Ilir Berisha (born 25 June 1991) is a Kosovan 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

centre-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

for Swedish club

Ljungskile Ljungskile () is a locality situated in Uddevalla Municipality, Västra Götaland County, Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is th ...

Club career

Örebro

On 19 February 2012, Berisha signed a multi-year contract with

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 ...

club

Örebro Örebro ( , ) is the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, sixth-largest city in Sweden, the seat of Örebro Municipality, and capital of the Örebro County. It is situated by the Närke Plain, near the lake Hjälmaren, a few kilometers in ...

and received squad number 5. On 13 May 2012, he was named as a Örebro substitute for the first time in a league match against

Norrköping Norrköping (; ) is a city in the province of Östergötland in eastern Sweden and the seat of Norrköping Municipality, Östergötland County, about 160 km southwest of the national capital Stockholm, 40 km east of county seat Linköp ...

. His debut with Örebro came three days later in a 2–2 home draw against

AIK AIK Fotboll (), more commonly known simply as AIK (), an abbreviation for Allmänna Idrottsklubben (meaning ''the public'' or ''general sports club''), is a Swedish football club competing in Allsvenskan, the top flight of Swedish football. The ...

after being named in the starting line-up. On 9 July 2012, he scored his first goal in a 2–1 home win over

Malmö Malmö (, ; da, Malmø ) is the largest city in the Swedish county (län) of Scania (Skåne). It is the third-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm and Gothenburg, and the sixth-largest city in the Nordic region, with a municipal populat ...

. He finished the 2012 season with a total of 20 appearances (including one made it in the Swedish Cup), in where 18 was as a starter and also with a total of 3 goals. However his performance and goals weren't enough, as the team were relegated to

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 ...

2013 season

On 15 April 2013, Berisha commenced his second season with a win in league match against

GIF Sundsvall Gymnastik- och Idrottsföreningen Sundsvall, more commonly known as GIF Sundsvall (), Giffarna or simply Sundsvall, is a Swedish professional football club based in Sundsvall. The club is affiliated with Medelpads Fotbollförbund and plays its h ...

after coming on as a substitute at 81st minute in place of

Ayanda Nkili Ayanda Nkili (born 11 September 1990) is a South African footballer who plays as a defender for Marumo Gallants. Club career Early career Nkili started his career at the Stars of Africa football academy in Johannesburg, South Africa. In ...

. One month later, he scored his first goal at season in a 2–0 home win over Degerfors. The latest match of the 2013 season was on 26 June 2013 against

finished in the victory 1–0, as Berisha injured and finished the season, where he registered a total of 12 appearances and scoring 1 goal, and the team gained promotion to the

after they were placed as runners-up.

2014 season

On 25 April 2014, Berisha was named as a Örebro substitute for the first time after return from 10-months injury in a league match against

Åtvidaberg Åtvidaberg is a locality and the seat of Åtvidaberg Municipality, Östergötland County, Sweden with 6,859 inhabitants in 2010. History Copper was mined in the area from the 14th century, and the name "Åtvidaberg" was originally the name of ...

. On 30 May 2014, he played the first game after the return against Djurgården after coming on as a substitute at 71st minute in place of

. On 31 October 2014, Berisha announced that will left Örebro at the end of the season. One day later, he played his last match for Örebro against Häcken after coming on as a substitute at 89th minute in place of Magnus Wikström.

Gefle

On 23 March 2015, Berisha signed a two-year contract with

club Gefle. Thirteen days later, he was named as a Gefle substitute for the first time in a league match against Falkenberg. His debut with Gefle came three days later in a 2–0 home win against Kalmar after coming on as a substitute at last minutes in place of Johan Bertilsson.

Flamurtari

On 13 January 2016, Berisha joined Kategoria Superiore side

Flamurtari Flamurtari FC is a professional football club based in Vlorë, Albania. The club plays in the Kategoria e Parë, which is the second tier of football in the country. Founded in 1923, the club is one of the oldest in Albania, and it is also on ...

. On 7 September 2016, he made his debut in a 2–1 away defeat against

Skënderbeu Korçë , reign = 28 November 1443 – 17 January 1468 , predecessor = Gjon Kastrioti , successor = Gjon Kastrioti II , spouse = Donika Arianiti , issue = Gjon Kastrioti II , royal house = Kastrioti , father ...

after being named in the starting line-up.

Västerås

On 24 July 2017, Berisha signed a one-year and a half contract with Ettan club

Västerås Västerås ( , , ) is a city in central Sweden on the shore of Mälaren, Lake Mälaren in the province of Västmanland, west of Stockholm. The city had a population of 127,799 at the end of 2019, out of the municipal total of 154,049. Västerås ...

. One month later, he made his debut in a 1–0 away defeat against Brage after being named in the starting line-up.

Feronikeli

On 13 December 2019, Berisha joined

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 ...

side Feronikeli. Two months later, he made his debut with Feronikeli in 2019–20 Kosovar Cup quarter-final against Liria after being named in the starting line-up.

International career

Berisha received Albanian citizenship on 24 May 2013, among other compatriots,

Amir Abrashi Amir Malush Abrashi (born 27 March 1990) is an Albanian professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for Swiss club Grasshoppers and the Albania national team. Club career Early career Abrashi was born in Bischofszell, Switzerl ...

Vullnet Basha Vullnet Xhevat Basha (born 11 July 1990) is a professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Polish I liga club Wisła Kraków. Born in Switzerland, he represented that nation at youth international levels but played for Albania at senior ...

Azdren Llullaku Azdren Gani Llullaku (born 15 February 1988) is an Albanian professional footballer who plays as a striker. Club career Early career Llullaku was born on 15 February 1988 in Istok. Due to the Kosovo War, at age of 12 Llullaku moved to Italy a ...

and Jurgen Gjasula, so he was able to play for

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 ...

on international games. After an emergency for replacing

Lorik Cana Lorik Agim Cana (; born 27 July 1983) is an Albanian former professional footballer. He is currently the Grassroots ambassador for children's football in Albania, named by the Albanian Football Association on 26 October 2017. Cana played in the ...

due to a suspend cause of number cards, Berisha had given the interest of 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 ...

for him as choice for the game against Norway on 7 June 2013. He received a call-up by the national team's coach

for the match against

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

on 7 June 2013, but he was unused for that match and sat on the bench. Due to an accord between the Albania's coach Gianni De Biasi and the Kosovo national football team's coach

Albert Bunjaki Albert Bunjaki (born 18 June 1971) is a Kosovan professional football coach and former player who is the current manager of IF Karlstad. Managerial career Kosovo On 18 July 2009, Bunjaki was appointed as the manager of the Kosovo after the forme ...

, Berisha were called up for the first time at his birthplace country Kosovo for the friendly match against

Oman Oman ( ; ar, عُمَان ' ), officially the Sultanate of Oman ( ar, سلْطنةُ عُمان ), is an Arabian country located in southwestern Asia. It is situated on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula, and spans the mouth of t ...

on 7 September 2014. Berisha debuted for Kosovo by playing full 90 minutes in a 1–0 victory against Oman at Pristina City Stadium.

Career statistics

Club

International

Ilir Berisha - national football team player
EU-Football.info

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Berisha, Ilir 1991 births Living people Sportspeople from Pristina Kosovo Albanians Kosovan footballers Kosovo international footballers Albanian footballers Association football defenders FC Prishtina players Örebro SK players Gefle IF players Flamurtari Vlorë players Västerås SK Fotboll players Football Superleague of Kosovo players Ettan Fotboll players Superettan players Allsvenskan players Kategoria Superiore players Albanian expatriate footballers Kosovan expatriate footballers Albanian expatriate sportspeople in Sweden Kosovan expatriate sportspeople in Sweden Expatriate footballers in Sweden Ljungskile SK players