Torino
Which team did the player Blerim Džemaili belong to in May 2008?
Blerim Džemaili 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 for the past three years . For someone so young , he has a wealth of experience . At the age of 20 , he is the skipper of FC Zürich and is expected to become a regular international for Switzerland in the years ahead . He has hardly missed a game for FC Zurich since he started playing for them at the age of 17 . I am excited by the prospect of working with Blerim next season . Džemaili , however , sustained a rupturing cruciate knee ligaments and was out for six months . He made his debut as a substitute in the clubs FA Cup defeat to Sheffield United in what proved to be his only showing of the 2007–08 campaign . He later insisted that he would not change anything about his time at Bolton following his season-long loan move to Torino . Torino/Parma . Džemaili joined Torino on a season-long loan deal , with an option to purchase outright , on 1 September 2008 , making his debut with Torino on 24 September 2008 , and became a staple fixture in their side for the season . In April 2009 , Torino signed him outright from Bolton for €2 million . Torino announced that deal after their relegation to Serie B in June . After having played just once for Torino at Coppa Italia , Džemaili completed a loan move to Parma on 31 August 2009 , with an option to sign the 50% registration rights of the player at the end of season . In exchange , Daniele Vantaggiato moved to Turin on loan . first and second halves of Džemailis registration rights were then bought by Parma in the summers of 2010 and 2011 for a total fee of €7 million . Napoli . On 25 June 2011 , Džemaili was signed by Napoli for €9 million with Fabiano Santacroce ( loan ) and Manuele Blasi ( free ) going the other way to Parma . Džemaili has been a consistent performer so far for Napoli . Džemaili has been well received by the fans as he has scored twice and assisted once in eleven appearances in the Serie A . His first was a right-footed shot from outside the box to the bottom left corner following a corner in a match against Lecce and his second was struck late to earn an equaliser as Napoli earned a point at Novara . Džemaili has also appeared six times in the UEFA Champions League group stages and helped Napoli into the final 16 . At the end of his first season with Napoli , Dzemaili has made 28 appearances in the Serie A , scoring three times and providing four assists . On 25 March 2012 , he scored a notable long distance goal against Catania . Džemaili had appeared regularly for the side in the Coppa Italia , and played the entire match in the final in which they defeated Juventus 2–0 . On 30 March 2013 , he scored a hat-trick described by Goal.com as spectacular , in a 5–3 win away at Torino . He netted the second goal in a 2–0 win against Genoa just a week later , making it four goals in two games . He also scored Napolis third goal in a 3–0 win against Pescara on 27 April . Džemaili was an unused substitute as Napoli won the 2014 Coppa Italia Final 3–1 against Fiorentina . Galatasaray . On 1 September 2014 , Džemaili signed a three-year contract with Turkish Süper Lig team Galatasaray for a €2.35 million transfer fee . He signed a three-year contract , worth €2.4 million , €2.1 million and €2.1 million respectively . On 30 August 2015 , Džemaili returned to Serie A to join Genoa on loan from Galatasaray . Galatasaray also bore €1.3 million of Džemailis €2.1 million salary . On 27 September , Džemaili scored his first goal for the club with a direct free-kick that took a deflection off Giacomo Bonaventura . This was the lone goal in a 1–0 win over Milan . On 18 October , Džemaili received his first red card for the club , after getting two yellows ( 47th and 55th minute ) in a 3–2 win over Chievo . Bologna . On 17 August 2016 , Džemaili returned to Italy again for Bologna , who paid Galatasaray a €1.3 million transfer fee . He was booked in matchday 33 on 22 April , missing the match on 30 April with the club mathematically avoiding the relegation by having 13 more points than Crotone with four matches remaining . Džemaili would join his new club Montreal Impact before the end of the Serie A season ( and after Bologna secured the place of next season ) , making their 3–2 loss against Atalanta his last match . Montreal Impact ( loan ) . On 9 December 2016 Montreal Impact president and Bologna chairman Joey Saputo announced that Džemaili would join the Major League Soccer ( MLS ) team on loan in the spring of 2017 as a Designated Player . On 9 May 2017 , the loan was officially announced . On 19 January 2018 , the Impact terminated the loan and Džemaili returned to Bologna . He had seven goals and 10 assists in 22 games for Montreal . Shenzhen . On 31 January 2020 , he transferred to Chinese club Shenzhen . Zürich . In December 2020 Džemaili returned after 13 years to his youth club Zürich . He signed a contract for one and a half seasons . International career . Džemaili made his debut for the Switzerland national team in a friendly match against Scotland on 1 March 2006 . He was a member of the Swiss squad at the 2006 FIFA World Cup without making an appearance . On 6 September 2013 , Džemaili scored his first international goal from a penalty kick in a 4–4 home draw in a World Cup qualifier against Iceland . On 2 June 2014 , Džemaili was named in Switzerlands 2014 World Cup squad by national coach Ottmar Hitzfeld . In the teams second match , against France , Džemaili came on at half-time for Valon Behrami and on the 81st minute , Džemaili fired a long-range , low free-kick which went through the three-man wall and beat France goalkeeper Hugo Lloris . He scored the first direct free-kick of the tournament in a 5–2 loss to France . Džemaili scored his third international goal against San Marino on 10 October 2014 in UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying , heading-in Ricardo Rodríguezs corner to give the Swiss a 3–0 lead in an eventual 4–0 victory . Džemaili scored twice for Switzerland on 10 June 2015 , the second of which came from a direct free-kick in a 3–0 friendly victory over Liechtenstein at Stockhorn Arena in Thun . Džemaili was part of the squad in Euro 2016 and 2018 World Cup qualification . He was included in the Switzerland national football team 23 man squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup . Style of play . During his time in Serie A , Džemaili differed from most other players in the attacking midfield position due to his box-to-box approach to the role and hard-running style . Indeed , although he is effective as a ball-winner in front of the back-line who breaks down opposing plays , he is also capable of contributing to his teams offensive plays with goals and assists in a more advanced role , courtesy of his vision and eye for goal from midfield . He is also good at timing his runs , finding space , and getting into the box unmarked by making late attacking runs into the area from behind , and is a powerful and accurate striker of the ball from both inside and outside the area , which allows him to play as a mezzala ; he is also an effective penalty taker . Otherwise , Džemaili is tidy in possession and also has great passing range , usually completing around 90% of passes per game ; moreover , he is known for his ability to switch the play with long balls . A versatile , consistent , tenacious , and tactically intelligent right-footed player , he is capable of playing in several midfield roles , and can adapt to various systems ; aside from his usual offensive and holding midfield roles , he has also been used as a central midfielder in either a two or three-man midfield , as a deep-lying playmaker , or even as a winger . In addition to his playing ability , he is also highly regarded for his leadership . Personal life . In 2015 , Džemaili married Shkoder-born Albanian model Erjona Sulejmani who , in the same year , gave birth to their eldest son , Luan . By January 2018 , they were divorced . Honours . Club . Zürich - Swiss Super League : 2005–06 , 2006–07 - Swiss Cup : 2004–05 Napoli - Coppa Italia : 2011–12 , 2013–14 Galatasaray - Süper Lig : 2014–15 - Turkish Cup : 2014–15 External links . - FC Zürich stats