There are so many Albanians in the Swiss team

Brothers Derby appeared in the European Cup for the first time. War + chaos created immigration stories

Granit said that playing against his brother in the European Cup may be an embarrassing arrangement of fate that makes the whole family confused. On the contrary, the father will come out to enlighten the two brothers: "If their respective teams fail to qualify in the qualifiers, then we will be even more disappointed. Now one represents Albania and the other represents Switzerland, which is also a true representation of our family background."< /p>

Five players in the Swiss team can represent Albania; eight players in the Albanian team can be selected for the Swiss team. In the history of the European Cup, there has never been a matchup more complex in terms of nationality and ethnicity than this pair of matchups. Switzerland is a non-immigration country, but when Kosovo was plunged into a bloodbath of genocide, Switzerland opened its doors and accepted some refugees struggling for their lives.

More than two decades later, Kosovo is still working hard for an independent political status. UEFA recognized Kosovo, but FIFA has still not accepted it because Serbia and Spain do not accept Kosovo. Therefore, many Kosovar players, or players of Kosovo descent, will choose Albania, a country with a sense of cultural, racial and religious identity, as their team in international competitions.

The players who chose Switzerland, like Xhaka, are more like Shaqiri, who have never forgotten their identity as descendants of Kosovo. Shaqiri's sneakers are often the blue and yellow of the Kosovo flag. When he won the Champions League with Bayern in 2013, Shaqiri showed off the Kosovo flag. Swiss internationals Behrami, Mohmedi and Zemaili all use tattoos, clothing and other methods to express their Kosovo-Albanian heritage.

On the court, they are proud to represent Switzerland, and off the court, they have never forgotten their ethnic roots.

Loyalty or inheritance, contradiction yet unity, opposition yet harmony.

In the bloody dispute between countries and tribes, in the shadow of darkness and barbaric massacre, football has brought a rare touch of bright color to the world.