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Pierluigi Tami speaks at length about Leon Avdullahu and his change of nation at the Nati media conference.
Keystone
Leon Avdullahu is expected to make his debut for Kosovo's national team against Switzerland of all teams. Nati director Pierluigi Tami explains why the midfielder has decided against the Nati.
Leon Avdullahu wants to play for Kosovo - and decided against the Swiss national team a few days ago after wearing the Swiss jersey in the junior teams from U15 to U21.
On Monday, the ex-Basel player made his first appearance in Kosovo - and also spoke about his change of nation. "I'm very happy that I made this decision. I did it from the heart," said the Hoffenheim professional in an Instagram video posted by the Kosovo Football Association. "I hope that I can achieve great things with Kosovo."
Pierluigi Tami was also asked about Avdullahu at the media conference on Monday following the national team's formation. "The issue is not new. We've experienced this in the past and will continue to have such situations in the future," says Tami.
Then the national team director elaborates: "There is always something that could have been done better. But if we look at all our national teams, we see that over 70 percent of all players are dual nationals. They can't all play in the senior national team."
Tami does not believe that the SFA made too little effort for Avdullahu. After all, the midfielder has played 23 games for Switzerland in the youth teams, and national team coach Murat Yakin has also visited him and spoken to him.
Tami explains: "At the SFA, we have three criteria that must be met by a player. Firstly, the player has to be good enough for our coach and we have to decide when he can get a call-up. Secondly, the values must be right. If the player can't fully identify with the Swiss national team or doesn't enjoy it, it's a done deal anyway. And thirdly, he must be aware of where he stands at the moment and he must have patience. If one of these criteria is not met, you have to go your separate ways."
The national team director also never tires of emphasizing how many dual nationals have opted for Switzerland in the past and have contributed to the fact that the national team has always qualified for the World Cup and European Championship finals since 2004, with the exception of the 2012 European Championship.
Tami, who will step down as national team director at the end of 2026, is not worried about the future. "We don't want to be arrogant. But not everything has gone wrong during this time." The examples of Embolo, Akanji, Xhaka and Amdouni also show this. "How many players who have decided against us in the last 20 years would really have been a boost for us? One, two, maybe three. So we've lost very few talents in that time."
Now, however, two promising talents, Avdullahu and Eman Kospo, have switched nations within a very short space of time. "We respect the decisions of these players. But it wasn't us who closed the door," says Tami. "Kospo played 30 national team games in our junior teams. Our talent manager and the coaches will certainly have spoken to him. But we don't want to make any false promises. The player himself has to decide whether he wants to wait for the senior squad or switch nations."
On Friday, Switzerland will face Kosovo in Basel to kick off their World Cup qualifying campaign. Avdullahu is expecting a close duel: "We know that Switzerland are the favorites, but we also have a good team. I hope we can show a good game."
