Imran Bunjaku (born 18 October 1992) is a 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

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 Switzerland, he plays for the Kosovo national team.

Club career

Before the 2021–22 season, Bunjaku returned to

Grasshoppers Grasshoppers are a group of insects belonging to the suborder Caelifera. They are amongst what are possibly the most ancient living groups of chewing herbivorous insects, dating back to the early Triassic around 250 million years ago. Grassh ...

after six-and-a-half seasons at

Schaffhausen Schaffhausen (; ; ; ; ), historically known in English as Shaffhouse, is a list of towns in Switzerland, town with historic roots, a municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in northern Switzerland, and the capital of the canton of Schaffh ...

. On 30 August 2021, he moved to

Aarau Aarau (, ) is a List of towns in Switzerland, town, a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality, and the capital of the northern Swiss Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Aargau. The List of towns in Switzerland, town is also the capital of the d ...

on loan. On 14 June 2022, he signed a one-year contract with an option to extend with Aarau, after his contract at Grasshoppers was not renewed.

International career

Originating from Kosovo with ethnic Albanian parents and born in Switzerland, Bunjaku was eligible to play for Switzerland, Albania and Kosovo if a national team should be formed, but in March 2011 he answered the call by Albania's Under-21 coach Artan Bushati for a non official friendly tournament held in

Slovenia Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a country in Central Europe. It borders Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the south and southeast, and a short (46.6 km) coastline within the Adriati ...

. He officially gained Albanian citizenship on 26 August 2011 along with his Grasshopper teammate

Mërgim Brahimi Mërgim Brahimi (born 8 August 1992) is a Kosovan professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for FC Wil. A youth international for Albania and Switzerland, Brahimi represented the Albania national team before switching to the Kosovo nat ...

, in order to compete in the

UEFA Under-21 Championship The UEFA European Under-21 Championship, the UEFA Under-21 Championship or simply the Euro Under-21, is a biennial football competition contested by the European men's under-21 national teams of the UEFA member associations. Since 1992, the comp ...

qualifiers. In 2014 Bunjaku received call-up from Kosovo and he made his debut for

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 ...

on 25 May 2014 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 ...

against

Senegal Senegal, officially the Republic of Senegal, is the westernmost country in West Africa, situated on the Atlantic Ocean coastline. It borders Mauritania to Mauritania–Senegal border, the north, Mali to Mali–Senegal border, the east, Guinea t ...

. On 7 September 2024, in another friendly game against

Oman Oman, officially the Sultanate of Oman, is a country located on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in West Asia and the Middle East. It shares land borders with Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen. Oman’s coastline ...

, he scored his first and only goal for Kosovo, becoming at 21 years and 10 months the country’s youngest goalscorer. This record was broken on 13 November 2015 by

Bersant Celina Bersant Celina (born 9 September 1996) is a Kosovan professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Swedish club AIK and the Kosovo national team. He began his professional career with Manchester City, having previously been w ...

who was 19 years and 2 months when he scored against

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 ...

. He earned his third and final cap with Kosovo on 10 October 2015 during a friendly match 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 ...

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bunjaku, Imram 1992 births Living people Footballers from Zurich Kosovo Albanians Swiss people of Kosovan descent Swiss people of Albanian descent Sportspeople of Albanian descent Men's association football midfielders Kosovan men's footballers 21st-century Kosovan sportsmen Kosovo men's international footballers Albanian men's footballers Albania men's youth international footballers Swiss men's footballers Grasshopper Club Zurich players FC Schaffhausen players FC Aarau players Swiss Super League players Swiss Challenge League players Kosovan expatriate men's footballers Kosovan expatriate sportspeople in Switzerland Albanian expatriate men's footballers Albanian expatriate sportspeople in Switzerland Expatriate men's footballers in Switzerland 21st-century Swiss sportsmen 21st-century Albanian sportsmen