Erton Fejzullahu (born 9 April 1988) is a professional former

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 played as a

striker Striker or The Strikers may refer to: People *A participant in a strike action *A participant in a hunger strike *Blacksmith's striker, a type of blacksmith's assistant *Striker's Independent Society, the oldest mystic krewe in America People wi ...

. He previously represented Sweden at

youth Youth is the time of life when one is young. The word, youth, can also mean the time between childhood and adulthood ( maturity), but it can also refer to one's peak, in terms of health or the period of life known as being a young adult. You ...

and

full Full may refer to: * People with the surname Full, including: ** Mr. Full (given name unknown), acting Governor of German Cameroon, 1913 to 1914 * A property in the mathematical field of topology; see Full set * A property of functors in the mathe ...

international level before making his debut for the Kosovo national team in 2016.

Early life

Fejzullahu was born in Mitrovica,

SFR Yugoslavia The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, commonly referred to as SFR Yugoslavia or simply as Yugoslavia, was a country in Central and Southeast Europe. It emerged in 1945, following World War II, and lasted until 1992, with the breakup of Yug ...

. He came to Sweden as a three-year-old and grew up in the town of

Karlshamn Karlshamn () is a locality and the seat of Karlshamn Municipality in Blekinge County, Sweden. It had 13,576 inhabitants in 2015, out of 31,846 in the municipality. Karlshamn received a Royal Charter and city privileges in 1664, when King Charles X ...

. He holds Kosovan, Albanian and Swedish passports.

Club career

Youth career

Fejzullahu began his career with fifth-tier team

Högadals IS Högadals IS is a Swedish football club located in Karlshamn. Background Högadals IS currently plays in Division 4 Blekinge which is the sixth tier of Swedish football. The club competed in the Allsvenskan for one season in 1962. They play th ...

, before moving to Danish side

FC Copenhagen Football Club Copenhagen ( da, Football Club København, ), commonly known as FC København, FC Copenhagen, Copenhagen or simply FCK, is a professional Danish football club in Copenhagen, Denmark. FCK was founded in 1992 as a superstructure on ...

in 2005.

Mjällby AIF

In January 2007 Fejzullahu returned to Sweden to sign with

Mjällby AIF Mjällby Allmänna Idrottsförening, also known simply as Mjällby AIF, Mjällby or (especially locally) MAIF, is a Swedish professional football club based in Hällevik. The club is affiliated to Blekinge Fotbollförbund and play its home ...

, who played in the second tier

Superettan Superettan (; meaning the super first (division)) is an association football league and the second highest league in the league system of Swedish men's football. Contested by 16 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with Al ...

at that time and therefore was the highest level club near his hometown. There Fejzullahu adjusted to first team football and eventually had a big breakthrough in the

2009 Superettan The Superettan 2009 was the ninth season of Sweden's second-tier football league. The season began on 11 April 2009 and ended on 24 October 2009. The top 2 teams qualified directly for promotion to Allsvenskan, the third played a play-off against ...

, where he scored 13 goals in 14 games during the first half of the season and played a key role in eliminating two

Allsvenskan Allsvenskan (; en, the All-Swedish, also known as Fotbollsallsvenskan, en, the Football All-Swedish) is a Swedish professional league for men's association football clubs. It was founded in 1924 and is the top tier of the Swedish football lea ...

teams in the

Svenska Cupen Svenska Cupen (, ''The Swedish Cup'') is a knockout cup competition in Swedish football and the main Swedish football cup. Svenska Cupen usually refers to the men's tournament, although a women's tournament is also held. Each year 96 teams compe ...

NEC Nijmegen

On 17 July 2009,

Eredivisie The Eredivisie (; ''"Honour Division"'' or ''"Premier Division"'') is the highest level of professional football in the Netherlands. The league was founded in 1956, two years after the start of professional football in the Netherlands. It is c ...

club

NEC Nijmegen NEC Nijmegen (''Nijmegen Eendracht Combinatie''), commonly known as NEC (), is a professional Dutch association football club based in Nijmegen. The club currently competes in the Eredivisie, the top tier of Dutch football, following promotion fr ...

signed Fejzullahu on a four-year contract. He started well and was a regular starter during his first year with the Dutch club. In his second year he found playing time harder to come by and was loaned out for a short period to Danish club

Randers FC Randers FC () is a professional football club based in Randers, East Jutland, Denmark, that plays in the Danish Superliga, the top flight of the Danish football league system. Founded on 1 January 2003, the club builds upon the license of Rand ...

. He then went on a second loan back home to Mjällby for the second half of the

2011 Allsvenskan The 2011 Allsvenskan, part of the 2011 Swedish football season, was the 87th season of Allsvenskan since its establishment in 1924. The preliminary 2011 fixtures were released on 15 December 2010. The season began on 2 April 2011 and ended on 23 ...

season. At first he struggled while playing for his old club. Fejzullahu later stated that this was caused by bad form and him lacking both mentally and physically at the time. He stayed with Mjällby for the first half of the following season too and there he finally started showing improved form, scoring six goals in 15 games. As the loan ended in summer 2012 Mjällby wanted to sign him permanently but could not afford it.

Djurgårdens IF

Djurgårdens IF Djurgårdens Idrottsförening, commonly known simply as Djurgårdens IF, Djurgården (), and (especially locally) Djurgår'n (), Dif or DIF – is a Swedish sports association with several sections, located in Stockholm. Name The club is named ...

instead bought him from the Dutch club for a reported sum of ten million SEK. On 31 July 2012, Fejzullahu signed a contract which made him a Djurgårdens IF player until summer 2016.

Beijing Guoan

On 30 July 2014, Fejzullahu made his debut for

Beijing Guoan Beijing Guoan Football Club () is a professional football club that currently participates in the Chinese Super League under licence from the Chinese Football Association (CFA). The team is based in the Chaoyang District in Beijing and their ho ...

, as a loan player with a performance of two goals and an assist. On 1 January 2015, he signed a contract with Beijing Guoan after the expiry of the contract as loan player from Djurgårdens IF.

Dalian Transcendence

On 25 January 2016, Fejzullahu moved to

China League One The Chinese Football Association China League (), also known as China League One or Chinese Jia League (中甲联赛), is the second level of professional football in China. Above League One is the Chinese Super League. Prior to the formation of ...

side

Dalian Transcendence Dalian Transcendence Football Club () is a Chinese football club based in Dalian, Liaoning. Founded in 2013, the club played in the Chinese professional league between 2014 and 2018. They quit from the professional league and turn as amateur in Ja ...

Sarpsborg 08

On 28 March 2017, Fejzullahu signed to

Eliteserien Eliteserien () is a Norwegian professional league for association football clubs. At the top of the Norwegian football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. Contested by 16 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion ...

side

Sarpsborg 08 Sarpsborg 08 Fotballforening, commonly known as Sarpsborg 08 or simply Sarpsborg (), is a Norwegian football club based in Sarpsborg, playing in Eliteserien. Sarpsborg 08 and its predecessors played in 1. divisjon from 2005 to 2010. In 2010, the ...

and he signed a contract to end of

2017 Eliteserien The 2017 Eliteserien was the 73rd completed season of top-tier football in Norway. The season began on 1 April 2017 and ended on 26 November 2017, not including play-off matches. This was first season of Eliteserien as rebranding from Tippeligaen. ...

. On 2 April 2017, he made his debut in a 3–1 home win against

Sogndal Sogndal is a municipality in Vestland county, Norway. It is located on the northern shore of the Sognefjorden in the traditional district of Sogn. The village of Hermansverk is the administrative center of Sogndal municipality. Other villages i ...

after coming on as a substitute at 78th minute in place of Jonas Lindberg.

Kalmar

On 21 July 2017, Fejzullahu signed for Allsvenskan side

Kalmar Kalmar (, , ) is a city in the southeast of Sweden, situated by the Baltic Sea. It had 36,392 inhabitants in 2010 and is the seat of Kalmar Municipality. It is also the capital of Kalmar County, which comprises 12 municipalities with a total of ...

. On 23 July 2017, he made his debut in a 2–0 home win against

AFC Eskilstuna Athletic Football Club Eskilstuna, also known as AFC Eskilstuna or simply AFC, is a Swedish football club located in Eskilstuna. The club has previously been known under the names FC Café Opera and Väsby United before switching ownership and th ...

after being named in the starting line-up.

International career

In December 2012 Fejzullahu was selected for the first time ever to join the

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

, on a three-game tour in January 2013. On 23 January 2013. Fejzullahu made his debut for the senior team and scoring the equalizing goal in a 1–1 draw against

North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu River, Y ...

in the

King's Cup __NOTOC__ King's Cup (incl. translations), may refer to: Sports Football * Copa del Rey, Spanish for "King's Cup," the main national knockout tournament in men's football * King Cup (sometimes named King's Cup), Saudi Arabian men's football nati ...

. After full-time was played, the standing was 1–1, and Sweden won on penalty-shootout. Through this victory Sweden also became unofficial world champions. In December 2014 Fejzullahu expressed to the media that he expected to be part of the

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 ...

, since he was an ethnic Albanian and Sweden had ignored him. He was in contact with the

Albanian Football Association The Albanian Football Association ( sq, Federata Shqiptare e Futbollit; FSHF) is the governing body of football in Albania. The association is based in Tirana, Albania. It organises the national football leagues of the Albanian Superliga, the Fir ...

and was expected to be called up by Albania's coach,

Gianni de Biasi Giovanni "Gianni" De Biasi (, sq, Xhovani "Xhani" De Biazi), born 16 June 1956 is an Italian football coach and former player. He holds dual Italian and Albanian citizenship. De Biasi was the first coach of the Albania national team to lead th ...

. On 7 October 2015, Fejzullahu received a call-up from

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 ...

for the

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

Equatorial Guinea Equatorial Guinea ( es, Guinea Ecuatorial; french: Guinée équatoriale; pt, Guiné Equatorial), officially the Republic of Equatorial Guinea ( es, link=no, República de Guinea Ecuatorial, french: link=no, République de Guinée équatoria ...

and made his debut after being named in the starting line-up.

Career statistics

Club

International

:''Scores and results list the Fejzullahu's national team's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Fejzullahu goal.''

Honours

Sweden *

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 ...

Notes and references

Notes

References

External links