Erton Fejzullahu (born 9 April 1988) is a professional former footballer who played as a striker. He previously represented Sweden at

youth Youth is the time of life when one is young. The word, youth, can also mean the time between childhood and adulthood (Maturity (psychological), maturity), but it can also refer to one's peak, in terms of health or the period of life known as bei ...

and full international level before making his debut for the Kosovo national team in 2016.

Early life

Fejzullahu was born in Mitrovica,

SFR Yugoslavia The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (commonly abbreviated as SFRY or SFR Yugoslavia), known from 1945 to 1963 as the Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia, commonly referred to as Socialist Yugoslavia or simply Yugoslavia, was a country ...

. He came to Sweden as a three-year-old and grew up in the town of Karlshamn. He holds Kosovan, Albanian and Swedish passports.

Club career

Youth career

Fejzullahu began his career with fifth-tier team Högadals IS, before moving to Danish side FC Copenhagen in 2005.

Mjällby AIF

In January 2007 Fejzullahu returned to Sweden to sign with

Mjällby AIF Mjällby Allmänna Idrottsförening, also known simply as Mjällby AIF, Mjällby or (especially locally) MAIF, is a Swedish professional football club based in Hällevik in Sölvesborg Municipality. The club is affiliated to Blekinge Fo ...

, who played in the second tier

Superettan Superettan (; ) is an association football league and the second highest league in the Swedish football league system, league system of Swedish football, Swedish men's football. Contested by 16 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and rel ...

at that time and therefore was the highest level club near his hometown. There Fejzullahu adjusted to first team football and eventually had a big breakthrough in the

2009 Superettan The 2009 Superettan was part of the 2009 in Swedish football, 2009 Swedish football season, and the tenth season of Superettan, Sweden's second-tier Association football, football division in its current format. A total of 16 teams contested the le ...

, where he scored 13 goals in 14 games during the first half of the season and played a key role in eliminating two

Allsvenskan Allsvenskan (; ), also known as Fotbollsallsvenskan (, ) is a professional association football league in Sweden and the highest level of the Swedish football league system. Founded in 1924, it operates on a system of promotion and relegatio ...

teams in the Svenska Cupen.

NEC Nijmegen

On 17 July 2009,

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 ...

club NEC Nijmegen signed Fejzullahu on a four-year contract. He started well and was a regular starter during his first year with the Dutch club. In his second year he found playing time harder to come by and was loaned out for a short period to Danish club Randers FC. He then went on a second loan back home to Mjällby for the second half of the 2011 Allsvenskan season. At first he struggled while playing for his old club. Fejzullahu later stated that this was caused by bad form and him lacking both mentally and physically at the time. He stayed with Mjällby for the first half of the following season too and there he finally started showing improved form, scoring six goals in 15 games. As the loan ended in summer 2012 Mjällby wanted to sign him permanently but could not afford it.

Djurgårdens IF

Djurgårdens IF instead bought him from the Dutch club for a reported sum of ten million SEK. On 31 July 2012, Fejzullahu signed a contract which made him a Djurgårdens IF player until summer 2016.

Beijing Guoan

On 30 July 2014, Fejzullahu made his debut for Beijing Guoan, as a loan player with a performance of two goals and an assist. On 1 January 2015, he signed a contract with Beijing Guoan after the expiry of the contract as loan player from Djurgårdens IF.

Dalian Transcendence

On 25 January 2016, Fejzullahu moved to China League One side Dalian Transcendence.

Sarpsborg 08

On 28 March 2017, Fejzullahu signed to

Eliteserien Eliteserien () is a professional association football league in Norway and the highest level of the Norwegian football league system. Contested by 16 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the Norwegian First Division ...

side Sarpsborg 08 and he signed a contract to end of 2017 Eliteserien. On 2 April 2017, he made his debut in a 3–1 home win against Sogndal after coming on as a substitute at 78th minute in place of Jonas Lindberg.

Kalmar

On 21 July 2017, Fejzullahu signed for Allsvenskan side Kalmar. On 23 July 2017, he made his debut in a 2–0 home win against AFC Eskilstuna after being named in the starting line-up.

International career

In December 2012 Fejzullahu was selected for the first time ever to join the

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 ...

, on a three-game tour in January 2013. On 23 January 2013. Fejzullahu made his debut for the senior team and scoring the equalizing goal in a 1–1 draw against

North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders China and Russia to the north at the Yalu River, Yalu (Amnok) an ...

in the King's Cup. After full-time was played, the standing was 1–1, and Sweden won on penalty-shootout. Through this victory Sweden also became unofficial world champions. In December 2014 Fejzullahu expressed to the media that he expected to be part of the

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 ...

, since he was an ethnic Albanian and Sweden had ignored him. He was in contact with the Albanian Football Association and was expected to be called up by Albania's coach, Gianni de Biasi. On 7 October 2015, Fejzullahu received a call-up from

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 ...

for the

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 ...

against

Equatorial Guinea Equatorial Guinea, officially the Republic of Equatorial Guinea, is a country on the west coast of Central Africa. It has an area of . Formerly the colony of Spanish Guinea, its post-independence name refers to its location both near the Equ ...

and made his debut after being named in the starting line-up.

Career statistics

Club

International

:''Scores and results list the Fejzullahu's national team's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Fejzullahu goal.''

Honours

Sweden * King's Cup:

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

References

External links