Amir Kadri Rrahmani (born 24 February 1994) is a

Kosovar Albanian The Albanians of Kosovo ( sq, Shqiptarët e Kosovës, ), also commonly called Kosovo Albanians, Kosovar/Kosovan Albanians or Kosovars/Kosovans, constitute the largest ethnic group in Kosovo. Kosovo Albanians belong to the ethnic Albanian sub-gr ...

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 club

Napoli Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

and

captains Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

the Kosovo national team.

Club career

Early career and Drenica

Rrahmani at the age of 9, he started playing football in Kosova Prishtinë, he also was part of youth teams of

Ramiz Sadiku Ramiz Sadiku (19 January 1915 – 10 April 1943) was an Albanian law student and one of the organizers of the anti-fascist uprising in Kosovo.''Narodni heroji Jugoslavije''. Belgrade: Mladost, 1975 He was posthumously awarded the Order of the Peop ...

and

Drenica Drenica ( al, Drenicë, Drenica, ), also known as the Drenica Valley, is a hilly region in central Kosovo, covering roughly around of Kosovo's total area (6%). It consists of two municipalities, Drenas and Skenderaj, and several villages in Klin ...

with the latter, Rrahmani made his debut as professional footballer during the 2010–11 season where he immediately began to impress despite being only 17 years old.

Failure to join with Kastrioti

On 14 August 2012, Rrahmani went on trial with

Albanian Superliga The Kategoria Superiore, officially known as Abissnet Superiore for sponsorship reasons, is a professional league for men's association football clubs. At the top of the Albanian football league system, it is the country's primary football compet ...

side

Kastrioti The House of Kastrioti ( sq, Dera e Kastriotëve) was an Albanian noble family, active in the 14th and 15th centuries as the rulers of the Principality of Kastrioti. At the beginning of the 15th century, the family controlled a territory in the ...

, where he impressed the coaching staff at Kastrioti but a deal to sign the player could not be agreed after negotiations stalled over a compensation package which was reported to be about €3,000.

Return to Drenica

Rrahmani returned to

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

, where he became an important first team player as he helped his side finish just above the relegation play-off zone. His contract expired at the end of the 2012–13 season and he was allowed to leave Drenica, on a free transfer.

Partizani Tirana

2013–14 season

Rrahmani after much interest from different teams as well the reigning champions in that time,

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 ...

, he would ultimately decide to joined with

side

Partizani Tirana Futboll Klub Partizani, or FK Partizani for short, is an Albanian professional football club based in Tirana, that competes in the Kategoria Superiore. Founded in 1946, the club was historically affiliated to the Albanian army. Partizani's curren ...

. His debut with Partizani Tirana came on 21 September in Matchday 4 of 2013–14 Albanian Superliga against

Besa Kavajë Besa or BESA may refer to: Arts & entertainment * ''Besa'' (newspaper), a newspaper published in Albania * ''Besa'' (TV series), a Serbian-British television series produced by Adrenalin and Red Planet Pictures * ''The Besa'', a novel by Albanian ...

after coming on as a substitute at 46th minute in place of Gëzim Krasniqi.

2014–15 season

At the end of 2014–15 season, Rrahmani was named

Albanian Superliga Talent of the Season The Kategoria Superiore Talent of the Year is an annual award given to the most talented player of the Kategoria Superiore by association "Sporti Na Bashkon". This award was established in the 2008–09 season. Winners Number of awards per play ...

by association .

RNK Split

On 5 June 2015, Rrahmani joined

Croatian First Football League The Hrvatska nogometna liga () ( en, Croatian football league), also known as HNL or for sponsorship reasons the SuperSport HNL, is the top Croatian professional football (soccer), football league competition, established in 1992. Previously, i ...

side

RNK Split Radnički nogometni klub Split, commonly known as RNK Split, is a Croatian football club based in the city of Split. History The club had a strong fanbase in the Split's shipyard. The club was founded on 16 April 1912 as Anarch, but has had se ...

. His debut with Split came on 14 July in the opening league match against Lokomotiva after being named in the starting line-up. Following that, Rrahmani become a regular starter in line-up with

Zoran Vulić Zoran Vulić (; born 4 October 1961) is a Croatian professional association football, football Manager (association football), manager and former player who played as a Defender (association football), defender. He is most notable for having man ...

and later

Goran Sablić Goran Sablić (born 4 August 1979) is a Croatian professional football manager and former player. He spent most of his career in Croatia, playing for Hajduk Split and has also played for Ukrainian side Dynamo Kyiv. Sablić has had two spells as ...

, establish himself in the center of defence. During the 2015–16 season, Rrahmani for five times was named on the line-up of the week as in matchday 15, matchday 17, matchday 23, matchday 25 and matchday 30, besides this success, he continued with his solid appearances which led to his value up to €1 million.

Dinamo Zagreb

On 30 August 2016, Rrahmani joined with champion of

side

Dinamo Zagreb Građanski nogometni klub Dinamo Zagreb ( en, Dinamo Zagreb Citizens' Football Club, link=yes, italics=yes), commonly referred to as GNK Dinamo Zagreb or simply Dinamo Zagreb (), is a Croatian professional football club based in Zagreb. Dinamo ...

. Dinamo Zagreb reportedly paid a €1.6 million transfer fee.

Loan at Lokomativa

Eight days after the transfer to

, Rrahmani joined with another

side Lokomotiva, on a season-long loan. On 11 September 2016, he made his debut in a 2–3 away win against

Slaven Belupo Nogometni klub Slaven Belupo ( en, Slaven Belupo Football Club), often referred to as NK Slaven Belupo, Slaven Belupo or simply Slaven, and known internationally as NK Slaven Koprivnica, is a Croatian professional football club based in the city ...

after being named in the starting line-up.

Return from loan

On 21 June 2017, Rrahmani returned to

side

. A month later, he made his debut in a 4–0 home win against

Cibalia Hrvatski nogometni klub Cibalia, commonly known as Cibalia Vinkovci or simply Cibalia, is a Croatian football club from the town of Vinkovci in eastern Croatia. Cibalia currently play in the Prva NL, Croatia's second tier league. Their stadium ...

after coming on as a substitute at 68th minute in place of Filip Benković.

Hellas Verona

On 26 June 2019, Rrahmani joined

Serie A The Serie A (), also called Serie A TIM for national sponsorship with TIM, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and the winner is awarded the Scudetto and the Coppa ...

side

Hellas Verona Hellas Verona Football Club, commonly referred to as Hellas Verona or simply Verona, is a professional Italian football club based in Verona, Italy, that currently plays in Serie A. The team won the Serie A Championship in 1984–85. His ...

, on a four-year contract. Hellas Verona reportedly paid around €2 million transfer fee. One day later, the club confirmed that Rrahmani had joined on a permanent transfer. On 18 August 2019, he made his debut with Hellas Verona in the

third round Third or 3rd may refer to: Numbers * 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3 * , a fraction of one third * 1⁄60 of a ''second'', or 1⁄3600 of a ''minute'' Places * 3rd Street (disambiguation) * Third Avenue (disambiguation) * Hig ...

2019–20 Coppa Italia The 2019–20 Coppa Italia (branded as the Coppa Italia Coca-Cola for sponsorship reasons during the final) was the 73rd edition of the national cup in Italian football. Lazio were the defending champions having won their seventh title in May 201 ...

against

Cremonese Cremona (, also ; ; lmo, label= Cremunés, Cremùna; egl, Carmona) is a city and ''comune'' in northern Italy, situated in Lombardy, on the left bank of the Po river in the middle of the ''Pianura Padana'' (Po Valley). It is the capital of the ...

after being named in the starting line-up.

Napoli

On 20 January 2020, Rrahmani joined

side

. Napoli reportedly paid a €14 million transfer fee.

Return to Hellas Verona as loan

On 20 January 2020, Rrahmani was sent back on loan to

club

for the remainder of the season, with the club paying wages of £8,000 per week. Six days later, he played the first game after the return against

Lecce Lecce ( ); el, label=Griko, Luppìu, script=Latn; la, Lupiae; grc, Λουπίαι, translit=Loupíai), group=pron is a historic city of 95,766 inhabitants (2015) in southern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Lecce, the province ...

after being named in the starting line-up.

Return from loan

On 24 August 2020, Rrahmani returned to

side

. On 3 January 2021, he made his debut in a 1–4 away win against

Cagliari Cagliari (, also , , ; sc, Casteddu ; lat, Caralis) is an Italian municipality and the capital of the island of Sardinia, an autonomous region of Italy. Cagliari's Sardinian name ''Casteddu'' means ''castle''. It has about 155,000 inhabitant ...

after coming on as a substitute at 87th minute in place of

Kostas Manolas Konstantinos "Kostas" Manolas ( el, Κωνσταντίνος "Κώστας" Μανωλάς; ; born 14 June 1991) is a Greek professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for UAE Pro League club Sharjah. Club career AEK Athens 2009–1 ...

International career

Albania

Under-21

On 23 January 2013, Rrahmani received a call-up from Albania U21 for a

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 Macedonia U21 and made his debut after coming on as a substitute at 82nd minute in place of injured Andi Thanoj.

Senior

On 6 June 2014, Rrahmani after the good performances with

and Albania U21 received a call-up from

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 ...

for a

against

San Marino San Marino (, ), officially the Republic of San Marino ( it, Repubblica di San Marino; ), also known as the Most Serene Republic of San Marino ( it, Serenissima Repubblica di San Marino, links=no), is the fifth-smallest country in the world an ...

and made his debut after coming on as a substitute at 83rd minute in place of injured

Elseid Hysaj Elseid Gëzim Hysaj (; born 2 February 1994) is an Albanian professional footballer who plays as a right-back for Serie A club Lazio and the Albania national team, for which he is captain. Hysaj can operate on both sides of the pitch as a full- ...

. On 13 November 2015, he scored the first goal for Albania in a friendly against

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 ...

, despite having once played for Kosovo the previous year. He would then go on to switch his allegiance back to Kosovo the following year.

Kosovo

On 19 May 2014, Rrahmani received a call-up from

for the

friendly matches 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

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

and

Senegal Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 (Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 � ...

. On 25 May 2014, he made his debut with Kosovo in match against

after being named in the starting line-up. He took part in all Kosovo's games in their Nations League campaign as they went unbeaten and got promoted from

League D League or The League may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Leagues'' (band), an American rock band * ''The League'', an American sitcom broadcast on FX and FXX about fantasy football Sports * Sports league * Rugby league, full contact footba ...

League C League or The League may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Leagues'' (band), an American rock band * ''The League'', an American sitcom broadcast on FX and FXX about fantasy football Sports * Sports league * Rugby league, full contact footba ...

, securing their place in the

Euro 2020 The 2020 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2020 (stylised as UEFA EURO 2020) or simply Euro 2020, was the 16th UEFA European Championship, the quadrennial international men's football championship of Europe ...

qualifying play-offs Qualification is either the process of qualifying for an achievement, or a credential attesting to that achievement, and may refer to: * Professional qualification, attributes developed by obtaining academic degrees or through professional exper ...

. He then featured in Kosovo's Euro 2020 qualifying campaign, scoring one goal in a 2–0 home win over

Montenegro ) , image_map = Europe-Montenegro.svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Podgorica , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , official_languages = M ...

, as Kosovo finished third behind

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

and

Czechia The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The Cz ...

Personal life

Rrahmani was born in

Pristina Pristina, ; sr, / (, ) is the capital and largest city of Kosovo. The city's municipal boundaries in Pristina District form the largest urban center in Kosovo. After Tirana, Pristina has the second largest population of ethnic Albanians and ...

FR Yugoslavia Serbia and Montenegro ( sr, Cрбија и Црна Гора, translit=Srbija i Crna Gora) was a country in Southeast Europe located in the Balkans that existed from 1992 to 2006, following the breakup A relationship breakup, breakup, or ...

Albanian Albanian may refer to: *Pertaining to Albania in Southeast Europe; in particular: **Albanians, an ethnic group native to the Balkans **Albanian language **Albanian culture **Demographics of Albania, includes other ethnic groups within the country ...

parents from

Skenderaj Skenderaj ( sq-definite, Skënderaj or ''Skënderaji'') or Srbica ( sr-Cyrl, Србица) is a town and municipality located in the Mitrovica District of Kosovo. According to the 2011 census, the town of Skënderaj has 9,372 inhabitants, while ...

. On 4 June 2013, he obtained an

Albanian passport The Albanian passport (Albanian: ''Pasaporta e Shqipërisë'') is a travel document issued by the Ministry of Interior to Albanian citizens to enable them to travel abroad. They are also used as proof of identity within the country, along with t ...

together with teammates

Agon Mehmeti Agon Xhevat Mehmeti (born 20 November 1989) is an Albanian former professional footballer who last played as a striker for Örebro SK. Club career Malmö FF Mehmeti began his football career at IFK Malmö before moving to join Malmö FF in 2 ...

Herolind Shala Herolind Shala (born 1 February 1992) is a professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Turkish club Erzurumspor FK. Born in Norway, he plays for the Kosovo national team. He previously represented Norway at youth and Albania at under ...

Haxhi Neziraj Haxhi Neziraj (born 16 March 1993) is an Albanian professional footballer who plays as a attacking midfielder for SC Buochs. Club career Flamurtari Vlorë On 30 January 2017. Neziraj joined Albanian Superliga side Flamurtari Vlorë. On 1 Februa ...

and

Valentin Gjokaj Valentin Gasper Gjokaj (born 23 August 1993) is an Swiss-Albanian professional footballer who plays as a defender. Club career FC Luzern Born in Lucerne, Gjokaj began his career at hometown Swiss club FC Luzern and played for the club's unde ...

. His favourite team is

Career statistics

Club

International

International goals

:''Scores and results list Albania's and Kosovo's goal tally first.''

Honours

: 2013–14 (3rd place), 2014–15

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Rrahmani, Amir 1994 births Living people Sportspeople from Pristina Kosovo Albanians Association football central defenders Kosovan footballers Kosovo international footballers Kosovan expatriate footballers Kosovan expatriate sportspeople in Croatia Kosovan expatriate sportspeople in Italy Albanian footballers Albania youth international footballers Albania under-21 international footballers Albania international footballers Albanian expatriate footballers Albanian expatriate sportspeople in Croatia Albanian expatriate sportspeople in Italy Dual internationalists (football) Football Superleague of Kosovo players KF Drenica players Kategoria Superiore players FK Partizani Tirana players Croatian Football League players RNK Split players GNK Dinamo Zagreb players NK Lokomotiva Zagreb players Serie A players Hellas Verona F.C. players