Ermir Lenjani
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Ermir Limon Lenjani (born 5 August 1989) 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 le ...
who plays as a
midfielder A midfielder is an 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 central midfielders often go across boundarie ...
for Turkish club
Ümraniyespor Ümraniyespor is a Turkish professional football club located in Ümraniye, Istanbul. The club plays in red and white kits, and have done so since their formation in 1938. They have secured promotion to Süper Lig for their first time 3 weeks be ...
and the Albania national team.


Club career


Early career

Born in Karaçevë, Kamenica to Albanian parents originally from Prokuplje. Lenjani moved to
Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
as a child, where he started playing football and aged 12 he was asked to play for FC Tössfeld. After spending around 2 years at Tössfeld, he joined the FC Winterthur academy. He broke through into the first team during the 2009–10 season second-half.


Winterthur

On 8 March 2009, Lenjani debuted with Winterthur in the
2008–09 Swiss Challenge League The 2008–09 Swiss Challenge League was the sixth season of the Swiss Challenge League, the second tier of the Swiss football league pyramid. It began on 25 July 2008 and ended on 30 May 2009. The champions of this season, FC St. Gallen, earned p ...
match against
Thun , neighboring_municipalities= Amsoldingen, Heiligenschwendi, Heimberg, Hilterfingen, Homberg, Schwendibach, Spiez, Steffisburg, Thierachern, Uetendorf, Zwieselberg , twintown = , website = www.thun.ch Thun (french: Thoune) ...
and scored the first and last goals in the 50th and 87th minutes, to give his team a 2–4 away victory. Two months after he played his next match on 16 May 2009 against
Locarno , neighboring_municipalities= Ascona, Avegno, Cadenazzo, Cugnasco, Gerra (Verzasca), Gambarogno, Gordola, Lavertezzo, Losone, Minusio, Muralto, Orselina, Tegna, Tenero-Contra , twintowns =* Gagra, Georgia * Karlovy Vary, Czech Republic ...
and scored against a goal in the 34th minute to equal the result 1–1, which was succeeded by a
hat-trick A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three wic ...
of three goals from the Croatian midfielder Tomo Barlecaj and made a 1–4 away victory which came from behind. He played in another 10 matches until the end and finished the season from second-half with total of 12 appearances and 3 goals. The next season, he played the entire season, making a total of 29 appearances in which he scored 6 goals.


Loan to Grasshopper

Lenjani was loaned out to
Grasshopper Club Zürich Grasshopper Club Zürich, commonly referred to as simply GC, GCZ, or Grasshoppers, is a multisports club based in Zürich, Switzerland. The oldest and best known department of the club is its football team. With 27 titles, Grasshopper holds the ...
for the first half of the 2010–11 season in order to gain experience. He made it his debut with Grasshopper on 17 July 2010 in the opening match of the
2010–11 Swiss Super League The 2010–11 Swiss Super League was the 114th season of top-tier football in Switzerland. It began on 17 July 2010 and ended on 25 May 2011. The league comprised ten teams. FC Basel successfully defended their league title, maintaining a one-po ...
against
Neuchâtel Xamax , neighboring_municipalities= Auvernier, Boudry, Chabrey (VD), Colombier, Cressier, Cudrefin (VD), Delley-Portalban (FR), Enges, Fenin-Vilars-Saules, Hauterive, Saint-Blaise, Savagnier , twintowns = Aarau (Switzerland), Besançon (France ...
where he came in as a substitute in the 74th minute in place of Steven Lang and the match finished in the 1–1 draw. Lenjani scored 2 goals in a 0–12 destruction over Gumefens/Sorens valid for the
2010–11 Swiss Cup The 2010–11 Swiss Cup was the 86th season of Switzerland's annual football cup competition. It began on 18 September 2010 with the first games of Round 1 and ended on 29 May 2011 with the Final. The winners, FC Sion, claimed their 12th cup over ...
. He played 6 league matches in total for Grasshopper.


Return to Winterthur

He returned to FC Winterthur for the second-half remaining season and established himself as a first team player. He made it 14 league appearances where scored 4 goals. In the
2011–12 Swiss Challenge League The 2011–12 Swiss Challenge League was the ninth season of the Swiss Challenge League, the second tier of the Swiss football league pyramid. It began on 22 July 2011 and ended on 23 May 2012. The champions of this season, St. Gallen, earned prom ...
he played 25 matches and scored 2 goals. He started another league campaign, the
2012–13 Swiss Challenge League The 2012–13 Swiss Challenge League was the tenth season of the Swiss Challenge League, the second tier of the Swiss football league pyramid. It began on 14 July 2012 and ended on 2 June 2013. Teams 2011–12 Challenge League champions St. Gall ...
. He played 16 matches and scored 2 goals in the first half of the season.


St. Gallen

He joined
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 season ...
side
FC St. Gallen Fussballclub St. Gallen 1879, commonly known as St. Gallen, is a Swiss professional football club based in the city of St. Gallen, Canton of St. Gallen. As of the 2022–23 season, the team competes in the Swiss Super League. History Founde ...
in January 2013. Lenjani gave two assist to give the victory 2–1 St. Gallen against
Luzern , neighboring_municipalities= Adligenswil, Ebikon, Emmen, Horw, Kriens, Malters, Meggen, Neuenkirch Lucerne ( , ; High Alemannic: ''Lozärn'') or Luzern ()Other languages: gsw, Lozärn, label=Lucerne German; it, Lucerna ; rm, Lucerna . is a ...
on 3 August 2014 in a match which came from behind of the 0–1 result in the first half, thanks to Lenjani's assists in the 78th minute for the goal scored by
Marco Mathys Marco Mathys (born 5 July 1987) is a Swiss footballer who plays for FC Solothurn in the Swiss 1. Liga. Career Early career Mathys came up through the youth ranks of hometown club SC Derendingen. Concordia Basel In July 2006, Mathys moved to ...
and for another goal scored by
Džengis Čavušević Džengis Čavušević (born 26 November 1987) is a retired Slovenian footballer who played as a striker. Club career Čavušević moved to St. Gallen after playing three seasons for Wil 1900 in the Swiss Challenge League. In July 2016 he signe ...
in the 90+3rd minute.


Rennes

While during the winter transfers window German and Italian media talked about agreement reaching with
Stuttgart Stuttgart (; Swabian: ; ) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the Neckar river in a fertile valley known as the ''Stuttgarter Kessel'' (Stuttgart Cauldron) and lies an hour from the ...
or
Verona Verona ( , ; vec, Verona or ) is a city on the Adige River in Veneto, Northern Italy, Italy, with 258,031 inhabitants. It is one of the seven provincial capitals of the region. It is the largest city Comune, municipality in the region and the ...
, but on 5 January 2015, Lenjani signed with the French team of
Rennes Rennes (; br, Roazhon ; Gallo: ''Resnn''; ) is a city in the east of Brittany in northwestern France at the confluence of the Ille and the Vilaine. Rennes is the prefecture of the region of Brittany, as well as the Ille-et-Vilaine department ...
, after he passed successfully the medical examination. He was presented to the media two days later, where he was assigned squad number 19. He made his debut with the club on 13 January 2015 by playing as a starter in the quarter-final of the
Coupe de la Ligue The Coupe de la Ligue (), known outside France as the French League Cup, was a Single-elimination tournament, knockout cup competition in Football in France, French football organized by the Ligue de Football Professionnel. The tournament was est ...
against Bastia, in where Lenjani left the team with 9 players on the pitch as he received a red card in the 76th minute. Lenjani made it his first league debut on 7 February 2015 by coming on as a substitute in the 71st minute for Pedro Henrique in a 1–1 draw against
Olympique de Marseille Olympique de Marseille (, ; oc, Olimpic de Marselha, ), also known simply as Marseille or by the abbreviation OM (, ), is a French professional men's football club based in Marseille, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur. Founded in 1899, the club pl ...
.


Loan to Nantes

On 17 August 2015, Lenjani moved on loan with the purchase right to fellow French team
FC Nantes Football Club de Nantes (; Gallo: ''Naunnt''), commonly referred to as FC Nantes or simply Nantes (), is a French professional football club based in Nantes in Pays de la Loire. The club was founded on 21 April 1943, during World War II, a ...
until the end of the 2015–16 season. He made a dream debut with the club in second week of
2015–16 Ligue 1 The 2015–16 Ligue 1 season was the 78th season of the Ligue de Football Professionnel first division since its establishment. It started on 7 August 2015 and concluded on 14 May 2016. Paris Saint-Germain F.C., Paris Saint-Germain were the defen ...
, scoring the only goal of the match against
Stade de Reims Stade de Reims () is a French professional association football, football club based in Reims. The club was formed in 1910 and plays in Ligue 1, the top level of Football in France, having been promoted from Ligue 2 in 2017–18 Ligue 2, 2018. ...
in the 76th minute after receiving a pass from
Johan Audel Johan Audel (born 12 December 1983) is a footballer who played as a winger. Born in metropolitan France, he played for the Martinique national team. He is the brother of French player Thierry Audel. Career Audel began his career in the youth ...
.


Sion

On 26 July 2017, Lenjani returned to Switzerland signing 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 season ...
team FC Sion rejoining his previous assistant coach at Albania,
Paolo Tramezzani Paolo Tramezzani (born 30 July 1970) is an Italian football manager and former player, who played as a defender. He was most recently the manager of FC Sion. Playing career Tramezzani was born at Castelnovo ne' Monti in Emilia. At the age of n ...
and he handed the 33 shirt number. In the start of 2018, coach
Gabri García Gabriel Francisco García de la Torre (born 10 February 1979), known as Gabri, is a Spanish retired association football, footballer, currently manager (association football), manager of CE Sabadell FC. Mainly a midfielder who could play in the ...
decided to reduce the number of players which he liked to collaborate in the first team in a maximum of 20–22 players and consequently Lenjani along 8 fellows were out of his plans; Lenjani was sent in training with the second team of Sion. On 7 April 2019, Lenjani scored inside ten seconds in Sion's 2–2 draw against
Luzern , neighboring_municipalities= Adligenswil, Ebikon, Emmen, Horw, Kriens, Malters, Meggen, Neuenkirch Lucerne ( , ; High Alemannic: ''Lozärn'') or Luzern ()Other languages: gsw, Lozärn, label=Lucerne German; it, Lucerna ; rm, Lucerna . is a ...
, equaling the record for the fastest ever goal scored in Swiss football. In addition to that, he also set up his team's second goal scored by
Roberts Uldriķis Roberts Uldriķis (born 3 April 1998) is a Latvian professional footballer who plays as a forward for club Cambuur, which he captains, and the Latvia national team. International career Uldriķis made his Latvia national football team debut o ...
.


Return to Grasshopper

On 11 September 2020, he signed a two-year contract with
Grasshopper Club Zürich Grasshopper Club Zürich, commonly referred to as simply GC, GCZ, or Grasshoppers, is a multisports club based in Zürich, Switzerland. The oldest and best known department of the club is its football team. With 27 titles, Grasshopper holds the ...
. After two years with the club, his contract was not renewed. During his time there, he was instrumental in achieving promotion back to the
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 season ...
.


Ümraniyespor

On 9 June 2022, Lenjani signed with
Ümraniyespor Ümraniyespor is a Turkish professional football club located in Ümraniye, Istanbul. The club plays in red and white kits, and have done so since their formation in 1938. They have secured promotion to Süper Lig for their first time 3 weeks be ...
in Turkey for one season, with an option for the second year.


International career

Lenjani first announced his desire 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 shares ...
internationally in January 2013, when he began the procedure to gain Albanian citizenship through his Albanian ethnicity. He was called up 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 ...
for a friendly against
Armenia Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ''Ox ...
in August 2013 but did not feature in the game. Lenjani received his Albanian citizenship on 8 October 2013 among Faton Ademi to be eligible to play for Albania even in the competitive matches.


2014 FIFA World Cup qualification

Lenjani was first named by manager Gianni De Biasi in the Albania squad to face
Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
and
Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is geo ...
for the
2014 FIFA World Cup qualifiers The 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification was a series of tournaments organised by the six FIFA confederations. The 2014 FIFA World Cup featured 32 teams, with one place reserved for the host nation, Brazil. The remaining 31 places were determined by ...
. In both occasions he was on bench but did not manage to play as he remained as an unused substitute. He made his debut for Albania on 15 November 2013 in a friendly match, the first one after the end of the qualification campaign against
Belarus Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by R ...
playing the full 90 minutes match, which finished in a 0–0 draw. He received another call up for the next friendly match on 5 March 2014 against
Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...
.


UEFA Euro 2016 campaign

Lenjani received a call-up for the match against
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 ...
on 7 September 2014, valid for the start of UEFA Euro 2016 qualifiers. He played as a starter against Portugal in a crucial 0–1 away victory with the goal scored by Bekim Balaj in the 52nd minute with a cross from
Odise Roshi Odise Roshi (born 22 May 1991) is an Albanian professional footballer who plays as a right winger for Turkish club Sakaryaspor and the Albania national team. Roshi started his professional career with his hometown club Apolonia Fier whom he pl ...
. On 11 October 2014 in the 2nd Group I match 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 = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...
, Lenjani managed to score his first international goal in the 38th minute of the match, which ended as a 1–1 draw. In the next qualifying match three days later away against
Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Bas ...
, Lenjani played as a started until 42nd minute when the match was postponed due to Serbian fans launching flares onto the pitch. He along with other Albanian players were attacked by Serbian hooligans who came onto the pitch with chairs and other objects. Initially,
UEFA Union of European Football Associations (UEFA ; french: Union des associations européennes de football; german: Union der europäischen Fußballverbände) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs f ...
awarded Serbia with a 3–0 win, but were deducted three points, leading both Serbia and Albania appeals to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, who on 10 July 2015, awarded Albania with a 3–0 victory and Serbia were still deducted three points. In the 4th
Group I Group 1 may refer to: * Alkali metal, a chemical element classification for Alkali metal * Group 1 (racing), a historic (until 1981) classification for Touring car racing, applied to standard touring cars. Comparable to modern FIA Group N * Group On ...
's match against
Armenia Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ''Ox ...
on 29 March 2015, Lenjani started from the bench because of small physique problems, but anyway the coach Gianni De Biasi chose him among
Shkëlzen Gashi Shkëlzen Taib Gashi (born 15 July 1988) is a professional footballer who plays as a midfielder and forward for Swiss club Aarau. Born in Switzerland, he has represented the Albania national team. Club career Early career and Zürich Gashi wa ...
to come in to play and by risking not a few but due to an emergency because the result was in disfavor of Albania 0–1 after an accidentally Own goal by Albania's defender
Mërgim Mavraj Mërgim Mustafë Mavraj (born 9 June 1986) is a former professional footballer who played as a centre-back. Born in Germany, he represented the Albania national team from 2012 until 2020. Mavraj previously played for Germany U21 team, as well ...
in the 4th minute. In the 70th minute the Armenian defender
Hovhannes Hambardzumyan Hovhannes Hambardzumyan ( hy, Հովհաննես Համբարձումյան; born 4 October 1990) is an Armenian professional footballer who plays as a right back for Cypriot club Anorthosis and the Armenia national football team. Club career H ...
did a bad tackle to Lenjani and the referee
David Fernández Borbalán David Fernández Borbalán (born 30 May 1973) is a retired Spanish football referee. His first match officiating in La Liga was on 12 September 2004, between Levante UD and Racing de Santander. Borbalán also refereed a key match in Synot lig ...
gave him the second yellow card to leave Armenia with 10 men for the rest of the match. This favored Albania too much and 7 minutes later they managed to score with the same Mërgim Mavraj, which previously scored own goal and at this time scored a header after a cross from Taulant Xhaka. Then would come the 81st minute when Lenjani took a pass from the left and crossed into the area where he finds fellow substitute Shkëlzen Gashi who managed to score with a header to overturn the score 2–1 and the match ended in the victory. On 21 May 2016, Lenjani was named in Albania's preliminary 27-man squad for
UEFA Euro 2016 The 2016 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2016 (stylised as UEFA EURO 2016) or simply Euro 2016, was the 15th UEFA European Championship, the quadrennial international men's football championship of Europe o ...
, and in Albania's final 23-man UEFA Euro 2016 squad on 31 May. On 28 May, he scored his first third international goal during the Euro 2016 warm-up match against
Qatar Qatar (, ; ar, قطر, Qaṭar ; local vernacular pronunciation: ), officially the State of Qatar,) is a country in Western Asia. It occupies the Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it sh ...
, which ended in a 3–1 win. Lenjani played all Group A matches as a starter where he completed 2 full 90-minutes matches against
Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
which they lost 1–0 in the opening match and hosts of
France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
against which they lost 2–0 and was substituted off in the 77th minute for
Odise Roshi Odise Roshi (born 22 May 1991) is an Albanian professional footballer who plays as a right winger for Turkish club Sakaryaspor and the Albania national team. Roshi started his professional career with his hometown club Apolonia Fier whom he pl ...
against
Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...
where Albania beat them 1–0 in the closing match with a goal by Armando Sadiku. Albania finished the group in the third position with three points and with a goal difference –2, and was ranked last in the third-placed teams, which eventually eliminated them.


Post-UEFA Euro 2016

In March 2019, after not receiving a call-up by manager
Christian Panucci Christian Panucci (; born 12 April 1973) is an Italian former association football, footballer and Manager (association football), manager. In his playing career he played as a Defender (association football), defender. A versatile footballer, he ...
for the opening
UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying The UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying tournament was a football competition that was played from March 2019 to November 2020 to determine the 24 UEFA member men's national teams that advanced to the UEFA Euro 2020 final tournament, played across Europe ...
matches 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
Andorra , image_flag = Flag of Andorra.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Andorra.svg , symbol_type = Coat of arms , national_motto = la, Virtus Unita Fortior, label=none (Latin)"United virtue is stro ...
, Lenjani announced that he will not accept any invitations in the future as long as Panucci is in charge. He was sacked following the loss against Turkey at Loro Boriçi Stadium, which prompted Lenjani to resume his international career again.


Career statistics


Club


International

: :''Scores and results list Albania's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Lenjani goal.''


References


External links


Ermir Lenjani
at FSHF.org
Nanes official profile
* * * *
Ermir Lenjani
at Topforward {{DEFAULTSORT:Lenjani, Ermir 1989 births People from Kamenica, Kosovo Kosovo Albanians Living people Albanian men's footballers Albania men's international footballers Men's association football midfielders Men's association football defenders Kosovan men's footballers FC Winterthur players Grasshopper Club Zürich players FC St. Gallen players Stade Rennais F.C. players FC Nantes players FC Sion players Ümraniyespor footballers Swiss 1. Liga (football) players Swiss Challenge League players Swiss Super League players Ligue 1 players Championnat National 2 players Championnat National 3 players Süper Lig players UEFA Euro 2016 players Albanian expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Switzerland Albanian expatriate sportspeople in Switzerland Expatriate men's footballers in France Albanian expatriate sportspeople in France Expatriate men's footballers in Turkey Albanian expatriate sportspeople in Turkey