Admir Mehmedi

Admir Mehmedi (born 16 March 1991) is a Swiss professional footballer[3] of Albanian descent[4] who plays as a second striker or centre forward for Bundesliga club VfL Wolfsburg and the Switzerland national team.

Admir Mehmedi
Mehmedi with Bayer Leverkusen in 2015
Personal information
Full name Admir Mehmedi[1]
Date of birth (1991-03-16) 16 March 1991
Place of birth Gostivar, SR Macedonia, SFR Yugoslavia
Height 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)[2]
Position(s) Second striker / Centre forward
Club information
Current team
 VfL Wolfsburg
Number 14
Youth career
1999–2000 AC Bellinzona
2000–2006 FC Winterthur
2006–2008 FC Zürich
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2008–2012 FC Zürich 84 (19)
2012–2014 Dynamo Kyiv 25 (1)
2013–2014 → SC Freiburg (loan) 32 (12)
2014–2015 SC Freiburg 27 (4)
2015–2018 Bayer Leverkusen 62 (7)
2018– VfL Wolfsburg 64 (9)
National team‡
2006 Switzerland U16 3 (3)
2007–2008 Switzerland U17 16 (5)
2008–2010 Switzerland U19 26 (11)
2010 Switzerland U20 2 (0)
2010–2011 Switzerland U21 9 (6)
2011– Switzerland 69 (10)
2012 Switzerland Olympic 4 (1)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 19:09, 31 January 2021 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 11 November 2020

Early life

Mehmedi was born in Gostivar, SFR Yugoslavia. He is of Albanian heritage. At the age of 2, his family emigrated to Switzerland and he soon joined local side Bellinzona, before signing for FC Winterthur, from where Zürich scouted him.[5] In 2006, he moved to Zürich. Mehmedi came through the youth system after being spotted as a youngster and joined the senior team in 2008.

Club career

Zürich

Mehmedi began his senior career with FC Zürich at the age of 17. Within two years he was included in the first-team squad and by 2010 he was a first-team regular. He made his senior side debut on 20 July 2008 and scored two goals in eleven appearances, in addition to winning the Swiss Super League in his debut season with the club.

Being a first team regular in 2010, Mehmedi established himself as a physical striker, excellent in the box as well as having a good turn of pace, he was also technically great.[5] During his time with Zürich, Mehmedi scored nineteen goals and provided nine assists.

In the January transfer window in 2012, Mehmedi moved to Dynamo Kyiv.

Dynamo Kyiv

On 13 January 2012, Mehmedi signed for the Ukrainian club Dynamo Kyiv from FC Zürich on a five-year deal. During his season and a half with Kyiv, he mainly played coming off the bench. Seeking more playing time and to be included again in the Switzerland national team, Mehmedi moved to Bundesliga team SC Freiburg.

Freiburg

On 11 July 2013, Mehmedi moved to SC Freiburg initially to join on loan, although his contract also stipulates that Freiburg have an option to make the move permanent.[6] Freiburg's acting sporting director Klemens Hartenbach stated that he was delighted the transfer went through. Hartenbach stated "He's a very versatile attacking player who understands the game and has already proven he can play at the highest level".[6] On 26 May 2014, Freiburg decided to buy Mehmedi for a reported €6 million after having a good season, scoring 12 goals in 32 games during his loan spell with the Bundesliga side.[7]

Bayer Leverkusen

On 11 June 2015, Mehmedi joined Bayer Leverkusen after Freiburg was relegated from the Bundesliga.[8]

VfL Wolfsburg

On 31 January 2018, Mehmedi joined VfL Wolfsburg on a 4-year-deal for €8 million.[9]

International career
Mehmedi playing for Switzerland in 2012

Under-21

Mehmedi was a crucial member of the Swiss U-21 side in the 2011 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship.[5] Mehmedi received the silver boot with three goals in the tournament and was selected in the UEFA Euro U-21 2011 Team of the Tournament. Along with Xherdan Shaqiri, Mehmedi was being tipped as the future of Swiss football.[5]

Senior

Mehmedi was part of the Swiss team at the 2012 Summer Olympics.[10]

Mehmedi made his debut for the Swiss national team against England, in a UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying match, coming on as a substitute. Mehmedi scored his first goal for Switzerland in his side's 5–3 win over Germany. The Swiss national side had not beaten the Germans since 1956.[11]

On 15 June 2014, he replaced Valentin Stocker at half time in Switzerland's opening 2014 FIFA World Cup match against Ecuador. Two minutes later, he headed in Ricardo Rodríguez's corner to equalise as Switzerland eventually won 2–1.[12]

Two years to the day after he scored in the 2014 World Cup against Ecuador,[13] Mehmedi scored Switzerland's equaliser in their 1–1 group-stage draw against Romania in UEFA Euro 2016.[14][15]

Personal life

In 2016, Mehmedi visited Padalište, where he witnessed a family of six living in poverty. He gifted a house to the poor family in Macedonia, the country of his birth, stating: "You know, building a house is not cheap, but I appreciate what I have, and I want others to feel fine as well."[16]

Mehmedi is married and has a son.

Career statistics

Club
As of 4 October 2020[17]
Club statistics
Club Season League Cup Europe Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Zürich 2008–09 Swiss Super League 112202[lower-alpha 1]0152
2009–10 223232[lower-alpha 2]0266
2010–11 331043—3713
2011–12 1843110[lower-alpha 3]3318
Total 841911714310929
Dynamo Kyiv 2011–12 Ukrainian Premier League 9100—91
2012–13 160105[lower-alpha 4]0220
Total 2511050311
SC Freiburg 2013–14 Bundesliga 3212305[lower-alpha 2]14013
2014–15 28443—327
Total 601673517220
Bayer Leverkusen 2015–16 Bundesliga 2822011[lower-alpha 5]5417
2016–17 223206[lower-alpha 2]1304
2017–18 12230—153
Total 627701768613
VfL Wolfsburg 2017–18 Bundesliga 5110—61
2018–19 26621—287
2019–20 212005[lower-alpha 6]1263
2020–21 30103[lower-alpha 6]272
Total 55941836713
Career total 286523016451236576
  1. All appearances in UEFA Cup
  2. All appearances in UEFA Champions League
  3. Four appearances and two goals in UEFA Champions League, six appearances and one goal in UEFA Europa League
  4. Three appearances in UEFA Champions League, two appearances in UEFA Europa League
  5. Seven appearances and five goals in UEFA Champions League, four appearances in UEFA Europa League
  6. All appearances in UEFA Europa League

International
As of 11 November 2020[18]
National teamYearAppsGoals
Switzerland
201170
201261
201350
2014121
201581
2016124
201780
201821
201951
202041
Total6910

International goals
As of match played 11 November 2020. Switzerland score listed first, score column indicates score after each Mehmedi goal.[19]
International goals by date, venue, cap, opponent, score, result and competition
No. Date Venue Cap Opponent Score Result Competition
1 26 May 2012St. Jakob-Park, Basel, Switzerland9 Germany5–35–3Friendly
2 15 June 2014Estádio Nacional Mané Garrincha, Brasília, Brazil22 Ecuador1–12–12014 FIFA World Cup
3 9 October 2015AFG Arena, St. Gallen, Switzerland35 San Marino3–07–0UEFA Euro 2016 qualification
4 3 June 2016Cornaredo Stadium, Lugano, Switzerland42 Moldova2–12–1Friendly
5 15 June 2016Parc des Princes, Paris, France44 Romania1–11–1UEFA Euro 2016
6 6 September 2016St. Jakob-Park, Basel, Switzerland47 Portugal2–02–02018 FIFA World Cup qualification
7 10 October 2016Estadi Nacional, Andorra la Vella, Andorra49 Andorra2–02–1
8 8 September 2018Kybunpark, St. Gallen, Switzerland59 Iceland6–06–02018–19 UEFA Nations League A
9 8 September 2019Stade Tourbillon, Sion, Switzerland63 Gibraltar2–04–0UEFA Euro 2020 qualification
10 11 November 2020Den Dreef, Leuven, Belgium69 Belgium1–01–2Friendly

Honours

Switzerland U21

References
  1. "2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil: List of Players" (PDF). FIFA. 11 June 2014. p. 30. Retrieved 25 June 2014.
  2. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 1 August 2015. Retrieved 27 June 2017.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  3. "Mehmedi, Admir" (in German). kicker.de. Retrieved 14 August 2013.
  4. Francesc Aguilar (29 June 2014). "Albania podría estar jugando el Mundial con una gran selección" [Albania could be playing the World Cup with a great selection] (in Spanish). Mundo Deportivo. Retrieved 22 June 2018.
  5. "Sky Sports Euro Scout – Admir Mehmedi". Sky Sports. Retrieved 5 September 2013.
  6. "Mehmedi joins Freiburg on loan". Bundesliga. Archived from the original on 7 September 2013. Retrieved 5 September 2013.
  7. "Transfer news: Freiburg make Admir Mehmedi's loan move from Dynamo Kiev permanent". Sky Sports. 26 May 2014. Retrieved 22 June 2018.
  8. "Bayer 04 verpflichtet Schweizer Admir Mehmedi". Bayer Leverkusen. Archived from the original on 26 January 2017. Retrieved 11 June 2015.
  9. "Wölfe schnappen sich Mehmedi". Sport1. 31 January 2018. Retrieved 21 February 2018.
  10. "Switzerland Football at the 2012 London Summer Games | Olympics at Sports-Reference.com". sports-reference.com. Archived from the original on 14 January 2020. Retrieved 21 October 2020.
  11. "Admir Mehmedi: 'A step in the right direction'". Sports Mole. Retrieved 5 September 2013.
  12. "Switzerland 2–1 Ecuador". BBC Sport. 15 June 2014. Retrieved 15 June 2014.
  13. Andy Hunter (15 June 2014). "Switzerland sink Ecuador in nick of time as Haris Seferovic secures justice". The Guardian. Retrieved 22 June 2018.
  14. Foulerton, Jim (15 June 2016). "Mehmedi strike earns Swiss valuable point". uefa.com. Paris: Union of European Football Associations. Retrieved 16 June 2016.
  15. "Switzerland savour 'fantastic' Mehmedi goal". uefa.com. Union of European Football Associations. 15 June 2016. Retrieved 16 June 2016.
  16. "Switzerland's Admir Mehmedi gifts house to Macedonian family". ESPN. 13 October 2016. Retrieved 2 June 2018.
  17. "Switzerland - A. Mehmedi - Profile with news, career statistics". Soccerway. Retrieved 22 June 2018.
  18. "Admir Mehmedi". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmerman. Retrieved 22 June 2018.
  19. Admir Mehmedi at Soccerway
  20. "Under-21 2011 - History - Switzerland-Spain Lineups". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 25 June 2011. Archived from the original on 9 June 2013. Retrieved 12 April 2020.
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