Born in the town of Mitrovica in what is now Kosovo, the hugely popular Valon Behrami moved with his family to the village of Stabio in Italian-speaking Switzerland as a small child.

After playing for local sides FC Stabio and Chiasso, Behrami joined FC Lugano, making his first-team debut for the club in 2002. A year later, he moved across the border to Italy, joining Genoa.

A single season at the Luigi Ferarris stadium saw Behrami make 24 Serie B appearances before making the switch to Hellas Verona on loan for the 2004/05 season.

Behrami again impressed for the Gialloblu in Serie B, making 32 appearances and scoring three goals. His form earned him a move to Serie A and SS Lazio for the start of the 2005/06 campaign.

In Rome, the 20-year-old Behrami quickly established himself as a favourite, making a total of 64 Serie A appearances over the next three seasons and scoring four goals. Among them was a memorable last-minute winner against local rivals AS Roma in March 2008 and four appearances in the UEFA Champions League in 2007/08.

During his time in the Italian capital, Behrami wore No85 on the back of his shirt to signify the year of his birth, but that became No21 when he made the switch to West Ham United in July 2008.

The first-team squad were on tour in North America when the midfielder put pen to paper, but when his new club-mates returned, Behrami made his debut in the pre-season friendly victory at Peterborough United on 29 July.

Injuries to James Collins and Danny Gabbidon saw Behrami start the 2008/09 Barclays Premier League season at right-back, but it was not long before he was impressing the club's supporters with his boundless energy from his preferred spot in midfield.

Behrami's competitive debut came on 16 August in the 2-1 opening day win over Wigan Athletic, while his first goal for the club arrived in the 1-0 league win at Sunderland on Sunday 23 November. A further goal followed at Hartlepool United in the FA Cup fourth round.

Unfortunately for Behrami himself, his club and his country, the energetic player's season was cruelly brought to an end when he suffered a cruciate knee ligament injury after his studs became caught in the turf during the 1-0 home win over Manchester City on 1 March. It was not all bad news as he became a father for the first time while in the early stages of his rehabilitation.

At international level, Behrami's most memorable moments came in the build-up to the 2006 FIFA World Cup and at the 2008 UEFA European Championship, which was held jointly by his home nation of Switzerland and neighbouring Austria.

Behrami scored the opening goal in Switzerland's infamous 2006 FIFA World Cup qualifying play-off first-leg against Turkey in Basle in November 2005. The Swiss won the match 2-0 and went on to reach the finals on away goals following a 4-4 draw on aggregate.

The midfielder appeared for just two minutes in Germany in 2006, as a late substitute for Raphael Wicky in the 2-0 Group G victory over South Korea in Hanover.

Two years later, Behrami was a central figure as Switzerland co-hosted the European Championship finals. The midfielder played every minute for his country, but the Swiss suffered losses to both Czech Republic and Turkey, rendering their victory over Portugal in their final Group A match meaningless.