Bekim Balaj

Bekim Balaj
Personal information
Date of birth (1991-01-11) 11 January 1991 (age 33)
Place of birth Shkodër, Albania
Height 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)
Position(s) Striker
Team information
Current team
 Vllaznia Shkodër
Number 9
Youth career
2002–2009 Vllaznia Shkodër
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2009–2010 Vllaznia Shkodër 38 (9)
2010–2011 Gençlerbirliği 1 (0)
2011–2012 Tirana 37 (15)
2012–2014 Sparta Prague 12 (3)
2013–2014 → Jagiellonia Białystok (loan) 31 (7)
2014–2015 Slavia Prague 13 (3)
2015–2016 Rijeka 46 (18)
2016–2019 Akhmat Grozny 61 (12)
2019–2021 Sturm Graz 57 (9)
2021 Nizhny Novgorod 15 (0)
2022 Boluspor 14 (4)
2022–2023 Ankara Keçiörengücü 14 (1)
2023– Vllaznia Shkodër 61 (25)
International career‡
2008–2010 Albania U19 6 (3)
2010–2012 Albania U21 8 (3)
2012–2022 Albania 48 (9)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 1 June 2024
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 31 March 2024

Bekim Balaj (born 11 January 1991) is an Albanian professional footballer who plays as a striker for Albanian club Vllaznia Shkodër and the Albania national team.

Balaj started his football career with his hometown club Vllaznia and made his professional debut at the age of 17 before going on to score 17 goals in 38 games for the club before moving to Turkey to join Gençlerbirliği.[1] After little success in Turkey he returned to Albania and played for Tirana[2] where he scored 15 league goals in 37 games before joining Sparta Prague in the Czech Republic in January 2013.

During his time at Sparta Prague he was loaned out to Polish side Jagiellonia Białystok for the entire 2013–14 campaign where he scored 9 goals in 36 games in all competition before return to his parent club for the first half of the following season. He joined Croatian club HNK Rijeka in January 2015 for a fee of €600,000.[3]

Balaj begun his international career with under-19 squad in 2008, and two years later also represented the under-21 squad. He made his international senior debut in 2012 and played an important role in Albania's successful UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying campaign, notably scoring the winner with a volley in the opening day against Portugal. He was selected in the 23-man squad for UEFA Euro 2016,[4] making his debut against Romania in the final group match.[5]

  1. ^ "Turkish team signs Albanian striker". World Bulletin. 17 June 2010. Retrieved 20 October 2019.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference Tirana was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference Rijeka was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference Euro 2016 squad was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference Win against Romania was invoked but never defined (see the help page).