Blerim Nexhmi Rrustemi ( sh, Blerim Nexhmi Rustemi/Блерим Неџми Рустеми; born 4 February 1983) is an

Albanian Albanian may refer to: *Pertaining to Albania in Southeast Europe; in particular: **Albanians, an ethnic group native to the Balkans **Albanian language **Albanian culture **Demographics of Albania, includes other ethnic groups within the country ...

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

er from

Kosovo Kosovo ( sq, Kosova or ; sr-Cyrl, Косово ), officially the Republic of Kosovo ( sq, Republika e Kosovës, links=no; sr, Република Косово, Republika Kosovo, links=no), is a partially recognised state in Southeast Euro ...

, who plays as a defender. Rrustemi prefers play as a defensive midfielder, but played in defense for Alki Larnaca and the Albania National Team. He currently plays for German amateur side

1. FC Viersen 1. is the Ordinal number (linguistics), ordinal form of the number 1 (number), one in a number of Languages of Europe, European languages. 1. may also refer to: Association football Austria * 1. FC Vöcklabruck, a defunct Austrian association foot ...

Club career

As a youngster, he has attended and played for

Weston Collegiate Institute Weston Collegiate Institute (Weston C.I., WCI, Weston) is a Grade 9 to 12 public high school in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was formerly known by its previous names of Weston Grammar School, Weston High School, Weston High and Vocational School ...

high-school in

Toronto, Ontario Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

, Canada. While in Toronto, he has played for CS Azzuri in 1999–2000 and the

Toronto Supra SC Toronto was a Canadian soccer team, founded in 1994. The team was a member of the Canadian Soccer League, and played its final home games at Lamport Stadium in the city of Toronto, Ontario. The club found success early on since its incep ...

in 2000–2001 which are both teams of the Canadian Professional Soccer League. He has also played for different Albanian teams in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

. He moved to

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the southe ...

, playing for Portuguesa of Brasil in 2001–2002 and

Defensor Sporting Defensor Sporting Club is a sports club based in Montevideo, Uruguay. Founded in 1913, Defensor has several sports sections, with football and basketball being the most important and the ones in which the club has achieved significant achievemen ...

Uruguay Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...

in 2002–2004. Then he come back to

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

where he played between 2004 and 2008 in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

at amateur teams Borussia Mönchengladbach II and Rot-Weiß Erfurt and couple of months in

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

first division for AC Horsens. In 2008–2009 he played in

Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is geo ...

first division at Alki Larnaca. He signed for the Albanian team

KS Vllaznia KS and variants may refer to: Businesses and organizations * , a German postwar commando frogman force * , a Norwegian type of company * Norwegian Association of Local and Regional Authorities * PenAir, Peninsula Airways, Anchorage, Alaska, US (IAT ...

in October 2009. Spending the latter years of hius career in the German lower leagues, he joined

from SC Union Nettetal in summer 2019.

International career

Though originating from Kosovo like many players of Albanian ethnicity, he chose the Albania national football team. He received the Albanian citizenship on 23 March 2007. He made his debut for

Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...

in an August 2007

friendly match An exhibition game (also known as a friendly, a scrimmage, a demonstration, a preseason game, a warmup match, or a preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sporting event whose prize money and impact on the player's or ...

against

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

and earned a total of 3 caps, scoring no goals. His final international was a November 2007 European Championship qualification match against

Belarus Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by R ...

Privates

He holds

and

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

passports.

References

External links

German career stats
- FuPa

* https://web.archive.org/web/20070816175812/http://tifozatkuqezi.com/njoftime.php {{DEFAULTSORT:Rrustemi, Blerim 1983 births Living people Sportspeople from Vushtrri Kosovo Albanians Naturalized citizens of Canada Sportspeople of Albanian descent Men's association football defenders Kosovan men's footballers Albanian men's footballers Albania men's international footballers SC Toronto players Associação Portuguesa de Desportos players Defensor Sporting players Borussia Mönchengladbach II players AC Horsens players FC Rot-Weiß Erfurt players Alki Larnaca FC players KF Vllaznia Shkodër players FC Wegberg-Beeck players Goslarer SC 08 players SSVg Velbert players Canadian Soccer League (1998–present) players Danish Superliga players Uruguayan Primera División players Cypriot First Division players Kategoria Superiore players Albanian expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's soccer players in Canada Expatriate men's footballers in Brazil Expatriate men's footballers in Uruguay Expatriate men's footballers in Germany Expatriate men's footballers in Denmark Expatriate men's footballers in Cyprus Albanian expatriate sportspeople in Canada Albanian expatriate sportspeople in Germany Albanian expatriate sportspeople in Denmark Albanian expatriate sportspeople in Cyprus Kosovan expatriate sportspeople in Germany Kosovan expatriate sportspeople in Denmark Kosovan expatriate sportspeople in Cyprus