sport.wikisort.org - Athlete

Gezim Pepsi[lower-alpha 1] (born 12 July 1998) is a professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Swiss Challenge League club Vaduz. Born in Switzerland, he previously represented Albania and Switzerland at youth international level, while recently represented Kosovo at the under-21 level.

Gezim Pepsi

Personal information
Date of birth	(1998-07-12) 12 July 1998 (age 24)
Place of birth	Basel, Switzerland
Height	1.81 m (5 ft 11 in)
Position(s)	Midfielder
Club information
Current team	Vaduz
Number	53
Youth career
0000–2016	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–	Vaduz	0	(0)
National team‡
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 30 August 2022 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 13 October 2020

Club career

Early career

Pepsi 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

Upon 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

On 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

On 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

Notes

References

External links

• Gezim Pepsi at Soccerway
• Gezim Pepsi at WorldFootball.net

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