Blerim Džemaili

Džemaili was born to Fahrudin 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 AC Milan since childhood. However, having had an opportunity to transfer to Milan in 2007, he chose to Bolton as his first foreign club due to desire to play in the English Premier League.

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…

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 Switzerland's 2014 World Cup squad by national coach Ottmar Hitzfeld. In the team's second match, against France, Džemaili came on at half-time for Valon Behrami. 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 Rodríguez's 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.

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.