Xhevahir Sukaj

Xhevahir Sukaj
Personal information
Full name Xhevahir Sukaj
Date of birth (1987-10-05) 5 October 1987
Place of birth Shkodër, Albania
Height 1.84 m (6 ft 0 in)
Playing position Striker
Club information
Current team
 Partizani Tirana
Number 20
Youth career
2002–2004 Vllaznia Shkodër
Senior career*
Years Team Apps† (Gls)†
2004–2008 Vllaznia Shkodër 75 (19)
2005–2006 → Elbasani (loan) 10 (0)
2008–2009 Hacettepe 11 (0)
2009–2010 Vllaznia Shkodër 14 (11)
2010 Orduspor 10 (2)
2010 Ismaily 3 (0)
2010–2011 NK Zagreb 5 (1)
2011–2012 Vllaznia Shkodër 20 (15)
2012–2015 Sepahan 59 (15)
2015– Partizani Tirana 21 (12)
National team‡
2005–2009 Albania U21 15 (5)
2009– Albania 1 (0)

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 14 December 2015.
† Appearances (goals)

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 21 August 2015

Xhevahir Sukaj (born 5 October 1987 in Shkodër) is an Albanian footballer who currently plays for Partizani Tirana in the Albanian Superliga. He has played for Vllaznia Shkodër and KF Elbasani in Albania, Hacettepe and Orduspor in Turkey, Ismaily in Egypt, NK Zagreb in Croatia and most recently Sepahan in Iran.

Career

Early career

Sukaj is a product of the Vllaznia academy and in 2004 he was promoted to the first team at the age of just 16. The 2004–05 season was his first in professional football and he made 15 league appearances scoring 1 goal along the way helping Vllaznia finish 4th in the table. In the Albanian Cup, Sukaj managed to grab 2 goals in the 8–0 thrashing of Tërbuni Pukë in the 2nd round of the cup. Vllaznia reached the semi-finals that season but were eventually knocked out by KF Tirana after a 3–2 aggregate loss.[1]

He was then loaned out to KF Elbasani for the 2005–06 season in order to gain some more first team experience, but Sukaj found it difficult to compete with the more experienced strikers at the club and only managed to feature in 4 league games without scoring, but he did win the Albanian Superliga that season with Elbasani. He reached the Albanian Cup semi-finals again but did not score in any game during his loan.

Sukaj returned to Vllaznia in 2006 and immediately established himself in the first team and was instrumental in helping Vllaznia finish 3rd in the league with 8 goals in 31 games. He also scored 3 goals in the cup where Vllaznia were narrowly knocked out in the quarter-finals through the away goal rule against Partizani Tirana.[2] Overall he scored 11 goals in the 2006–07 season.

During the 2007–08 season Vllaznia played in the Intertoto Cup where Sukaj made his first European appearance in the return leg of the 1st round against NK Zagreb, but after wasting chances he was substituted by the coach Mirel Josa for Vioresin Sinani in the 69th minute. Vllaznia were then drawn against Turkish club Trabzonspor in the next round where Vllaznia were beaten 10–0 on aggregate, with Sukaj only playing the first leg, as he was dropped to the bench by Josa for the return leg.[3] In the league Vllaznia had a difficult season finishing only 7th, despite Sukaj scoring 10 goals in 28 games. His side did however manage to win the Albanian Cup with the help of 3 goals by Sukaj, including the winning goal in the final against KF Tirana.[4] His goal tally reached 13 for the 2007–08 season and he won his first trophy with Vllaznia.

In the 2008–09 UEFA Cup qualification Sukaj scored 2 away goals against Slovenian side NK Koper in the first half of the 2–1 win.[5] His goals put Vllaznia through to the second round as the 2nd leg finished goal less and his side were drawn against Italian giants Napoli. Sukaj's double in Slovenia earned his team their first win the competition in their 7 games played and Sukaj gained the record of becming the first ever Vllaznia player to score more than one goal in a European game.[6] He played his last game for the club before moving abroad in the first leg of the next round against Napoli, where Vllaznia were outclassed and beaten 3–0 at home.[7]

Turkey

His departure from Vllaznia Shkodër was announced on 4 August 2008. The club who actually secured his signature was Gençlerbirliği S.K., who are the parent club of Hacettepe. He was loaned to Hacettepe, until the end of the season. After being unable to break into the first team he was loaned back to his homeland of Albania. He only started 2 games, but made other appearances off the bench.

Vllaznia

On his first match back he was able to get a hat trick in the match against KS Besa, FK Vllaznia won the match 4-1, in 14 other matches that season he scored another 7 goals.

Orduspor

After an uneventful spell in Turkish top flight, Orduspor bought him. Again after a bad spell he was loaned to Egyptian club Al Ismaily.

NK Zagreb

Sukaj signed a three-year contract with Croatian side NK Zagreb on 15 July 2010, after it was widely believed that he would join Vllaznia once again.[8][9] He only made five league appearances and scored one goal before termingating his contract in January.[10]

Vllaznia

He signed a two-year contract since June 2013, On the opening day of the 2011–12 Albanian Superliga, Sukaj scored a hatrick against KF Laçi to secure a win for his side, despite Vllaznia trailing the game after 43 minutes. Sukaj's goals came in the 73rd, 80th and 92nd minute of the game.[11]

Sepahan

In January 2012, Sukaj completed his transfer to Iran Pro League side Sepahan by signing an 18-month deal.[12] During the second part of 2011–12 season, he managed to score only two goals in ten appearances.

Sukaj won his third trophy with Sepahan in May 2015 after his club secured the league title in the very last week after beating 2–0 Saipa, where Sukaj featured in the last 14 minutes.[13] After the end of the season, the club's directors decided not to renew his contract, leaving him as a free agent.[14]

Partizani

He returned to Albania in the summer of 2015 and after being linked with a host of Albanian Superliga sides including his former club Vllaznia Shkodër he signed a one-year contract with Partizani Tirana on 21 July.[15][16] In the opening match of 2015–16 Albanian Superliga against KF Laçi at Qemal Stafa Stadium, Sukaj managed to score a fantastic goal with free kick in the 64th minute to secure his side one point.[17] Xhevahir Sukaj was one of the top form players in the league as he scored a goal in each of his first seven matches for FK Partizani. Since then he has only netted once after 17 October 2015, which was against Tërbuni Pukë on 2 December 2015. On 19 December 2015, he immediately got sent off against Skënderbeu for an altercation with Renato Arapi only seconds after coming into the pitch. He played his first match in 2016, coming off the bench to score in the 89th minute against Flamurtari Vlorë on 6 February 2016.

International career

After enjoying a successful Under-21 career with Albania's U-21 team, Sukaj was recently been called up the senior team. He was included in Arie Haan's 20 man list for a friendly against Azerbaijan in Baku.

Career statistics

Club

As of 17 October 2015[18]
Club Season League Cup Continental[lower-alpha 1] Other[lower-alpha 2] Total
AppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Vllaznia Shkodër 2004–05 1510000—151
Total 15 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 15 1
KF Elbasani 2005–06 400010—50
Total 4 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 5 0
Vllaznia Shkodër 2006–07 3180000—318
2007–08 28101120—3111
2008–09 ——32—32
Total 59 18 1 1 5 2 0 0 65 21
Hacettepe 2008–09 1101010—130
Total 11 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 13 0
Vllaznia Shkodër 2008–09 14114032—2113
Total 14 11 4 0 3 2 0 0 21 13
Orduspor 2009–10 10211——113
Total 10 2 1 1 0 0 0 0 11 3
Ismaily 2009–10 302000—50
Total 3 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 5 0
NK Zagreb 2010–11 5100——51
Total 5 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 1
Vllaznia Shkodër 2010–11 11644——1510
2011–12 993342—1614
Total 20 15 7 7 4 2 0 0 31 24
Sepahan 2011–12 1020062—164
2012–13 32115273—4416
2013–14 700062—132
2014–15 810000—81
Total 70 15 0 0 19 7 0 0 89 22
Partizani Tirana 2015–16 7700——77
Total 7 7 0 0 0 0 0 0 7 7
Career total 218 70 21 11 33 13 0 0 272 94
  1. ↑ Including continental competitions, such as UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League
  2. ↑ Including other competitions, such as Albanian Supercup

International

As of 17 October 2015[19]
Albania national team
YearAppsGoals
200910
Total10

Honours

Club

KF Elbasani
Vllaznia Shkodër
Sepahan

References

  1. ↑ Giovanni Nappi (1 September 2005). "Albania Cup 2004/05". RSSSF. Retrieved 10 September 2009.
  2. ↑ Giovanni Nappi (7 September 2009). "Albania Cup 2006/07". RSSSF. Retrieved 21 August 2015.
  3. ↑ Marcel Haisma (21 September 2007). "UEFA Intertoto Cup 2007". RSSSF. Retrieved 10 September 2009.
  4. ↑ Giovanni Nappi (4 September 2007). "Albania Cup 2007/08". RSSSF. Retrieved 10 September 2009.
  5. ↑ "Koper 1-2 Vllaznia". UEFA.com. 17 July 2008. Retrieved 10 September 2009.
  6. ↑ "Sukaj, rekord unikal me Vllazninë". Zemra Shqiptare (in Albanian). 20 July 2008. Retrieved 10 September 2010.
  7. ↑ "Vllaznia 0-3 Napoli". UEFA.com. 14 August 2008. Retrieved 10 September 2011.
  8. ↑ "Sukaj firmos për 3 vjet me NK Zagreb" (in Albanian). Gazeta Start. 2010-07-15. Retrieved 2011-06-20.
  9. ↑ Gjergji Mima (2010-07-15). "Xhevahir Sukaj, kontratë 3 vjeçare me NK Zagreb" (in Albanian). Yll Press. Retrieved 2011-06-20.
  10. ↑ "NK Zagreb release Sukaj". HRV Soccer. 2011-01-28. Retrieved 2011-06-20.
  11. ↑ Vllaznia Shkodër vs. Laçi 3 – 1 Soccerway, 10 September 2011
  12. ↑ "Xhevahir Sukaj zyrtarizon transferimin tek Sepahan në Iran". Panorama Sport. 17 January 2012. Retrieved 21 August 2015.
  13. ↑ "Legjionarët / Xhevahir Sukaj shpallet "kampion" në Iran me Sepahanin". Albanian Sport. 16 May 2015. Retrieved 21 August 2015.
  14. ↑ "Sukaj largohet nga Sepahan-i". Sportal.al. 3 June 2015. Retrieved 21 August 2015.
  15. ↑ "Partizani zyrtarizon goditjen e madhe, Xhevahir Sukaj". Super Sport Albania. 21 July 2015. Retrieved 21 August 2015.
  16. ↑ "Partizani bën supergoditje në sulm, vjen Xhevahir Sukaj". Sot.com.al. 21 July 2015. Retrieved 21 August 2015.
  17. ↑ "Partizani dhe Laçi e nisin me "paqe", në "Qemal Stafa" mbyllet 1-1". Panorama Sport. 21 August 2015. Retrieved 21 August 2015.
  18. ↑ "Albania - X. Sukaj - Profile with news, career statistics and history". Soccerway. 17 October 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
  19. ↑ "Xhevahir Sukaj - national football team player". EU-Football.info. 17 October 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.

External links

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