The Premier League has a rich and varied history, with plenty of brilliant players and cult heroes that “the streets won’t forget”.
One such player was Pajtim Kasami, who was on the books at Fulham between 2011 and 2014, and also played on loan at Nottingham Forest.
Kasami’s Premier League career was modest for the most part as he registered 38 appearances and only scored three goals in the English top flight.
However, one of those goals was so amazing that people talk about it to this day, 11 years on.
Pajtim Kasami of Fulham scores the opening goal during the Barclays Premier League match between Crystal Palace and Fulham at Selhurst Park on Octo...
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Pajtim Kasami’s wondergoal for Fulham against Crystal Palace
On 21 October 2013, Crystal Palace hosted Fulham at Selhurst Park in a Premier League game attended by 24.881 people.
Palace opened the scoring in the seventh minute through Adrian Mariappa, but Kasami equalised on 19 minutes in the most spectacular fashion.
Kasami connected with Sascha Riether’s floated pass down the channel, controlling it with his chest on the right-hand edge of the penalty area.
Then, in one fluid movement, he let rip with a fierce volley which went beyond Palace goalkeeper Julian Speroni and into the top-left corner of the net.
Interestingly, Kasami’s goal was not the only worldie of the match.
On the stroke of half-time, Steve Sidwell was in the right place to volley an effort into the net after a Fulham free kick bounced off the Palace wall.
Dimitar Berbatov then put the Cottagers 3-1 up in the 50th minutewith a deft header at the back post.
And finally, Philippe Senderos bundled in a scissor kick just five minutes later for a comprehensive win for Fulham.
Kasami’s goal was the only one from the Premier League to be nominated for the following year’s Puskas Award.
This was won by James Rodriguez for his 2014 World Cup goal for Colombia against Uruguay.
Kasami’s career
Kasami’s senior career began at Swiss club Bellinzona in 2009, though he was on the move to Italian side Palermo a year later.
He was on the move a year later, joining Fulham for an undisclosed fee. He made 56 appearances for the Cottagers and also took in a loan spell at Luzern.
Kasami’s other goals for Fulham came in the Premier League as he netted in a 1-0 win over Sunderland in August and in a 2-1 win over Norwich City on Boxing Day.
Kasami then joined Olympiacos in 2014 for around £4million and, while on the Greek giants’ books, he spent the 2016-17 season loan at Nottingham Forest, then in the Championship.
The 12-cap Switzerland international also played for Swiss duo Sion and Basel, plus another spell at Olympiacos, before joining Italian side Sampdoria, where he continues to play today.
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