Përparim Hetemaj (born 12 December 1986) is a Finnish football

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of Athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Coac ...

and a former 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 played as a

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

. Born in

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 ...

, Hetemaj arrived in

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

when he was six years old and played for HJK's youth teams; signing a professional contract in 2004 at age 17. He joined Greek side

AEK Athens A.E.K. (; Athlitikí Énosis Konstantinoupόleos, ''Athletic Union of Constantinople'') is a major Greek multi-sport club based in Nea Filadelfeia, Attica. The club is more commonly known in European competitions as A.E.K. Athens. Establishe ...

in 2006, and moved to

Twente 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 Germanic people ...

in 2009. Subsequently, in 2010, he was signed by

Brescia Brescia (, ; ; or ; ) is a city and (municipality) in the region of Lombardy, in Italy. It is situated at the foot of the Alps, a few kilometers from the lakes Lake Garda, Garda and Lake Iseo, Iseo. With a population of 199,949, it is the se ...

and was transferred to

Chievo Chievo (4,500 inhabitants) is a frazione of Verona located to the west of the city, around from the historic city centre, on the shores of the river Adige. It is best known for its football team, A.C. ChievoVerona. History The name came from t ...

in 2011. Hetemaj played a total of 300 matches in the

Serie A The Serie A (), officially known as Serie A Enilive in Italy and Serie A Made in Italy abroad for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Italy and the highest tier of the Italian football league system. Establish ...

, before returning to Finland in 2022 after a season with Reggina in the

Serie B The Serie B (), officially known as Serie BKT for sponsorship reasons, is the second-highest division in the Italian football league system after the Serie A. It has been operating for over ninety years since the 1929–30 season. It had b ...

. Hetemaj made his international debut for

in February 2009, at the age of 22, and made 50 appearances, including appearing in

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

and 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifications, before his retirement from international football in 2018. On 25 November 2023, it was announced by HJK, that Hetemaj will end his professional playing career after the season, and will start working as an assistant coach of their reserve team

Klubi 04 Klubi 04 is a Finnish football club based in Helsinki. It is the reserve team of HJK Helsinki for whom a number of the players are also registered. History Klubi 04 was founded in 2004 when HJK bought FC Jokerit. Initially Klubi 04 played in K ...

in 2024. Hetemaj is regarded as a club legend of HJK Helsinki.

Early and personal life

Kosovo Albanian The Albanians of Kosovo (, ), also commonly called Kosovo Albanians, Kosovan Albanians or Kosovars (), constitute the largest ethnic group in Kosovo. Kosovo Albanians belong to the ethnic Albanian sub-group of Ghegs, who inhabit the north of ...

ethnicity, Hetemaj was born in

Skenderaj Skenderaj ( sq-definite, Skënderaji) or Srbica ( sr-Cyrl, Србица) is a List of cities in Kosovo, town and Municipalities of Kosovo, municipality located in the District of Mitrovica, Mitrovica District of Kosovo. According to the 2021 cens ...

Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...

, and moved to Finland with his family as

refugees A refugee, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), is a person "forced to flee their own country and seek safety in another country. They are unable to return to their own country because of feared persecution as ...

in 1992. His family first arrived at

Oulu Oulu ( , ; ) is a city in Finland and the regional capital of North Ostrobothnia. It is located on the northwestern coast of the country at the mouth of the Oulujoki, River Oulu. The population of Oulu is approximately , while the Oulu sub-regio ...

but they moved to

Helsinki Helsinki () is the Capital city, capital and most populous List of cities and towns in Finland, city in Finland. It is on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and is the seat of southern Finland's Uusimaa region. About people live in the municipali ...

due to his father Miftar suffering from

asthma Asthma is a common long-term inflammatory disease of the airways of the lungs. It is characterized by variable and recurring symptoms, reversible airflow obstruction, and easily triggered bronchospasms. Symptoms include episodes of wh ...

. He has a younger brother, the footballer Mehmet, and two sisters, Fatlume and Fatbardhe. In 2004, he acquired Finnish citizenship.

Club career

HJK Helsinki

Hetemaj started his career at the youth academy of

HJK Helsinki Helsingin Jalkapalloklubi (), commonly known as HJK Helsinki (), or simply as HJK (), is a Finnish football club based in Helsinki. The club competes in Veikkausliiga, the top division of the Finnish football league system. Founded in 1907, the ...

, and in 2004 played for its second team, Klubi-04, in 26

Ykkönen ''Ykkönen'' (Finnish language, Finnish for 'Number One'; , previously I divisioona) is the third highest level of the Finnish football league system (after the Veikkausliiga and Ykkösliiga), managed by the Football Association of Finland. Until ...

—the second tier of Finnish football—matches, in which he scored six goals. He played 26 matches and scored a goal in the 2005–06 season of

Veikkausliiga Veikkausliiga () is a professional association football league in Finland and the highest level of the Finnish football league system. The league comprises the top 12 clubs of the country. Its main sponsor is the Finnish national betting agenc ...

—the premier division of Finnish football. After playing seven matches for HJK during the 2006–07, he was sold to

for a fee of €450.000.

AEK Athens

Hetemaj made his AEK Athens debut on 26 September 2006 in a 1–1 draw against

Anderlecht Anderlecht (; ) is one of the List of municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. Located in the south-western part of the region, it is bordered by the City of Brussels, Forest, B ...

in the

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by List of top-division football clubs in UEFA countries, top-divisio ...

. After seven matches, Hetemaj's 2006–07 season ended on 8 February 2007, when he suffered a fractured leg after a tackle by

Kevin Thomson Kevin Thomson (born 14 October 1984) is a Scottish professional Association football, football coach and former player. Thomson played as a midfielder for Hibernian F.C., Hibernian (three spells), Rangers F.C., Rangers, Middlesbrough F.C., Mid ...

during a friendly match between the Finnish and Scottish national teams. He was again on playing condition in October 2007, but he did not play for AEK and in January 2008 he was loaned to

Apollon Kalamarias Apollon Kalamarias (Greek: Απόλλων Καλαμαριάς) is a Greek sports club from Kalamaria, a suburb of Thessaloniki. It was founded in 1926. The club is named after Apollo, the mythical Greek god. Its colors are red and black. Histor ...

until the end of the season to gain more playing experience. He scored his first goal in the

Super League Greece The Super League Greece 1 (), or Stoiximan Super League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Greece and the highest level of the Greek football league system. The league was formed on 16 July 2006 and repla ...

on 23 February 2008 against

Asteras Tripolis Asteras Tripolis Football Club (), currently known as Asteras AKTOR for sponsorship reasons, commonly referred to as Asteras, is a Greek professional football club based in the city of Tripoli in Arcadia, Peloponnese, Greece. Asteras Tripolis ...

. He played a total of eight matches for Apollon Kalamarias in the 2007–08, and for the following season Hetemaj played nine league matches with AEK. Unsatisfied, Hetemaj asked to be transferred,

Twente

On 31 August 2009, Hetemaj signed a 1+1 year contract with Dutch club

FC Twente Football Club Twente (), sometimes known internationally as FC Twente Enschede, is a Dutch professional Association football, football club from the city of Enschede. The club was formed in 1965 by the merger of 1926 Dutch champions Sportclub E ...

as part of an exchange deal for Youssouf Hersi. Hetemaj started the season 2009–10 in the reserve team but was unable to break through to the first team that won the

Eredivisie The Eredivisie (; "Honour Division" or "Premier Division") is a professional association football league in the Netherlands and the highest level of the Dutch football league system. The league was founded in 1956, two years after the start o ...

Brescia

Even before having played a match for Twente, On 1 February 2010, Hetemaj was signed by Italian club

on a free transfer. Hetemaj only played four matches in

2009–10 Serie B The 2009–10 Serie B season is the seventy-eighth edition since its establishment in 1929. Serie B is the second-highest division in the Italian football league system after the Serie A. It is contested by 22 teams and organized by the Lega ...

; Brescia was promoted to

and he signed a three-year contract. He made his Serie A debut on 12 September 2010, playing the full minutes in a 3–2 home victory over

Palermo Palermo ( ; ; , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital (political), capital of both the autonomous area, autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan province. The ...

. He scored his first Serie A goal on 22 September 2010 against

Roma Roma or ROMA may refer to: People, characters, figures, names * Roma or Romani people, an ethnic group living mostly in Europe and the Americas. * Roma called Roy, ancient Egyptian High Priest of Amun * Roma (footballer, born 1979), born ''Paul ...

, becoming the first Finnish footballer to score in Serie A and arousing Roma's interest in him. Hetemaj went on to score again in a 3–1 victory against

Bologna Bologna ( , , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy. It is the List of cities in Italy, seventh most populous city in Italy, with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nationalities. Its M ...

Chievo

On 30 June 2011, Hetemaj signed for Serie A side

in a co-ownership deal for €1.4 million. As a result, he chose the number 56 shirt number at the club. He made his debut for Chievo on 11 September 2011 against

Novara Novara (; Novarese Lombard, Novarese: ) is the capital city of the province of Novara in the Piedmont (Italy), Piedmont region in northwest Italy, to the west of Milan. With 101,916 inhabitants (on 1 January 2021), it is the second most populous ...

, when he provided an assist to Cyril Théréau score the second goal of Chievo in the drawn. At the end of the season and after 32 league matches, Chievo bought Hetemaj's full rights on 18 June 2012 for an additional €800,000. In the 2012–13 season and the 2013–2014, Hetemaj played 30 and 32 league matches respectively and did not score in any competition. Hetemaj marked his 100th appearance for Chievo on 22 August 2014 in a 1–0 defeat against

Pescara Pescara (; ; ) is the capital city of the province of Pescara, in the Abruzzo Regions of Italy, region of Italy. It is the most populated city in Abruzzo, with 118,657 (January 1, 2023) residents (and approximately 350,000 including the surround ...

in the

Coppa Italia Coppa Italia () is the annual domestic cup of Italian football. The knockout competition was organized by the DDS and the Lega Calcio until the 2009–10 season and by Lega Serie A ever since. Juventus is the competition's most successf ...

. After four years at Chievo and 130 Serie A matches, he scored his first goal for the club on 12 September 2015 in a 1–1 draw against

Juventus Juventus Football Club (; from , ), commonly known as Juventus or colloquially as Juve (), is an Italian professional Association football, football List of football clubs in Italy, club based in Turin, Piedmont, who compete in Serie A, the ...

. During his time with the club, Hetemaj recorded 249 appearances in all competitions combined.

Benevento

On 2 September 2019, Hetemaj signed a two-year contract with the

club

Benevento Benevento ( ; , ; ) is a city and (municipality) of Campania, Italy, capital of the province of Benevento, northeast of Naples. It is situated on a hill above sea level at the confluence of the Calore Irpino (or Beneventano) and the Sabato (r ...

. At the end of his first season with the club coached by

Filippo Inzaghi Filippo "Pippo" Inzaghi (; born 9 August 1973) is an Italian professional football manager and former player who played as a striker. He was most recently the head coach of club Pisa. He was nicknamed "Superpippo" (" Super Goof") or "Alta ten ...

, Benevento won the Serie B title and were promoted to Serie A.

Reggina

On 28 July 2021, Hetemaj joined

side Reggina on a one-year deal. He negotiated to terminate his contract on 21 April 2022 three games prior to the season ending, and returned to Finland to join his former club HJK Helsinki for the

2022 Veikkausliiga The 2022 Veikkausliiga was the 92nd season of top-tier football in Finland. HJK won the championship for the third consecutive season. Teams KTP (relegated after one year in the top flight) were relegated to Ykkönen after finishing at the b ...

season.

Return to HJK

On 21 April 2022, Hetemaj returned to HJK and signed a two-year contract with an option for a third. During the 2022 season, Hetemaj played in 29 games in all competitions combined and recorded four goals, including both of HJK’s goals in the

UEFA Europa League The UEFA Europa League (UEL), usually known simply as the Europa League, is an annual association football, football club competition organised since 1971 by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European footb ...

group stage, against

AS Roma Associazione Sportiva Roma (''Rome Sport Association''; Italian pronunciation: Help:IPA/Italian, ) is a professional Association football, football club based in Rome, Italy. Founded by a merger in 1927, Roma has participated in the top tier ...

and Ludogorets. On 14th December 2023, Hetemaj scored a goal from penalty in his last official match as a professional footballer, in a 4–2 away loss against

PAOK PAOK (, Πανθεσσαλονίκειος Αθλητικός Όμιλος Κωνσταντινοπολιτών, ''Panthessalonikeios Athlitikós Ómilos Constantinopoliton'', ''Pan-Thessalonian Athletic Club of Constantinopolitans''), commonly ...

in the

UEFA Conference League The UEFA Conference League (UECL), usually known simply as the Conference League, is an annual football competition organised since 2021 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. It is the thir ...

International career

Youth

Hetemaj was first drafted to play for Finland U19 on 7 September 2004 for a match against

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

Vihti Vihti (; ) is a municipality in Finland, located in the southern interior of the country. Vihti is situated in the Uusimaa region. The population of Vihti is approximately . It is the most populous Municipalities of Finland, municipality in Fin ...

. He made four appearances in the U19 team and scored two goals. Hetemaj made his debut for the U21 side on 13 April 2005 against

Estonia Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Ru ...

. Hetemaj, along with his brother Mehmet, was called up to represent

at the

2009 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship The 2009 UEFA European Under-21 Championship began on 15 June 2009, and was the 17th UEFA European Under-21 Championship. This was the first tournament after the competition reverted to a two-year format, following the single-year 2006–07 comp ...

and he played in all the three matches which Finland played.

Senior

Hetemaj made his senior debut for

as an 84th-minute substitute against

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

on 4 February 2009 in a 5–1 loss. He gained his first

UEFA European Championship qualifying The UEFA European Championship qualifying, branded as the European Qualifiers, is the process that UEFA-affiliated national football teams go through in order to qualify for the UEFA European Championship. In this article, the years represent t ...

game on 3 June 2011 when

Mixu Paatelainen Mika-Matti Petteri "Mixu" Paatelainen (born 3 February 1967) is a Finnish former professional football player and manager who is currently serving as the sporting director of Scottish club The Spartans. He scored 18 goals in 70 appearances for ...

chose him to the starting line up against

San Marino San Marino, officially the Republic of San Marino, is a landlocked country in Southern Europe, completely surrounded by Italy. Located on the northeastern slopes of the Apennine Mountains, it is the larger of two European microstates, microsta ...

. On 26 May 2012, he scored his first national goal—a

last-minute goal The term "last-minute goal" is used in sport, primarily association football, to describe a goal scored very late in a game, usually one that affects the outcome of the game. The definition of a "last-minute goal" commonly used is one scored eith ...

—against

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

in a

friendly match An exhibition game (also known as a friendly, scrimmage, demonstration, training match, pre-season game, warmup match, or preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sport, sporting event whose prize money and impact on th ...

, which assured a 3−2 victory for Finland. Përparim Hetemaj was part of Finland squad in

2018 FIFA World Cup qualification The 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification process was a series of tournaments organised by the six FIFA FIFA#Structure, confederations to decide 31 of the 32 teams which would play in the 2018 FIFA World Cup, with Russia national football team, Rus ...

. Thus, despite having a chance to switch to represent

, his Finland cap in the qualification effectively locked him to represent Finland only. However, Hetemaj refused to play against Kosovo. His brother Mehmet played once for Kosovo before the

Football Federation of Kosovo The Football Federation of Kosovo (; FFK) is the governing body of football in Kosovo, with headquarters in Pristina. The Football Federation of Kosovo was established in 1946 as a branch of the Football Association of Yugoslavia, it has since be ...

became a member of

UEFA The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA ; ; ) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs football, futsal and beach soccer, beach football in Europe and the List of transcontinental countries#A ...

and

FIFA The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (), more commonly known by its acronym FIFA ( ), is the international self-regulatory governing body of association football, beach soccer, and futsal. It was founded on 21 May 1904 to o ...

. However, he also lost the eligibility for Kosovo after played for Finland after Kosovo became a member. On 8 January 2018, Hetemaj announced that he would retire from international duty.

Coaching career

In the end of the

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

season, Hetemaj announced his retirement from professional football as a player. He was appointed as an assistant coach of

, the reserve team of HJK, starting in 2024.

Outside football

Charity work

As of 2015, Hetemaj occasionally helps football club of his birthplace,

Drenica 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 Klina, Zubin Potok, Mitr ...

, and he usually helps with different monetary means as well as technical means.

Career statistics

Club

International

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

Honours

HJK Helsinki *

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

Finnish Cup The Finnish Cup (; ) is Finland's main national cup competition in football. This yearly competition is open for all member clubs of the FA of Finland and has been played since 1955. The winner qualifies for the UEFA Europa Conference League ...

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

Finnish League Cup The Finnish League Cup (in Finnish: ''Liigacup''), is a knock-out football competition contested annually during the pre-season in winter by teams from Veikkausliiga. The competition is notably the only football competition in Europe which is most ...

: 2023 Benevento *

: 2019–20 Finland * Baltic Cup runner-up:

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

; third place:

References

External links

Perparim Hetemaj
at

A.C. ChievoVerona Associazione Calcio ChievoVerona, commonly referred to as ChievoVerona or simply Chievo (, ), is an Italian football club named after and representing Chievo, a suburb of 4,500 inhabitants in Verona, Veneto. It is owned since 2024 by the tea ...

Perparim Hetemaj
– SPL competition record * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hetemaj, Perparim 1986 births Living people Sportspeople from Skenderaj Footballers from the District of Mitrovica Kosovan emigrants to Finland Naturalized citizens of Finland Men's association football midfielders Finnish men's footballers 21st-century Finnish sportsmen Finland men's international footballers Finland men's under-21 international footballers Kosovan men's footballers Helsingin Jalkapalloklubi players Klubi 04 players AEK Athens F.C. players Apollon Kalamarias F.C. players FC Twente players Brescia Calcio players AC ChievoVerona players Benevento Calcio players AS Reggina 1914 players Veikkausliiga players Super League Greece players Serie A players Serie B players Finnish expatriate men's footballers Kosovan expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Greece Finnish expatriate sportspeople in Greece Kosovan expatriate sportspeople in Greece Expatriate men's footballers in the Netherlands Finnish expatriate sportspeople in the Netherlands Kosovan expatriate sportspeople in the Netherlands Expatriate men's footballers in Italy Finnish expatriate sportspeople in Italy Kosovan expatriate sportspeople in Italy Finnish people of Albanian descent Finland men's youth international footballers Finnish people of Kosovan descent Kosovan refugees Refugees in Finland Finnish football coaches Helsingin Jalkapalloklubi non-playing staff Gilla FC players