Andi Zeqiri, who arrived from the Genk club at the very end of the transfer window, has already established himself as one of the leaders of Standard, despite a team mainly focused on defense. He quickly became a fan favorite and spoke about his start to the season.
Known for his decisive actions late in the match, Zeqiri joined the Liège club in the final hours of the summer transfer window, just as he had done a year earlier by signing for Genk. The Swiss player, of Kosovar origin, is used to challenges, and was quick to take the reins of the Rouche attack, which has been struggling this season.
The RSCL striker said: “I have moved around a lot in my life and changing clubs has never scared me. I love challenges and new things, I like taking risks: I need to learn in new environments. Challenging myself has always been very important. We Kosovars have never had an easy life: my parents fled the war at 18, they took refuge in Switzerland. I came quickly since I was born… when they were only 20 years old. And today, we still speak Kosovar at home. My parents gave me a great childhood: I want to repay them for what they did for me. We, the Kosovars, have great strength within us, we want to do well to improve the lot of those we love. We fight to succeed and the Swiss national team (Zeqiri has 13 selections for the Nati) reflects this mix of cultures: Switzerland is a country of integration which helps those who need it. Belgium too by the way: it’s great the way Standard welcomed me!”
3 GOALS AND 2 DECISIVE PASSES
The Swiss striker’s sporting integration was almost instantaneous. With direct involvement in five of Standard’s last seven goals (3 goals and 2 assists), Andi Zeqiri has managed to largely solve the team’s offensive problem since the start of the season.
As an attacker, you first need stats to have confidence. But it is also a team strength: without the team, we cannot perform well. With Dennis Eckert-Ayensa, a great player, our complementarity improves from week to week, whether it is him or me up front, whether we play dominant football or counterattack, in 3-5-2 or in 4 -3-3. Soon we will find ourselves with our eyes closed. We already get along really well off the field: we talk to each other, we laugh. Dennis even suggested we go angling together! When we do it, I will post it on the networks. ”
AND CHARLEROI?
“I spoke with Mehdi Bayat, it’s true, but I immediately felt that it was Standard that I needed. Standard is fire! It’s fire! C It’s joy, it’s motivation. I had already come to Sclessin with Genk… but to experience that every two weeks, what fun, a stadium on fire, it’s so much more motivating when you’re a player… And even so! on the road, our fans follow us: knowing that they will always be there with us, that’s just the fun. The financial situation of the club I don’t take care of the extra-sporting things, I came here to play? in football and make our supporters proud What happens next, all these little details, I don’t look at it’s internal cooking: as a player, what matters is to perform well and gain strength. pleasure, but I don’t worry: Standard is a great club, there will always be solutions.”
At only 25 years old, Andi Zeqiri has already had a rich career: he played in Lausanne, Bern and Basel in Switzerland, as well as Augsburg in the Bundesliga, Brighton in the Premier League, Genk, Standard… and even spent a season at Juventus! Let’s hope for Standard that he confirms his start to the season.
