Erton Fejzullahu (born 9 April 1988) is a professional former

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 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 Karlshamn () is a locality and the seat of Karlshamn Municipality in Blekinge County, Sweden. It had 13,576 inhabitants in 2015, out of 31,846 in the municipality. Karlshamn received a Royal Charter and city privileges in 1664, when King Charles ...

. He holds Kosovan, Albanian and Swedish passports.

Club career

Youth career

Fejzullahu began his career with fifth-tier team

Högadals IS Högadals IS is a Swedish football club located in Karlshamn. Background Högadals IS currently plays in Division 4 Blekinge which is the sixth tier of Swedish football. The club competed in the Allsvenskan for one season in 1962. They play t ...

, before moving to Danish side

FC Copenhagen Football Club Copenhagen (, ), commonly known as F.C. København, F.C. Copenhagen, Copenhagen, or simply FCK, is a Danish professional football club based in Copenhagen. FCK was founded in 1992 as a superstructure on top of Kjøbenhavns Boldklu ...

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 Svenska cupen (, ), also known as the Swedish Cup in English, is a knockout cup competition in Swedish football and the main Swedish football cup. ''Svenska cupen'' usually refers to the men's tournament, although a women's tournament is also ...

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 NEC Nijmegen (''Nijmegen Eendracht Combinatie''), commonly known as NEC (), is a professional Dutch association football club based in Nijmegen. The club currently competes in the Eredivisie, the top tier of Dutch football, following promotion ...

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 Randers FC () is a professional association football, football club based in Randers, East Jutland metropolitan area, East Jutland, that plays in the Danish Superliga, the top flight of the Danish football league system. Founded on 1 January 200 ...

. He then went on a second loan back home to Mjällby for the second half of the

2011 Allsvenskan The 2011 Allsvenskan, part of the 2011 Swedish football season, was the 87th season of Allsvenskan since its establishment in 1924. The preliminary 2011 fixtures were released on 15 December 2010. The season began on 2 April 2011 and ended on 23 ...

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 Djurgårdens Idrottsförening, commonly known simply as Djurgårdens IF, Djurgården (), and (especially locally) Djurgår'n (), Dif or DIF – is a Swedish sports association with several sections, located in Stockholm. Djurgårdens IF is an s ...

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 Beijing Guoan Football Club (), known in AFC competitions as Beijing FC, is a Chinese professional football club based in Beijing, that competes in . Beijing Guoan plays its home matches at the Workers' Stadium, located within Chaoyang Distr ...

, 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 The Chinese Football League 1 (), also known as China League One or Chinese Jia League (), is the second level of professional football in China, under the Chinese Super League. The league is under the auspices of the Chinese Football Association ...

side

Dalian Transcendence Dalian Transcendence Football Club () was a Chinese football club based in Dalian, Liaoning. Founded in 2013, the club played in the Chinese professional league between 2014 and 2018. They quit from the professional league and turn as amateur in ...

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 Sarpsborg 08 Fotballforening, commonly known as Sarpsborg 08 or simply Sarpsborg (), is a Norwegian professional football club based in Sarpsborg, playing in Eliteserien. Sarpsborg 08 and its predecessors played in 1. divisjon from 2005 to 2010. ...

and he signed a contract to end of

2017 Eliteserien The 2017 Eliteserien was the 73rd completed season of top-tier football in Norway. The season began on 1 April 2017 and ended on 26 November 2017, not including play-off matches. This was first season of Eliteserien as rebranding from Tippeligaen. ...

. On 2 April 2017, he made his debut in a 3–1 home win against

Sogndal Sogndal is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Vestland Counties of Norway, county, Norway. It is located on the northern shore of the Sognefjorden in the Districts of Norway, traditional district of Sogn. The village of Hermansv ...

after coming on as a substitute at 78th minute in place of

Jonas Lindberg Jonas Lindberg (born 24 March 1989) is a Swedish footballer who plays as a forward for GAIS. Club career On 4 November 2015 he signed a deal with Sarpsborg 08 Sarpsborg 08 Fotballforening, commonly known as Sarpsborg 08 or simply Sarpsborg ( ...

Kalmar

On 21 July 2017, Fejzullahu signed for Allsvenskan side

Kalmar Kalmar (, , ) is a city in the southeast of Sweden, situated by the Baltic Sea. It had 41,388 inhabitants in 2020 and is the seat of Kalmar Municipality. It is also the capital of Kalmar County, which comprises 12 municipalities with a total of ...

. On 23 July 2017, he made his debut in a 2–0 home win against

AFC Eskilstuna Athletic Football Club Eskilstuna, also known as AFC Eskilstuna or simply AFC, is a Swedish professional football club based in Eskilstuna. The club has previously been known under the names FC Café Opera and Väsby United before switching owne ...

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 King's Cup (incl. translations), may refer to: Sports Football * Copa del Rey, Spanish for "King's Cup," the main national knockout tournament in men's football * King's Cup (Bahrain), the premier national knockout football tournament * King's ...

. 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 The Albanian Football Federation (; FSHF) is the governing body of football in Albania. Headquartered in Tirana, it organises the national football leagues of Kategoria Superiore, Kategoria e Parë, Kategoria e Dytë, Kategoria e Tretë, Alba ...

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 *

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