Gjimshiti – Ajeti, the partnership that started in Switzerland U19 and is bringing stability to Albania

At the club level, their journeys were quite different. But not at the national team level. 
Berat Gjimshiti and Arlind Ajeti started playing together with the Swiss jersey. Now they are in Albania and form the “wall”, often impenetrable, in the center of defense. This wall was not broken when it probably mattered the most – in the match with Serbia in Leskovac. And Gjimshiti and Ajeti received a lot of praise for this.

Gjimshiti and Ajeti are 32 years old. Captain Gjimshiti was born in Zurich, Switzerland, and grew up with the Zurich team. Since 2016, he has been with Atalanta in Serie A, while he had loan periods with Avellino and Benevento. For many years, Gjimshiti has been considered one of the most stable defenders in Serie A. He has now played 258 games in the Italian elite. He had 110 games in the Swiss Super League, while in the Champions League he has reached the figure of 31 appearances.

With Atalanta he won the Europa League last year, even lifting the trophy as captain.

Ajeti has moved a lot more in his career. He is currently at Bodrum, only in the second Turkish category. He was born in Basel, Switzerland and developed in the club of the same name. After Basel, he played in Italy for teams such as Frosinone, Torino and Crotone. He returned to Switzerland to Grasshopper, continued to Vejle in Denmark, again in Italy to teams such as Reggiana, Padova and Pordenone. He then played for Cluj in Romania, where he somehow revived his career and since last year he has been playing for Bodrum.

Ajeti has made the most appearances in Serie C, the third tier of Italian football. In this league, he has played 49 matches for teams such as Padova and Pordenone. He has made 43 appearances in the Swiss Super League, 41 appearances in Serie A, but he has also appeared in many other leagues and competitions.

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Although not currently at a high level, Ajeti is very important for Albania. Especially when he plays in partnership with Gjimshiti.

But where did their journey together begin?

To Switzerland. 

Having grown up in two of Switzerland's leading clubs, Zurich and Basel, Gjimshiti and Ajeti first played alongside each other on June 5, 2011. It was a match between Switzerland U19 and Montenegro U19, and it was part of the European qualifiers. Switzerland won 3:2.

With Switzerland U19, the two current pillars of Albania's defense had five appearances together. They then played six matches together with Switzerland U21. They last shared the field as Swiss players on September 4, 2014. 

Neither reached Switzerland A and both joined Albania. Gjimshiti, who played for Switzerland U18, U19 and U21, made his debut for Albania in 2015. Ajeti played for Switzerland U17, U18, U19, U20 and U21. He made his debut for Albania in 2014, two months after last playing for Switzerland U21. 

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Ajeti actually debuted before Gjimshiti in both Switzerland and Albania. But Gjimshiti is now the captain of the Rossoneri, while he has 66 appearances and one goal. Ajeti has 36 appearances and also one goal.

In the Albanian National Team, they were on the field together for the first time on September 4, 2015. It was a goalless draw with Denmark. Lorik Cana was still the leader of the defense and captain. Alongside him was Ajeti, Gjimshiti covered the right wing, while Ansi Agolli covered the left.

They have already played 16 games together in Albania. The number of joint games is not greater because Ajeti, especially when he was in Serie C, was not invited much. But in the last two years he has become very important.

Gjimshiti – Ajeti was the central defense partnership at Euro 2024, chosen by Sylvinho. He completed the matches against Italy, Croatia and Spain. 

And in this duo, Brazilian Sylvinho is also relying on the 2026 World Cup qualifiers. In five of the six matches so far in these qualifiers, including two against Serbia, the center of defense of the red and blacks has been composed of Ajeti and Gjimshiti. Against Latvia, on June 10 in Riga, both struggled. Ardian Ismajli and Marash Kumbulla played in the center.

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"I have known Ajeti since we were 15 years old. We have played together since the young age groups of Switzerland. Then we decided to play together for Albania and since then more than ten years have passed. We understand and know each other," said Gjimshiti after the big victory over Serbia in Leskovac, on October 11.

It is almost certain that Albania's defense will be entrusted to Gjimshiti and Ajeti in the November 13 match with Andorra and the November 16 match with England. Their stability could help Albania reach the World Cup qualification play-offs, which would be another giant step in their continued rise.