{{short description|Albanian footballer (born 1983)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=May 2026}} {{Infobox football biography | name = Blerim Rrustemi | image = | full_name = Blerim Nexhmi Rrustemi | birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1983|2|4|df=y}} | birth_place = Vushtrri, SFR Yugoslavia | height = 1.84 m | position = Defender<ref name="FBref">{{cite web|url=https://fbref.com/en/players/bbe5d29d/Blerim-Rrustemi|title=Blerim Rrustemi Stats, Goals, Records, Assists, Cups and more|website=FBref.com|access-date=8 December 2025}}</ref> | currentclub = Union Nettetal (assistant) | youthyears1 = {{0|0000}}–1999 | youthclubs1 = 2 Korriku | youthyears2 = 1999 | youthclubs2 = Weston Collegiate Institute | youthyears3 = 1999–2000 | youthclubs3 = Azzurri Toronto | youthyears4 = 2000–2001 | youthclubs4 = Toronto Supra | youthyears5 = 2001–2002 | youthclubs5 = Portuguesa | years1 = 2002–2004 | clubs1 = Defensor Sporting | caps1 = 45 | goals1 = 5 | years2 = 2004–2007 | clubs2 = Borussia Mönchengladbach II | caps2 = 51 | goals2 = 2 | years3 = 2007–2008 | clubs3 = AC Horsens | caps3 = 2 | goals3 = 0 | years4 = 2008 | clubs4 = Rot-Weiss Erfurt | caps4 = 7 | goals4 = 1 | years5 = 2008–2009 | clubs5 = Alki Larnaca | caps5 = 12 | goals5 = 2 | years6 = 2009 | clubs6 = Vllaznia | caps6 = 9 | goals6 = 0 | years7 = 2010–2011 | clubs7 = FC Wegberg-Beeck | caps7 = 27 | goals7 = 4 | years8 = 2011–2013 | clubs8 = Goslarer SC | caps8 = 54 | goals8 = 4 | years9 = 2013 | clubs9 = SSVg Velbert | caps9 = 13 | goals9 = 2 | years10 = 2014 | clubs10 = Germania Ratingen 04/19 | caps10 = 18 | goals10 = 2 | years11 = 2014–2015 | clubs11 = Rheydter SV | caps11 = 22 | goals11 = 9 | years12 = 2015–2019 | clubs12 = Union Nettetal | caps12 = 104 | goals12 = 10 | years13 = 2019–2022 | clubs13 = 1. FC Viersen | caps13 = 30 | goals13 = 1 | totalcaps = 394 | totalgoals = 42 | nationalyears1 = 2007 | nationalteam1 = Albania | nationalcaps1 = 3 | nationalgoals1 = 0 }}
'''Blerim Nexhmi Rrustemi''' ({{IPA|sq|blɛˈɾim rruˈstɛmi}}; born 4 February 1983) is a football manager and former player who is the assistant manager of Oberliga Niederrhein club Union Nettetal.<ref name="FuPaCoach">{{cite web|url=https://www.fupa.net/news/blerim-rrustemi-wechselt-die-rolle-3074793|title=Blerim Rrustemi wechselt die Rolle|website=FuPa|language=de|date=17 January 2025|access-date=8 December 2025}}</ref><ref name="UnionSite">{{cite web|url=https://www.scunion-fussball.de/senioren/1-mannschaft/|title=1. Mannschaft – SC Union Nettetal 1996 e.V.|website=SC Union Nettetal|language=de|access-date=8 December 2025}}</ref><ref name="Amafuma">{{cite news|url=https://amafuma.de/vorbericht/fussballverband-niederrhein/kreis-kempen-krefeld/oberliga-ein-aufstiegsheld-kommt-zurueck-und-wird-co-trainer/|title=Oberliga: Ein Aufstiegsheld kommt zurück und wird Co-Trainer|work=Amafuma|language=de|date=13 April 2024|access-date=8 December 2025}}</ref> Born in Yugoslavia, he represented Albania internationally.
Over the course of his career he played in Canada, Brazil, Uruguay, Germany, Denmark, Cyprus and Albania, appearing at both professional and semi-professional levels.<ref name="Bild2008">{{cite news|url=https://www.bild.de/sport/fussball/albaner-rrustemi-3609788.bild.html|title=Albaner Rrustemi: Zurück ins Nationalteam|work=Bild|language=de|date=28 January 2008|access-date=8 December 2025}}</ref><ref name="WF">{{cite web|url=https://www.worldfootball.net/person/pe22275/blerim-rrustemi/|title=Blerim Rrustemi|website=WorldFootball.net|access-date=8 December 2025}}</ref> He represented the Albania national team in 2007, earning three caps.<ref name="NFT">{{NFT|23405|access-date=7 December 2025}}</ref><ref name="ESPN">{{cite web|url=https://www.espn.com/soccer/player/_/id/97938/blerim-rrustemi|title=Blerim Rrustemi – Player Profile|website=ESPN|access-date=8 December 2025}}</ref>
==Club career== Rrustemi began his football career with 2 Korriku,<ref name="Early">{{cite news|url=https://www.vushtrriaonline.net/2018/01/blerim-rrustemi-fubollisti-vushtrrias-qe-ka-bere-karriere-te-shkelqyer-ne-evrope-kanada-dhe-ameriken-latine/|title=Blerim Rrustemi, fubollisti vushtrrias që ka bërë karrierë të shkëlqyer në Evropë, Kanada dhe Amerikën Latine|language=sq|website=VushtrriaOnline.net|date=2 January 2018|access-date=9 December 2025}}</ref> and due to the Kosovo War, he emigrated to Canada,<ref name="Bild2008" /> where he initially played for Weston Collegiate Institute in 1999 and then continued with Azzurri Toronto in 1999–2000,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.national-football-teams.com/club/13065/2000_2/Cs_Azzurri_Toronto.html|title=CS Azzurri Toronto (2000)|website=National-Football-Teams.com|language=de|access-date=8 December 2025}}</ref> and Toronto Supra in 2000–2001, both competing in the Canadian Professional League. He also appeared for local Albanian community teams in the Toronto area.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bigsoccer.com/forum/showthread.php?t=404287|title=Canucks in Germany – September 2006|website=BigSoccer|access-date=7 January 2014}}</ref>
At the age of 17, he moved to South America, joining Portuguesa in Brazil for the 2001–02 season,<ref name="Early" /><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.canadiansoccernews.com/topic/54375-rrustemi-is-playing-regularly-for-gladbacher-am/|title=Rrustemi is playing regularly for "Gladbacher" Am|language=English, German|website=CanadianSoccerNews.com|date=26 October 2005|access-date=16 December 2025}}</ref> where he was offered a three-year contract, but because of his young age he did not remain away from his family for more than six months,<ref name="Early" /> before signing for Defensor Sporting in Uruguay in 2002.<ref name="NFT" /> With Defensor, he played in the Uruguayan Primera División until 2004, gaining top-flight experience in South America.<ref name="WF" />
Rrustemi returned to Europe in 2004 when he was signed by Borussia Mönchengladbach II after a trial period, joining the club’s reserve side in the German Regionalliga.<ref name="Bild2008" /> He spent three seasons with Mönchengladbach’s second team, making more than 50 league appearances.<ref name="WF" /> After the reserves were relegated, he left on a free transfer in 2007 to join Danish 1st Division club AC Horsens, where he played in two league matches during the 2007–08 season.<ref name="WF" />
In January 2008, he moved back to Germany with Rot-Weiss Erfurt, then playing in the Regionalliga Nord and later in the newly created 3. Liga.<ref name="WF" /> With Erfurt he won the Thuringian Cup in 2007–08.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.fussballclips.de/pokal/374|title=Landespokal Thüringen – Pokalsieger|website=Fussballclips|language=de|access-date=8 December 2025}}</ref> For the 2008–09 season Rrustemi joined Alki Larnaca in the Cypriot First Division, where he scored twice in 12 league matches.<ref name="WF" /> After financial problems at the Cypriot club, he left as a free agent and, in October 2009, signed a one-year contract with Vllaznia Shkodër in the Kategoria Superiore of Albania, with an option for extension.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://top-channel.tv/2009/10/13/mbrojtesi-rrustemi-firmos-me-vllaznine/|title=Mbrojtësi Rrustemi firmos me Vllazninë|website=Top Channel|language=sq|date=13 October 2009|access-date=8 December 2025}}</ref>
After leaving Albania, Rrustemi returned once more to Germany, where he spent the remainder of his playing career in the regional leagues. In 2010, he joined FC Wegberg-Beeck in the NRW-Liga, making 27 league appearances and scoring four goals in the 2010–11 season.<ref name="WF" /> In 2011, he moved to Goslarer SC, helping the club to win the Oberliga Niedersachsen title in 2011–12 and achieve promotion to the Regionalliga Nord.<ref name="WF" /><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.1fc-wunstorf.de/artikel/30038/vorbereitungsprogramm-1fc-wunstorf-steht|title=Vorbereitungsprogramm 1. FC Wunstorf steht!|website=1. FC Wunstorf|language=de|date=17 July 2020|access-date=8 December 2025}}</ref>
Rrustemi subsequently played for SSVg Velbert in the Regionalliga West in 2013, Germania Ratingen 04/19 in the Oberliga Niederrhein in 2014, and Rheydter SV in the German regional leagues in 2014–15, where he posted a notable scoring record for a defender.<ref name="WF" />{{citation needed|date=April 2026}} From 2015 to 2019, he was a regular for Union Nettetal, with whom he achieved promotion to the Oberliga Niederrhein in 2018.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.sfn24.de/vorbericht/29160/Geisterspiel-gegen-Union-Nettetal-am-05042020|title=Geisterspiel gegen Union Nettetal am 05.04.2020|website=Sportfreunde Niederwenigern|language=de|date=28 March 2020|access-date=8 December 2025}}</ref><ref name="Amafuma" />{{citation needed|date=April 2026}}
In the summer of 2019, having established himself in the Niederrhein amateur scene, he joined 1. FC Viersen from Union Nettetal.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://rp-online.de/nrw/staedte/viersen/sport/zwei-weitere-zugaenge-fuer-den-1-fc-viersen_aid-38684541|title=1. FC Viersen verpflichtet Blerim Rrustemi|website=RP Online|language=de|access-date=8 December 2025}}</ref><ref name="WF" /> He helped Viersen win promotion from the Bezirksliga to the Landesliga Niederrhein and remained with the club into the early 2020s.<ref name="Amafuma" />{{citation needed|date=April 2026}}
==Coaching career== After ending his long playing career in the German amateur leagues, Rrustemi remained involved in football. In 2025, he joined the coaching staff of his former club Union Nettetal as an assistant coach, forming part of a three-man staff in the Oberliga Niederrhein.<ref name="FuPaCoach" /><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.fupa.net/news/die-erkenntnisse-aus-union-nettetals-testspielauftakt-3114866 |title=Die Erkenntnisse aus Union Nettetals Testspielauftakt |website=FuPa |language=de |date=15 July 2025 |access-date=8 December 2025}}</ref><ref name="Amafuma" /><ref name="UnionSite" />
==International career== {{quote box|width=20%|quote="They asked me if I wanted to take a Brazilian passport, but I immediately said no because I felt as if I would lose myself. From that moment I could not wait to wear the national team shirt of my own country."|source=—Rrustemi explaining his decision to turn down Brazil's offer.<ref name="Early" />}} He was eligible to represent three countries on international level, either Kosovo (then not a FIFA member, but it did play occasional friendlies), Albania or Canada.<ref name="Bild2008" /> During his time at Portuguesa, he played in an unofficial friendly against the Brazil U17 and provided an assist in a 1–1 draw; following the match he was offered the opportunity to take Brazilian citizenship and represent Brazil, but he declined.<ref name="Early" />
He later opted to represent the Albania national team instead and was granted Albanian citizenship on 23 March 2007.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://qbz.gov.al/eli/dekret/2007/03/23/5240|title=PËR DHËNIE TË SHTETËSISË SHQIPTARE|trans-title=On granting Albanian citizenship|publisher=Qendra e Botimeve Zyrtare|language=sq|date=23 March 2007|access-date=3 January 2023}}</ref> His debut for Albania came on 22 August 2007 in a 3–0 home friendly win against the Malta at the Qemal Stafa Stadium in Tirana.<ref name="NFT" /><ref>{{cite web|url=https://matchcentre.mfa.com.mt/match/1200541|title=Albania 3–0 Malta|website=Malta Football Association|date=22 August 2007|access-date=8 December 2025}}</ref> He went on to appear in two UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying matches: a goalless draw away to the Slovenia in October 2007 and a 4–2 home defeat against the Belarus in November 2007, which proved to be his final international match.<ref name="NFT" /><ref name="ESPN" /><ref>{{EU-Football.info|24496|accessdate=13 October 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://eu-football.info/_match.php?id=337|title=Albania 2–4 Belarus|website=EU-Football.info|access-date=8 December 2025}}</ref>
==Personal life== Born in Kosovo to an ethnic Albanian family, Rrustemi was raised in Canada after his family left Kosovo at the beginning of the Kosovo War, and he later obtained Canadian citizenship.<ref name="Bild2008" />
Rrustemi has long-standing ties with fellow footballer Granit Xhaka, with whom he has a close friendship. In 2024 he attended Bayer Leverkusen's Bundesliga title celebrations as a guest of Xhaka.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://gazetablic.com/festoi-titullin-e-leverkusenit-me-flamurin-shqiptar-blerim-rrustemi-granit-xhaka-ka-hyre-ne-histori-te-perjetshme-e-kam-si-vella/ |title=Blerim Rrustemi: Granit Xhaka ka hyrë në histori të përjetshme – e kam si vëlla |publisher=Gazeta Blic |date=15 April 2024 |language=sq |access-date=8 December 2025}}</ref>
==Honours== ;Rot-Weiss Erfurt *Thuringian Cup: 2007–08<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.fussballclips.de/pokal/374|title=Landespokal Thüringen – Pokalsieger|website=Fussballclips|language=de|access-date=8 December 2025}}</ref>
;Goslarer SC *Oberliga Niedersachsen: 2011–12<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.1fc-wunstorf.de/artikel/30038/vorbereitungsprogramm-1fc-wunstorf-steht|title=Vorbereitungsprogramm 1. FC Wunstorf steht!|website=1. FC Wunstorf|language=de|date=17 July 2020|access-date=8 December 2025}}</ref>
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== *{{Sports links}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rrustemi, Blerim}} Category:1983 births Category:Living people Category:Footballers from Vushtrri Category:Kosovo Albanians Category:Naturalized citizens of Canada Category:Sportspeople of Albanian descent Category:Men's association football defenders Category:Kosovan men's footballers Category:Albanian men's footballers Category:Albania men's international footballers Category:FC 2 Korriku players Category:SC Toronto players Category:Associação Portuguesa de Desportos players Category:Defensor Sporting players Category:Borussia Mönchengladbach II players Category:AC Horsens players Category:FC Rot-Weiß Erfurt players Category:Alki Larnaca FC players Category:KF Vllaznia players Category:FC Wegberg-Beeck players Category:Goslarer SC 08 players Category:SSVg Velbert players Category:Canadian Soccer League (1998–present) players Category:Danish Superliga players Category:Uruguayan Primera División players Category:Cypriot First Division players Category:Kategoria Superiore players Category:Albanian expatriate men's footballers Category:Expatriate men's soccer players in Canada Category:Expatriate men's footballers in Brazil Category:Expatriate men's footballers in Uruguay Category:Expatriate men's footballers in Germany Category:Expatriate men's footballers in Denmark Category:Expatriate men's footballers in Cyprus Category:Albanian expatriate sportspeople in Canada Category:Albanian expatriate sportspeople in Brazil Category:Albanian expatriate sportspeople in Uruguay Category:Albanian expatriate sportspeople in Germany Category:Albanian expatriate sportspeople in Denmark Category:Albanian expatriate sportspeople in Cyprus Category:Kosovan expatriate sportspeople in Germany Category:Kosovan expatriate sportspeople in Denmark Category:Kosovan expatriate sportspeople in Cyprus Category:21st-century Albanian sportsmen