joined Fiorentina. In Florence he was managed by Serbian former Lazio Sinisa Mihajlovic and the Viola finished 9th. Behrami made 17 league appearances.
The following year under three different managers (Mihajlovic, Delio Rossi and Vincenzo Guerini) Fiorentina finished 13th. Behrami played 31 league games and 2 in Coppa Italia
In 2012-13 the Kosovan- Swiss headed south and joined Napoli. The Partenopei, under manager Walter Mazzarri, had a good season finishing second behind Juventus and qualifying for the Champions League. Behrami himself played 33 league games, 3 in the Europa League and 1 in the Italian Supercoppa final (lost to Juventus on penalties).
In his second year under the Vesuvius he played 21 league games, 3 in Coppa Italia, 6 in Champions League and 3 in Europa League. Under Rafa Benitez the Azzurri came 3rd, qualifying for CL, and won the Coppa Italia (Fiorentina 3-1), in yet another tragic night for Italian football (a Napoli fan Ciro Esposito was killed by a Roma Ultrà before the game causing chaos and a delayed kick-off).
In 2014 Behrami went for a new experience in the Bundesliga and joined Hamburger SV. He stayed one year, playing 22 league games and 1 in the German Cup. "Die Rothosen" (The Red Shorts) had a poor season narrowly escaping relegation (play off against Karlsruher SC) and he moved on again.
In 2015 he returned to the Premier League and joined newly promoted Watford. In his first season he played 21 league games and 1 cup game. In his second year with the Hornets he was reunited with former Napoli manager Walter Mazzarri. He made 27 league appearances and the Golden Boys managed to stay up in 17th place.
In 2017 he decided to return to Italy. He finally played for Udinese who had co-owned him 14 years earlier. He stayed in Friuli for two years. In the first he played 20 league games under three different managers; Luigi Del Neri, Massimo Oddo and Igor Tudor. After many years he also scored a goal (Genoa). In his second year more managerial upheaval, Julio Velásquez, Davide Nicola and then Igor Tudor and he played 19 league games and scored 1 goal (Cagliari). Unfortunately his season ended early as he fractured his leg in a game against Milan on April 4. Udinese finished a decent 12th.
Behrami then returned to his homeland and joined Sion in Switzerland. His Swiss adventure however lasted only 4 games and in October the contract was terminated by mutual consent.
In January he was back in Serie A with his original Italian club, Genoa. In the "Città della Lanterna" (The City of the Lighthouse) he was also reunited with former Udinese coach Davide Nicola. His second stint with the "Grifone" lasted two years and he played 36 more games in Serie A.
In January 2022, with Genoa heavily involved in a relegation battle they would eventually lose, he left for Brescia in Serie B. He would play 5 more professional games for the "Rondinelle" (Little Swallows) before announcing his retirement. He currently does punditry for DAZN.
He also had a good International career. He played 83 times for Switzerland with 2 goals. He made his debut at 20 and scored the decisive 2006 World Cup qualification goal against Turkey. In the actual finals in Germany he would play only two minutes due to injury. He took part in Euro 2008 and Euro 2016 plus the World Cups of 2010, 2014 and 2018 thus becoming the first Swiss player to take part in four World Cups. His national career with the Red Crosses ended when former Lazio manager Vladimir Petkovic became coach and left Behrami out.
Behrami is one of the few top or former top football players who is married to an even more famous partner. In 2018 he married Lara Gut, the Swiss Alpine skier who has won 3 Olympic medals (including a gold), 7 World Championship medals (2 golds), 35 races in the World Cup and been on the podium 66 times. Let's not get competitive here, especially between husband and wife, but Behrami won 1 Coppa Italia in his whole career...
Jokes aside, Behrami was a good and extremely versatile player. At 1.86 for 76 kilos he was a born sportsman. He started his career as a winger but later adapted to central midfielder and full back. He was, especially at Lazio and in his early career, exceptionally athletic and dynamic. In his years at Lazio he looked as if he could run all day and also as if he enjoyed it. A natural athlete with medium level skill, always in demand in modern football. Behrami had a varied career and had the intelligence to adapt his position and way of playing to his age and injury problems.
At Lazio in his three years he was a hardworking, reliable and popular player. He will obviously always be remembered for his epic 92nd minute derby winner and his sprint under the Curva Nord gesturing "Testa e Cuore" (Head and Heart), two things Behrami possessed in abundance.
Lazio Career
Season | Total appearances (goals) | Serie A | Coppa Italia | Europa League |
2005-06 | 28 (2) | 26 (2) | 2 | - |
2006-07 | 17 (1) | 17 (1) | - | - |
2007-08 | 32 (2) | 22 (1) | 5 (1) | 5 |
Total | 77 (5) | 65 (4) | 7 (1) | 5 |
Sources
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