Bekim Balaj

At 33 years old, Bekim Balaj has this physical status:

Bekim Abdyl Balaj (born 11 January 1991) is an Albanian professional footballer who plays as a striker for Austrian club Sturm Graz and the Albania national team. Balaj began his football career with his hometown club, Vllaznia Shkodr, and made his professional debut at the age of 17 before moving to Turkey to join Gençlerbirligi.

After little success in Turkey, he returned to Albania and played for KF Tirana, scoring 15 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 Bialystok for the entire 2013–14 season, where he scored 9 goals in 36 games in all competition before returning to his parent club for the first half of the following season.

He joined Croatia's HNK Rijeka in January 2015 for a €600,000.Balaj began his international career with the under-19 squad in 2008 and later on represented the under-21 team for two years.

He made his international senior debut in 2012 and was instrumental in Albania's triumphant UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying campaign, including scoring the winner with a volley against Portugal in the first day.

He was selected in the 23-man squad for UEFA Euro 2016, making his debut against Romania in the final group match.

Personal life

Bekim Balaj built houses for the families of deceased National Liberation Army troops.

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Club career

Balaj joined Vllaznia as an 11-year-old boy in 2002, and his dad begged the youth team coach Astrit Premçi to try the player as a goalkeeper first because he was tall for his age. However, Balaj's coach discovered the player was an excellent outfield player as he was able to move, so he started playing him as a center forward.

During the second half of the 2007–08 season, he was invited to train with the first team by Mirel Josa, and he made his first team debut against Beslidhja, scoring as a 70th-minute replacement for Albert Kaçi in the 4–2 loss. He made his first appearance on a regular basis in the Albanian Cup against Sopoti, scoring his first senior goal on his first appearance of the season in an Albanian Cup match against Sopoti before going on to make 12 appearances in all competition, seven of which were in the league and ten of which were substitution appearances. He was a member of the Vllaznia squad that finished runners-up in the Kategoria Superiore, finishing 4 points behind eventual winners Tirana.

Balaj was the team's top striker with the departures of Xhevaj and James Boadu ahead of the 2009–10 season. Vioresin Sinani was a 90th-minute replacement on his European debut against Irish club Sligo Rovers on July 2nd, 2009, and he became an 85th substitute for Vioresin Sinani in the 2–1 away victory.

He and fellow Albanian youth international Odise Roshi went on trial with PSG in April 2010, but neither player's trial was successful. He went on another trial in June, this time in Turkey with Gençlerbirli, and was immediately given a contract to join the club.

While at Vllaznia, a top Turkish club had been tracking the young forward for the majority of the 2009-2010 season; the club did not make the move in January 2010 because they did not make a bid, but following the huge support shown by Gençlerbirli S.K., the club was not identified in January 2010. It became clear who the unidentified Turkish club was in May and June. Balaj signed a four-year deal with Gençlerbirli on June 17, 2010. The transfer fee was estimated to be around €200,000 to €300,000, which was all paid to his previous club, Vllaznia in Albania. Dr. Gjyrezi, the Balaj's boss, had only been a licensed FIFA agent for a year before he was given the opportunity to move Albanian players to Turkey; it was his first deal as an agent, and he wanted to bring more Albanian players to Turkey. Balaj signed a two-year deal worth €150,000 per year, bringing the total four years' worth to about €600,000.

Balaj received invitations from both Tirana and his former club Vllaznia for a return to Albania in January. However, after speaking with Refik Halili, he agreed to a two-year deal for Tirana, earning €70,000 a season, which was much better than Vllaznia's €50,000.

He made his home match against Sknderbeu on February 3rd, which ended in a 0–0 draw, with Balaj coming on at the start of the second half for Gilman Lika. He scored the equalizing goal to guarantee his team's place in the final in the Albanian Cup semi-final second leg against Besa on April 6th, his first Tirana goal. He then scored his first league goal in a 6–1 victory over Elbasani, just nine days later. Despite good results since his January transfer, Mio Krstievi, Albania's new coach, did not select him to start in the final. Balaj came on for Gilman Lika in the 54th minute and helped his team win the trophy despite ending the game with ten men and Balaj himself missing a penalty in the shootout, which ended 4–3 after heroics from Ilion Lika.

In a match postponed and interrupted by crowd troubles, he scored the winning goal in the 2011 Albanian Supercup against the league champions Sknderbeu. In the second week of the season, he scored his first league goal of the season, against Kastrioti. He started the game as a lone striker and scored for Tirana in the 48th minute and helped his team win the game 3–2, his first three points of the season. Balaj and Gilman Lika had formed a fruitful alliance from midfield to attack after Tirana's first victory in the league, both of whom are from Shkodr. In the first round of the Albanian Cup against Himalaya of the Kategoria e Pard, his next goal came just four days later. In the 36th minute, he scored in the 36th minute, a penalty in the 52nd minute, and then rounded off his hattrick in the 67th minute, before Julián Rubio was forced to replace him after a tough challenge that left him with an ankle injury. Following a good start to the season, after scoring four goals in as many days, he wished he would one day convince Albania's national team, which he said would be a dream.

Balaj joined Sparta Prague on trial in July 2012 in order for the manager Vytzslav Lavika to have a closer glance at the player before the contract to join the club was finalised. Lavika got off to a friendly against Vlaim on July 17th. Balaj started the game brightly, getting close to scoring with a header in the 5th minute, and then scoring in the 19th minute with a superb shot from just outside the 18-yard box to put Sparta Prague 3–0 up. He was inserted at halftime, but Sparta Prague 5–0 won the match. Bala's bond with KF Tirana was due to end in January 2013 when he returned to Albania to sort out his KF Tirana's, who did not want him to leave until they received a €100,000.

Balaj scored a landmark goal in his UEFA Europa League career against Athletic Bilbao on October 4, 2012, a match that ended in a group stage defeat defeated by 3-1.

On July 8, 2013 he went on loan to Jagiellonia Biaystok in the Ekstraklasa. He scored his 3rd goal against Wisna Kraków in the 90'+3 on August 9, 2013 to tie his team 1–1 draw. Balaj scored twice against Ruch Chorzów on September 15, 2013, and Jagiellonia defeated 6–0 with Balaj scoring two last goals to bring in a total number of goals scored on the season. Balaj scored his 5th goal against Piast Gliwice in the 56th minute on November 4, 2013 – but it wasn't enough as Jagiellon defeated 2–1.

On July 10, 2014, after returning to Sparta Prague from Jagiellonia, where he had been loaned for a year, he signed for the city's rivals SK Slavia Prague. He made it his debut in the first half of 2014, his first goal against Slovácko was also his debut, as he scored the victory goal 1–0. Balaj scored the first goal in the 17th minute of the match's victory 4–1 over Slovan Liberec on August 11, 2014 a narrator. Balaj came in as a replacement in the 84th minute and scored in the 87' the goal of advantage to win by his team by 3–2 over Pbram.

Balaj signed a 2+1/year contract (with a 2-year extension option) with HNK Rijeka, the runners-up in the Croatian First Football League on January 7, 2015.

Balaj made his competitive debut in Rijeka's 4–1 victory over NK Lokomotiva in the first leg of the Croatian Cup quarterfinals on Tuesday, scoring his first goal for the club on November 11, 2015. Balaj was playing on his first day in the league and scoring a goal. He scored in the Adriatic derby between Rijeka and Hajduk Split on February 18, which Rijeka won 3–0. Balaj scored his second goal in his second league game in a row and third, with both championships against RNK Split in the 56th minute of the match, giving his side the 1–1 draw. Balaj scored 9 goals in 15 appearances in 15 appearances, assisting Rijeka in finishing runners-up and secure a spot in the 2015-16 UEFA Europa League's second qualifying round. Balaj has also played in three 2014–15 Croatian Cup matches, scoring one goal.

Balaj started a new season with Rijeka holding his position in a goalless draw against Inter Zapre on July 10, 2015, but Roman Bezjak was forced to leave in the 58th minute. Balaj made his European debut for Rijeka in the 2015–16 UEFA Europa League second qualifying round first-leg match against Aberdeen just a few days later. Balaj scored his first goal of the season in his second league appearance against Slaven Belupo in a 3–3 draw. With 9 league goals to his name, he was one of the top ten goalscorers in the league during the 2015-2016 season. Balaj has also scored once in the Croatian Cup.

Balaj completed a transfer to Terek Grozny in the Russian Football Premier League on June 8, 2016, extending his three-year deal with the option of another year. He was unveiled on the same day as his squad number 18 was given. Balaj made his club debut against Krylia Sovetov on July 31 in the first league match against Krylia Sovetov, who was playing for 59 minutes in a improvised 1–0 home win. In the 3–1 away victory over Ufa on August 20, it took him four matches to open his scoring account. In the 2–1 victory over Rostov, this was followed by another eight days later. However, those two goals were to open the floodgates of strikers scoring in Russia, as he scored two straight braces in the matches against Ural and Zenit Saint Petersburg, leading to the team's victory over the latter. Balaj was voted Terek Grozny Player of the Month for October for his efforts. Despite being a key player for the team playing 22 first matches as a starter beginning in April, Balaj became a bench player from April's month. Balaj replaced him at 73rd-minutes during the match against Krylia Sovetov Samara on May 21, 2017 and scored the 3rd team goal in a match that ended in a 3–1 win.

Balaj started the 2017–18 season by contributing to the 1–0 victory over FC Amkar Perm, which was scored by Léo Jabá on July 16th. Balaj left the club as a free agent after the term of his deal came to an end, according to Akhmat on May 27, 2019.

On July 26, 2019, he signed a 2-year deal with Austrian club Sturm Graz for the term of 2 years with a 1-year extension option.

He returned to Russian Premier League and joined FC Nizhny Novgorod on July 20, 2021. Nizhny Novgorod's deal was terminated by mutual consent on January 16, 2022.

Balaj returned to Turkey and signed with Boluspor on January 30.

International career

Balaj was part of Albania's qualifying stage of the 2009 European Championships, where he made his debut against England against England on October 8th, 2008, where the match ended in a 3–0 loss for Albania. On October 13, 2008, he scored his first and also Albania's only goal of the qualifying campaign against Northern Ireland, defeating them 2–1.

Balaj was called up by Albania's national under-20 team by coach Artan Bushati to play in the 2009 Mediterranean Games football tournament in Pescara, Italy, beginning on June 25th. However, he did not participate in the tournament.

He was a member of the Under-21 team of the 2011 and 2013 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification, scoring four goals in 13 matches.

Balaj made his national football team debut on February 17th, 2010, against Kosovo, where he scored a goal. Coach Gianni De Biasi called him up for the friendly match against Cameroon on November 14th, 2012.

Balaj was called up for the first time in international matches for Albania against Switzerland and Cyprus on October 11, 2013 and October 15. In the 87th minute of the match, he made his international debut in his first match of the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification against Cyprus, where he came in as a substitute in place of Hamdi Salihi in the 87th minute.

In the first match of the UEFA Euro 2016 qualifier against Portugal on September 7, 2014, he scored his first competitive goal for Albania against Portugal, which Albania defeated 12-0. Odise Roshi swung in a cross from the right, behind Balaj, but on the turn, he managed to get his foot to the ball and his right-footed volley found the bottom corner from 15 yards. Balaj referred to his target as a "striker" goal.

Balaj was named in Albania's preliminary 27-man squad for UEFA Euro 2016, as well as Albania's final 23-man UEFA Euro 2016 squad on May 21.

Balaj was an unemployed substitute in two first matches against Switzerland against Switzerland in a 0–1 loss and hosts France where they lost 2–0, then played as a replacement in Armando Sadiku's upcoming match against Romania, who scored the goal for Albania's historic 1–0 victory. Albania finished third in the third round with three points and a two-goal difference, and was ranked last in the third-placed teams, which eventually dropped them.

Balaj played in the 2017 FIFA World Cup qualifying match against Macedonia, replacing midfielder Amir Abrashi to play in the attack line, creating a duo partnership between Armando Sadiku. The match was called off at score 1–1 in the 75th minute due to the weather, and the remaining 15 minutes were played in the next day. Balaj scored a goal in the penultimate minute to give Albania the victory by 2–1 margin.

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