RTSsport.ch: If you could keep just one image from your career, what would it be?
Volunnet Basha: It would be from my debut in the Challenge League, at 16 years old, with Lausanne-Sport. At the time, everything seemed normal to me, but when I think back, it was anything but normal to start at that age (laughs). It was incredible, really! Yes, I was already training a bit with the first team, but suddenly there were injuries, suspensions, and I was called up. I had no pressure. I went up to Neuchâtel (note: on April 14, 2007). I was given 10 minutes of play (note: actually 7). I seized my chance and was able to stay and launch my career.
RTSsport.ch: When in your career did you feel the strongest?
Volunnet Basha: At Real Zaragoza, during the 2014/2015 season. Even though I dealt with quite a few injuries, like I did throughout my career, I had incredible confidence. Every time I stepped on the pitch, I knew I would play well. Zaragoza was something else! Just like in Krakow, there was pressure, passion, everything that has always helped me excel. And they live for football there, just like in Krakow. The club and the coach believed in me. I scored a superb goal from 30 meters… The experience was amazing. Unfortunately, we missed promotion in the last match, whereas my contract would have been extended in the case of promotion. That’s clearly my biggest regret.
RTSsport.ch: What was the most challenging moment of your sporting life?
Volunnet Basha: Without a doubt, my time at Grasshopper, where I really struggled and considered quitting football. I was all alone in Zurich, far from my loved ones, I didn’t understand much German, I played little, and I had trouble adapting with all those stars around me, like Cabanas, Calla, Lulic, Smlijanic… I terminated my contract to return home. That’s when Neuchâtel Xamax, who were looking for Swiss players, came to get me. It saved me!
During my time at Grasshopper, I suffered a lot and truly considered quitting football. But Xamax came and got me. It saved me!
RTSsport.ch: It was Xamax during the era of Bulat Chagaev, which eventually sank…
Volunnet Basha: Yes, but initially, the environment was perfect for me; I had returned to my parents’ home, I was commuting daily, and everything was going great. Mentally, it put me back on track. Most importantly, I was surrounded by wonderful players. People may not remember, but that Xamax had a crazy team to compete at the top of the table! What could we have achieved without the issues?
RTSsport.ch: Did those off-field issues affect you personally?
Volunnet Basha: At the age I was (note: 21), you don’t think too much, you don’t really grasp what’s happening. Yes, we weren’t being paid, but I was living at home with my parents, so I didn’t have the same worries as others. What mattered to me then was playing, gaining minutes, doing my job, growing… I played alongside Victor Sanchez in midfield. I would give him precise passes, and he would control them effortlessly. He made me a better player, like all my teammates from that time! The financial aspect didn’t affect me. It’s only later, now that I have four children, that I understood…
RTSsport.ch: Is there a career choice you regret?
Volunnet Basha: Aside from sometimes being too nice, there are two, to be frank. The first: I was 17 and Lucien Favre came to get me to join him at Hertha Berlin. I said no because I thought it was better to gain experience at Lausanne and get playing time in the Swiss league. In retrospect, I think that was a bad thought… The second bad choice: in 2011, Pescara, then in Serie B, offered me a contract…
RTSport.ch: The Pescara of Marco Verratti and Zdenek Zeman?
Volunnet Basha: Yes, exactly, along with Lorenzo Insigne and Ciro Immobile. Coach Zeman wanted me desperately after a week-long trial. But I was coming out of my time in Zurich, and I didn’t feel “it.” A huge regret, because my brother Migjen was at Torino then, and two teams were promoted to Serie A that season: Torino and… Pescara. Conversely, Wisla Krakow was a very good choice!
Coaching a Pescara where Immobile, Insigne, and Verratti played, Zdenek Zeman really wanted me. But coming out of my Zurich period, I just didn’t feel it…
RTSsport.ch: Yet that is not what some had “promised” you…
Volunnet Basha: I signed for a year in 2017 and several told me: “But why are you going to bury yourself in Poland?” In Switzerland, we don’t have much information about that country, about its football, but I was totally embraced by the people, the club, the supporters! Everything I experienced and still experience at Wisla, despite the last two difficult years, is wonderful. The atmosphere and the matches are incredible. Just like in Zaragoza, football is alive and breathing there. The stadiums are packed, the derbies are wild. It’s dripping with passion. The opportunity to stay (see boxed text) has delighted my wife and me. In short, you just need to come here once to understand why I am still here. Wisla may have been my best career choice!
RTSsport.ch: Of all the players you have played with, who impressed you the most?
Volunnet Basha: I was lucky to play alongside many great players. Among them, I will mention Gennaro Gattuso, Yann Sommer, Yassine Bounou, Ricardo Cabanas, Jesus Vallejo, who was already our captain at 18 in Zaragoza. It’s crazy to be such a leader at that age! In Sion, Oussama Darragi was technically above the rest. And Jakub Blaszczykowski, who came to finish his career at Wisla, is from another world!
RTSsport.ch: And which opponents impressed you the most?
Volunnet Basha: With the Swiss U21s, I faced Thiago Alcantara and Isco. That was just something incredible. Those guys left the strongest impression on me. Eden Hazard was also very strong.
RTSsport.ch: Who was the least pleasant opponent?
Volunnet Basha: I remember a player from Servette, Ndiassé Ndiaye, who did everything to get under my skin during a Lake Geneva derby at the beginning of my career. He would step on my feet, say crazy things. In short, he did everything to throw me off my game. Even though I am a calm person and stayed focused, he really got to me…
Gattuso even said: ‘Hey, coach, I ran for 14 years for Andrea Pirlo because it was Pirlo, but I’m not running for Basha…!’ It stuck with me and made me laugh.
RTSsport.ch: Is there someone in this football world that you would never want to see again?
Volunnet Basha: Yes, just one: Peter Hyballa, a German who was my coach at Wisla Krakow. A real nutcase! I was injured, and he asked me to tough it out, to take medication, so I could play the important matches. I trained like crazy, but that only made my injuries worse. I then suffered for 15 months, and he made my life miserable. He accused me of being a cheat, of not wanting to play for him, etc. He later went to Denmark and got immediately fired. His last experience in South Africa lasted only a month because he was involved in a sex scandal. A real nutcase, I tell you!
RTSsport.ch: What anecdote have you never shared?
Volunnet Basha: We were on a training camp in Italy with FC Sion. Before a friendly match against Reggina, coach Victor Munoz revealed his system, with a 6 and two 8s. Me as 6, then Gennaro Gattuso and Gelson Fernandes as 8s. At that point, Gattuso interjected: “Hey, coach, I ran for 14 years for Andrea Pirlo because it was Pirlo, but I’m not running for Basha! So we’re changing positions…” And we actually changed positions. It stuck with me and made me laugh.
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