Elvir Mehdi Maloku (born 14 May 1996) is an Albanian professional footballer who plays as a winger for German Oberliga Niedersachsen club BSV Schwarz-Weiß Rehden.[1]
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Elvir Mehdi Maloku | ||
| Date of birth | 14 May 1996 | ||
| Place of birth | Rijeka, Croatia | ||
| Height | 1.76 m (5 ft 9 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Winger | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | BSV Schwarz-Weiß Rehden | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2004–2007 | Lokomotiva Rijeka | ||
| 2007–2011 | Stari Grad Rijeka | ||
| 2008–2010 | → Mune (loan) | ||
| 2010–2011 | → Klana (loan) | ||
| 2012–2013 | Rijeka | ||
| 2013–2014 | Hajduk Split | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2013–2016 | Hajduk Split | 48 | (4) |
| 2016–2019 | Gimnàstic | 3 | (0) |
| 2017–2018 | → AEK Larnaca (loan) | 19 | (1) |
| 2018–2019 | → Aluminij (loan) | 16 | (1) |
| 2019–2020 | Olimpia Grudziądz | 21 | (1) |
| 2021 | Dečić | 8 | (0) |
| 2021–2022 | Opatija | 12 | (0) |
| 2022–2023 | PAEEK | 15 | (3) |
| 2024 | VfR Mannheim | 21 | (2) |
| 2024– | BSV Schwarz-Weiß Rehden | 0 | (0) |
| International career | |||
| 2013 | Croatia U17 | 5 | (0) |
| 2013–2014 | Croatia U18 | 3 | (0) |
| 2014 | Croatia U19 | 4 | (1) |
| 2017 | Albania U21 | 3 | (0) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 00:33, 12 June 2024 (UTC) | |||
Club career
editEarly career
editBorn in Rijeka into an ethnic Albanian family, Maloku passed through various clubs in his native region where he had started his career with NK Lokomotiva Rijeka in 2004 and moved in 2007 to NK Stari Grad Rijeka, before moving to the youth setup of the local Prva HNL side HNK Rijeka in early 2012. In the 2012–13 season, he was the top scorer of the club's under-17 team, scoring 13 goals in 26 appearances. In February 2013, Maloku had a successful trial at Italian giants Juventus FC but talks over potential signing were ultimately called off.[2]
Hajduk Split
editIn the summer of 2013, Maloku moved to HNK Hajduk Split along with his younger brother Trojan. He made his first team debut on 28 August 2013 in his team's 3–1 away win against NK Lokomotiva Zagreb, coming in the 83rd minute for Anton Maglica.[3]
During his first two seasons under coach Igor Tudor, Maloku was used mostly as a bench player. His pace would sometimes prove good in the last minutes of the game. When Damir Burić took over the club in 2015, Maloku made his way into the first lineup but after some bad performances, he was benched again and used as a substitute. Out of his 69 total caps for Hajduk, he made it only 13 times in the starting lineup and was used 35 times as a substitute. In only 4 matches during his Hajduk career, he managed to play the entire game for 90 minutes. After the end of the season, he was released by Hajduk and given the option to search for his new club.
Gimnàstic
editOn 18 July 2016, Maloku signed a four-year contract with Spanish Segunda División club Gimnàstic de Tarragona.[4] Then on 7 January, after being rarely used in the league, he was loaned to AEK Larnaca until June 2018.[5]
On 23 August 2018, he was loaned out to NK Aluminij for the rest of the season.[6]
Olimpia Grudziądz
editIn September 2019, Maloku signed with Polish side Olimpia Grudziądz. His contract with the club was terminated on August 1, 2020.
Dečić Tuzi
editMaloku spent the first part of the 2020–21 season without a club, before signing for FK Dečić in Montenegro.[7]
Opatija
editIn June 2021, Maloku was presented as a new NK Opatija player in June 2021.[7]
International career
editCroatia
editMaloku was a Croatian youth international, playing for the under-17 team in the 2013 FIFA U-17 World Cup in the summer of 2013 and several matches for the under-19 team and the under-21 team.[8]
Albania
editHe was eligible to play for Albania at international level due to his parents origin.[9] He accepted the invitation from head coach Skënder Gega to play for Albania national under-21 football team in 2015, later stating that he intends to play for Albania at senior level should a chance arise.[10] He was called up for the friendly matches against Kazakhstan and Sweden on 12 and 16 June 2015 respectively, but his appearance for the team was thwarted by club duties with Hajduk Split.[11]
Following arrival of Alban Bushi as a head coach of Albania U21, Maloku was re-invited to Albania U21. In a press conference later, Bushi stated that Maloku would be given the Albanian citizenship to make him eligible for Albania U21 in the 2019 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification.[12] Maloku was given the Albanian citizenship by president Bujar Nishani.[13]
2019 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification
editMaloku was called up for the friendly match against France U21 on 5 June 2017 and the 2019 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification opening match against Estonia U21 on 12 June 2017.[14] On 7 June 2017, FIFA granted Maloku clearance to start for Albania U21 in competitive matches.[15] However, a day before the opening match of the qualifiers against Estonia U21, Maloku suffered a late injury which made him miss the match.[16]
Career statistics
editClub
edit| Club | Season | League | Cup | Europe[a] | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Hajduk Split | 2013–14 | 1. HNL | 11 | 0 | 2 | 1 | — | — | 13 | 1 | ||
| 2014–15 | 15 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 0 | — | 21 | 3 | |||
| 2015–16 | 22 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 8 | 0 | — | 35 | 3 | |||
| Total | 48 | 4 | 10 | 3 | 11 | 0 | — | 69 | 7 | |||
| Gimnàstic de Tarragona | 2016–17 | Segunda División | 3 | 0 | 3 | 1 | — | — | 6 | 1 | ||
| AEK Larnaca | 2016–17 | Cypriot First Division | 14 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 16 | 0 | ||
| 2017–18 | 2 | 0 | — | 2 | 0 | — | 4 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 16 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 20 | 0 | |||
| Career total | 67 | 4 | 15 | 4 | 13 | 0 | — | 95 | 8 | |||
- ^ Includes UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League.
Honours
editHajduk Split
- Croatian Super Cup runner-up: 2013
AEK Larnaca
- Cypriot First Division runner-up: 2016–17
- Cypriot Cup: 2017–18[18]
References
edit- ^ Elvir Maloku at WorldFootball.net
- ^ Elvir Maloku është blerja e fundit e Juventusit Archived 16 January 2017 at the Wayback Machine aSport.al
- ^ "Video: Hajduk slavio na gostovanju kod Lokomotive i stigao na drugu poziciju na tablici" (in Croatian). Sportnet.hr. 28 August 2013. Retrieved 28 August 2013.
- ^ "Elvir Maloku, nuevo jugador del Nàstic" [Elvir Maloku, new player of Nàstic] (in Spanish). Gimnàstic Tarragona. 18 July 2016. Archived from the original on 17 September 2016. Retrieved 22 July 2016.
- ^ "Maloku marxa cedit a l'AEK Larnaca" [Maloku goes out on loan at AEK Larnaca] (in Catalan). Gimnàstic Tarragona. 7 January 2017. Archived from the original on 8 January 2017. Retrieved 8 January 2017.
- ^ a b Elvir Maloku at Soccerway. Retrieved 22 July 2016.
- ^ a b Zoran Bogolin već doveo prvo zvučno pojačanje, braća Maloku iduće sezone u istim dresovima at sportcom.hr
- ^ "Gudelj objavio sastav U17 reprezentacije za turnir u Japanu" (in Croatian). Slobodna Dalmacija. 5 July 2013. Retrieved 5 July 2013.
- ^ "Gati 80 futbollistë shqiptarë luajnë për shtetet e huaja" (in Albanian). Lajmi. 18 September 2014. Retrieved 18 September 2014.
- ^ Elvir Maloku zgjedh Shqipërinë Archived 3 August 2015 at the Wayback Machine SuperSport Albania
- ^ "Skënder Gega zbardh listën e U21" [Skënder Gega bleaches the U21 list] (in Albanian). SportPress.al. 8 June 2015. Archived from the original on 8 June 2015. Retrieved 3 January 2018.
- ^ Bushi: Hedhim bazën e të ardhmes kuqezi Archived 20 June 2017 at the Wayback Machine SuperSport Albania
- ^ "Dekret për dhënie të shtetësisë shqiptare nr. 10090" (in Albanian). President.al. Retrieved 3 January 2018.
- ^ "Alban Bushi shpall listën e U21 për Francën dhe Estoninë" [Alban Bushi announces the under-21 list for France and Estonia] (in Albanian). FSHF.org. 1 June 2017. Archived from the original on 5 July 2017. Retrieved 3 January 2018.
- ^ FIFA KONFIRMON: FUTBOLLISTI ELVIR MALOKU MUND TË LUAJË PËR SHQIPËRINË Archived 4 January 2018 at the Wayback Machine FSHF.org
- ^ Alban Bushi i mërzitur pas barazimit: Nuk na deshi fati, do të vëzhgoj 80 futbollistë të rinj Archived 4 January 2018 at the Wayback Machine Newsport.al
- ^ Elvir Maloku – UEFA competition record (archive)
- ^ "AEK Larnaca v Apollon Starting XIs, May 16, 2018". goal.com. Retrieved 31 May 2022.
External links
edit- Elvir Maloku at BDFutbol
- Elvir Maloku at hajduk.hr
- Elvir Maloku at Soccerway
- Elvir Maloku – UEFA competition record (archive)
- Elvir Maloku at the Albanian Football Association (in Albanian and English)