Donis Xhemë Avdijaj (born 25 August 1996) is a Kosovan professional footballer who plays as a forward for

Swiss Super League The Swiss Super League (known as the Credit Suisse Super League for sponsorship reasons) is a Swiss professional league in the top tier of the Swiss football league system and has been played in its current format since the 2003–04 seaso ...

club

FC Zürich Fussballclub Zürich, commonly abbreviated to FC Zürich or simply FCZ, is a Swiss football club based in Zürich. The club was founded in 1896 and has won the Swiss Super League 13 times and the Swiss Cup 10 times. The most recent titles a ...

Club career

Schalke 04

After scoring 59 goals in 53 matches for U17 and 17 goals in 24 games for U19, Avdijaj became a first team player. He was called up for the first time in a major competition on 17 September 2014 to participate in the

2014–15 UEFA Champions League group stage The 2014–15 UEFA Champions League group stage was played from 16 September to 10 December 2014. A total of 32 teams competed in the group stage to decide the 16 places in the knockout phase of the 2014–15 UEFA Champions League. Draw The draw w ...

match against

Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...

, where he didn't come on to play.

Loan at Sturm Graz

On 13 January 2015, in the winter transfer window, Avdijaj went on an 18-month loan deal at Austrian side

Sturm Graz Sportklub Sturm Graz is an Austrian association football club, based in Graz, Styria, playing in the Austrian Football Bundesliga. The club was founded in 1909. Its colours are black and white. In its history, Sturm Graz has won the Austrian f ...

. He made his debut for Sturm Graz in a friendly match against Kalsdorf and scored a goal.

=2014–15 season

= On 21 February 2015. He made his professional debut in a 3–3 home draw against

Wiener Neustadt Wiener Neustadt (; ; Central Bavarian: ''Weana Neistod'') is a city located south of Vienna, in the state of Lower Austria, in northeast Austria. It is a self-governed city and the seat of the district administration of Wiener Neustadt-Land Distr ...

. He came in as a substitute in the 81st minute in place of Bright Edomwonyi and just 2 minutes later, Avdijaj made an assist for the temporary advantage goal 3–2 scored by Martin Ehrenreich. In his second ever match for the senior squad, Avdijaj played only as a substitute against

Rapid Wien Sportklub Rapid Wien (), commonly known as Rapid Vienna, is an Austrian football club playing in the country's capital city of Vienna. Rapid has won the most Austrian championship titles (32), including the first title in the season 1911–12, ...

, coming on in the 73rd minute in place of

Daniel Offenbacher Daniel Offenbacher (born 18 February 1992) is an Austrian footballer who plays as a midfielder for Domžale. Club career Scheifling Offenbacher started playing football at his local club SV Scheifling in Styria. Red Bull Salzburg Offenbacher p ...

for the 1–0 loss. Then in his third match, Avdijaj played for the first time in the starting line up against

Austria Wien Fußballklub Austria Wien AG (; known in English as Austria Vienna, and usually shortened to Austria ( German: Österreich) in German-speaking countries, is an Austrian association football club from the capital city of Vienna. It has won the mo ...

on 3 March 2015 where he substituted off in the 64th minute for exactly his rival Bright Edomwonyi, whose place Avdijaj had previously taken in his debut. He scored his first goal for Sturm Graz in his 7th match on 21 March 2015 against Admira, playing as a starter and scoring the opening goal in the 28th minute in the 3–1 victory. After the 26th game week Avdijaj established himself in the starting line up playing as a side midfielder mostly on the left side, attacking midfielder and also as a second striker. He ended the season with total of 17 appearances, 12 as a starter including 8 full 90-minute matches where he managed to score in total 6 goals and provided 3 assists. Sturm Graz finished 4th in the league table to secure a place in the UEFA Champions League third qualifying round.

=2015–16 season

On 18 July 2015, Avdijaj started the 2015–16 with an impressive performance against Hartberg in the 2015–16 Austrian Cup first round by scoring one goal, providing one assist and winning a penalty to help his side to take an away 0–6 victory.

Loan at Roda JC

On 15 January 2018. Avdijaj joined

Eredivisie The Eredivisie (; ''"Honour Division"'' or ''"Premier Division"'') is the highest level of professional football in the Netherlands. The league was founded in 1956, two years after the start of professional football in the Netherlands. It is ...

side Roda JC, on a 5-month loan. On 20 January 2018, he made his debut in a 1–1 home draw against

Twente Twente ( nl, Twente , Tweants dialect: ''Tweante'') is a region in the eastern Netherlands. It encompasses the most urbanised and easternmost part of the province of Overijssel. Twente is most likely named after the Tuihanti or Tvihanti, a Ge ...

after being named in the starting line-up.

Willem II

On 16 August 2018. Avdijaj joined

side Willem II, on a year-long contract with the option of a second year. On 17 August 2018, he made his debut in a 0–1 away minimal win against

Groningen Groningen (; gos, Grunn or ) is the capital city and main municipality of Groningen (province), Groningen province in the Netherlands. The ''capital of the north'', Groningen is the largest place as well as the economic and cultural centre of t ...

after coming on as a substitute at 64th minute in place of

James McGarry James McGarry may refer to: * James McGarry (hurler) * James McGarry (footballer) {{hndis, McGarry, James ...

. On 18 March 2019, after having failed to get fit and not playing for the club for multiple months along with off the pitch issues, Willem II decided to dissolve Avdijaj's contract with immediate effect.

Trabzonspor

On 8 July 2019, Avdijaj joined

Süper Lig The Süper Lig (, ''Super League''), officially known as Spor Toto Süper Lig for sponsorship reasons, is a Turkish professional league for association football clubs. It is the top-flight of the Turkish football league system and is run by the ...

side

Trabzonspor Trabzonspor Kulübü is a Turkish sports club located in the city of Trabzon. Formed in 1967 through a merger of several local clubs, the men's football team has won seven Süper Lig championships. Trabzonspor also have a women's football team, ...

after agreeing to a one-year deal with the option of continuation for three years. On 8 August 2019, he made his debut with Trabzonspor 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 UEFA Europa League The 2019–20 UEFA Europa League was the 49th season of Europe's secondary club football tournament organised by UEFA, and the 11th season since it was renamed from the UEFA Cup to the UEFA Europa League. Sevilla defeated Inter Milan in the fin ...

against the Czech side

Sparta Prague ) but refer to Spartans as "''Rudí''" ( en, The Dark Reds/The Maroons).'' Letenští'' , ground = Generali Česká pojišťovna Arena , capacity = 19,416 , clubname = Sparta Prague , image = Sparta Praha logo.png , image_size = 160px , fu ...

after coming on as a substitute at 76th minute in place of Abdülkadir Ömür. On 17 January 2020, his contract was terminated by mutual consent.

Heart of Midlothian

On 20 January 2020, Avdijaj joined

Scottish Premiership The Scottish Premiership, known as the cinch Premiership for sponsorship reasons, is the top division of the Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL), the league competition for men's professional football clubs in Scotland. The Scottis ...

side Heart of Midlothian, on a six-month contract. After signing for Hearts, Avdijaj said "There is no country, no city in the world where I don't score goal I score everywhere." Two days later, he made his debut for Hearts in a goalless draw against Ross County. He left Hearts with 3 games played and no goals scored.

FC Emmen

On 12 November 2020, Avdijaj joined Eredivisie club

FC Emmen FC Emmen is a Dutch football club based in Emmen, Drenthe. They play in the Eredivisie, the top tier of Dutch football, after winning the 2021–22 Eerste Divisie title. Founded in 1925, the club entered the professional Eerste Divisie in 1985. ...

AEL Limassol

On 31 January 2021, Avdijaj joined Cypriot club

AEL Limassol Athlitiki Enosi Lemesou ( el, Αθλητική Ένωση Λεμεσού, translation=Athletic Union of Limassol) commonly known as AEL, is a Cypriot sports club based in the city of Limassol, most famous for its football team. AEL also maintai ...

. His contract with the club was terminated in August 2021.

TSV Hartberg

On 29 August 2021, Avdijaj joined

Austrian Bundesliga The Austrian Football Bundesliga (german: Österreichische Fußball-Bundesliga, italic=no , "Austrian Football Federal League"), also known as Admiral Bundesliga for sponsorship reasons, is the top level of the Austrian football league system. Th ...

side

TSV Hartberg TSV Hartberg, known as TSV Egger Glass Hartberg for sponsorship purposes, is an Football in Austria, Austrian association football club based in Hartberg, founded in 1946, which is currently playing in the Austrian Football Bundesliga, Austrian Bu ...

, signing a two-year contract. He made his competitive debut for the club on 11 September, featuring in the starting line-up of a 3–1 away victory in the league against

Wolfsberger AC Wolfsberger AC, commonly referred to as Wolfsberg or simply WAC, is an Austrian association football club from Wolfsberg, Carinthia, who currently play in the Austrian Bundesliga. Between the 2007–08 and 2011–12 seasons, Wolfsberger AC entere ...

. His first goal came on 26 September in a 4–3 home loss to

off a cross from Nemanja Belaković. In October 2021, he was sidelined with an ankle injury for some time, sidelining him for a month. He finished the season with 21 appearances in which he scored five goals, in a season where Hartberg, alongside Rheindorf Altach and

SV Ried SV Ried is an Austrian association football club from Ried im Innkreis, Upper Austria. The team plays its home matches at Josko Arena, a stadium with a capacity of 7,680. After being relegated from Bundesliga in the 2016–17 season, SV Ried ...

, barely avoided relegation by one point. Avdijaj started the 2022–23 season strong, scoring a brace in the home opener against Rheindorf Altach coached by

Miroslav Klose Miroslav Josef Klose (, pl, Mirosław Józef Klose; born 9 June 1978 as Mirosław Marian Klose) is a German professional football manager and former player who is the head coach of Austrian Bundesliga club Rheindorf Altach. A striker, Klose ...

Zürich

Avdijaj joined

club

on 1 August 2022 on a three-year contract. The team had been struggling prior to his arrival, with the defending league winner having scored zero goals in the first matches of the season and finding themselves bottom of the league. On 4 August, Avdijaj made his competitive debut for the club, coming on as a substitute in the 72nd minute for Antonio Marchesano in a 2–0 away win over Linfield in the

UEFA Europa League The UEFA Europa League (abbreviated as UEL, or sometimes, UEFA EL), formerly the UEFA Cup, is an annual football club competition organised since 1971 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. ...

qualifiers. He then made his league debut three days later, playing the entire match as his club lost 3–0 to

FC Sion Football Club de Sion, commonly known as simply FC Sion or Sion, is a Swiss football team from the city of Sion. The club was founded in 1909, and play their home matches at the Stade Tourbillon. They have won the Swiss Super League twice, and ...

in the league. He would score his first goals for Zürich in the return leg against Linfield on 11 August, bagging a brace as he catapulted his side to a 3–0 victory. The win meant that Avdijaj and Zürich were set to face his former side Hearts in the next qualifying round of the tournament.

International career

On 11 October 2014, Avdijaj announced to have refused the Germany U19 as his intention was to represent

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 share ...

, where he said: "It's better to have behind my own people, rather than foreigners" and he needed just an Albanian citizenship for him to be part of the national team managed by

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 ...

. In November 2014, the coach Gianni De Biasi declared that he spoke with his father and the

Schalke 04 Fußballclub Gelsenkirchen-Schalke 04 e. V., commonly known as FC Schalke 04 (), Schalke 04 (), or abbreviated as S04 (), is a professional German football and multi-sports club originally from the Schalke district of Gelsenkirchen, North Rhine ...

coach

Roberto Di Matteo Roberto Di Matteo (; born 29 May 1970) is an Italian professional football manager and former player. During his playing career as a midfielder, he played for Swiss clubs Schaffhausen, Zürich and Aarau before joining Lazio of Italy and Chels ...

for the situation of Avdijaj if he would play for the first team as a professional, a condition of De Biasi to invite him in the national team. In December 2014. Donis' father confirmed the family's desire that the footballer represents Albania in the future. In March 2015. Avdijaj told Albanian media that he has personally met with De Biasi and is looking forward to a call-up.

Kosovo

On 10 November 2016, two days before a match with

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 ...

, he joined with the

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 international recognition of Kosovo, partiall ...

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

, but in the match with Turkey, could not play because that was not allowed by

FIFA FIFA (; stands for ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' (French), meaning International Association Football Federation ) is the international governing body of association football, beach football and futsal. It was found ...

. On 20 March 2017, he received the call-up from Kosovo in a match against

Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its ...

. On 24 March 2017, FIFA accepted Avdijaj's request to play for Kosovo and on the same day he made his debut in a match of the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifiers against Iceland.

Personal life

Avdijaj was born in Osnabrück, Germany from Kosovo Albanian parents from

Istok Istog or Istok ( sq-definite, Istog, Istogu, sr, Исток, ''Istok'') or Burim is a town and municipality located in the District of Peja of western Kosovo. According to the 2011 census, the city of Istog has 5,115 inhabitants, while the munici ...

, he attended the

Gesamtschule Berger Feld Gesamtschule Berger Feld is a ''gesamtschule'' in Gelsenkirchen. It is located in the Erle region and has 1325 pupils and 118 teachers. It is known for the fact that a great number of its former students have become professional football players. ...

until 2012–13.

Career statistics

Club

International

International goals

:''Scores and results list Kosovo's goal tally first.'' , - , 1. , rowspan="2", , rowspan="2",

National Stadium Many countries have a national sport stadium, which typically serves as the primary or exclusive home for one or more of a country's national representative sports teams. The term is most often used in reference to an association football stadiu ...

Ta' Qali Ta' Qali is a wide open space in the limits of Attard and Mosta in central and northern Malta respectively, which contains the national football stadium, the Malta Fairs & Conventions Centre, Ta' Qali National Park, a crafts village, and a natio ...

, Malta , rowspan="2" , , align=center, 3–0 , rowspan="2" style="text-align:center", 5–0 , rowspan="2",

2018–19 UEFA Nations League The 2018–19 UEFA Nations League was the inaugural season of the UEFA Nations League, an international association football competition involving the men's national teams of the 55 member associations of UEFA. The league phase of the competiti ...

, rowspan="2", , - , 2. , align=center, 4–0

Honours

Trabzonspor *

Turkish Cup The Turkish Cup ( Turkish: ''Türkiye Kupası'') is a football cup competition in Turkish football, run by the Turkish Football Federation since 1962. During a brief sponsorship period with Fortis, its sponsored name was ''Fortis Türkiye Kupas� ...

: 2019–20 Individual *

Fritz Walter Medal The Fritz Walter Medal is a series of annual awards given by the German Football Association to youth footballers in Germany. First awarded in 2005, it is named in honour of Fritz Walter, captain of West Germany's 1954 FIFA World Cup-winning tea ...

U17 Bronze:

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fa ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Avdijaj, Donis 1996 births Living people Sportspeople from Osnabrück People educated at the Gesamtschule Berger Feld Kosovan footballers Kosovo international footballers Kosovan expatriate footballers German footballers Germany youth international footballers German people of Kosovan descent German people of Albanian descent Association football forwards FC Schalke 04 II players FC Schalke 04 players SK Sturm Graz players Roda JC Kerkrade players Willem II (football club) players FC Emmen players Trabzonspor footballers Heart of Midlothian F.C. players AEL Limassol players TSV Hartberg players FC Zürich players Regionalliga players Bundesliga players Austrian Football Bundesliga players Eredivisie players Süper Lig players Scottish Professional Football League players Cypriot First Division players Footballers from Lower Saxony Expatriate footballers in Austria Expatriate footballers in the Netherlands Expatriate footballers in Turkey Expatriate footballers in Cyprus Kosovan expatriate sportspeople in Austria Kosovan expatriate sportspeople in the Netherlands Kosovan expatriate sportspeople in Turkey Expatriate footballers in Scotland Kosovan expatriates in the United Kingdom Expatriate footballers in Switzerland Kosovan expatriate sportspeople in Switzerland