Ardit Shehaj (born 23 September 1990) is an

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 ...

n 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 for Kosovan club Flamurtari Pristina in the

Football Superleague of Kosovo The Football Superleague of Kosovo (), also known as the ALBI MALL Superleague of Kosovo () for sponsorship reasons with Albi Mall, is the top level of the Football in Kosovo#Men's, Kosovar football league system. The Superleague is organized by t ...

Club career

On 24 January 2012, Shehaj was sent on loan to fellow Albanian Superliga team Pogradeci until the end of the season. During his spell there, Shehaj appeared in two league matches as Pogradeci finished 13th which resulted in relegation to the Albanian First Division. On 22 October 2014, in the returning match of the first round of the 2014–15 Albanian Cup, Shehaj scored a hat-trick against the underdogs of

KS Kamza Football Club Kamza was a football club based in Kamëz, Albania. Founded on 10 September 1936, the club competed in the lower levels of Albanian football for much of their history, except for the 2011–12 season where they were promoted to the ...

, leading the team to pass the round with the aggregate 5–0 after the first match finished scoreless. In the 2015–16 season, Shehaj scored a hat-trick in the first round of the

Albanian Cup The Albanian Cup () is the main "knockout" competition in Albanian football. The competition started in 1939 as Kupa e Mbretit ( English:"The King's Cup"). The cup was suspended for the next eight years as the Second World War started. It start ...

in a 3–2 win against

KF Oriku Klubi i Futbollit Oriku is an Albanian association football, football club based in the town of Orikum. They last competed in Kategoria e Dytë during the 2023–24 Kategoria e Dytë, 2023–24 season, finishing fourth in Group B. History Footba ...

, which was followed by another hat-trick in the next round against Tërbuni Pukë, where Flamurtari won 5–0 to go on to the quarter-final. On 11 September 2016, during the 5–0 home win against Luftëtari Gjirokastër in the second matchday of the 2016–17 Albanian Superliga season, Shehaj scored the fifth goal of the match, his first league strike since April 2015. It was also his 200th appearance in all competitions for the club. Later on 18 December, Shehaj scored the lone goal in the home match against Laçi by finishing home a Bruno Telushi cross, leading the team to their third league win in their last five matches. It was Flamurtari's first home over Laçi in six years. Following the end of 2016–17 season where Flamurtari barely avoided relegation by just one point, Shehaj confirmed that he was going to stay at the club for the next season as he was in coach

Shpëtim Duro Shpëtim Duro (born 24 December 1959) is an Albanian professional football coach. Managerial career Duro won his first major title as coach of KF Besa Kavajë when his team beat KF Vllaznia in the 2010 Albanian Cup final. He won the 2010–11 ...

's plans. However, one month later, on 14 July 2017, Shehaj was sold to

Teuta Durrës Klubi i Futbollit Teuta, commonly referred to as ''Teuta'', is an Albanian professional football club based in Durrës. The club competes in the Kategoria Superiore, the top tier of Albanian football. Their home ground is the Niko Dovana Stadiu ...

, signing a two-year contract, leaving Flamurtari after ten years of service. His debut on 9 September brought his first goal for the club as well, as his late header was the winner for Teuta who defeated Luftëtari Gjirokastër in the opening week of the championship. In January 2018, Shehaj joined Flamurtari Prishtina in the

International career

Shehaj has been a former Albania youth international, representing his country at under-17, u-20 and u-21 levels.

Style of play

Usually a striker, Shehaj has been deployed as

central 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 ...

by the coach Gentian Mezani.

Career statistics

Club

Honours

Club

;Flamurtari Vlorë *

: 2008–09, 2013–14

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Shehaj, Ardit 1990 births Living people Footballers from Vlorë Albanian men's footballers 21st-century Albanian sportsmen Men's association football midfielders Men's association football forwards Flamurtari FC players KS Pogradeci players KS Kastrioti players KF Teuta players KF Flamurtari players Kategoria Superiore players Football Superleague of Kosovo players Albanian expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Kosovo Albanian expatriate sportspeople in Kosovo