Bekim Isufi (born 2 January 1976) is a Kosovan professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

coach and former player who is the current manager of Kosovo national under-20 team.

Club career

Drita

Isufi became a famous football player in

Kosovo Kosovo ( sq, Kosova or ; sr-Cyrl, Косово ), officially the Republic of Kosovo ( sq, Republika e Kosovës, links=no; sr, Република Косово, Republika Kosovo, links=no), is a partially recognised state in Southeast Euro ...

, while playing for Drita in the 2002–03 season and where he had won captain armband for the first time in the

Football Superleague of Kosovo The Football Superleague of Kosovo ( sq, Superliga e Futbollit të Kosovës), also known as the ALBI MALL Superleague of Kosovo ( sq, ALBI MALL Superliga e Kosovës) for sponsorship reasons with Albi Mall, is the top level of the Kosovar football ...

International career

On 7 September 2002. Isufi made his debut with

in 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

Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...

after coming on as a substitute at 66th minute in place of Xhevdet Llumnica.

Coaching career

Fourth term at Drita

On 5 November 2017, Isufi became the manager of Drita for a second time, and did the miracle finishing the 2017–18 season as the champion of 29 unbeaten matches and assure participation at the 2018–19 UEFA Champions League preliminary round. On 26 June 2018, Drita beat Andorran side

FC Santa Coloma FC Santa Coloma is an Andorran football team based in the village of Santa Coloma, in the parish of Andorra la Vella. The club currently plays in Primera Divisió, and is its current champion and most successful team with thirteen titles. It ...

at Victoria Stadium in

Gibraltar ) , anthem = " God Save the King" , song = " Gibraltar Anthem" , image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg , map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe , map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green , mapsize = , image_map2 = Gib ...

and became the first Kosovar side to win a

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 ...

match. On 13 September 2018, he resigned from the position of the coach after Drita loss against Llapi and under the direction of Isufi, Drita was the champion of the 2017–18 Football Superleague of Kosovo, won the 2018 Kosovar Supercup and as well made the team as most successful Kosovan team in European competitions since

was accepted in

UEFA Union of European Football Associations (UEFA ; french: Union des associations européennes de football; german: Union der europäischen Fußballverbände) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs f ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Isufi, Bekim Living people 1974 births Sportspeople from Gjilan Kosovo Albanians Men's association football midfielders Kosovan men's footballers Kosovo pre-2014 men's international footballers Football Superleague of Kosovo players FC Prishtina players FC Drita players KF Flamurtari players Kosovan football managers FC Drita managers FC Ferizaj managers