Dzemaili likes relaxed life in Montreal
Midfielder relishes relaxed pace here after being recognized ‘everywhere’ in Italy
It has been four months since the Impact introduced attacking midfielder Blerim Dzemaili as their new designated player during a news conference at Centre Nutrilait, filling the spot vacated by striker Didier Drogba after last season.
Dzemaili didn’t arrive in the city with anywhere near the same fanfare as Drogba did two years ago when he received a hero’s welcome at Trudeau airport unlike anything ever seen for an athlete with a Montreal team in any sport.
That was fine with Dzemaili. In fact, it’s exactly the way he wanted it to be.
While Dzemaili doesn’t have the worldwide fame of Drogba, he is well known in Switzerland, where he is a member of the national team, and in Italy, where he played for Napoli and then Bologna FC before coming to Montreal.
The 31-year-old Dzemaili said he is enjoying the fact he can walk around Montreal mostly without being recognized.
“Sometimes, this is exactly what you’re looking for,” he said Friday morning before the Impact practised at Centre Nutrilait. “This is exactly what I looked for. I played for Napoli for three years and I couldn’t go on the street because the people recognize you everywhere. At my age, and in my position, I looked for something more quiet. I played also for Galatasaray (in Turkey) and it’s also a club that’s very, very impulsive. For me, this is what I wanted … this is what I was looking for.”
Dzemaili’s wife, Albanian model Erjona Sulejmani, became as recognizable as Dzemaili in the streets of Switzerland and Italy after being the focus of many photographers while sitting in the stands at Euro 2016 in France and then being named the most attractive fan in Europe by GQ Italy. She later did a photo shoot for the magazine.
Now, Dzemaili, his wife and their young son, Luan, have settled in Montreal and are enjoying their new life here.
“They like it a lot,” Dzemaili, who speaks English, French, Italian, German and Albanian, said about his family. “I’m happy on the pitch and they’re happy outside, and that’s very important for a player that the family is happy. I think it’s very important that when you are OK outside of the pitch, it goes also a little bit on the pitch.”
“Actually, it wasn’t so difficult,” he added about the adjustment to life in Montreal. “I think I showed it also on the field because I’m a player that tries right away to adjust on what he has and to try to help the others. This is what I want and this is where I am now. I’m happy and I just want to go on … I just want to do everything so we can make it to the playoffs.”
The next step toward the MLS playoffs for the Impact comes Saturday when they play the Revolution in New England (7:30 p.m., TVA Sports, TSN Radio 690). The Impact (10-10-6) are seventh in the Eastern Conference standings with the top six making the playoffs. The Impact and sixth-place Atlanta United FC both have 36 points, but Atlanta has two games in hand and also has a 12-goal advantage in goal differential. The Revolution (9-12-5) are in eighth place, four points behind the Impact.
The Impact have lost their last two games — both at Saputo Stadium — while scoring only one goal, including a 1-0 loss to the Chicago Fire last Saturday without Dzemaili, who was playing for Switzerland in World Cup qualifying and scored a goal Sunday in a 3-0 win over Latvia. The Impact are 8-6-1 in the 15 games Dzemaili has played, during which he has six goals and a team-leading eight assists.
“Blerim’s had a tremendous impact,” coach Mauro Biello said. “If you look at his points per game or goals per game as a midfielder, it’s probably among the highest in the league and it’s been an instant impact in terms of his production and his leadership.”
The Impact will need a strong performance from Dzemaili during the final eight games of the regular season in order to make the playoffs. It doesn’t help that five of the games are on the road — where the Impact have a 2-5-5 record — including two against first-place Toronto FC, which has the best record in MLS (16-8-3) and is unbeaten at BMO Field (10-0-3).
“We have eight games left and every game is like a final for us,” Dzemaili said.
When asked where on the pitch the Impact need to improve most, the midfielder said: “I think we have our qualities, but I think sometimes we play too slow. We need to improve this … we need to play in front, we need to play quicker because we have quality in front and we need to get the ball right away to our strikers, to our wingers. I think then our game is going to improve.”
If it doesn’t, Dzemaili will be packing his bags and leaving Montreal earlier than expected.
I played for Napoli for three years and I couldn’t go on the street because the people recognize you everywhere.