Category Archives: Sport

From Mechanic to King of the Kickboxing Ring

Its Kreshnik Rrustemi, the Peja born Kosovar now fighting in world rings under the Belgian Flag. Kreshnik was born in 1984 and moved to Belgium in 1998. His initial passion for skiing had quickly moved to kickboxing and Mauy Thai when he  met his future trainers Peter Lamberts and Omar Bel Hadi who invited him to start training in the art of fighting. Before you ask, yes, the meeting had occurred while Kreshnik was working as a bouncer at a late night club, thus making him a familiar face to trouble.

Kreshnik had been working as a mechanic and supplementing his income as a bouncer when this opportunity occurred. The decision to start training proved fruitful with Kreshnik  fighting professionally since 2003 thus making him a confident fighter in the ring.

Watch here his latest fight against Alexander Volobuev.

Kosovo Marks Its First Victory on the Pitch

With Kosovo winning against Oman and Albania coming back triumphant from Portugal, Kosovars have had one great football evening. This day has been especially an important one for the Kosovar National Team, for it marks the first victorious match in the History of the team.

After being granted permission by FIFA to play international games in January, Kosovo set its first game against Haiti in March and later went on to challenge Turkey and Senegal in May.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

calcionews24.com

calcionews24.com

 

 

theworldgame.sbs

theworldgame.sbs

calcioweb.com

calcioweb.com

 

Hajrullahu: From a War Survivor to a Football Star in Canada

Lirim Hajrullahu (born April 24, 1990) is a Canadian football placekicker who is currently a member of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the Canadian Football League. Hajrullahu played CIS football at the University of Western Ontario and attended Governor Simcoe Secondary School in St. Catharines, Ontario.

Lirim was born in Përlepnica, Gjilan and fled to Canada when he was eight-years-old on a refugee flight to escape war. He started playing football in grade 10 at Governor Simcoe Secondary School in St. Catharines, Ontario.

His story begins in 1998, when Lirim was just eight years old and his homeland Kosovo erupted in war. A year later, his parents fled Kosovo with their son and two daughters in tow and found their way onto a refugee flight bound for Canada. Together, they would build a new life in the safety of Ontario — and they would never forget what it means to leave everything behind.

In this short video you can see the story of his family and the story of his success.

You can also read his story in this article.

Kosovo Football in the World Media

Kosovo played its first FIFA-sanctioned international friendly match against Haiti in Mitrovica, Kosovo on 05 March 2014. The six-year old country made history. The game ended in a 0-0 draw.  Despite no goals, the game did spark a lot of enthusiasm among Kosovo people, across the diaspora and football lovers world wide. News agencies have closely followed the long journey of the Kosovo team in creation. The following are some snapshots of world renown websites covering the game:  from Fifa.com to BBC to the Guardian.

[easyrotator]erf_77_1408132228/erc_68_1408133251[/easyrotator]

The following video was produced ahead of the historic game between Kosovo and Haiti.

Who is Going to Stop Besart Berisha from Scoring?

Who is Going to Stop Besart Berisha from Scoring?

In his second game after returning from his injury, the Kosovo-born Besart Berisha struck once again for the second round in a row. Brisbane Roar beat Perth Glory 1-0 on Saturday thanks to Berisha’s only goal, keeping Brisbane at the top of the table. Berisha has now scored 3 goals in 4 games but that number could easily have been higher considering he missed a couple of weeks due to his injury.

Last season he scored 14 goals and was the fourth top goal scorer in Australia, a spot that he shared with Italian legend Alessandro Del Piero. However, Berisha did win the Golden Boot for scoring the most goals during the 2011-2012 season, having scored a total of 21 goals in what was only his first season.

Perth Glory, the team that Brisbane played against today, has never been a  big fan of Berisha. He played the main role during the Grand Final for the 2011-2012 season after scoring both goals in the 2-1 win against them. Today, they were once again hit by the Kosovo-Albanian striker.

Like him or hate him, we can all agree that this guy knows how to score.

Avdijaj, 42 goals and still going strong

 

He has not played a minute in the Bundesliga, but already costs 50 Million Euros. 

Donis Avidjaj is a rising football star, he is expected to start his Bundesliga  season this year with Schalke. The young Kosovar has been the focus of attention throughout a number of German media due to his abilities to score.

As part of the U17 Team (Schalke), Avdijaj scored an astonishing 42 goals in just one season, being ranked close to superstars like Cristiano Ronaldo  and Lionel Messi. Currently, Avdijaj has a 50 million euro contract, making him the worthiest rising talent in Germany.

Here is Avidjaj giving one of the usual Albanian greetings.

And here is Donis Avdijaj doing what he knows how to do best.

Source http://kosovalbaner.com/2014/07/ky-eshte-avdijaj-sulmuesi-me-42-gola-per-stinor/

Edon Molla: The rising Albanian American basketball player

Edon Molla: The rising Albanian American basketball player

By Ermira Babamusta

Edon Molla is a Division I College basketball player for St. Francis College in New York. He is striving to become the best college basketball player he can be while remaining focused on his academics. His life-long dream is to have a future professional career in the NBA or Europe and to one day represent the Albanian National Team. 

His family moved to New York when he was an infant. Playing basketball has been an early dream of his; he started playing basketball when he was 5 years old. Edon Molla won two New Jersey State Championships, two Tournaments of Champions Titles, and two U.S.A. National Championships. He also served as Team Captain senior year of high school at St Anthony High School. In 2012 Edon Molla was selected to the New Jersey All Stars Team that played against Connecticut (CT vs. NJ All Stars Game). Edon Molla and his team were honored by the Governor of New Jersey Chris Christie for their first national championship and the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium for winning their second national championship, back to back national titles.

At 8 years old, Edon joined his first team, St Columba, where he played until he was 13 years old. By the age of 10 he was playing on the 13-year-old team. When he was 13 years old he led St. Columba to the New York City championship game in which they lost. Although they lost he had gotten the attention of many high school coaches in New York and New Jersey. Edon Molla also appeared on his first newspaper article at the age of 13.

Edon has played in some of the most prestigious leagues and tournaments in the country including: Hoop Group Elite Camps, Five Star Camp, Nike IS8 League, Nike West 4th League, Rumble in the Bronx Tournament, Naismith Hall of Fame Tournament, Dan Finn Classic, Boast Mobile SNY Invitational Tournament, etc. His basketball prowess wasn’t limited to New York and New Jersey. Since the 6th grade he has traveled across the country and played in tournament, camps and games in over 30 states.

In 2009 he decided to attend St. Anthony High School in Jersey City, New Jersey. St. Anthony high school is considered the greatest high school basketball team in American history and is the most prestigious and most successful. In the past 40 years under legendary head coach Bob Hurley St. Anthony has won 27 state titles more than any other school in U.S. history, 13 tournaments of champions, and four consensus national championships and enjoyed seven undefeated seasons. In 2010 Coach Bob Hurley was inducted into the World Basketball Hall of Fame.

In 2011 Edon and his teammates were honored by The Governor of New Jersey Chris Christie for their first national championship and by the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium for winning second national championship, back to back national titles. Also the team was on several TV shows such as CBS 60 Minutes ABC 2020 and TLC Cake Boss, and a book “Chasing Perfect” by Daniel Pasner.

In 2013 Edon Molla joined St. Francis College to pursue double major in Business & Public Relations. Currently Edon Molla is a Division I College basketball player for St Francis College. Division one is the premier division for college athletics, where the best high school players are chosen to play college basketball. St. Francis has a promising team. This is his first year at St Francis they have a record of 9-5, recently beating the University of Miami.

Edon’s favorite athletes are Kobe Bryant and Lorik Cana. He enjoys watching NBA other college basketball games and Albanian sports, including the Albanian National Football team and Kosovo basketball league, especially teams such as Trepca, Peja, SigalPrishtina and Bashkimi. His dream is to become a professional basketball player in the NBA, or in Europe. Edon hopes to one day represent Albania and Kosovo on a National Basketball team.

“National pride and giving back is important to me. I look up to athletes who give back to their community or country they come from, I have tremendous respect for athletes who go back to play for their national team and represent their country. In the future I can see myself playing for the Albanian National Basketball team and trying to inspire Albanian kids to pursue a basketball dream,” said Edon Molla.

A Family of Football Superstars: The Rise of the Ajeti Brothers

“Ajeti 1 throws the ball to Ajeti 2, who passes to Ajeti 3, and…GOOAAAL!” This is the dream that the three Ajeti football superstars hope to realize someday soon.

However, this may pose a slight problem for the FC Basel jersey makers: How to decide on the surnames displayed on the jerseys of Arlind (19) and twins Alban and Adonis (16) to tell them apart?

“How do you find my proposal: Ajeti I, Ajeti II, and Ajeti III?” laughs Arlind. As the oldest of the brothers, only Arlind has so far carried his surname on his first-team squad jersey. According to an article written by Schweiz am Sonntag, Alban and Adonis, who play for both the U18 and U21 teams, have not yet experienced this.

Their time has almost come. Recently, the twins received an invitation from none other than FC Barcelona. They would train at the famous football school La Masia, where Messi, Xavi, and Iniesta also trained. To support them, the whole family would move to Spain. However, at the moment they have chosen to stay at Basel, Swiss.

This is a reflection on how close the Ajeti family is. Every night, they gather in the kitchen and share the day’s experiences. The boys love holidays with their parents, and even Arlind can hardly imagine moving out of the family’s apartment. “I would not know what I would do alone in an apartment,” he says.

As the eldest among them, Arlind feels responsible for his two younger brothers. The twins acknowledge his role and, as Adonis put it, “Arlind is our idol. He has shown us how to achieve professionalism.”

Two years ago, then-trainer of FC Basel Thorsten Fink included Arlind in the first-team, putting a lot of trust on his shoulders. Fink’s successor, Vogel, took most of this trust away. A turnaround occurred when the team’s latest trainer, Murat Yakin, engaged him differently. Just last week, Yakin involved Arlind from the beginning in their match against FC Aarau, replacing the suspended Dragovica. Yakin had high praise for Arlind, following the 3:1 victory.

Though his contract with FC Basel expires in a year, he hopes to get an extension. The twins, Adonis and Albion, signed their first professional contracts in April, but they have not yet encountered professional difficulties that their brother has. They are excited to play on the First Team alongside their brother, where ““Ajeti 1 throws the ball to Ajeti 2, who passes to Ajeti 3, and…GOOAAAL!” is just around the corner.

The original article was posted at Albinfo  Click here to read the original article.  

Xherdan Shaqiri scored a spectacular hat-trick against Honduras to help Switzerland advance to the second round in the FIFA World Cup 2014. Shaqiri’s hat-trick was also the 50th in the World Cup history, and only second in this year’s tournament. His stunning performance has been praised all over the social media. According to Topsy.com, a social analytics website , Shaqiri’s name was mentioned over 125,000 today.

Shaqiri’s stunning performances for Switzerland during the qualifying rounds and today in the World Cup have deservedly earned him the epithet of a hero for the country he represents. In Kosovo, his birthplace, Shaqiri is also considered a hero, an ambassador, and a role model.

The President of Kosovo has honored him with the title of the Honorary Ambassador of Kosovo. Shaqiri has the Kosovo, Albanian, and the Swiss flag embedded on his shoe. He also carried the Swiss and Kosovo flags while celebrating the Champions League 2012/2013 title he won with FC Bayern.

Valon Behrami, Admir Mehmedi, Granit Xhaka and Blerim Xhemaili are four other Albanians from Kosovo and Macedonia featuring for Switzerland. Their success with the Switzerland team has lead many in Kosovo and Albania to support Switzerland in the World Cup.

Below, there are some Tweets from or about Kosovo sparked by Shaqiri’s superb performance tonight.  Tweets come from senior Kosovo politicians, including the country’s President and Foreign Minister.
Shaqiri thanking his fans in three languages, including Albanian.

 

Kosovo President saying “Thank you for granting such great memories to Kosovo.

BBC: Switzerland’s unlikely World Cup heroes

Source : BBC.com

Source : BBC.com

The Guardian: Xherdan Shaqiri takes on Argentina for Switzerland (and Kosovo)

Source: theguardian.com

Source: theguardian.com

Nike Academy signed Ermal Hajdari, and now he won’t stop scoring

Nike Academy signed Ermal Hajdari, and now he won’t stop scoring!

Earlier this year a Swedish TV Channel started a new show called “Proffsdrömmen,” translated as “the Pro Dream.” The concept is similar to American Idol, but has the contestants play football instead of sing.  Just like Idol, a jury traveling across Sweden views hundreds of talents as they show off their skills. During the auditions, I saw several Albanians try their luck; one of these talents was Ermal Hajdari, who underwent his audition in Kristiandstad.

Swedish born Hajdari, who happens to have his roots in Kosovo, was among the final 22 players that spent two weeks in the city of Borås, where the champion would win a pro contract with the city’s team IF Elfsborg. Hajdari did great during the final trial; in one game he was even given the team captain role when former Elfsborg player Emir Bajrami joined the team.

Midfielder Hajdari actually made it all the way to the finals, but ended up losing with only one point less than the winner. However, this was only the starting point for Hajdari. The second division team Örgryte called Hajdari in for an audition, right as his contract with Kristiandstad’s FF was about to end.

Though the tryout went well, Hajdari also auditioned for the Nike Academy afterward.  For those of you that haven’t heard of the Nike Academy, it’s basically a team based in England that doesn’t play in a league but travels around Europe playing several friendly games. The players must be under a certain age and not be playing in a team.

At the beginning, Nike gathered hundreds of talents from all over Paris. Hypervenom Knockout was the first round’s name. Everyone was really impressed by Hajdari, and he was named Player of the Tournament. He moved along to the Netherlands and continued to do well. The 21-year-old kept the staff impressed even when they traveled to the final auditions in England.  The Nike Academy decided to only sign six players, and Hajdari was one of them.

“My job as a striker is to score, so I will do everything I can to put the ball into the net in every game. ” – Ermal Hajdari to Nike Football Sweden.

When he made his first appearance last month, Hajdari only got to play the last half hour. Now he’s been a part of the Nike Academy for a couple of weeks and has shown his gratitude by scoring numerous goals. In the past three games alone, Hajdari has scored five of the goals. If he keeps up this pace, it’s only a matter of time before a big league team decides to bring him in.