The 21-year-old was born in what is now Kosovo, but moved to Stabio in the Italian speaking part of Switzerland as a child and soon obtained Swiss nationality. He played for Stabio, Chiasso and Lugano before being jointly signed by Italian teams Genoa and Udinese. After two seasons playing for Genoa, Udine sold their rights in the midfielder to Verona where he enjoyed some success in Serie B. His form alerted Lazio and they secured his services last summer. Behrami has represented his country at Under-18, Under-19 and 'A' levels and scored in the crucial play-off success against Turkey - only his second appearance for the senior side.