On Saturday, the 20-year-old midfielder led Luzern to a 3-2 win in Basel. He scored one goal among others. Jashari lived the football dream at the "Qatari 2022" World Cup. But he wants more
He had not played a single second when Ardon Jashari appeared in front of hundreds of millions of eyes of the world football public on December 2. The representative of Switzerland had just defeated Serbia in the third match in the group and Granit Xhaka appeared on the stage. The Switzerland captain wore Ardon's jersey, jersey number 26, and with the surname Jashari. Granit put his arm on Ardon's shoulder for the whole world to see.
Exactly what the world needed to know is a topic of much debate after the hard-fought game at Doha's 974 Stadium. Switzerland's number 26 player has the same last name as Kosovo's freedom fighter, Adem Jashari, who was killed by Serbian forces in 1998. The name Jashari not only fueled past wars, but also current political tensions in Kosovo and Serbia.
"It had nothing to do with politics," says Jashari.
After the match against Serbia, he no longer spoke about it within the team. He is sitting in the media room at the Luzern Arena. A few weeks have passed as he repeats what he said in Doha at the World Cup. Had Granit Xhaka used his teammate's last name in his private mission?
"Graniti told me when I was first called up in September by Switzerland that he would wear my shirt at the World Cup if we made it," he says.
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When Jashari was called up to Switzerland for the first time in September, Xhaka was thrilled. Jashari remembers his beginnings. Jashar's family is not from Kosovo, he grew up in Neuheim, his parents came to Switzerland from North Macedonia many years ago.
From zero to a hundred
Ardon Jashari recalls a year that the 20-year-old started as a young player without a professional contract at FC Luzern and ended in the round of 1 of the World Cup, when he came on as a substitute against Portugal. One year from zero to one hundred, one year from the rehearsal stage to the "Oscar".
"I would have laughed at anyone who would have told me a year ago that I would play in the World Cup," says Jashari.
"An awful lot happened after the World Cup," says Jashari, who is adjusting to mastering the transition from the World Cup to everyday life at the club. "I have prepared for this."
When he trained again for the first time after the break, he had a good feeling and felt great joy.
However, it is not easy. Jashar's first year as a professional has made him one of the hottest transfers in the Super League.
The January transfer window closes on Tuesday and the 20-year-old is on the radar of top-flight foreign clubs. Jashari doesn't want to completely rule out a change, but he certainly has the right phrase in hand from football, in which things can happen very quickly. "I want to develop and improve, here at FC Luzern I can do that," he says. "When the day comes and everything is right, then I would have to make a decision."
A major league overseas is an obvious target for him. This change does not seem to be far away. For Luzern, Jashari as a leader in the midfield is sports insurance for the second half of the season and a financial promise for the summer.
"I know I have to focus on my work and my performance on the field", says Jashari, "everything else is taken care of by the club and my agent".
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That's what young players always say. But not only in the World Cup, Jashari showed that he doesn't let the noise around him get in his way. Last September a dispute had erupted between Luzern's main shareholder, Bernhard Alpstaeg, and the club's management; a dispute that will continue before the court in the spring at the latest. At that time, Alpstaeg gave Jashar's adviser a stadium ban after Jashar had extended his contract until 2026. Jashar's stock continued to rise and will continue to rise. Alpstaeg says there was "a bit of noise", and the stadium ban was a mistake.
"But I'm still disappointed with this boy, I supported his mother and he did an internship at my company," says Alpstaeg. "So I expect him to contact me as soon as he succeeds."
However, Jashari hesitates. "I am grateful to Mr. Alpstaeg, I was able to do my internship, he supported us," he says. "FC Luzern gave me the opportunity to make my own way."
Mature for his age
The sporting director of Luzern, Remo Meyer, says that it took several conversations with Jashar at that time so that he would not be distracted from the theater with Alpstaeg.
"Ardon has proven that he is mentally strong and can focus on the essentials," says Meyer, "he has an outstanding personality, especially for his age."
Jashari was always a captain in the youth teams. "He really wanted to become a professional, he had confidence in himself and since the U16 team he was a leading player who inspires the team", says Sandro Chieffo, Jashari's youth coach.
Head coach Mario Frick was also impressed when Jashari came from the U21s to the first team a year ago. After the second training session, Frick spoke about a player who would not end his career in Luzern. For the mission of staying in the league, Frick relied on Jashar from the beginning, who had returned to the U21s after training in the summer. Jashar grabbed the chance and returned his trust.
At the end of Luzerne's successful mission, Jashari lost a single match. When Jashari speaks, you don't get the impression that he is a 20-year-old boy. He can stand on a podium and address the club's assembled sponsors as if he were a veteran. Jashari smiles and says that he learned early to organize, to deal openly and directly with people. At the age of twelve he entered the sports school in Kriens, far from his parents' home, after which he successfully completed his commercial apprenticeship. Calmness is also one of the qualities that characterize Jashar on the field. The left-footed defensive midfield style of play is actually reminiscent of the young Granit Xhaka, but without his stubbornness.
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"Graniti is a model for every player with his career", says Jashari. "But this applies to all the players of the national team".
Jashari knows that he is far from his model. His performances suggest he is well on his way to becoming like Granit.
