Kosovare Asllani (born 29 July 1989) is a Swedish 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 lea ...

who plays as a striker or an

attacking midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

for Women's Championship club London City Lionesses and the Sweden national team. Asllani began her club career with Vimmerby IF and has played in the Damallsvenskan for Linköpings FC and hometown club Kristianstads DFF. In the 2010 season she played in the United States, with

Chicago Red Stars Chicago Stars Football Club is an American professional soccer team based in the Chicago metropolitan area that competes in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). A founding member of the Women's Professional Soccer (WPS) league as the Chic ...

of Women's Professional Soccer (WPS). She returned to Sweden to play for Kristianstad, before moving to Paris Saint-Germain, Manchester City and then back to Linköping.

Club career

Childhood and early career

Asllani is of Kosovar Albanian descent, born in

Kristianstad Kristianstad ( , ) is a Urban areas in Sweden, city and the seat of Kristianstad Municipality, Scania County, Sweden with 41,198 inhabitants in 2023. Since the 1990s, the city has gone from being a garrison town to a developed commercial city, ...

to Kosovar parents who had migrated to Sweden. Asllani grew up playing both football and

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

, but chose to focus her talents on football. At the age of 15, Asllani started her career at second division team Vimmerby IF. During her time at Vimmerby, she scored 49 goals in 48 matches, establishing herself as a football prodigy. Former coach Cecilia Wilhelmsson praised Asllani's football technique and fitness. After receiving offers from many clubs, Asllani accepted a move to Damallsvenskan team Linköpings FC in 2007, where she made quick progress.

Linköpings FC

During Asllani's first season, she generally came off the substitutes' bench early in the games to help her settle into the Damallsvenskan. During the following season, Asllani established herself as a regular starter and was an increasingly valuable member of the squad. In 2009, she helped Linköping win both the Svenska Cupen and the club's first ever Damallsvenskan title. On 4 December 2009 American Women's Professional Soccer (WPS) club

confirmed that they had signed Asllani from Linköpings FC.

Chicago Red Stars

Asllani spent a single season in the WPS. She was established as a fan's favourite and in the 7th week of the season, Asllani received the WPS Player of the Week award after

' defeat of FC Gold Pride. After her season with the Red Stars, Asllani returned to Sweden and Linköpings FC.

Return to Linköping

Asllani's presence boosted Linköping, especially in the UEFA Women's Champions League. She scored goals against Sparta Praha and

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

. However, her season was disrupted by a thigh injury and she departed Linköping at the end of the campaign.

Kristianstads DFF

In December 2011, she moved back to her hometown

to play with Kristianstads DFF who had finished seventh in the previous year's Damallsvenskan.

Paris Saint-Germain

20121209 PSG-Juvisy - Kosovare Asllani 02

When Asllani had a month left on her contract with Kristianstad she was subject to a transfer bid from

Paris Saint-Germain Paris Saint-Germain Football Club, commonly referred to as Paris Saint-Germain () or simply PSG, is a French professional Association football, football club based in Paris. They compete in Ligue 1, the French football league system, top d ...

. Although the teams were in dispute over the size of the transfer fee, Asllani flew to Paris and signed a two-year contract in September 2012, after completing a medical. At PSG Asllani was presented to the media by sporting director Leonardo and player Zlatan Ibrahimović, who declared: "If you want to win you need a Swedish striker." Asllani scored 17 goals in her 19 appearances in the 2012–13 Division 1 Féminine, as PSG finished second in the table behind

Lyon Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...

. On 4 January 2016, Asllani announced on her Instagram account that she had ended her contract with Paris Saint-Germain, where she had played for three-and-a-half years.

Manchester City

On 22 January 2016, English

FA WSL The Women's Super League (WSL), also known as the Barclays Women's Super League for sponsorship reasons, and formerly the FA WSL, is a professional association football league and the highest level of women's football in England. Currently oper ...

club

Manchester City Manchester City Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in Manchester, England, that competes in the Premier League, the English football league system, top flight of Football in England, English footbal ...

revealed that they had signed Asllani to a two-year contract.

Second return to Linköpings FC

On 10 August 2017, it was announced a two-and-a-half-year contract had been agreed for Asllani to return to Linköpings FC. She departed the club by mutual consent on 15 July 2019.

CD Tacón/Real Madrid

After her departure from Linköpings FC, Asllani signed with CD Tacón/Real Madrid on 18 July 2019. Upon

Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional Football club (association football), football club based in Madrid. The club competes in La Liga, th ...

's purchase of their license, CD Tacón will operate as Real Madrid's women's team starting from 2020, making Asllani the first ''Galáctica''. Asllani scored 5 goals in 17 league appearances for Tacón in the prematurely ended 2019–20 Primera Iberdrola season. After the rebrand of the team to Real Madrid CFF, she started the season explosively, scoring 8 goals in the first 8 league appearances despite playing in an unfamiliar out-and-out-striker role. In 2021-22, Asllani struggled for form, scoring just 3 league goals. She lost her place in the team, and when she did start games, was often substituted relatively early having made little impact.

AC Milan

On 30 June 2022, Asllani joined Italian club

AC Milan (), commonly referred to as Milan or AC Milan () mainly outside of Italy, is an Italian professional Football club (association football), football club based in Milan, Lombardy. Founded in 1899, the club competes in the Serie A, the top tie ...

. She scored 9 goals in her first season in Serie A. In January 2023, she missed a penalty against bitter rivals Inter, as Milan lost 4-1.

London City Lionesses

Asllani joined the London City Lionesses of the Women's Championship on 28 June 2024.

International career

In September 2008 Asllani made her debut for the Sweden national team against

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

, and in 2009 she was called up to represent Sweden in UEFA Women's Euro 2009. Asllani was an important member of the national team during the qualification rounds of the

2011 FIFA Women's World Cup The 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup was the sixth FIFA Women's World Cup competition, the world championship for List of women's national association football teams, women's national association football, football teams. It was held from 26 June to ...

but coach Thomas Dennerby controversially did not select her in the squad sent to Germany for the finals. Football pundits, including

Pia Sundhage Pia Mariane Sundhage (, born 13 February 1960) is a Swedish football manager and former professional player. Currently, she is coaching Switzerland. As a player, Sundhage played most of her career as a forward and retired as the top scorer fo ...

, the Swedish coach of the United States national team, expressed surprise at Asllani's omission. 09 Kosovare Asllani 111023 Sverige-Schweiz 3-0 8283

09 Kosovare Asllani 111023 Sverige-Schweiz 3-0 8283

Dennerby recalled Asllani to the national squad for the 2012 London Olympics. Asllani played for Sweden at the

2016 Summer Olympics The 2016 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad () and officially branded as Rio 2016, were an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with preliminary events i ...

, where the team won a silver medal. She failed to score a single goal during the tournament, despite playing in all six of Sweden's games. She scored in the

penalty shootout The penalty shootout is a method of determining a winner in sports matches that would have otherwise been drawn or tied. The rules for penalty shootouts vary between sports and even different competitions; however, the usual form is similar to pe ...

against the United States in the quarterfinals, in which Sweden won the shootout 4–3 after being tied 1–1 during

extra time Overtime (OT) or extra time (ET) is an additional period of play 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 only if the game is required t ...

. She again stepped up to take a penalty against Brazil in the semi final, but her weak effort was saved. As of 2017, Asllani had made more than 90 appearances for the Sweden national team. She scored in the 5–1 win over

Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

at the 2019 Women's World Cup. In 2021, Asllani was selected for the Sweden squad at the 2021 Summer Olympics. Like in 2016, her only goal was a penalty, this time in the quarter final vs Japan. She took a crucial penalty in the final against Canada, but missed the target from twelve yards, as Sweden lost the shootout, and once again had to settle for silver medals. On 13 June 2023, she was included in the 23-player squad for the FIFA Women's World Cup 2023. She made the final goal in Sweden's match against Australia on 19 August 2023. Sweden won and secured the bronze medals for the team.

Personal life

Asllani is an ethnic Albanian from Koshutovë, Leposaviq,

Kosovo Kosovo, officially the Republic of Kosovo, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe with International recognition of Kosovo, partial diplomatic recognition. It is bordered by Albania to the southwest, Montenegro to the west, Serbia to the ...

. Her parents moved to Sweden where she was born. Asllani has a

tattoo A tattoo is a form of body modification made by inserting tattoo ink, dyes, or pigments, either indelible or temporary, into the dermis layer of the skin to form a design. Tattoo artists create these designs using several tattooing processes ...

of a black

double-headed eagle The double-headed eagle is an Iconology, iconographic symbol originating in the Bronze Age. The earliest predecessors of the symbol can be found in Mycenaean Greece and in the Ancient Near East, especially in Mesopotamian and Hittite Empire#icon ...

, symbolising

Albania Albania ( ; or ), officially the Republic of Albania (), is a country in Southeast Europe. It is located in the Balkans, on the Adriatic Sea, Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea, and shares land borders with Montenegro to ...

, on her ankle. She also has the words "Stay Strong" tattooed on the inside of her right biceps.

Career statistics

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

Honours

Linköpings FC * Damallsvenskan: 2009,

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

* Svenska Supercupen: 2009 * Svenska Cupen: 2008, 2009 Manchester City *

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

* FA WSL Continental Cup: 2016 Sweden *

Summer Olympics The Summer Olympic Games, also known as the Summer Olympics or the Games of the Olympiad, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The inaugural Games took place in 1896 in Athens, then part of the King ...

runner-up:

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

FIFA Women's World Cup The FIFA Women's World Cup is an international association football competition contested by the senior list of women's national association football teams, women's national teams of the members of the FIFA, Fédération Internationale de Footb ...

third place:

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

. * Algarve Cup:

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

Individual * Swedish women's footballer of the year: 2017 * Swedish women's midfielder of the year: 2017 * Women's Golden Foot: 2022

References

;Match reports

Linköping FC profile
* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Asllani, Kosovare 1989 births Living people Swedish women's footballers Swedish expatriate women's footballers Swedish people of Kosovan descent Swedish people of Albanian descent People from Leposavić Footballers from the District of Mitrovica Sweden women's international footballers Expatriate women's soccer players in the United States Swedish expatriate sportspeople in the United States Footballers at the 2012 Summer Olympics Footballers at the 2016 Summer Olympics Olympic footballers for Sweden Damallsvenskan players Linköpings FC players Kristianstads DFF players Expatriate women's footballers in France Swedish expatriate sportspeople in France Expatriate women's footballers in England Swedish expatriate sportspeople in England Swedish expatriate sportspeople in Spain Expatriate women's footballers in Spain Expatriate women's footballers in Italy Swedish expatriate sportspeople in Italy Paris Saint-Germain FC (women) players Footballers from Kristianstad 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup players Women's association football forwards Women's Super League players Manchester City W.F.C. players Medalists at the 2016 Summer Olympics Olympic silver medalists for Sweden Olympic medalists in football Vimmerby IF players FIFA Women's Century Club Première Ligue players 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup players Real Madrid Femenino players AC Milan Women players London City Lionesses players Serie A (women's football) players Footballers at the 2020 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2020 Summer Olympics Women's Professional Soccer players UEFA Women's Euro 2022 players UEFA Women's Euro 2017 players 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup players 21st-century Swedish sportswomen