Albion Qaush Avdijaj (born 12 January 1994) is a professional footballer who plays as a forward. Born in Switzerland, he represented that nation at youth international levels, appeared in two friendly matches for the Kosovo senior team, and played twice for Albania at under-21 level.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Albion Qaush Avdijaj | ||
| Date of birth | 12 January 1994 | ||
| Place of birth | Zürich, Switzerland | ||
| Height | 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Forward | ||
| Youth career | |||
| –2003 | Red Star Zürich | ||
| 2003–2014 | Grasshoppers | ||
| 2005–2007 | → FC Zürich (loan) | ||
| 2010–2011 | → 1899 Hoffenheim (loan) | ||
| 2012–2013 | → VfL Wolfsburg (loan) | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2011–2014 | Grasshoppers U21 | 34 | (13) |
| 2013–2014 | Grasshoppers | 0 | (0) |
| 2014–2015 | VfL Wolfsburg II | 31 | (14) |
| 2015–2017 | Vaduz | 46 | (7) |
| 2017–2019 | Grasshoppers | 14 | (2) |
| 2017–2019 | → Grasshoppers U21 | 3 | (1) |
| 2018–2019 | → Debrecen (loan) | 21 | (1) |
| 2019–2020 | Viborg | 6 | (0) |
| 2020 | Tirana | 0 | (0) |
| 2021 | Vllaznia Shkodër | 12 | (1) |
| 2021–2022 | Kriens | 30 | (4) |
| International career | |||
| 2011 | Switzerland U17 | 4 | (0) |
| 2011–2012 | Switzerland U18 | 7 | (2) |
| 2012–2013 | Switzerland U19 | 3 | (1) |
| 2014 | Kosovo | 2 | (0) |
| 2015 | Albania U21 | 2 | (1) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 21 May 2022 | |||
Club career
editVfL Wolfsburg II
editAvdijaj was born in Zürich. After failing to break to Grasshopper's first team, he joined the reserve team of VfL Wolfsburg for the 2015–16 season.[1] He made his debut in the Regionalliga on 17 August, playing full-90 minutes in a 1–0 away win to Neumünster.[2] Then Avdijaj scored his first goals with Wolves on 6 September in a 4–0 home hammering of Havelse.[3] Avdijaj continued with his strong form, scoring against Eintracht Norderstedt, the winner against VfB Oldenburg, before scoring another brace in the 4–2 home win over Braunschweig, taking his tally up to 6 goals.[4]
Vaduz
editOn 30 August 2015, on the deadline day, Avdijaj completed a transfer to Vaduz for an undisclosed fee, signing until June 2017.[5] Upon signing, Avdijaj stated: "The transfer is successfully completed, I'm ready for the new challenge.[5] He was allocated squad number 7, and made his competitive debut on 12 September in the opening Swiss Super League week against Young Boys, entering as a second-half substitute in an eventual 4–0 away crash.[6] He opened his scoring account later on 31 October where he scored the opener against Basel, which turned out to be nothing as visitors bounced back to win 2–1.[7] One week later, Avdijaj was again on the scoresheet, netting in the 72nd minute against FC Zürich but was sent-off two minutes later following a second yellow card; the match finished in a 1–1 draw.[8]
Viborg FF
editOn 3 September 2019, Avdijaj joined Viborg FF in Denmark on a three-year deal.[9] On 19 May 2020 the club confirmed, that Avdijaj's contract had been terminated, because he wanted to be closer to his family in Switzerland.[10]
Kriens
editInternational career
editKosovo
editIn May 2014, Avdijaj accepted an invitation from Albert Bunjaku to play for Kosovo in the friendlies against Turkey and Senegal.[12] He made his first appearance for Kosovo against Turkey on 21 May, appearing as a substitute in the 60th minute in an eventual 1–6 home defeat.[13] Four days later he made his second appearance, his first as a starter, in another defeat, this time to Senegal at Stade de Genève.[14] Those were his only appearances for Kosovo, as he switched to play for Albania.
Career statistics
editClub
edit| Club | Season | League | Cup | Europe[a] | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Grasshoppers II | 2011–12 | 1. Liga Promotion | 22 | 6 | — | — | — | 22 | 6 | |||
| 2013–14 | 1. Liga Classic | 12 | 7 | — | — | — | 12 | 7 | ||||
| Total | 34 | 13 | — | — | — | 34 | 13 | |||||
| Grasshoppers | 2013–14 | Swiss Super League | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 0 | 0 | |||
| VfL Wolfsburg II | 2014–15 | Regionalliga | 26 | 11 | — | — | — | 26 | 11 | |||
| 2015–16 | 5 | 3 | — | — | — | 5 | 3 | |||||
| Total | 31 | 14 | — | — | — | 31 | 14 | |||||
| Vaduz | 2015–16 | Swiss Super League] | 23 | 4 | 2 | 1 | — | — | 25 | 5 | ||
| 2016–17 | 23 | 3 | 2 | 6 | 3 | 0 | — | 28 | 9 | |||
| Total | 46 | 7 | 4 | 7 | 3 | 0 | — | 53 | 14 | |||
| Grasshoppers | 2017–18 | Swiss Super League | 10 | 2 | 3 | 1 | — | — | 13 | 3 | ||
| Grasshoppers II | 2017–18 | Swiss 1. Liga | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 1 | 0 | |||
| Debrecen | 2018–19 | Nemzeti Bajnokság I | 21 | 1 | 3 | 2 | — | — | 24 | 3 | ||
| Career total | 143 | 37 | 10 | 10 | 3 | 0 | — | 156 | 47 | |||
- ^ Appearances in UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League
International
edit- As of 25 May 2014
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kosovo[17] | 2014 | 2 | 0 |
| Total | 2 | 0 | |
Honours
editGrasshoppers
FC Vaduz
References
edit- ^ "Avdijaj në Wolfsburg II" [Avdijaj at Wolfsburg II] (in Albanian). Gazeta Express. 2 August 2014. Retrieved 4 March 2017.
- ^ "VfR Neumünster vs. VfL Wolfsburg 0 – 1". Soccerway. 17 August 2014. Retrieved 4 March 2017.
- ^ "Wolfsburg II vs. Havelse 4 – 0". Soccerway. 6 September 2014. Retrieved 4 March 2017.
- ^ "Wolfsburg II vs. Branunschweig 4 – 2". Soccerway. 18 October 2014. Retrieved 4 March 2017.
- ^ a b "Albion Avdijaj te Vaduz në Zvicër" [Albion Avdijaj at Vaduz in Switzerland] (in Albanian). Super Sport Albania. 30 August 2015. Retrieved 4 March 2017.
- ^ "Young Boys vs. Vaduz 4 – 0". Soccerway. 12 September 2015. Retrieved 4 March 2017.
- ^ "Vaduz vs. Basel 1 – 2". Soccerway. 31 October 2015. Retrieved 4 March 2017.
- ^ "Avdijaj shënon gol dhe ndëshkohet me të kuq (Video)" [Avdijaj scores and gets red-carded (Video)] (in Albanian). Gazeta Express. 7 November 2015. Archived from the original on 5 March 2017. Retrieved 4 March 2017.
- ^ Ny angriber på plads i VFF, vff.dk, 3 September 2019
- ^ VFF ophæver med Avdijaj, vff.dk, 19 May 2020
- ^ "Herzlich willkommen beim SCK, Albion Avdijaj" (in German). Kriens. 1 July 2021. Retrieved 21 October 2021.
- ^ "Dy miqësoret, Bunjaku shpall listën e Kosovës" [Two friendlies, Bunjaku announces the list of Kosovo] (in Albanian). Panorama Sport. 19 May 2014. Retrieved 4 March 2017.
- ^ "Turqia shumë e fortë, mposht Kosovën në miqësore 6:1" [Turkey very strong, defeats Kosovo in friendly 6:1] (in Albanian). Kosovalive360.com. 21 May 2014. Archived from the original on 20 October 2017. Retrieved 4 March 2017.
- ^ "Humbja e radhës, Kosova-Senegali 1:3" [Next defeat, Kosovo-Senegal 1:3] (in Albanian). albifo.ch. 25 May 2014. Retrieved 4 March 2017.
- ^ Albion Avdijaj at Soccerway. Retrieved 25 November 2017.
- ^ "Albion Avdijaj". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved 25 November 2017.
- ^ Albion Avdijaj - national football team player EU-Football.info
External links
edit- Albion Avdijaj – UEFA competition record (archive)
- Albion Avdijaj profile at FSHF.org