Gezim Pepsi | |
Birth Date: | 12 July 1998 |
Birth Place: | Basel, Switzerland |
Height: | 1.81 m |
Position: | Defensive midfielder |
Currentclub: | Basel U21 |
Clubnumber: | 6 |
Youthyears1: | –2016 |
Youthclubs1: | Basel |
Years1: | 2016–2018 |
Clubs1: | Basel U21 |
Caps1: | 42 |
Goals1: | 3 |
Years2: | 2018–2020 |
Clubs2: | Basel |
Caps2: | 0 |
Goals2: | 0 |
Years3: | 2018–2020 |
Clubs3: | → Aarau (loan) |
Caps3: | 29 |
Goals3: | 0 |
Years4: | 2020–2022 |
Clubs4: | Winterthur |
Caps4: | 52 |
Goals4: | 6 |
Years5: | 2022–2023 |
Clubs5: | Vaduz |
Caps5: | 15 |
Goals5: | 0 |
Years6: | 2023–2024 |
Clubs6: | Pirin Blagoevgrad |
Caps6: | 2 |
Goals6: | 0 |
Years7: | 2024– |
Clubs7: | Basel U21 |
Caps7: | 11 |
Goals7: | 1 |
Nationalyears1: | 2014 |
Nationalteam1: | Albania U17 |
Nationalcaps1: | 3 |
Nationalgoals1: | 2 |
Nationalyears2: | 2015 |
Nationalteam2: | Switzerland U18 |
Nationalcaps2: | 4 |
Nationalgoals2: | 0 |
Nationalyears3: | 2016 |
Nationalteam3: | Switzerland U19 |
Nationalcaps3: | 4 |
Nationalgoals3: | 0 |
Nationalyears4: | 2019–2020 |
Nationalteam4: | Kosovo U21 |
Nationalcaps4: | 4 |
Nationalgoals4: | 0 |
Club-Update: | 20 April 2024 |
Nationalteam-Update: | 13 October 2020 |
Gezim Pepsi (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.[1] Pepsi made 33 appearances for the Aarau. In February 2020, Pepsi told teammates he would be leaving Aarau,[2] and subsequently was sold by parent club Basel to Winterthur.[3]
Upon return from loan, Pepsi was bought by Winterthur in February 2020.[4] 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.[5] He scored against his former club Basel in the 2020–21 Swiss Cup round of 16, a game which Winterthur won 6–2.[6] In May 2022, Pepsi was given a one-year contract extension with Winterthur.[7]
On 30 August 2022, Pepsi joined Swiss Challenge League side Vaduz, on a one-year contract with the option of a further year.[8] 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.[9]
On 3 September 2014, Pepsi received the Albanian passport and this paved the way for him to represent Albania,[10] which he represented at under-17 level in the 2015 UEFA European Under-17 Championship qualifications,[11] making three appearances and scoring two goals against San Marino.[12] 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.[13] His debut with Kosovo U21 came on 26 March in the friendly match against Malta U21 after being named in the starting line-up,[14] 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.[15]