Bruges professional in an interview
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Despite its small size, Switzerland manages to train top talent year after year. One of her biggest hopes at the moment is called Ardon Jashari. The 22-year-old moved from FC Luzern to 19-time Belgian champions FC Bruges last year and is now one of the regulars there. At Transfermarkt he talks about his market value, an accusation of arrogance from his ex-coach, his decision in favor of Brugge and comparisons with Granit Xhaka.
The successful path that Jashari has been following for years reached its peak a few months ago. For the first time in his career he exceeded the market value mark of 10 million euros. A review that triggered some emotions from the senior national player. “Of course, the classification fills me with great pride. As a child I dreamed of one day becoming a professional footballer and now realizing how far I have come makes me very proud. But I was only able to take this path with the support of my family, my trainers and my friends. They all made their contribution to this. As a player, you obviously want to achieve the maximum, so I’m now trying to work towards breaking 20 million euros,” says Jashari with a laugh, thinking back to his beginnings.
Even as a small child, football was a great fascination for him. “When it comes to Swiss football, I always looked at Hakan Yakin, but I was a big fan of FC Barcelona. I had all of Barça’s jerseys. “With my friends we replayed the Barcelona games and practiced Ronaldinho and Messi’s tricks until we mastered them,” says the Cham native.
Jashari makes his debut for FC Luzern shortly after his 18th birthday: “Greatest gift”
As a youth, Jashari went through all of FC Luzern’s youth teams. It quickly became clear to those responsible what great talent the club had in its ranks. “I received the greatest gift I could have received for my 18th birthday. Finally, one day after my birthday, I was allowed to play in the Super League for the first time. It took some time after that until I was able to really realize that I was a professional soccer player. A crucial moment was a photo of a little boy in the stadium wearing a jersey with my name on it. That touched me very emotionally. From then on I knew I had really made it.”
Jashari in the FC Luzern jersey.
Even back then, he fulfilled the position as a defensive midfielder with full passion. He became aware early on which qualities and skills were important. “In general, the midfield is the head of the team. It decides when the team moves forward and when it moves backwards. On paper I’m a six, but these days there’s no longer the classic six, eight or ten like there was a few years ago. The positions are merging more and more into one another. Accordingly, you have to have a lot of variability. But you also have to convey trust and stability to your teammates through your demeanor. No matter what, you can count on me,” said the 22-year-old.
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One feature that distinguishes successful professionals from average professionals is their ability to read a game and react quickly. “This consists of pattern recognition and intuition. For me, this has a lot to do with responsibility and dynamism, being aware within seconds whether I’m going to send the ball into space or whether I’m going to break off the attack and take the pressure out of the game. Of course, some decisions cause frustration among my teammates, but then it’s my job to explain to them why I acted the way I did. The ability to read a game improves with each training session. Through simulated stressful situations, the brain develops solutions that can then be used accordingly on game day. I am also convinced that in order to be able to react and act more quickly, you need not only physical fitness and technical skills but also the mental strength to make the right decision in pressure situations.”
Jashari is quickly promoted to captain: “A great honor”
While many young professionals need a few years to acclimatize and get used to the speed of professional football, Jashari got off to a quick start. In his second season, head coach Mario Frick gave him the captain’s armband. “It was a great honor for me to lead the team onto the field as captain. For me, a captain is an absolute role model. He doesn’t have to be loud all the time, but rather be there at the right moments. A captain has to keep the team together, in good times as well as in bad times. But performance reigns supreme above all else. A captain must lead the way as a top performer.”
Despite his young age, Jashari mastered the balancing act of personal development and simultaneous responsibility for the team. “Of course, as a professional footballer you feel pressure, but for me it’s more of a positive pressure. I don’t think the sentence: ‘I have to deliver’ is correct; it should instead read: ‘I can deliver’ or ‘I can play’. I approach every training session with this attitude. I enjoy every training session and every game. I feel extremely grateful that I am able to pursue this profession. As a professional footballer, you should be aware that you are one of those selected and should act accordingly with humility,” said the Swiss.
The time in Lucerne was very educational for Jashari because he was bombarded with many new impressions. On the one hand, he was celebrated as Lucerne’s greatest talent of the century, but on the other hand, there was the pressure of expectations and performance as captain. In this context, he remembered a sentence from his coach Frick that made him think. “At one point he came up to me and said, ‘Ardon, I feel like you’re seeming very out of touch at the moment.’ That hit me emotionally because I am and want to be anything but arrogant. In football there are moments that make you feel like the greatest and subconsciously stand out. In these moments it is important that you have the right environment around you and start to reflect.”
Jashari on the decision to join FC Brugge and the initial problems
Last summer, Jashari joined the traditional Belgian club Club Bruges. A step that certainly caused a surprise, as the Swiss was also said to have received offers from the European top 5 leagues. When he decided on Belgium, he ignored all emotions and focused on the pure facts. In the end, he saw the greatest potential for his future career at Bruges.
“For me it was much more important to move to a club that could show a clear development plan for me than to move to a club just because it plays in a certain league. Bruges tried very hard for me from the first conversation. I felt like they were completely invested in me as a player and as a person. “Considering that the club competes for the championship every year and is internationally involved, the decision to move to Bruges was clear,” explains Jashari.
The first challenge that awaited the midfielder was the fact that he often sat on the bench or only made short appearances. Jashari channeled the resulting frustration and converted it into motivation. The result: He has been part of the permanent staff since matchday 10. In October last year he also received the Player of the Month award in the Jupiler Pro League and the fans also regularly celebrate him with chants.
“Because of the European Championships, I started preparing very late, so it was clear that I would have to go on the bench first. But I knew exactly that if I stayed patient, my chance would come, I just had to take advantage of it. I feel the support and love from the fans, so I want to give something back with my performances in every game. I can already say that I have improved, especially in the tactical area, and that I am much more focused.”
Jashari on Champions League debut and comparisons with Granit Xhaka
At FC Brugge, Jashari’s childhood dream came true with his premiere in the Champions League. “My absolute highlight in the first half of the season was our game against Milan at San Siro. As a little boy, I was able to watch the Champions League game between Milan and Barcelona with my family in 2011. Kevin-Prince Boateng’s dream goal is so memorable that I remembered it before my game. It was and is incredible that I was actually able to make my debut in the Champions League,” says Jashari with pride.
He had already made it into the Swiss national team, where he will be viewed as a potential successor to Granit Xhaka in the future. Jashari has two international matches to his name so far, but only for a very short time; he was not in the squad at the European Championships in Germany. “Of course, Granit is a role model for me in a certain way. He is an absolute Swiss football idol. My goal for myself is, first of all, to work every day to become a better version of myself. Of course, I also dream of playing for one of the best teams in the world at some point, but there is still a long way to go before that.”
By Henrik Stadnischenko