Fatmire "Lira" Alushi (; born 1 April 1988) is a German former 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 played as an
attacking midfielder
A midfielder is an Glossary of association football terms#O, 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 #Cent ...
. She placed third in
2010 FIFA Ballon d'Or
The 2010 FIFA Ballon d'Or Gala was the inaugural year for FIFA's awards for the top football players and coaches of the year. The gala is a continuation of the FIFA World Player Gala and a result of merging the FIFA Men's World Player of the Yea ...
competition, an annual award given to the world's best player.
Club career
![Fatmire Bajramaj](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/aa/Fatmire_Bajramaj.jpg)
Alushi began her career at DJK/VfL Giesenkirchen. From 1997 to 2004, she played for FSC Mönchengladbach, before moving to the
Bundesliga
The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany. At the top of the German football league system, the Bundesliga is Germany's primary footba ...
side and joining
FCR 2001 Duisburg
FCR 2001 Duisburg (full name: ''Fußballclub Rumeln 2001 Duisburg'') was a German women's football club from Duisburg. The first team played in the Bundesliga (women), Bundesliga. They originate from a women's team formed in 1977 under the umbrel ...
. She made her Bundesliga debut in September 2004 for the club and scored her first goal one month later. Alushi immediately became a regular starter for Duisburg. She was runner-up with Duisburg for four seasons in a row from 2005 to 2008. During the
2008–09 season, Alushi won the
UEFA Women's Champions League
The UEFA Women's Champions League, previously called the UEFA Women's Cup (2001–2009), is a European women's association football competition. It involves the top club teams from countries affiliated with the European governing body UEFA.
The ...
. She also claimed the
2009 German Cup title, where she scored in the final.
After five seasons at Duisburg, Alushi moved to league rivals
1. FFC Turbine Potsdam
1. Frauenfußballclub Turbine Potsdam 71 e. V., commonly known as 1. FFC Turbine Potsdam (or Turbine Potsdam outside of Germany), is a German women's football club located in Potsdam, Brandenburg. They are one of the most successful women's footb ...
for the 2009–10 season. At her new club, she won the Bundesliga title in 2010 and 2011. In the
2009–10 season, Potsdam also claimed the inaugural
UEFA Women's Champions League
The UEFA Women's Champions League, previously called the UEFA Women's Cup (2001–2009), is a European women's association football competition. It involves the top club teams from countries affiliated with the European governing body UEFA.
The ...
title, with Bajramaj scoring during the
penalty shoot-out
The penalty shootout is a method of determining a winner in sports matches that would have otherwise been drawn or tied. The rules for penalty shootouts vary between sports and even different competitions; however, the usual form is similar to pen ...
in the final. One year later, Potsdam again made it to the final, but lost against
Olympique Lyonnais
Olympique Lyonnais (), commonly referred to as simply Lyon () or OL, is a men and women's French professional football club based in Lyon in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. The men play in France's highest football division, Ligue 1. Founded in 1950, th ...
.
![20150426 PSG vs Wolfsburg 194](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/db/20150426_PSG_vs_Wolfsburg_194.jpg)
Alushi came in third place for the
2010 FIFA Ballon d'Or
The 2010 FIFA Ballon d'Or Gala was the inaugural year for FIFA's awards for the top football players and coaches of the year. The gala is a continuation of the FIFA World Player Gala and a result of merging the FIFA Men's World Player of the Yea ...
award. She has announced to move to
1. FFC Frankfurt
Eintracht Frankfurt is a German women's association football club based in Frankfurt. Its first team currently plays in the German top flight, Frauen-Bundesliga. From 1998 to 2020, the club was known as 1. FFC Frankfurt.
Eintracht have won sev ...
for the 2011–12 season. The transfer is the most expensive in women's Bundesliga history.
In 2014, she transferred to
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
.
Alushi announced her retirement on 28 February 2017.
International career
Alushi made her debut for
Germany’s senior national team in October 2005 against
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
. One year later, she won
2006 UEFA Women's Under-19 Championship
The UEFA Women's U-19 Championship 2006 Final Tournament was held in Switzerland between 11–22 July 2006. Germany won the cup after defeating France 3–0 in the final match. Players born after 1 January 1987 were eligible to participate in thi ...
at junior level.
At the
2006 FIFA U-20 Women's World Championship
The 2006 FIFA U-20 Women's World Championship was held in Russia from 17 August to 3 September 2006. It was the officially recognized world championship for women's under-20 national association football teams. Matches were held in four Moscow sta ...
, the German team was eliminated in the quarter-finals. Alushi started in all four of the team's matches and scored three goals during the tournament.
She won her first major international title at the
2007 FIFA Women’s World Cup. She was a reserve player for Germany, appearing in four games, including the tournament's final, in which she won the corner that let to Germany's second goal. One year later, Alushi claimed bronze with Germany at the
2008 Summer Olympics
The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Na ...
. She was brought on after 62 minutes in the third-place play-off and scored both goals in Germany's 2–0 win over
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
. In 2009, Alushi won her first European trophy at the
2009 European Championship, where Germany claimed its seventh title. She was also called up for Germany's
2011 FIFA Women's World Cup
The 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup was the sixth FIFA Women's World Cup competition, the world championship for women's national association football teams. It was held from 26 June to 17 July 2011 in Germany, which won the right to host the even ...
squad.
Personal life
Alushi's parents Ismet and Ganimete, who are
Kosovo-Albanians, moved their family from Istok, Kosovo to Germany in 1993. In October 2009, she published her autobiography ''Mein Tor ins Leben – Vom Flüchtling zur Weltmeisterin'' (''My Gate into Life – From Refugee to World Champion''
ordplay: German "Tor" translates to both "Goal"/"Gate".
In June 2011, Alushi began dating fellow footballer
Enis Alushi
Enis Alushi (born 22 December 1985) is a Kosovan retired professional footballer who played as a midfielder.
Club career
1. FC Nürnberg
On 28 July 2016, Alushi joined 2. Bundesliga side 1. FC Nürnberg. His debut with 1. FC Nürnberg came on ...
. Both their fathers are working together as police officers 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 ...
. The couple announced their engagement the following year. Shortly after, in September 2012, both suffered
ACL injuries in matches within 72 hours of each other. The couple got married in December 2013. Following the
2015 UEFA Women's Champions League Final, Alushi announced that she was pregnant and would be forced to miss the
2015 FIFA Women's World Cup
The 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup was the seventh FIFA Women's World Cup, the quadrennial international soccer championship contested by the women's national teams of the member associations of FIFA. The tournament was hosted by Canada for the ...
in Canada. She stated that she expected to get back to the pitch eventually but that "there are things in life that are simply more important than football".
Career statistics
:''Scores and results list Germany's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Alushi goal.''
Honours
FCR 2001 Duisburg
*
UEFA Women's Cup
The UEFA Women's Champions League, previously called the UEFA Women's Cup (2001–2009), is a European women's association football competition. It involves the top club teams from countries affiliated with the European governing body UEFA.
The ...
:
2008–09
*
Bundesliga
The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany. At the top of the German football league system, the Bundesliga is Germany's primary footba ...
: runner-up
2004–05,
2005–06,
2006–07,
2007–08
*
DFB-Pokal
The DFB-Pokal ( is a German knockout football cup competition held annually by the German Football Association (DFB). Sixty-four teams participate in the competition, including all clubs from the Bundesliga and the 2. Bundesliga. It is considere ...
:
2008–09; runner-up
2006–07
Turbine Potsdam
*
UEFA Women's Champions League
The UEFA Women's Champions League, previously called the UEFA Women's Cup (2001–2009), is a European women's association football competition. It involves the top club teams from countries affiliated with the European governing body UEFA.
The ...
:
2009–10
*Bundesliga:
2009–10,
2010–11
FFC Frankfurt
*UEFA Women's Champions League: runner-up
2011–12
*DFB-Pokal:
2013–14
*
FIFA World Cup
The FIFA World Cup, often simply called the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the ' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The tournament ha ...
:
2007
File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...
*
UEFA European Championship
The UEFA European Football Championship, less formally the European Championship and informally the Euro, is the primary association football tournament organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA). The competition is contes ...
:
2009
File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...
,
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 ...
*
Olympic bronze medal:
2008
File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...
*
UEFA Women's U-19 Championship:
2006
File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...
*
Algarve Cup
The Algarve Cup is an invitational tournament for national teams in women's association football hosted by the Portuguese Football Federation (FPF). Held annually in the Algarve region of Portugal since 1994, it is one of the most prestigious and ...
:
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 ...
Individual
*
Women's Footballer of the Year: 2011
*
Silbernes Lorbeerblatt
Silbernes Lorbeerblatt (Silver Laurel Leaf), the highest sports award in Germany, was endowed on 23 June 1950 by the German President Theodor Heuss. It is awarded to athletes and teams of exemplary character that have won medals at Olympic and ...
: 2007
*
FIFA Ballon d'Or
The FIFA Ballon d'Or ("Golden Ball") was an annual association football award presented to the world's best men's player from 2010 to 2015. Awarded jointly by FIFA and ''France Football'', the prize was a merger of the FIFA World Player of the Ye ...
: third place
2010
File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Alushi, Fatmire
1988 births
Living people
Association footballers' wives and girlfriends
German women's footballers
Germany women's international footballers
German expatriate women's footballers
Expatriate women's footballers in France
Women's association football midfielders
1. FFC Frankfurt players
1. FFC Turbine Potsdam players
2007 FIFA Women's World Cup players
2011 FIFA Women's World Cup players
Division 1 Féminine players
FCR 2001 Duisburg players
FIFA Women's World Cup-winning players
Footballers at the 2008 Summer Olympics
German expatriate sportspeople in France
German people of Albanian descent
Kosovan emigrants to Germany
Kosovan expatriates in Germany
Kosovo Albanians
Medalists at the 2008 Summer Olympics
Olympic bronze medalists for Germany
Olympic footballers of Germany
Olympic medalists in football
Olympic women's footballers of Germany
Paris Saint-Germain Féminine players
People from Istog
UEFA Women's Championship-winning players
Yugoslav emigrants to Germany
Sportspeople from Peja