Special Story: The World Champion at FC Südtirol

On November 15, 2009, football history was made in Abuja, the capital of Nigeria. Switzerland defeated the host and defending champions 1-0 and became U17 world champions. To date, this is the only World Cup title for the Swiss. The captain of this legendary Swiss team was Frederic Veseli, the FCS defender who coach Fabrizio Castori brought to South Tyrol in January.

Veseli was 16 years old when he was allowed to raise the World Cup trophy. "The triumph was a sensation," the defender recalled. "We knew we were strong, but we were fighting against formidable opponents." In the end, the Swiss defeated everyone - Brazil with Neymar, Coutinho, Casemiro and Alisson in the preliminary round, Germany with Mario Götze and Marc-André ter Stegen in the round of XNUMX, Italy with Stephan El Shaarawy in the quarter-finals, Colombia in the semi-finals and Nigeria in the final.

Neymar and Götze defeated Haris Seferovic scored the winning goal in the final and gave the U17 national team, which had players like Granit Xhaka and Ricardo Rodriguez in its ranks, a success that was never thought possible.

<a data-caption="Die Schweizer U17-Weltmeister jubeln über den WM-Titel 2009 in Nigeria: Freddie Veseli ist der Kapitän (mit der Nummer 5), oben ballt Granit Xhaka (Zweiter von rechts) die Faust. © AFP / PIUS UTOMI EKPEI" data-fancybox="inline-250221" target="_image" href="https://s3-images.sportnews.bz/_images/scale/1280x1280/img/2025/02/die-schweizer-u17-weltmeister-jubeln-ueber-den-wm-titel-2009-in-nigeria-freddie-veseli-ist-der-kapitaen-mit-der-nummer-5-oben-ballt-granit-xhaka-zw.jpg"> The Swiss U17 world champions celebrate their 2009 World Cup title in Nigeria: Freddie Veseli is the captain (with the number 5), above Granit Xhaka (second from right) clenches his fist. © AFP / PIUS UTOMI EKPEI

Their leader was Freddie Veseli. "The U17 World Cup winning team had been together since the U15s, I was appointed captain then and stayed that way," said Veseli, who was under contract with Manchester City in 2009 when they won the World Cup. "I moved from Lausanne to Manchester when I was 15. Scouts had spotted me at a tournament in France and then invited me. There were offers from various clubs. We - my family and I - decided on Manchester City," said Veseli. "City wasn't yet the club it is today. But even then they had the best academy in England."

It wasn't enough to play in a competitive match for the Citizens. "I trained mainly with the first team and played for the reserves," said Veseli. "When the then City coach Roberto Mancini wanted to let me play for the big team for the first time, I got injured just a few days before."

From Manchester City to Manchester United It was the injuries that repeatedly slowed down Veseli's career. In 2012 - Veseli was not yet 20 - he moved to Sir Alex Ferguson's city rivals Manchester United. First his thigh, then his knee prevented him from making his professional debut with the Red Devils, so after a year and a half he moved to Ipswich Town in the English second division.

Veseli in the jersey of the Albanian national team. © AFP / JACK GUEZ

"I signed as an injured player, so in January I was loaned out to Bury in the fourth division, then to Port Vale in the third division. Things were going pretty well. That's why I was hoping for some good offers. But nothing came. I even thought about quitting, before a call from Lugano changed everything. Zdenek Zeman was the coach there. I did a trial and was signed two days later," said Veseli.

Thoughts of quitting and the EURO with Albania The Swiss national team was no longer interested in the defender after he left Manchester. So Albania came knocking. Veseli, who has Albanian roots, didn't think twice. "It wasn't like I had two offers on the table. I was about to quit, and now I got the chance to play for the Albanian national team. It all happened incredibly quickly," recalled Veseli.

In November 2015, he made his international debut for Albania, which had previously qualified for EURO 2016 in France. Veseli played the group match against the hosts in Marseille, France won 2-0.

That summer of 2016, Veseli moved to Italy and signed for Empoli. He played 100 games for the Tuscans in Serie A and Serie B. After a stint in the French second division at Le Mans, which ended prematurely due to the corona pandemic, Veseli met Fabrizio Castori in Salerno. Promotion to Serie A followed, but the injury bug struck again. "I suffered another lateral ligament tear in my right knee - just like back then at Manchester United."

Cursed Injuries Further injuries followed. "I injured my knee badly in Benevento. Last year in Turkey against Karagümrük, I tore the lateral ligament in my left knee and missed the EURO in Germany." From the autumn, Veseli played in the Albanian league for Egnatia, then the call came from South Tyrol. "I had already spoken to coach Castori on the phone in the summer," revealed Veseli. But the 70-year-old football coach didn't have a club at the time. When Castori took over at FCS, Veseli was at the top of the list. "He called me and I said yes," said Veseli. In Salerno, they managed to make the jump to Serie A, in South Tyrol the mission now is to stay in Serie B.

Serie B Italy	SP	TV	P
1. Sassuolo	26	58:25	61
2. Step on	26	42:22	54
3. Specia	26	41:18	50
4. Cremonese	26	38:27	41
5. Catanzaro	26	34:26	39
6. Juventus Stabia	26	31:29	39
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Special Story: The World Champion at FC Südtirol

FC Südtirol has recently gained a lot of confidence in the relegation battle. Thanks in part to winter newcomer Frederic Veseli, who was able to stabilize the defense - and brought an extraordinary story back to Bolzano.

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