Edmond Max Rugova Jr. (born 17 February 2000), commonly known as Max Rugova or Max Rugova Jr. 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 striker for Dukagjini. Born in the United States, he has represented Kosovo at youth level.

Club career

Early career

Rugova joined the academy ahead of the 2013–14 season and has played for both the Under-16 and Under-18 groups, he had 14 goals in 27 games while splitting time between the two teams in the 2015–16 season, while the winger has five goals in nine games for the U16s so far in the 2016–17 season. He has spent significant time training with the

Swope Park Rangers Sporting Kansas City II is a MLS Next Pro club affiliated with Sporting Kansas City of Major League Soccer. For the 2022 season they will play their home games at Kansas Jayhawks, Rock Chalk Park at the University of Kansas in Lawrence, Kansas, ...

since the start of 2016 and won a penalty 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 the

Tulsa Golden Hurricane The Tulsa Golden Hurricane are the athletic teams that represent the University of Tulsa. These teams are referred to as the Tulsa Golden Hurricane (or variously as TU or Tulsa). Before adopting the name Golden Hurricane in 1922, the Universit ...

, on 16 April 2016.

1. FC Nürnberg

Under-19

On 25 August 2018, Rugova joined

Under 19 Bundesliga The Under 19 Bundesliga (German: ''A-Junioren Bundesliga'') is the highest level in German Under 19 football. It was created in 2003 and is divided in three divisions (Nord/Nordost, West und Süd/Südwest) with 14 teams each. The winner of each ...

side 1. FC Nürnberg U19. On 16 September 2018, he made his debut in a 1–4 home defeat against

Mainz 05 1. Fußball- und Sport-Verein Mainz 05 e. V., usually shortened to 1. FSV Mainz 05 or simply Mainz 05 (), is a German professional sports club, founded in 1905 and based in Mainz, Rhineland-Palatinate. Mainz 05 play in the Bundesliga, the top tie ...

U19, starting the match before being substituted off in the 74th minute for Thomas Schmidt.

Prishtina

On 14 August 2019, Rugova joined

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 ...

side

Prishtina Pristina or Prishtina ( , ), . is the capital and largest city of Kosovo. It is the administrative center of the eponymous municipality and district. In antiquity, the area of Pristina was part of the Dardanian Kingdom. The heritage of th ...

. On 7 October 2019, he made his debut in a 1–0 away defeat against Ballkani after coming on as a substitute at 73rd minute in place of Kreshnik Uka.

International career

United States

Under-17

In May 2016, Rugova received a call-up from United States U17 for a training camp at

IMG Academy IMG Academy is a University-preparatory school, preparatory boarding school and sports training destination in Bradenton, Florida, United States. The organization is set across over 600 acres (243 ha) and features programs consisting of sport ca ...

Bradenton, Florida Bradenton ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Manatee County, Florida, Manatee County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city's population is 55,698, up from 49,546 at the 2010 census. It is a pri ...

Kosovo

Under-19

On 18 May 2018, Rugova received a call-up from Kosovo U19 for the

friendly matches 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 sporting event whose prize money and impact on the playe ...

against Albania U19. On 24 May 2018, he made his debut with Kosovo U19 in first match against Albania U19 after being named in the starting line-up.

=2019 UEFA European Under-19 Championship qualifications

= On 2 October 2018, Rugova was named as part of the Kosovo U19 squad for 2019 UEFA European Under-19 Championship qualifications. On 10 October 2018, he made his debut with Kosovo U19 in a match against Austria U19 after being named in the starting line-up.

Personal life

His father EdmondRugova working his way up the ladder
- Top drawer soccer played for FC Pristina and Kansas City Comets and managed the

Kosovo national football team The Kosovo national football team (; ) represents Kosovo in men's international association football, football. The team is controlled by the Football Federation of Kosovo, the governing body for football in Kosovo, and is under the jurisdictio ...

in its early years.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rugova, Max 2000 births Living people Soccer players from Overland Park, Kansas American people of Kosovan descent American people of Albanian descent Men's association football forwards Kosovan men's footballers Kosovo men's youth international footballers American men's soccer players United States men's youth international soccer players Sporting Kansas City II players FC Prishtina players KF Dukagjini players USL Championship players Football Superleague of Kosovo players 21st-century American sportsmen