Gëzim Shalaj

Gëzim Shalaj (born 28 July 1990) is a Swiss footballer of Albanian descent who plays as a midfielder for Swiss 1. Liga club FC Naters.

Gëzim Shalaj
Personal information
Full name Gëzim Shalaj[1]
Date of birth (1990-07-28) 28 July 1990
Place of birth Bern, Switzerland
Height 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)[2]
Playing position(s) Winger; attacking midfielder
Club information
Current team
 Naters
Number 19
Youth career
2000–2008 Dynamo Dresden
2008–2009 Düdingen
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2009–2010 Düdingen 14 (2)
2010–2012 Kriens 49 (4)
2012 → Luzern (loan) 1 (0)
2012–2014 Lugano 46 (5)
2014–2015 Pandurii Târgu Jiu 27 (3)
2015–2016 Dinamo București 7 (0)
2016 Enosis Neon Paralimni 5 (1)
2016–2017 Port Vale 7 (0)
2018–2019 Trepça'89
2019 Breitenrain Bern
2019– Naters
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 23:43, 5 August 2019 (UTC)

He began his career with Swiss lower league side Düdingen, before winning a move to Swiss Challenge League club Kriens in 2010. After just over two seasons with Kriens, he joined Swiss Super League side Luzern, but played just once in the top-flight, in March 2012, before returning to the Challenge League to play for Lugano later in 2012. After two seasons with Lugano, he joined Romanian Liga I side Pandurii Târgu Jiu for the 2014–15 campaign. He signed with Dinamo București in October 2015, but left the club after just two months. He spent the second half of the 2015–16 season with Cypriot First Division club Enosis Neon Paralimni. He signed with English League One side Port Vale in August 2016. He signed with Trepça'89 in the Superleague of Kosovo in January 2018, before returning to Switzerland the following year to play for Breitenrain Bern and Naters.

Playing career

Switzerland

Shalaj was born in Switzerland and is of Albanian descent.[3] He spent a brief time in the youth team at Dynamo Dresden in 2008.[4] He began his senior career at Düdingen, scoring two goals in 14 1. Liga (third tier) appearances in the first half of the 2009–10 campaign.[5] He moved on to Swiss Challenge League (second tier) side Kriens for the second half of the 2009–10 season. He made his debut for Kriens on 7 March, coming on as a half-time substitute for Thierry Stadelmann in a 0–0 draw with Lausanne-Sport at the Stade olympique de la Pontaise.[6] He scored his first goal for the club on 15 May, in a 6–2 win over Locarno at Stadion Kleinfeld.[7] He went on to become a first team regular in the 2010–11 season, missing just one league game, though 11 of his league appearances were as a substitute. He began the 2011–12 season with three goals in 14 games, before he was signed to Swiss Super League side Luzern by manager Murat Yakin.[8]

"Gëzim is a young and talented footballer who has shown what he can do in Kriens. That is why we loaned him to see what he is capable of at a higher level."

—Luzern coach Murat Yakin shares his first impression for Shalaj.[8]

However, he struggled with injuries and played just one top-flight game for the "Luminaries", coming on as a half-time substitute for Nelson Ferreira in a 2–1 defeat by Servette at Stade de Genève on 11 March 2012.[8][9] He returned to the Challenge League for the 2012–13 campaign, joining Lugano. He scored four goals in 20 matches as Lugano finished seventh in the 2012–13 season, and then scored one in 27 appearances in the 2013–14 campaign as the club posted a second-place finish, nine points behind promoted champions Vaduz. He received the first red card of his career on 14 May 2014, in a 3–0 win over Locarno at Stadio del Lido.[10] Both he and teammate Jonathan Sabbatini were contacted by betting fraudsters who wanted to rig a match, but Shalaj and Sabbatini reported the incident to the Swiss Football Association.[4]

Romania

Shalaj signed a one-year contract, with the option for two more seasons, at Romanian Liga I side Pandurii Târgu Jiu in July 2014.[11] He picked up a toe injury in December, which kept him out of action for a month.[4] He ended the 2014–15 campaign with three goals and made six assists in 33 league and cup appearances, including one goal in a 3–1 win over champions Steaua București at the Stadionul Municipal on 15 March.[3][12] The goal against Steaua București saw him named on the Liga I team of the week, alongside his midfield teammates Mihai Pintilii, Mihai Roman, and Dan Nistor.[13] He played three matches of the club's run to the 2015 Cupa Ligii Final, including a substitute appearance against Dinamo București in the first leg of the semi-final.[14]

He joined Dinamo București in October 2015.[5] He played 169 minutes across seven games before he had his contract cancelled by mutual agreement in December 2015.[15][16]

Enosis Neon Paralimni

Shalaj moved to Cyprus to play for Cypriot First Division club Enosis Neon Paralimni in February 2016. He scored on his debut on 6 February, in a 2–0 victory over AEL Limassol at Tsirion Stadium.[17] The club were relegated at the end of the 2015–16 season.

Port Vale

In August 2016, Shalaj signed a one-year contract with EFL League One club Port Vale.[18] Manager Bruno Ribeiro said that Shalaj was "very strong for English football" but would need time to build his fitness as he missed out on pre-season training.[19]

Later career

On 8 January 2018, Shalaj joined the defending Superleague of Kosovo champions Trepça'89.[20] He returned to his native country to sign for Swiss Promotion League side Breitenrain Bern at the end of the 2018–19 season. Ahead of the 2019–20 season, Shalaj joined Swiss 1. Liga side FC Naters.[21]

Style of play

Speaking in July 2012, Luzern manager Murat Yakin described Shalaj as "very fast" with a "strong left foot".[8] Speaking in September 2016, Shalaj said that "I am left-footed, I play on the wing and I like to cross, I like to go one against one and get balls into the striker".[22]

Statistics
Club Season Division League National Cup[lower-alpha 1] League Cup[lower-alpha 2] Other Total
AppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Düdingen 2009–10[5]1. Liga142000000142
Kriens 2009–10[23]Swiss Challenge League7100000071
2010–11[23]Swiss Challenge League290110000301
2011–12[23]Swiss Challenge League133100000143
Total 494210000515
Luzern (loan) 2011–12[23]Swiss Super League1000000010
Lugano 2012–13[23]Swiss Challenge League204000000204
2013–14[23]Swiss Challenge League261100000271
Total 465100000475
Pandurii Târgu Jiu 2014–15[23]Liga I273303000333
Dinamo București 2015–16[23]Liga I7000000070
Enosis Neon Paralimni 2015–16[23]Cypriot First Division5100000051
Port Vale 2016–17[24]EFL League One7010001090
Career total 1561571301016716
  1. Appearances and goals in the Swiss Cup, Cupa României, and FA Cup.
  2. Appearances and goals in the Cupa Ligii, EFL Cup, and EFL Trophy.
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References
  1. "List of players under written contract registered between 01/08/2016 and 31/08/2016" (PDF). The Football Association. p. 33. Retrieved 11 November 2016.
  2. "FootballSquads - Port Vale - 2016/17". www.footballsquads.co.uk. Retrieved 24 June 2019.
  3. "Mijlocaşul elveţian Gezim Shalaj va evolua la Dinamo". Mediafax (in Romanian). Retrieved 1 September 2016.
  4. "Gezim Shalaj - Im Osten viel Neues | News | News | Swiss Football League". www.sfl.ch (in German). 22 December 2014. Retrieved 1 September 2016.
  5. "Gezim SHALAJ la Dinamo". www.fcdinamo.ro (in Romanian). Retrieved 1 September 2016.
  6. "Lausanne Sport vs. Kriens - 7 March 2010 - Soccerway". au.soccerway.com. Retrieved 1 September 2016.
  7. "Kriens vs. Locarno - 15 May 2010 - Soccerway". au.soccerway.com. Retrieved 1 September 2016.
  8. Spirig, Jonathan (16 July 2012). "Ein vergessener Berner sorgt im Tessin für Furore". bernerzeitung.ch/ (in German). Retrieved 1 September 2016.
  9. "Servette vs. Luzern - 11 March 2012 - Soccerway". au.soccerway.com. Retrieved 1 September 2016.
  10. "Locarno vs. Lugano - 14 May 2014 - Soccerway". au.soccerway.com. Retrieved 1 September 2016.
  11. "Shalaj tente l'aventure roumaine". www.sfl.ch (in German). 3 July 2014. Retrieved 1 September 2016.
  12. "Pandurii Târgu Jiu vs. Steaua Bucureşti - 15 March 2015 - Soccerway". au.soccerway.com. Retrieved 1 September 2016.
  13. "Echipa etapei a 21-a în viziunea ProSport. Primul "11", dominat de jucătorii Pandurilor. Fotbalişti de la Dinamo, Rapid şi Petrolul printre remarcaţi". Pro Sport (in Romanian). 15 March 2015. Retrieved 1 September 2016.
  14. "Pandurii Târgu Jiu vs. Dinamo Bucureşti - 17 February 2015 - Soccerway". au.soccerway.com. Retrieved 1 September 2016.
  15. "OFICIAL. Mulțumim, Gezim Shalaj! - Revista FC Dinamo | FC Dinamo Bucureşti". www.fcdinamo.ro (in Romanian). 18 December 2015. Retrieved 1 September 2016.
  16. "Începe "curăţenia de iarnă" la Dinamo. Clubul s-a despărţit de trei jucători astăzi: Shalaj, Feussi şi Abraham". Mediafax (in Romanian). 18 December 2015. Retrieved 1 September 2016.
  17. "AEL vs. Enosis - 6 February 2016 - Soccerway". au.soccerway.com. Retrieved 1 September 2016.
  18. "Port Vale sign Miguel Santos and Gezim Shalaj". BBC Sport. 31 August 2016. Retrieved 31 August 2016.
  19. Baggaley, Mike (6 September 2016). "Port Vale: Bruno Ribeiro excited about Gezim Shalaj". The Sentinel. Retrieved 21 September 2016.
  20. "Super Ekskluzive: Trepça'89 bombardon merkaton e janarit me këtë futbollist [VIDEO]". Korneri (in Albanian). 8 January 2018.
  21. Fussball: "Gut unterwegs mit Luft nach oben", rro.ch, 2 August 2019
  22. Smith, Pete (2 September 2016). "Port Vale: That's entertainment as new boy Gezim Shalaj gets ready to wing it for Valiants". The Staffordshire Sentinel. Retrieved 2 September 2016.
  23. Gëzim Shalaj at Soccerway
  24. "Games played by Gëzim Shalaj in 2016/2017". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 September 2016.
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