Kostandin Kariqi (born 30 October 1996) is a Greek 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 ...

who plays as a centre-back for

Super League 2 Stones Bitter Super League II was the official name for the year 1997's Super League championship season, the 103rd season of top-level professional rugby league football in Britain, and the second to be played in summer. Teams Twelve teams were ...

club

Proodeftiki Proodeftiki Football Club, also known as Proodeftiki Piraeus, simply as Proodeftiki, or with its full name as A.O. Proodeftiki Neolea ( el, Αθλητικός Όμιλος Προοδευτική Νεολαία, transliterated "Athlitikós Όmilo ...

. He has also represented

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 ...

at youth international levels.

Club career

Early career

Kariqi started his youth career at Asteras Magoula. In July 2015 he moved to

Trikala Trikala ( el, Τρίκαλα; rup, Trikolj) is a city in northwestern Thessaly, Greece, and the capital of the Trikala regional unit. The city straddles the Lithaios river, which is a tributary of Pineios. According to the Greek National Stati ...

Trikala

He made his debut with

on 15 January 2017 against Aiginiakos playing the full 90-minutes match in a 2–2 draw.

International career

Albania U19

Kariqi received his first international invitation at the Albania national under-19 football team by coach

Foto Strakosha Fotaq "Foto" Strakosha (born 29 March 1965) is an Albanian retired goalkeeper and current goalkeeping coach of Lazio Youth. Strakosha is regarded as one of Albania's most popular and greatest goalkeepers. In his 20-years playing career he pl ...

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 Italy U-19 on 14 May 2014. He was called up by coach

Altin Lala Altin Dodë Lala (born 18 November 1975) is an Albanian former professional footballer who played as a defensive midfielder and former manager. He spent his entire playing career in Germany and represented the Albania national football team. He ...

to participate in the 2015 UEFA European Under-19 Championship qualifying round from 12–17 November 2014. Kariqi played all 3 matches as a starter where two first matches against

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establish ...

and

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

he completed the full 90-minutes and in the closing match against

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

he was substituted off in the 62nd minute for

Paolo Ivani Paolo Ivani (born 12 January 1997) is an Albanian 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 fo ...

. However Albania U19 lost all 3 matches with total of goals collected 2–7, where all two goals were scored by Esad Morina of FC Schalke 04 youth.

Albania U21

Kariqi received his first call up to Albania national under-21 football team by coach

Redi Jupi Redi Jupi (born 31 May 1974) is an Albanian retired footballer. He played in the central midfield for KS Dinamo Tirana and has 19 caps for the Albania national team since his debut in 1995. Jupi is currently the manager of Albania U21 for the ...

to participate in the Antalya Cup developed in

Antalya la, Attalensis grc, Ἀτταλειώτης , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = 07xxx , area_code = (+90) 242 , registration_plate = 07 , blank_name = Licence plate ...

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...

against Saudi Arabia U23 on 22 January 2016, Bahrain U23 on 24 January, Azerbaijan U21 on 26 January, Kosovo U21 on 28 January and Ukraine U21 on 30 January.

2017 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification

After having gathered in several friendly matches, Kariqi received his first competitive call up for the

2017 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification The 2017 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualifying competition was a men's under-21 football competition that determined the 11 teams joining the automatically qualified hosts Poland in the 2017 UEFA European Under-21 Championship tournament ...

match against Greece U21 on 2 September 2016. He played against Greece U21 coming on as a half-time substitute in place of

Eros Grezda Eros Genc Grezda (born 15 April 1995) is an Albanian professional footballer who plays as a winger for Turkish club Manisa and the Albania national team. Early life Grezda was born in Đakovica, FR Yugoslavia (modern day Gjakova, Kosovo) and g ...

, following a

Red card A red card is a type of penalty card that is shown in many sports after a rules infraction. Red card may also refer to: Art, entertainment, and media * ''Red Card'' (album), 1976 release by Streetwalkers * Red card, suit (cards) of hearts or d ...

received by fellow Albania U21s defender

Silvester Shkalla Silvester Shkalla (born 10 August 1995) is an Albanian professional footballer who plays as a centre back for Albanian club KS Kastrioti Krujë in the Albanian Superliga. Club career Early career Shkalla started his youth career at Shkëndija ...

. Then, in the closing match of the qualification campaign on 10 October 2016 against Israel U21 he played as a starter and was substituted off at half-time for

Enea Mihaj Enea Mihaj (born 5 July 1998) is a professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Primeira Liga club Famalicão. Born in Greece, he plays for the Albania national team. Early life He later moved with his family to Thessaloniki, Greece, ...

Career statistics

Club

References

External links

* *
Kostandin Kariqi profile
at

FSHF 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 ...

.org {{DEFAULTSORT:Kariqi, Kostandin 1996 births Living people Albania youth international footballers Albania under-21 international footballers Association football central defenders Football League (Greece) players Trikala F.C. players Anagennisi Karditsa F.C. players Volos N.F.C. players Greek people of Albanian descent Footballers from Athens Greek footballers