Ronaldo Shani ( el, Ρονάλντο Σάνι; born 29 March 2002) 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 le ...

who plays as a

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...

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 Thesprotos.

Early life

Shani was born in Greece to Albanian parents.

Club career

Having begun his career with Atromitos Metamorfosis, Shani joined the academy of professional side

Atromitos Atromitos (Greek: Ατρόμητος, "fearless") may refer to: * Atromitos F.C., a football team based in Peristeri, Athens, Greece * Atromitos Piraeus, a football team based in Piraeus, Athens, Greece * Atromitos Yeroskipou, a football team curr ...

at the age of thirteen. In November 2016 he went on trial with Italian side

Atalanta Atalanta (; grc-gre, Ἀταλάντη, Atalantē) meaning "equal in weight", is a heroine in Greek mythology. There are two versions of the huntress Atalanta: one from Arcadia, whose parents were Iasus and Clymene and who is primarily known ...

. He marked his unofficial debut for Atromitos with a goal, scoring in a friendly against

Panathinaikos Panathinaikos Athlitikos Omilos ( el, Παναθηναϊκός Αθλητικός Όμιλος, literally in English: "Panathenaic Athletic Club" or Panathinaikos A.C.), also known simply as Panathinaikós , is a major Greek multi-sport club ba ...

on 12 September 2018. The following week he signed his first professional contract with the club. Shani made his professional debut for Atromitos on 19 December 2018, coming on as a substitute for

Theodoros Vasilakakis Theodoros Vasilakakis ( el, Θεόδωρος Βασιλακάκης; born 20 July 1988) is a Greek professional Association football, footballer who plays as an Midfielder#Attacking midfielder, attacking midfielder for Super League Greece, Super ...

in an 8–0 win over Thyella Kamariou in the

Greek Cup The Greek Football Cup ( el, Κύπελλο Ελλάδος Ποδοσφαίρου), commonly known as the Greek Cup or Kypello Elladas is a Greek football competition, run by the Hellenic Football Federation. The Greek Cup is the second most im ...

. In October 2019, he was named by English newspaper ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' on "Next Generation" list, highlighting the best players in the world born in 2002. He was loaned to

Super League Greece 2 The Super League Greece 2 ( el, Ελληνική Σούπερ Λίγκα 2) is the 28 team two-group second division of professional football in Greece, being a feeder-league to the top-level Super League usually played from September to May. His ...

side Asteras Vlachioti in August 2021, alongside teammate Fotis Zannis. Following seven appearances for the club, he returned to Atromitos, but moved immediately to

Gamma Ethniki The Gamma Ethniki ( el, Γ΄ Εθνική Ερασιτεχνική Κατηγορία, C National Amateur Division) is the third highest football league in Greece. History The Gamma Ethniki began in 1965 as an amateur championship, while in 198 ...

side Ypato on a free transfer. Later in the same year, he moved to Germany to join

Hessenliga The Hessenliga (until 2008 ''Oberliga Hessen'') is the highest football league in the state of Hesse and the Hessian football league system. It is one of fourteen Oberligas in German football, the fifth tier of the German football league system. ...

side SV Neuhof. On his return to Greece in January 2023, he joined Thesprotos.

International career

Eligible to represent Greece and Albania at international level, Shani rejected an approach from 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 ...

in order to represent Greece. He went on to represent Greece at under-16 and under-17 level.

Career statistics

Club

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shani, Ronaldo 2002 births Living people Greek people of Albanian descent Greek men's footballers Greece men's youth international footballers Men's association football forwards Super League Greece 2 players Hessenliga players Atromitos F.C. players Asteras Vlachioti F.C. players Thesprotos F.C. players Greek expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Germany Greek expatriate sportspeople in Germany