Agim Sali Zeka (born 6 September 1998) 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 ...

who plays as a

right winger 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 Kosovan club Drita.

Club career

Early career and Skënderbeu Korçë

Zeka at the age of six started playing football in

Prishtina 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 an ...

, where he has played in all age groups. In January 2015, due to ignorance by the Prishtina's staff, Zeka was loaned to the youth team of

KEK , known as KEK, is a Japanese organization whose purpose is to operate the largest particle physics laboratory in Japan, situated in Tsukuba, Ibaraki prefecture. It was established in 1997. The term "KEK" is also used to refer to the laboratory ...

, where after the end of the loan, he returned to Prishtina until January 2016, where he joined the U19 team of the Albanian club

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 ...

. On 21 February 2016, Zeka made his debut with Skënderbeu Korçë U19 in a league match 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 ...

U19 after coming on as a substitute at 42nd minute in place of Andis Foto and scored his side's second goal during a 9–0 home win.

Promotion to the first team

In 2016–17 season, Zeka is promoted to the first team of

, which competed in the

Kategoria Superiore 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 ...

, which is the top tier of football in the country. On 28 September 2016, he made his debut with Skënderbeu Korçë in the 2016–17 Albanian Cup first round against

Butrinti Butrint ( el, Βουθρωτόν and Βουθρωτός, ''Bouthrōtón'', la, Buthrōtum) was an ancient Greek and later Roman city and bishopric in Epirus. "Speakers of these various Greek dialects settled different parts of Greece at differen ...

after being named in the starting line-up.

Lille B

On 31 January 2017, Zeka signed a four-and-a-half-year contract with

Championnat de France Amateur The Championnat National 2, commonly known as National 2 and formerly known as Championnat de France Amateur (CFA), is a football league competition. The league serves as the fourth tier of the French football league system behind Ligue 1, Ligu ...

club

Lille Lille ( , ; nl, Rijsel ; pcd, Lile; vls, Rysel) is a city in the northern part of France, in French Flanders. On the river Deûle, near France's border with Belgium, it is the capital of the Hauts-de-France region, the prefecture of the Nord ...

B. Lille B reportedly paid a €300K transfer fee to Skënderbeu Korçë and also the later kept 20% of his card. Four days later, he made his debut in a 0–1 home defeat against L'Entente after being named in the starting line-up.

Loan to Varzim

On 9 January 2018, Zeka joined

LigaPro The Liga Portugal 2 (), also known as Liga Portugal 2 SABSEG for sponsorship reasons, is the second-highest division of the Portuguese football league system. At the end of each season, the two top-finishing teams are promoted to the top-tier Pri ...

side Varzim, on a season-long loan. Five days later, he made his debut in a 2–1 away defeat against Vitória Guimarães B after coming on as a substitute at 83rd minute in place of Mário Sérgio. One month after debut, Zeka scored his first goal for Varzim in his second appearance for the club in a 2–3 away win over

Penafiel Penafiel ( or () is a municipality and former bishopric (now a Latin Catholic titular see) in the northern Portuguese district of Porto. Capital of the Tâmega Subregion, the population was 72,265 in 2011, in an area of . History The region ...

in LigaPro.

Loan to Leixões

On 8 August 2018, Zeka joined

side

Leixões The Port of Leixões ( pt, Porto de Leixões, ) is one of Portugal's major seaports, located 4 km north of the mouth of the Douro River, in Matosinhos municipality, near the city of Porto. Leixões Sport Club The Port of Leixões ( pt, P ...

, on a season-long loan. Three days later, he made his debut in a 2–1 away defeat against

Benfica B Sport Lisboa e Benfica "B", commonly known as Benfica B, is a Portuguese professional football team based in Seixal. Founded in 1999, dissolved in 2006, and restarted in 2012, it is the reserve team of Portuguese club S.L. Benfica. They play in ...

after coming on as a substitute at 73rd minute in place of Erivaldo.

Loan to Fortuna Sittard

On 28 January 2019, Zeka 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

Fortuna Sittard Fortuna Sittard (; li, Fortuna Zitterd ) is a football club in Sittard, Netherlands. The club currently plays its football in the 12,500 capacity Fortuna Sittard Stadion and features in the Eredivisie. The club was established through a merger ...

, on a season-long loan. Fourteen days later, he made his debut, but with U21 team in a 0–2 home defeat against

PEC Zwolle PEC Zwolle is a Dutch football club based in Zwolle, Netherlands. They play in the Eerste Divisie, the second tier of Dutch football, following relegation from the Eredivisie in the 2021–22 season. They have played in the Eredivisie for a tot ...

U21 after being named in the starting line-up. On 12 May 2019, he made his first team debut in a 3–0 away defeat against

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

after coming on as a substitute at 76th minute in place of Mark Diemers.

Mouscron

On 1 August 2020,

B announced the transfer of Zeka to Belgian side

Mouscron Mouscron (; Dutch and vls, Moeskroen, ; Picard and Walloon: ''Moucron'') is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the Belgian province of Hainaut, along the border with the French city of Tourcoing, which is part of the Lille metropo ...

. In same day later, the club confirmed that he had joined on a one year contract. He was named as a Mouscron substitute, twice in August for league games against Antwerp (seven days after joining), and

Mechelen Mechelen (; french: Malines ; traditional English name: MechlinMechelen has been known in English as ''Mechlin'', from where the adjective ''Mechlinian'' is derived. This name may still be used, especially in a traditional or historical contex ...

(six days later), but was an unused substitute in these matches which were the last he was called up by the team.

Austria Wien

On 20 January 2021, Zeka 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. The ...

side

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 ...

and received squad number 23. Seventeen days later, he made his debut with Austria Wien in the 2020–21 Austrian Cup quarter-finals against Red Bull Salzburg after coming on as a substitute at 86th minute in place of

Stephan Zwierschitz Stephan Zwierschitz (born 17 September 1990) is an Austrian 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, Amer ...

. Zeka made his first Austrian Bundesliga appearance four days later after coming on as a substitute at 82nd minute in place of

Andreas Poulsen Andreas Poulsen (born 13 October 1999) is a Danish professional footballer who plays as a left-back for Danish Superliga club AaB. Club career FC Midtjylland Poulsen started his career in the local football club, Ikast KFUM. He made his profes ...

in a 3–1 away defeat again against Red Bull Salzburg.

Drita

On 1 August 2021, Zeka signed a two-year contract with

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 ...

club Drita.

International career

Under-17

On 6 October 2014, Zeka was named as part of the Albania U17 squad for 2015 UEFA European Under-17 Championship qualifications. Two days later, he made his debut with Albania U17 in a match against Norway U17 after being named in the starting line-up. Five days after debut, Zeka scored his first goal for Albania U17 in his third appearance for the country in a 5–1 home win over San Marino U17.

Under-19

On 30 September 2016, Zeka was named as part of the Albania U19 squad for 2017 UEFA European Under-19 Championship qualifications. Six days later, he made his debut with Albania U19 in a match against Republic of Ireland U19 after being named in the starting line-up. Two days after debut, Zeka scored his first goals for Albania U19 in his second appearance for the country in a 2–3 home defeat over Germany U19, he had the same fate three days later when scored a goal in a 1–0 home minimal win over Gibraltar U19.

Under-21 and Under-20

On 2 June 2017, Zeka received an urgent call-up from Albania U21 for the

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 France U21 and

2019 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification The 2019 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualifying competition was a men's under-21 football competition that determined the 11 teams joining the automatically qualified hosts Italy in the 2019 UEFA European Under-21 Championship final tour ...

opening match against Estonia U21 to replace one of the three injured players. Three days later, he made his debut with Albania U21 in friendly match against France U21 after coming on as a substitute at 52nd minute in place of

Elvir Maloku Elvir Mehdi Maloku (born 14 May 1996) is an Albanian professional footballer who plays as a winger for Cypriot club PAEEK. Club career Early career Born in Rijeka into an ethnic Albanian family, Maloku passed through various clubs in his nativ ...

. Five month later, Zeka received a call-up from Albania U20 for the

against Georgia U20, and made his debut after being named in the starting line-up.

Career statistics

Club

References

External links