Agim Ibraimi ( mk, Агим Ибраими; born 29 August 1988) is a Macedonian professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who plays as a

midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

Club career

Childhood and early career

Ibraimi was born in

Tetovo Tetovo ( mk, Тетово, , sq, Tetovë/Tetova) is a city in the northwestern part of North Macedonia, built on the foothills of Šar Mountain and divided by the Pena River. The municipality of Tetovo covers an area of at above sea level, w ...

SR Macedonia The Socialist Republic of Macedonia ( mk, Социјалистичка Република Македонија, Socijalistička Republika Makedonija), or SR Macedonia, commonly referred to as Socialist Macedonia or Yugoslav Macedonia, was ...

, to Albanian parents. While growing up in Tetovo, Agim joined the Shkendija youth team and eventually broke through into the senior squad at the age of 17.

Shkendija and Red Bull Salzburg

Ibraimi debuted for Shkendija in 2005 and was a crucial member of the team. He made forty nine appearances and scored three goals, helping Shkendija reach fifth place in the Prva Liga. Making a significant impact on the club at such a young age, Agim was picked up by Red Bull Salzburg and moved abroad. At Red Bull Salzburg, Ibraimi developed further under their tutelage. In two years at Salzburg, Ibraimi made three appearances for the senior team.

Olimpija

Ibraimi joined Olimpija who were at that time playing in the

Slovenian Second League The Slovenian Second Football League ( sl, Druga slovenska nogometna liga or commonly 2. SNL) is the second highest Association football, football league in Slovenia. The league was formed in 1991 and is operated by the Football Association of Slo ...

. His first season in the Slovenian capital was very successful, as Olimpija finished as league winners with Ibraimi scoring eleven goals. The start of his second season in

Ljubljana Ljubljana (also known by other historical names) is the capital and largest city of Slovenia. It is the country's cultural, educational, economic, political and administrative center. During antiquity, a Roman city called Emona stood in the ar ...

was not as smooth. After

Miran Pavlin Miran Pavlin (born 8 October 1971) is a Slovenian former professional footballer who played as midfielder. He featured for clubs such as Olimpija, SC Freiburg, Olympiakos Nicosia, APOEL, FC Porto and Olimpija Ljubljana. Club career In 2009, ...

, the director of football who brought him to the club, departed for

Koper Koper (; it, Capodistria, hr, Kopar) is the fifth largest city in Slovenia. Located in the Istrian region in the southwestern part of the country, approximately five kilometres () south of the border with Italy and 20 kilometres () from Triest ...

, Ibraimi wanted to join him. But Olimpija's board had none of it, as the player still had a valid contract with the club. The start of his first season in Slovenian PrvaLiga was difficult, his form was not up to standard, but it did pick up eventually and Ibraimi regained his place in Olimpija's first eleven. He scored his first goal in the Slovenian PrvaLiga on 28 August against Koper.

Eskisehirspor

Ibraimi terminated his contract with Olimpija in the summer of 2010 and signed a three-year deal with Turkish team

Eskişehirspor Eskişehirspor Kulübü is a Turkish professional football club located in Eskişehir. Eskisehirspor has a total of six trophies, making them the sixth most trophies holders in Turkey. Founded in 1965, Eskişehirspor competed in the top division ...

on 3 September 2010. He made his debut for Eskisehirspor on 25 September 2010 when he came off the bench in the 77th minute, but his team lost 1–0. Ibraimi failed to adjust to the Turkish league so he and the club agreed to mutually terminate the contract and Ibraimi joined Nafta Lendava during the 2011 January transfer window.

Maribor

On 10 June 2011, it was announced that Ibraimi has signed a three-year contract with the Slovenian club

Maribor Maribor ( , , , ; also known by other #Name, historical names) is the second-largest city in Slovenia and the largest city of the traditional region of Styria (Slovenia), Lower Styria. It is also the seat of the City Municipality of Maribor, th ...

. He made his debut for Maribor against

Dudelange Dudelange (; lb, Diddeleng , german: Düdelingen) is a commune with town status in southern Luxembourg. It is the fourth-most populous commune, with 19,734 inhabitants. Dudelange is situated close to the border with France. , the town of Dudela ...

in the qualifying rounds of the

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competit ...

where he also scored his first goal for the club. Despite not qualifying past the third round of qualifications, Maribor had a chance in the play-offs for the

UEFA Europa League The UEFA Europa League (abbreviated as UEL, or sometimes, UEFA EL), formerly the UEFA Cup, is an annual football club competition organised since 1971 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. It ...

against Rangers. Ibraimi helped Maribor reach the group stages of the Europa League after scoring a goal from just inside the box in the first leg. Despite Maribor finished in last place in their group, Ibraimi scored against

Braga Braga ( , ; cel-x-proto, Bracara) is a city and a municipality, capital of the northwestern Portuguese district of Braga and of the historical and cultural Minho Province. Braga Municipality has a resident population of 193,333 inhabitants (in ...

in the only match of the group stage where Maribor secured a point. In May 2012, Ibraimi signed a new contract with the club until May 2015. In the same month, he scored directly from a

corner kick A corner kick is the method of restarting play in a game of association football when the ball goes out of play over the goal line, without a goal being scored and having last been touched by a member of the defending team. The kick is taken ...

in an 8–0 win against Triglav Kranj and won the league title with Maribor. In December 2012, he won the

Macedonian Footballer of the Year Macedonian Footballer of the Year an annual title awarded to the best Football in North Macedonia, football player of the year in North Macedonia. Men's ;Best player (domestic) *2004: Aleksandar Vasoski *2006: Artim Položani *2011: Ferhan Hasani ...

award. He was voted as one of the best midfield players in the 2012–13 Slovenian PrvaLiga alongside his teammate

Goran Cvijanović Goran Cvijanović (born 9 September 1986) is a retired Slovenian footballer who played as a midfielder. Personal life Cvijanović spent his early years in Nova Gorica, and moved to Šempeter pri Gorici when he was seven years old. His cousin M ...

and Nik Omladič. He was also selected as the overall best player in the 2012–13 PrvaLiga season.

Cagliari

On 31 August 2013, Agim Ibraimi moved to

Cagliari Cagliari (, also , , ; sc, Casteddu ; lat, Caralis) is an Italian municipality and the capital of the island of Sardinia, an autonomous region of Italy. Cagliari's Sardinian name ''Casteddu'' means ''castle''. It has about 155,000 inhabitant ...

on loan in exchange for

Pablo Ceppelini Pablo Daniel Ceppelini Gatto (born 11 September 1991, in Montevideo) is a Uruguayan footballer who plays as a midfielder. Club career He played for Bella Vista and helped them win promotion from the Segunda División Profesional, playing in b ...

and money. In his second game for Cagliari, he provided an assist against

Inter Milan Football Club Internazionale Milano, commonly referred to as Internazionale () or simply Inter, and colloquially known as Inter Milan in English-speaking countries, is an Football in Italy, Italian professional Association football, football ...

. On 2 March 2014, Ibraimi scored his first goal for Cagliari against Udinese and providing an assist eight minutes earlier. Only maintaining five starting appearances for Cagliari, he did not receive much playing time in Italy. Agim Ibraimi has reached an agreement with Maribor to extend his contract until May 2017.

Maribor

Returning to Maribor, Ibraimi helped the club reach the UEFA Champions League group stage by scoring three goals in the qualifying rounds against

Zrinjski Mostar Zrinjski Mostar is a sports association from the city of Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina. It was formed in 1905. Member clubs *Football: **HŠK Zrinjski Mostar *Basketball: **HKK Zrinjski Mostar (men's) **ŽKK Zrinjski Mostar (women's) *Han ...

and

Maccabi Tel Aviv Maccabi Tel Aviv ( he, מכבי תל אביב) is one of the largest sports clubs in Israel, and a part of the Maccabi association. Many sports clubs and teams in Tel Aviv are in association with Maccabi and compete in a variety of sports, such ...

. On 5 November 2014, Maribor drew against

Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...

in the Champions League. Ibraimi scored in the 50th minute with a left-footed curling shot from the edge of the box.

Astana

On 15 June 2016, Ibraimi signed a two-and-a-half-year contract with

Kazakhstan Premier League The Kazakhstan Professional Football League ( kk, Қазақстан Премьер Лигасы, ''Qazaqstan Premer Ligasy''), commonly referred to as Kazakh Premier League or simply Premier League, is the top division of football in Kazakhstan ...

side

FC Astana Astana Football Club ( kk, Astana Futbol Kluby) is a professional football club based in Astana. They play in the Kazakhstan Premier League, the highest level of Kazakh football. The club's home ground is the 30,254-seat Astana Arena stadium. Th ...

. After an injury he ended his contract in the end of April 2017 and became a free agent.

Dinamo Tirana

In July 2021, Ibraimi joined the newly promoted side

Dinamo Tirana Futboll Club Dinamo Tirana is an Albanian professional football club based in the country's capital Tirana. They play in the Kategoria e Parë, the second tier of Albanian football, in the 2022–23 season. Founded in 1950 during the communist ...

, signing a contract for the 2021–22 Kategoria Superiore season. After a difficult season, in which he scored 8 goals in 36 league appearances, which weren't enough to keep the team in the top flight, Ibrahimi announced his departure and became a free agent.

International career

Ibraimi was capped for the Macedonian under-21 team during the qualifying campaign for the 2011 UEFA European Under-21 Championship. He received his first call-up to the Macedonian senior team for a

friendly match An exhibition game (also known as a friendly, a scrimmage, a demonstration, a preseason game, a warmup match, or a preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sporting event whose prize money and impact on the player's or ...

against

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

, which took place on 12 August 2009. In the match, he came on as a substitute for

Goran Pandev Goran Pandev ( mk, Горан Пандев, ; born 27 July 1983) is a Macedonian former professional footballer who played as a forward. After establishing himself at Lazio, Pandev moved to Inter Milan in early 2010. While playing for the ''Ne ...

in the 81st minute of the game. On 12 October 2012, Ibraimi scored his first goal for Macedonia in a 2–1 home defeat against

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

in the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifications. He scored another goal just three days later against

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Bas ...

in a 1–0 win. In total, he made 40 appearances for the team, and also scored 7 goals.

Personal life

Ibraimi is

multilingual Multilingualism is the use of more than one language, either by an individual speaker or by a group of speakers. It is believed that multilingual speakers outnumber monolingual speakers in the world's population. More than half of all E ...

, speaking six languages fluently: Albanian, English, German, Macedonian, Serbo-Croatian and Slovenian. He is a cousin of professional football player

Arijan Ademi Arijan Ademi ( mk, Аријан Адеми; born 29 May 1991) is a professional footballer who captains Prva HNL side Dinamo Zagreb and plays for the North Macedonia national team. Ademi started his professional career at Šibenik, debuting f ...

. In February 2016, after having spent years of playing in the country, Ibraimi acquired Slovenian citizenship.

Career statistics

Club

International

:''Scores and results list North Macedonia's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Ibraimi goal.''

Honours

Club

Olimpija *

: 2008–09 Maribor *

Slovenian PrvaLiga The Slovenian PrvaLiga ( sl, Prva slovenska nogometna liga, ), currently named Prva liga Telemach due to sponsorship reasons, also known by the abbreviation 1. SNL, is the top level of the Football in Slovenia, Slovenian football league system. ...

: 2011–12, 2012–13, 2014–15 *

Slovenian Cup Slovene or Slovenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Slovenia, a country in Central Europe * Slovene language, a South Slavic language mainly spoken in Slovenia * Slovenes, an ethno-linguistic group mainly living in Slovenia * Sl ...

: 2011–12, 2012–13, 2015–16 *

Slovenian Supercup The Slovenian Supercup ( sl, Superpokal Slovenije) was a football match played between the Slovenian PrvaLiga champions and the Slovenian Cup winners. Prior 2007, the match was held only twice, in 1995 and 1996. The competition was resurrected in ...

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

Astana *

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

Shkëndija *

Macedonian First Football League The Macedonian First Football League ( mk, Прва македонска фудбалска лига, ''Prva Мakedonska Fudbalska Liga''), also called Macedonian First League, 1. MFL, and Prva Liga, is the highest professional football competitio ...

: 2018–19

Individual

*PrvaLiga Player of the season: 2012–13 *PrvaLiga Team of the Year: 2013 *

: 2012, 2014

References

External links

*
Profile at NZS

Profile at Macedonian Football
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ibraimi, Agim 1988 births Living people Sportspeople from Tetovo Macedonian Muslims Albanian footballers from North Macedonia Association football wingers Macedonian footballers North Macedonia youth international footballers North Macedonia under-21 international footballers North Macedonia international footballers KF Shkëndija players FC Red Bull Salzburg players NK Olimpija Ljubljana (2005) players Eskişehirspor footballers NK Nafta Lendava players NK Maribor players Cagliari Calcio players FC Astana players NK Domžale players FK Kukësi players FK Dinamo Tirana players Macedonian First Football League players Austrian Football Bundesliga players Slovenian Second League players Slovenian PrvaLiga players Süper Lig players Serie A players Kazakhstan Premier League players Kategoria Superiore players Macedonian expatriate footballers Macedonian expatriate sportspeople in Austria Expatriate footballers in Austria Macedonian expatriate sportspeople in Slovenia Expatriate footballers in Slovenia Macedonian expatriate sportspeople in Turkey Expatriate footballers in Turkey Macedonian expatriate sportspeople in Italy Expatriate footballers in Italy Macedonian expatriate sportspeople in Kazakhstan Expatriate footballers in Kazakhstan Macedonian expatriate sportspeople in Albania Expatriate footballers in Albania