Albion Ademi (born 19 February 1999) is a professional footballer who plays for Chinese Super League club Tianjin Jinmen Tiger as a winger. Born in Finland, he has represented both Finland and Albania at youth international level.

Albion Ademi
Ademi with Inter Turku in 2018
Personal information
Date of birth (1999-02-19) 19 February 1999 (age 25)
Place of birth Turku, Finland[1]
Height 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)[2]
Position(s) Winger[2]
Team information
Current team
Tianjin Jinmen Tiger
Number 7
Youth career
TPS
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2015 TPS 10 (2)
2016–2019 Inter Turku 41 (5)
2016EIF (loan) 2 (0)
2017EIF (loan) 2 (0)
2017PS Kemi (loan) 14 (2)
2020 IFK Mariehamn 22 (14)
2021–2023 Djurgården 11 (0)
2022Lahti (loan) 14 (0)
2023IFK Värnamo (loan) 27 (3)
2024 IFK Värnamo 0 (0)
2024– Tianjin Jinmen Tiger 29 (9)
International career
2015–2016 Finland U17 5 (0)
2016 Finland U18 2 (0)
2017–2018 Finland U19 11 (0)
2018–2020 Albania U21 5 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 28 October 2024

Club career

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Ademi spent his early career with TPS, Inter Turku, EIF and PS Kemi, playing in the second-tier Ykkönen and first-tier Veikkausliiga.[3]

On 30 December 2019, Ademi signed a one-year contract with IFK Mariehamn.[4]

He moved to Swedish club Djurgården on a four-year deal in January 2021, for a transfer fee of around €200,000 plus bonuses.[5] On 25 March 2022, Ademi returned to Veikkausliiga and joined FC Lahti on loan until mid-July 2022.[6][7] After spending the 2023 season on loan in IFK Värnamo, the club announced his permanent transfer to Värnamo on a deal until 2026, starting in 2024,[8] for a fee of kr800,000, which is roughly around €70,000.[9][10]

However, on 14 February 2024, Ademi signed with Chinese Super League club Tianjin Jinmen Tiger from IFK Värnamo. The transfer fee was announced to be kr5.5 million, which corresponds to around €500,000,[11] which is the highest incoming fee in IFK Värnamo's history.[12] On 2 March 2024, Ademi debuted in the league with his new club, scoring the only goal for his side, in a 1–1 draw against Nantong Zhiyun.[13]

International career

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Ademi represented Finland at under-17 and under-19 youth levels.[3] With the under-19 squad, he played two games at the 2018 UEFA European Under-19 Championship, which Finland hosted.[14]

On 31 August 2018, Ademi received a call-up from the Albania U21 national team for a friendly match against Italy U21[15] and made his debut after being named in the starting line-up.[16]

On 5 October 2018, Ademi received a call-up from Albania U21 for the 2019 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification matches against Spain U21 and Estonia U21.[17] He joined up with the team however was unable to play due to him having to wait for FIFA's permission.[18]

In November 2018, he received his first call-up to the senior Albania national football team for UEFA Nations League game against Scotland and a friendly against Wales, but remained on the bench in both games.[19][20]

Personal life

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Born in Turku, Finland, Ademi is of Kosovo Albanian descent.[21]

Career statistics

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As of 28 October 2024
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League Cup[a] Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
TPS 2015 Ykkönen 10 2 1 0 11 2
Inter Turku 2016 Veikkausliiga 2 0 0 0 2 0
2017 Veikkausliiga 3 0 5 2 8 2
2018 Veikkausliiga 25 4 6 6 31 10
2019 Veikkausliiga 11 1 0 0 1[b] 0 12 1
Total 41 5 11 8 1 0 53 13
EIF (loan) 2016 Ykkönen 2 0 0 0 2 0
2017 Ykkönen 2 0 0 0 2 0
PS Kemi (loan) 2017 Veikkausliiga 14 2 0 0 14 2
IFK Mariehamn 2020 Veikkausliiga 22 14 4 0 26 14
Djurgården 2021 Allsvenskan 8 0 5 0 13 0
2022 Allsvenskan 3 0 2 0 2[c] 0 7 0
Total 11 0 7 0 2 0 20 0
Lahti (loan) 2022 Veikkausliiga 14 0 4 1 18 1
IFK Värnamo (loan) 2023 Allsvenskan 27 3 1 1 28 4
IFK Värnamo 2024 Allsvenskan 0 0 0 0 0 0
Tianjin Jinmen Tiger 2024 Chinese Super League 29 9 2 0 31 9
Career total 172 35 30 10 3 0 205 45
  1. ^ Includes Suomen Cup and Svenska Cupen
  2. ^ Appearance in UEFA Europa League
  3. ^ Appearance in UEFA Europa Conference League

Honours

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Individual

References

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  1. ^ "Albion Ademi, bomberi që premton gola & emocione për Kombëtaren!" (in Albanian). 24 September 2020.
  2. ^ a b Albion Ademi at WorldFootball.net
  3. ^ a b Albion Ademi at Soccerway. Retrieved 28 January 2017.
  4. ^ Albion Ademi sopimukseen - IFK Mariehamn vahvistaa hyökkäystään, veikkausliiga.com, 30 December 2019
  5. ^ "Avslöjar: Succéspelaren klar för Djurgården".
  6. ^ "Albion Ademi lainalle FC Lahteen" (Press release) (in Finnish). Lahti. 25 March 2022. Retrieved 25 March 2022.
  7. ^ Djurgården trodde inte på Ademi-affär: " Tax-freen på Ålandsfärjan gjorde det möjligt", fotbollskanalen.se, 8 November 2023
  8. ^ Albion Ademi köps loss från Djurgårdens IF, ifkvarnamo.se, 8 November 2023
  9. ^ Allsvenska kulisserna: Därför kan Rasmus Schüller lämna Djurgården, expressen.se, 5 January 2024
  10. ^ Allsvenska toppklubbar jagar Albion Ademi?, fotbolltransfers.com, 5 January 2024
  11. ^ TACK FÖR ALLT ALBION ADEMI!, ifkvarnamo.se, 14 February 2024
  12. ^ Officiellt! IFK Värnamo säljer Ademi, fotbollskanalen.se, 14 February 2024
  13. ^ TIANJIN JINMEN TIGER VS. NANTONG ZHIYUN 1 - 1, soccerway
  14. ^ "Finland U19 v Italy U19 game report". UEFA. 16 July 2019.
  15. ^ "Trajneri Bushi: Skuadra e kompletuar karshi Spanjës duhet të tregojmë shumë kujdes!" [Coach Bushi: The complete squad against Spain we must be very careful!] (in Albanian). Football Association of Albania. 31 August 2018. Retrieved 31 August 2018.
  16. ^ "U21/Shqipëria humbet miqësoren në Itali" [U21/Albania loses the friendly in Italy] (in Albanian). Football Association of Albania. 11 September 2018. Retrieved 11 September 2018.
  17. ^ "Kombëtarja U-21/Trajneri Alban Bushi shpall listën e lojtarëve për ndeshjet zyrtare me Spanjën dhe Estoninë" [National U21 team/Coach Alban Bushi announces the list of players for official matches with Spain and Estonia] (in Albanian). Football Association of Albania. 5 October 2018. Retrieved 5 October 2018.
  18. ^ "Panuçi nuk e aktivizoi, talenti Vrioni rikthehet te Shpresat. Një "armë" më shumë ndaj Spanjës" [Panucci didn't activate him, talent Vrioni returns to the Hopes". A "weapon" more versus Spain] (in Albanian). Panorama Sport. 11 October 2018. Retrieved 11 October 2018. Vrioni mund të jetë zgjidhje ideale për startin e ndeshjes për të besuarit e Bushit, duke qenë se Albion Ademi është në pritje të lejekalimit nga FIFA, dhe për momentin nuk e ka marrë ende
  19. ^ "Albania v Scotland game report". ESPN. 17 November 2018.
  20. ^ "Albania v Wales game report". ESPN. 20 November 2018.
  21. ^ "Jälkipeli: Albion Ademi - kotimainen jalkapallo kaipaa väriläiskiä". Aamuset (in Finnish). 14 April 2017. Archived from the original on 20 October 2020.
  22. ^ "Pallo-Koplan Veikkausliigan tähdistöjoukkue on valittu". www.veikkausliiga.com (in Finnish). Retrieved 2 January 2023.
  23. ^ Albion Ademi Veikkausliigan kuukauden pelaaja, JPY, 7 September 2020