Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Date of birth | 12 July 1998 | ||
Place of birth | Basel, Switzerland | ||
Height | 1.81 m (5 ft 11 in) | ||
Position(s) | Defensive midfielder | ||
Team information | |||
Current team | Basel U21 | ||
Number | 6 | ||
Youth career | |||
–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) |
2022–2023 | Vaduz | 15 | (0) |
2023–2024 | Pirin Blagoevgrad | 2 | (0) |
2024– | Basel U21 | 11 | (1) |
International career‡ | |||
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 20 April 2024 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 13 October 2020 |
Gezim Pepsi[a] (born 12 July 1998) is a professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for Swiss club Basel U21. Born in Switzerland, and a former Albanian and Swiss youth international, he has most recently represented Kosovo at under-21 level.
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]
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]
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]
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]