![]() Bunjaku at practice with 1. FC Nürnberg in 2010 | |||
Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Date of birth | 29 November 1983 | ||
Place of birth | Gjilani, SFR Yugoslavia | ||
Height | 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in) | ||
Position(s) | Striker | ||
Team information | |||
Current team | Bonner SC | ||
Youth career | |||
1996–1998 | FC Schlieren | ||
1998–2000 | Grasshoppers | ||
2000–2003 | Young Fellows Juventus | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
2003–2005 | Schaffhausen | 39 | (3) |
2006 | SC Paderborn | 10 | (1) |
2006–2009 | Rot-Weiß Erfurt | 74 | (34) |
2009–2012 | 1. FC Nürnberg | 55 | (14) |
2012–2014 | 1. FC Kaiserslautern | 31 | (13) |
2014–2017 | St. Gallen | 51 | (9) |
2017–2018 | Erzgebirge Aue | 23 | (1) |
2018–2022 | Viktoria Köln | 89 | (34) |
2022 | Bonner SC | 0 | (0) |
International career | |||
2004–2006 | Switzerland U21 | 15 | (7) |
2009–2010 | Switzerland | 6 | (0) |
2014–2016 | Kosovo | 6 | (3) |
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 13:18, 1 February 2022 (UTC) |
Albert Bunjaku (born 29 November 1983) [1] is a Kosovar former professional footballer who plays as a striker. Having previously represented Switzerland, participating at the 2010 FIFA World Cup, he switched to the newly formed Kosovo national team.
When Bunjaku was eight years old, he moved with his mother and two brothers to Switzerland, where his father was already working. Bunjaku joined his first club at 13 – unusually late for a future professional. Before starting out with FC Schlieren, he only played football in the schoolyard or on the five-a-side court. At that stage he was also very keen on basketball.
Bunjaku's first step on the professional ladder was at FC Schaffhausen in the Challenge League, Switzerland's second division. The team won promotion to the Super League in 2003–04 and over the course of the next 18 months the young forward made 39 top-flight appearances.
In January 2006, the 23-year-old Bunjaku left Schaffhausen for 2. Bundesliga side SC Paderborn. His first staging post in Germany was destined to last just six months however, as he failed to establish himself under then-coach Jos Luhukay. "At the time I didn't have the feeling he was Bundesliga material", Luhukay says now. As a result, Bunjaku found himself unemployed in the summer of 2006.
Then however, a chance conversation turned Bunjaku's fortunes around. His wife Arieta worked in a boutique in Paderborn frequented by the wife of former Paderborn coach Pavel Dochev. They struck up a conversation and it transpired that Dotchev, now in charge of Rot-Weiß Erfurt, was on the lookout for a striker. No sooner said than done, and Bunjaku was on the move to third-division Erfurt.
He first came to the attention of the wider footballing public when Rot-Weiß Erfurt took on Bayern Munich in a DFB Cup tie on 10 August 2008. Coming on as a second-half substitute in what was Jürgen Klinsmann's competitive debut as Bayern coach, Bunjaku put two goals past the record champions, who eventually squeezed past their lower-league opponents 4–3.
On 14 November 2009, Bunjaku made his international debut for Switzerland in the 1–0 home loss to Norway in a friendly match after coming on as a substitute for Alexander Frei at half time. He was part of the Swiss squad for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, playing the last 13 minutes of the group match against Chile after coming on for Gelson Fernandes. [2] Bunjaku played in Kosovo's first FIFA-approved match, against Haiti in a 0–0 home friendly on 5 March 2014. [3] Bunjaku played for Kosovo against Turkey on 21 May 2014 and scored its first international goal.
No. | Date | Venue | Cap | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 21 May 2014 | Adem Jashari Olympic Stadium, Mitrovica, Kosovo | 2 | ![]() | 1–2 | 1–6 | Friendly |
2 | 25 May 2014 | Stade de Genève, Genève, Switzerland | 3 | ![]() | 1–1 | 1–3 | |
3 | 3 June 2016 | Stadion am Bornheimer Hang, Frankfurt, Germany | 4 | ![]() | 1–0 | 2–0 |
Thomas Linke is a retired German professional footballer. He played as a central defender and last worked as the director of football of FC Ingolstadt 04.
Lohoré Steve Ulrich Gohouri was an Ivorian professional footballer who played as a defender.
Klemen Lavrič is a Slovenian retired footballer who played as a striker.
Frank Mill is a German former professional footballer who was a member of the 1990 FIFA World Cup winning squad of West Germany. Further, he participated at the 1984 and at the 1988 Summer Olympics, where he won the bronze medal with the West German team.
Manfred "Manni" Burgsmüller was a German professional footballer who played mainly as a striker; he also occasionally operated as a midfielder.
Eren Derdiyok is a Swiss former professional footballer who played as a striker. He is a former Swiss international. A journeyman, Derdiyok has played for ten different clubs in Europe, as well as a one year stint in Uzbekistan's capital with Pakhtakor Tashkent.
The 2008–09 3. Liga was the inaugural season for the newly formed tier III of the German football league system. The inaugural game was played on 25 July 2008 between FC Rot-Weiß Erfurt and Dynamo Dresden, ending with a 1–0 win for Dresden. The last games were played on 23 May 2009. 1. FC Union Berlin were the inaugural champions, securing first place on 10 May 2009. Runners-up Fortuna Düsseldorf were also promoted. Third-placed team SC Paderborn 07 played a relegation/promotion play-off against the 16th-placed team from 2. Bundesliga, VfL Osnabrück, winning both games and earning promotion. Kickers Emden, VfR Aalen, and Stuttgarter Kickers were relegated to the Regionalliga.
Thomas Müller is a German professional footballer who plays for Bundesliga club Bayern Munich and the German national team. He has been deployed in a variety of attacking roles – as an attacking midfielder, second striker, centre forward, and on either wing. Regarded as one of the best players of his generation, he has been praised for his positioning, teamwork, stamina, and work-rate, and has shown consistency in both scoring and creating goals.
Marco Reus is a German professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder or winger for Bundesliga club Borussia Dortmund and the Germany national team.
Moritz Stoppelkamp is a German footballer who plays as a midfielder for Rot-Weiß Oberhausen.
The 2008–09 season was the 99th season of competitive football in Germany. It lasted from 1 July 2008 until 30 June 2009.
Mario Götze is a German professional footballer who plays for Bundesliga club Eintracht Frankfurt and the Germany national team. Although his favoured position is that of a playmaker, Götze has also played as a left winger or false nine.
Mërgim Brahimi is a Kosovan professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for FC Wil. A youth international for Albania and Switzerland, Brahimi represented the Albania national team before switching to the Kosovo national team.
Niklas Süle is a German professional footballer who plays as a centre-back or right-back for Bundesliga club Borussia Dortmund and the Germany national team.
Valmir Bajram Sulejmani is a professional footballer who plays as a forward for 3. Liga club 1860 Munich. Born in Germany, he plays for the Kosovo national team at international level.
Besar Halimi is a professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for 3. Liga club Hallescher FC. Born in Germany, he plays for the Kosovo national team.
Enis Ibush Bunjaki is a professional footballer who plays as a forward for SC Hessen Dreieich. Born in Germany, he made two appearances for the Kosovo national team in 2014 before representing Germany at youth levels U18, U19 and U20.
The 2017–18 season was the 108th season of competitive football in Germany.
The 2017–18 SC Paderborn 07 season is the 33rd season in the football club's history. The season covers a period from 1 July 2017 to 30 June 2018.
Orges Naser Bunjaku is a professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Schaffhausen. Born in Switzerland, he represented that nation at youth international levels but in 2022 switched to play for Kosovo national team.