Amir Saipi

Amir Saipi

Personal information
Date of birth	(2000-07-08) 8 July 2000 (age 24)
Place of birth	Schaffhausen, Switzerland
Height	1.94 m (6 ft 4 in)
Position(s)	Goalkeeper
Team information
Current team	Lugano
Number	1
Youth career
0000–2018	Schaffhausen
2017–2018	→ Winterthur (loan)
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2016–2019	Schaffhausen U21	2	(0)
2018–2019	→ Grasshoppers U21 (loan)	19	(0)
2019–2021	Schaffhausen	45	(0)
2021–	Lugano	83	(0)
International career‡
2019	Switzerland U20	4	(0)
2021–2023	Switzerland U21	14	(0)
2024–	Kosovo	1	(0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 27 May 2024 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 12 October 2024

Amir Saipi ^{[lower-alpha 1]} (born 8 July 2000) is a professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Swiss club Lugano. Born in Switzerland, he represents Kosovo at international level.

Club career

Lugano

On 10 September 2021, Saipi signed a five-year contract with Swiss Super League club Lugano and receiving squad number 26. ^[2] Two days later, he was named as a first team substitute for the first time in a league match against Basel. ^[3] His debut with Lugano came five days later in the 2021–22 Swiss Cup second round against Neuchâtel Xamax after being named in the starting line-up. ^[4] On 24 October 2021, he made his league debut in a 2–0 away defeat again against Basel after being named in the starting line-up. ^[5]

International career

Under-20 and proposed Kosovo switch

Saipi in 2019 was part of the Switzerland U20 with which he played four matches where most of them were friendly matches. On 26 August 2019, the Football Federation of Kosovo announced that they had held a meeting with Saipi and were very close to starting the procedures of equipping him with the necessary documents to be ready to join Kosovo for the friendly match against Gibraltar and UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying match against Montenegro. ^[6]

Under-21

On 2 October 2020, Saipi received a call-up from Switzerland U21 for the 2021 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification matches against Georgia U21 and Liechtenstein U21. ^[7] On 30 May 2021, he made his debut with Switzerland U21 in a friendly match against Republic of Ireland U21 after being named in the starting line-up. ^[8]

On 15 June 2023, Saipi was named to the Switzerland U21 squad for the 2023 UEFA European Under-21 Championship, where he played in four matches, including the quarterfinal against Spain, in which they were eliminated 1–2 after extra time. ^[9]

Senior

On 29 September 2024, it was announced by Corriere del Ticino that Saipi has decided to represent Kosovo at the international level. ^[10] Five days later, he formalizes the decision and accept their call-up for the 2024–25 UEFA Nations League matches against Lithuania and Cyprus. ^[11] His debut with Kosovo came on 12 October in the 2024–25 UEFA Nations League match against Lithuania after being named in the starting line-up. ^[12]

Personal life

Saipi was born in Schaffhausen, Switzerland to Bosniak-Albanian parents from the village Lubinjë e Epërme of Prizren. ^[1]

Honours

Lugano

• Swiss Cup: 2021–22 ^[13]

Notes and references

Notes

1. Albanian: Amir Shaipi; Bosnian: Amir Šaipi ^[1]

References

1. "Golman Amir Šaipi, rođen u Šafauzenu u Švajcarskoj, rekao je u intervju u nedelju za Kohu da je veoma zadovoljan" [Goalkeeper Amir Šaipi, born in Schaffhausen, Switzerland, told Koha in an interview on Sunday that he was very satisfied]. Facebook (in Bosnian). Gornje Ljubinje. 23 June 2020. Šaipi je rođen u Švajcarskoj, ali mu je otac iz Prizrena (Gornjem Ljubinje). Prošle godine je za odmor bio na Kosovu, i kaže da će ga ponovo posetiti, jer mu se sviđa rodno mesto svoga oca ^{[self-published]}
2. "Amir Saipi, giovane talento per la porta bianconera" [Amir Saipi, young talent for black and white goal] (in Italian). FC Lugano. 10 September 2021.
3. "Lugano vs. Basel 1–1". Soccerway. Retrieved 12 September 2021.
4. "Coppa: Xamax–Lugano 0–1" [Cup: Xamax–Lugano 0–1] (in Italian). FC Lugano. 17 September 2021.
5. "Basilea–Lugano 2–0 (2–0)" [Basel–Lugano 2–0 (2–0)] (in Italian). FC Lugano. 24 October 2021.
6. "Presidenti Ademi takoi portierin e Schaffhausenit, Amir Saipi" [President Ademi met Schaffhausen goalkeeper, Amir Saipi] (in Albanian). Football Federation of Kosovo. 26 August 2019.
7. Swiss Football Association [@nati_sfv_asf] (2 October 2020). "Georgia vs Switzerland, 9.10, 18h00 | Switzerland vs Liechtenstein, 13.10, 18h00, Biel-Bienne" (Tweet) (in German, French, and Italian) – via Twitter.
8. "Switzerland – Ireland 2:0 (U21 Friendlies 2021, May)". WorldFootball.net. Retrieved 30 May 2021.
9. "U-21 EM: Out gegen Spanien" [U-21 European Championship: Out against Spain] (in German). Swiss Football Association. 1 July 2023. Retrieved 10 September 2023.
10. Massimo Solari (29 September 2024). "Niente Svizzera, Saipi sceglie il Kosovo" [No Switzerland, Saipi chooses Kosovo] (in Italian). Corriere del Ticino.
11. "Foda publikon listën e futbollistëve për ndeshjet e tetorit" [Foda publishes the list of footballers for the October matches] (in Albanian). Football Federation of Kosovo. 4 October 2024.
12. "Formacionet zyrtare: Lituani–Kosovë, Foda me shumë ndryshime" [Official line-ups: Lithuania–Kosovo, Foda with many changes] (in Albanian). Telegrafi. 12 October 2024.
13. "Tripudio bianconero, la Coppa è del Lugano!" [Black and white triumph, the Cup goes to Lugano!] (in Italian). Radiotelevisione svizzera. 15 May 2022.

External links

• Amir Saipi at Soccerway