Valon Ahmedi (born 7 October 1994) 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 football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...
who plays 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 ...
for
Shakhtyor Soligorsk. At international level he 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 ...
, making two appearances in 2017. He was also part of the Albania
under-19 and
under-21 teams.
Club career
Early career
Ahmedi was born in
Ohrid
Ohrid ( mk, Охрид ) is a city in North Macedonia and is the seat of the Ohrid Municipality. It is the largest city on Lake Ohrid and the List of cities in North Macedonia, eighth-largest city in the country, with the municipality recording ...
,
Republic of Macedonia
North Macedonia, ; sq, Maqedonia e Veriut, (Macedonia before February 2019), officially the Republic of North Macedonia,, is a country in Southeast Europe. It gained independence in 1991 as one of the successor states of Yugoslavia. It ...
(now
North Macedonia
North Macedonia, ; sq, Maqedonia e Veriut, (Macedonia before February 2019), officially the Republic of North Macedonia,, is a country in Southeast Europe. It gained independence in 1991 as one of the successor states of Socialist Feder ...
), to
ethnic Albanian
The Albanians (; sq, Shqiptarët ) are an ethnic group and nation native to the Balkan Peninsula who share a common Albanian ancestry, culture, history and language. They primarily live in Albania, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbi ...
parents and was raised in
Castellanza
Castellanza is a town and ''comune'' located in the province of Varese, along the boundary of the province of Milan, in the Lombardy region of northern Italy.
Overview
The toponym refers to the ''castellanze'' (plural form, singular ''castellanza' ...
,
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
. He began his career with Kastelbell. He moved to
F.C. Südtirol
Fußball Club Südtirol is an Italian association football club, based in the city of Bolzano, in the autonomous province South Tyrol. The club was formerly known as its bilingual name F.C. Südtirol – Alto Adige. They will play in Serie B f ...
in August 2011 after being spotted by the club's scout and was offered a place in the youth team.
He made his senior debut for Südtirol on 22 December 2012 against
Tritium
Tritium ( or , ) or hydrogen-3 (symbol T or H) is a rare and radioactive isotope of hydrogen with half-life about 12 years. The nucleus of tritium (t, sometimes called a ''triton'') contains one proton and two neutrons, whereas the nucleus o ...
during the
2012–13 season, coming on as an 89th-minute substitute for Alessandro Campo in the 1–1 draw. His next and last senior appearance of the 2012–13 season came on 13 January 2013 against
Pavia
Pavia (, , , ; la, Ticinum; Medieval Latin: ) is a town and comune of south-western Lombardy in northern Italy, south of Milan on the lower Ticino river near its confluence with the Po. It has a population of c. 73,086. The city was the capit ...
in a 2–1 loss, where he came on in the 67th minute of the game in place of Alessandro Furlan.
In the
2013–14 season he played overall 4 matches all as a substitute.
Celje
In July 2014 Ahmedi signed with
Slovenian PrvaLiga
The Slovenian PrvaLiga ( sl, Prva slovenska nogometna liga, ), currently named Prva liga Telemach due to sponsorship reasons, also known by the abbreviation 1. SNL, is the top level of the Slovenian football league system. Contested by ten club ...
side
NK Celje
Nogometni klub Celje ( en, Celje Football Club), commonly referred to as NK Celje or simply Celje (), is an association football club from Celje, Slovenia. They play in the Slovenian PrvaLiga. Together with Maribor, they are the only club that ...
. He made his debut in the opening match of the
2014–15 season against
Zavrč playing the full 90-minutes. He was considered as an important player for the team and regularly played for entire matches, and on 1 August 2014 he scored his first goal against
Krka in the third round, helping his team to a 3–0 victory. Ahmed had a three months break as he got injured in the start of the 2015 and missed out for two months until May 2015.
He finished his first season at Celje with 20 league appearances, scoring five goals. Celje finished as league runners-up and this made them to secure a place in the
2015–16 UEFA Europa League
The 2015–16 UEFA Europa League was the 45th season of Europe's secondary club football tournament organised by UEFA, and the seventh season since it was renamed from the UEFA Cup to the UEFA Europa League.
The 2016 UEFA Europa League Final w ...
qualifiers. Ahmedi also played five matches in the
2014–15 Slovenian Football Cup and scored one goal, as Celje finished runners-up losing to the final against
Koper
Koper (; it, Capodistria, hr, Kopar) is the fifth largest city in Slovenia. Located in the Istrian region in the southwestern part of the country, approximately five kilometres () south of the border with Italy and 20 kilometres () from Triest ...
.
He made his European debut on 2 July 2015 in the 2015–16 UEFA Europa League First qualifying round against
Śląsk Wrocław
Wrocławski Klub Sportowy Śląsk Wrocław Spółka Akcyjna, commonly known as WKS Śląsk Wrocław, Śląsk Wrocław () or simply Śląsk, is a Polish football club based in Wrocław that plays in Ekstraklasa, the highest level of the Polish f ...
, where he played for 45 minutes before being substituted at the
half-time
In several team sports, matches are played in two halves. Half-time (also written halftime or half time) is the name given to the interval between the two halves of the match. Typically, after half-time, teams swap ends of the field of play in or ...
for
Sunny Omoregie. In the second leg on 9 July, Ahmedi started from the bench and came in to play in the 79th minute in place of
Danijel Miškić. The match ended in a 3–1 loss and it resulted in elimination of Celje 4–1 on aggregate.
Maribor
He signed for Slovenian champions
NK Maribor in January 2016.
He debuted on 20 April 2016 in the
2015–16 Slovenian Cup semi-final game against
Zavrč, replacing
Dare Vršič
Dare Vršič (born 26 September 1984) is a Slovenian footballer who plays for Zavrč as a midfielder. Besides Slovenia, he has played in Slovakia, Romania and Austria.
International career
Vršič was capped 13 times for the Slovenia national ...
in the 64th minute. Maribor won the game 5–1 after
extra time
Overtime or extra time is an additional period of play specified under the rules of a sport to bring a game to a decision and avoid declaring the match a tie or draw where the scores are the same. In some sports, this extra period is played onl ...
and secured a place in the final. Ahmedi scored his first goal for Maribor on 22 September 2017 in the
2017–18 Slovenian PrvaLiga
The 2017–18 Slovenian PrvaLiga (also known as the Prva liga Telekom Slovenije for sponsorship reasons) was the 27th edition of the Slovenian PrvaLiga since its establishment in 1991. The season began on 15 July 2017 and ended on 27 May 2018.
C ...
10th matchday against
Aluminij, helping his team to win the match 3–2.
International career
Ahmedi was eligible to represent Macedonia through birthplace, Italy through residence, and Albania through his ethnicity.
Albania under-19
He caught the attention of 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 F ...
in 2012 with his performances in the youth team of Südtirol, and he accepted their invitation to the join
Albania U19s for a friendly against
Bosnia and Herzegovina U19 on 8 May 2012, which he featured in from the start as a striker in the 3–1 win. Then, Ahmedi was called up against in August 2012 to participate with Albania U19 in a friendly tournament in Slovenia.
Ahmedi was named in the
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 ...
squad for the
2013 UEFA European Under-19 Championship qualification from 12 to 17 October 2012 with opponents
Italy U19,
Belgium U19 and
Belarus U19. In the opening match of the tournament on 12 October 2012 against Italy U19, he made it his debut by playing as a starter and got substituted off in the 81st minute for
Dardan Vuthaj in a 3–0 loss. In the second match against Belgium U19 he was included in the starting line-up and played for 84 minutes as Albania U19 made a crucial 3–1 victory. In the closing match against Belarus, Ahmedi managed to play the full 90-minutes but, however, was unable to avoid a 2–0 loss which resulted in elimination for Albania U19, which finished in the last place in their group.
Albania under-20
Ahmedi was called up at
Albania national under-20 football team
The Albania national under-20 football team, also known as Albania U20(s), is the national under-20 football team of Albania and is controlled by the Football Association of Albania.
The under-20 squad is often cited as a feeder squad to the ...
by coach
Skënder Gega
Skënder Gega (born 14 November 1963) is an Albanian retired football player and current manager.
Playing career Club
Gega played the majority of his career at Partizani, an Albanian team, whilst also having a two-year stint with German side ...
to participate in the
2013 Mediterranean Games football tournament which began on 19 June 2013 in
Mersin, Turkey. Ahmedi played in all five Albania U20s matches, in which one of them was a full 90-minutes game, two as a starter until second half, and two others as a substitute. Albania U20 was ranked in the last place out of eight teams.
Albania under-21
Following impressive performances in the under-19s national team as well as his club Südtirol, Ahmedi received his first call up for the
Albanian under-21 national team by coach
Skënder Gega
Skënder Gega (born 14 November 1963) is an Albanian retired football player and current manager.
Playing career Club
Gega played the majority of his career at Partizani, an Albanian team, whilst also having a two-year stint with German side ...
for a friendly against
Macedonia U21 on 6 February 2013. He debuted for the under-21 side against Macedonia U21, playing as a starter for the entire first half in an eventual goalless draw. He received another call up for the under-21 side by same coach Skënder Gega for the friendly match against
Romania U21 on 8 October 2014. He played against Romania U21 as a starter and in the 60th minute provided the assist for the 1–1 equalising goal scored by
Vedat Muriqi
Vedat Muriqi (born 24 April 1994) is a Kosovan professional footballer who plays as a striker for La Liga club Mallorca and the Kosovo national team.
Club career Teuta Durrës
On 14 January 2013, Muriqi had a trial at Kategoria Superiore club ...
, which however wasn't enough as Romania U21 won 3–1.
Ahmedi was called up for the first time in an official competitive match by the coach
Skënder Gega
Skënder Gega (born 14 November 1963) is an Albanian retired football player and current manager.
Playing career Club
Gega played the majority of his career at Partizani, an Albanian team, whilst also having a two-year stint with German side ...
for the
2017 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification opening match against
Liechtenstein
Liechtenstein (), officially the Principality of Liechtenstein (german: link=no, Fürstentum Liechtenstein), is a German-speaking microstate located in the Alps between Austria and Switzerland. Liechtenstein is a semi-constitutional monarchy ...
on 28 March 2015, but he withdrew due to a lately injury at Celje.
Albania senior side
Following his good form at Maribor in the
2017–18 UEFA Champions League qualifying phase and play-off round, progressing and qualifying for the
2017–18 UEFA Champions League group stage The 2017–18 UEFA Champions League group stage began on 12 September and ended on 6 December 2017. A total of 32 teams competed in the group stage to decide the 16 places in the knockout phase of the 2017–18 UEFA Champions League.
Draw
The draw ...
, he received his first call for the
Albania senior team by newly appointed coach
Christian Panucci for the
2018 FIFA World Cup qualification matches against
Liechtenstein
Liechtenstein (), officially the Principality of Liechtenstein (german: link=no, Fürstentum Liechtenstein), is a German-speaking microstate located in the Alps between Austria and Switzerland. Liechtenstein is a semi-constitutional monarchy ...
and
Macedonia (which he announced to have refused only to play for Albania) on 2 and 5 September 2017.
Personal life
Ahmedi speaks Albanian as a mother tongue, Italian, German, English, Croatian, and Slovenian.
Career statistics
Club
International
Honours
Maribor
*
Slovenian Championship
The Slovenian Hockey League is the highest level ice hockey league in Slovenia. The championship phase is contested after the regular season to determine the national champion.
History
The Slovenian Hockey League was firstly contested in the 1 ...
:
2016–17
*
Slovenian Cup
Slovene or Slovenian may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to Slovenia, a country in Central Europe
* Slovene language, a South Slavic language mainly spoken in Slovenia
* Slovenes, an ethno-linguistic group mainly living in Slovenia
* Sl ...
:
2015–16
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ahmedi, Valon
1994 births
Living people
Sportspeople from Ohrid
Albanian footballers from North Macedonia
Albanian men's footballers
Association football midfielders
Association football forwards
Serie C players
Slovenian PrvaLiga players
Israeli Premier League players
Croatian Football League players
Macedonian First Football League players
Belarusian Premier League players
F.C. Südtirol players
NK Celje players
NK Maribor players
Hapoel Ironi Kiryat Shmona F.C. players
NK Inter Zaprešić players
KF Shkëndija players
FC Shakhtyor Soligorsk players
Albania youth international footballers
Albania under-21 international footballers
Albania international footballers
Albanian expatriate footballers
Albanian expatriate sportspeople in Italy
Expatriate footballers in Italy
Albanian expatriate sportspeople in Slovenia
Expatriate footballers in Slovenia
Albanian expatriate sportspeople in Israel
Expatriate footballers in Israel
Albanian expatriate sportspeople in Croatia
Expatriate footballers in Croatia
Albanian expatriate sportspeople in Belarus
Expatriate footballers in Belarus
Competitors at the 2013 Mediterranean Games
Mediterranean Games competitors for Albania