Jetmir Sefa (born 30 January 1987) 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 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 ...

Club career

Tirana

2005–06 season

Sefa is a product of the KF Tirana academy and joined the club in 2000 as a 13-year-old, where he rose through the ranks before eventually reaching the first team in 2005. He was promoted to the first team ahead of the 2005–06 campaign by

Leonardo Menichini Leonardo Menichini (born 11 December 1953) is an Italian association football, football coach (sport), manager and former player. He is in charge of club US Città di Pontedera, Pontedera. Playing career A defender (association football), defe ...

, who was the head coach at the club at the time, and he joined a competitive midfield which included Ervin Bulku, Sajmir Patushi, Devi Muka,

Klodian Duro Klodian Duro (; born 21 December 1977) is an Albanian retired professional football and current coach of Gjilani of the Superliga e Kosoves. He was a versatile midfielder who usually played in an attacking role. His brother Albert Duro was al ...

and Cristiano Muzzachi. He made his league debut on 7 September 2005 in an away game against

Shkumbini Peqin Klubi i Futbollit Shkumbini Peqin is an Albanian football club based in the town of Peqin. The club's home ground is the Shkumbini Stadium and they compete in the Kategoria e Dytë. History Football was first introduced to the city of Peqin in t ...

as an 18-year-old, where he started the game in a midfield made up of Devi Muka, Ervin Bulku and Engert Bakalli. His debut ended in 1–1 draw, in a game which saw Sefa being one of 4 players to be cautioned and his teammate Arjan Pisha receiving a straight red card. He made 14 league appearances throughout the 2005–06 Albanian Superliga, starting 8 of them and competing the full 90 minutes on 4 occasions. KF Tirana finished runners-up in the league to

KF Elbasani Klubi i Futbollit Elbasani was an Albanian professional football club based in the city of Elbasan, that last competed in the Kategoria e Dytë, the third tier of football in the country. History The club was formed in 1929 as Klubi i Futbol ...

, who won their first

Albanian Superliga Kategoria Superiore (), also known as Abissnet Superiore for sponsorship reasons with internet service provider, Abissnet, is a professional league for men's association football clubs in Albania. At the top of the Albanian football league syste ...

title since 1984. He was also part of the

2005–06 Albanian Cup 2005–06 Albanian Cup () was the fifty-fourth season of Albania's annual cup competition. It began on 28 August 2005 with the preliminary round and ended on 10 May 2006 with the Final match. The winners of the competition qualified for the 2006- ...

winning squad, which was his first ever professional title.

2006–07 season

He began the following season in a UEFA Cup qualifier against Croatian NK Varteks, where he travelled with the squad to

Varaždin Varaždin ( or ; , also known by #Name, alternative names) is a city in Northern Croatia, north-east of Zagreb. The total population is 46,946, with 38,839 in the city settlement itself (2011). The city is best known for its baroque buildings, ...

only to make a cameo appearance on his European debut, as he came on as a 90th-minute substitute for Vioresin Sinani in the 1–1 draw. He did not feature in the return leg, which saw his side progress to the next round following a 2–0 victory. He did not feature in the first leg of KF Tirana's next UEFA Cup fixture against

Kayserispor Kayseri Spor Kulübü, commonly known as Kayserispor, and also called Bellona Kayserispor due to sponsorship reasons, is a Turkish professional football club based in Kayseri. They play their home matches at the RHG Enertürk Enerji Stadium ...

, but he did play in the second leg as KF Tirana were knocked out of the competition by the Turkish side. He featured in 21 league games during the 2006–07 Albanian Superliga campaign as KF Tirana won the league after finishing runners-up the season before.

2007–08 season

Following the departure of Ervin Bulku to FC Kryvbas Kryvyi Rih in the summer of 2007, Sefa was given the number 8 shirt, which was seen as a great privilege by the club to give the young midfielder the number of a departing legend. He scored his first league goal for the club on 1 September 2007 in a home match against

, in a season where he featured in 13 league games and scored 3 goals in the process as his side finished in a disappointing 6th place, and Albanian cup runners-up.

Laçi

On 6 June 2014, Sefa completed a transfer to Laçi as a free agent by penning a contract until the end of 2014–15 season. However, he left the team on 5 January of the following by terminating his contract with the club.

Return to KF Tirana

He rejoined

Tirana Tirana ( , ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in Albania, largest city of Albania. It is located in the centre of the country, enclosed by mountains and hills, with Dajti rising to the east and a slight valley to the northwest ov ...

in January 2015 after agreeing terms with his previous club Laçi in order to complete the transfer, for a reported nominal fee of 300,000

Albanian lek The lek (; indefinite singular ''lek'', definite plural ''lekët'', indefinite plural ''lekë''; Currency symbol, sign: L; ISO 4217, code: ALL) is the currency of Albania. Historically, it was subdivided into 100 ''qintars'' (; singular ''qinda ...

(around €2,150). He made his return debut for the club on 24 January against

Apolonia Fier Futboll Klub Apolonia Fier is an Albanian football club based in Fier. The club was founded on 17 June 1925 and took its name from the nearby ruins of the ancient city of Apollonia. The club currently competes in Kategoria e Parë, the secon ...

, coming on as a 62nd-minute substitute for Mario Morina in the 2–0 win.

Vllaznia Shkodër

On 1 September 2015, in the last day of summer transferts window, Sefa left Tirana and signed with Vllaznia Shkodër for an undisclosed fee, taking the vacant number 24 for the 2015–16 season. On 3 October 2015, Sefa scored his first goal for the club, a last-minute equaliser from a free kick against Kukësi, giving the team the first point of the season after five consecutive loses.

Kamza

On 2 August 2016, Sefa agreed personal terms and joined

Albanian First Division Albanian may refer to: *Pertaining to Albania in Southeast Europe; in particular: **Albanians, an ethnic group native to the Balkans **Albanian language **Albanian culture **Demographics of Albania, includes other ethnic groups within the country ...

side Kamza as a free agent, signing a one-year contract. He was presented on the same day along with Valdan Nimani and Elton Basriu, and was handed squad number 8.

Liria Prizren

On 5 July 2017, Sefa signed a contract with Liria Prizren of

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 ...

, rejoining his former teammate

Bledi Shkëmbi Bledi Shkëmbi (born 13 August 1979) is an Albanian professional football coach and former player. who is the current head coach of Tirana in the Kategoria Superiore. A former Albanian international, he has previously played for Ethnikos Aste ...

now as coach.

International career

Senior team

He received his first call up for the Albania national team by

Josip Kuže Josip Kuže (13 November 1952 – 16 June 2013) was a Croatian football manager and footballer. He was a player and later a manager of Dinamo Zagreb where he played for 10 years, making a total of 384 appearances and scoring 14 goals. Playing ...

for a friendly against

Cyprus Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...

on 12 August 2009, which ended in a record breaking 6–1 win for Albania as Sefa had a debut to remember.

Style of play

Sefa mainly operates as a

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 ...

but he can also play in a more advances role, as well as having played on both the left and right sides of the midfield.

Career statistics

Honours

Club

Tirana *

: 2006–07, 2008–09 *

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 ...

: 2005–06 *

Albanian Supercup The Albanian Supercup is a single match usually at the beginning of the season between the winners of the Kategoria Superiore and Albanian Cup. Prior to 2000, Supercup final was not played when the champion team won the Double. However, after the ...

: 2007, 2009 Skënderbeu Korçë *

: 2010–11

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sefa, Jetmir 1987 births Living people Men's association football midfielders Footballers from Tirana Albanian men's footballers Albania men's youth international footballers Albania men's under-21 international footballers Albania men's international footballers KF Tirana players KF Skënderbeu Korçë players KF Laçi players KS Kastrioti players KF Bylis players KF Vllaznia Shkodër players FC Kamza players KF Liria Prizren players FC Dinamo City players KF Besa Kavajë players Kategoria Superiore players Kategoria e Parë players Football Superleague of Kosovo players Albanian expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Kosovo Albanian expatriate sportspeople in Kosovo 21st-century Albanian sportsmen