Ardit Shehaj

Ardit Shehaj

Personal information
Full name	Ardit Shehaj
Date of birth	(1990-09-23) 23 September 1990 (age 33)
Place of birth	Vlorë, Albania
Height	1.84 m (6 ft 0 in)
Position(s)	Midfielder/Forward
Team information
Current team	Flamurtari Pristina
Youth career
2000–2007	Flamurtari Vlorë
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2007–2017	Flamurtari Vlorë	190	(17)
2012	→ Pogradeci (loan)	2	(0)
2012–2013	→ Kastrioti (loan)	19	(2)
2017	Teuta Durrës	10	(1)
2018–	Flamurtari Pristina
International career‡
2005–2007	Albania U17	5	(0)
2009	Albania U20	2	(1)
2008–2010	Albania U21	2	(0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 28 October 2017 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 31 July 2015

Ardit Shehaj (born 23 September 1990) is an Albanian professional footballer who plays as a striker for Kosovan club Flamurtari Pristina in the Football Superleague of Kosovo. ^[1]

Club career

On 24 January 2012, Shehaj was sent on loan to fellow Albanian Superliga team Pogradeci until the end of the season. ^[2] During his spell there, Shehaj appeared in two league matches as Pogradeci finished 13th which resulted in relegation to the Albanian First Division.

On 22 October 2014, in the returning match of the first round of the 2014–15 Albanian Cup, Shehaj scored a hat-trick against the underdogs of KS Kamza, leading the team to pass the round with the aggregate 5–0 after the first match finished scoreless. ^[3]

In the 2015–16 season, Shehaj scored a hat-trick in the first round of the Albanian Cup in a 3–2 win against KF Oriku, which was followed by another hat-trick in the next round against Tërbuni Pukë, where Flamurtari won 5–0 to go on to the quarter-final. ^[4]

On 11 September 2016, during the 5–0 home win against Luftëtari Gjirokastër in the second matchday of the 2016–17 Albanian Superliga season, Shehaj scored the fifth goal of the match, his first league strike since April 2015. ^[5] It was also his 200th appearance in all competitions for the club. Later on 18 December, Shehaj scored the lone goal in the home match against Laçi by finishing home a Bruno Telushi cross, leading the team to their third league win in their last five matches. ^[6] It was Flamurtari's first home over Laçi in six years. ^[7]

Following the end of 2016–17 season where Flamurtari barely avoided relegation by just one point, ^[8] Shehaj confirmed that he was going to stay at the club for the next season as he was in coach Shpëtim Duro's plans. ^[9]

However, one month later, on 14 July 2017, Shehaj was sold to Teuta Durrës, signing a two-year contract, leaving Flamurtari after ten years of service. ^[10] His debut on 9 September brought his first goal for the club as well, as his late header was the winner for Teuta who defeated Luftëtari Gjirokastër in the opening week of the championship. ^[11]

In January 2018, Shehaj joined Flamurtari Prishtina in the Football Superleague of Kosovo. ^[12]

International career

Shehaj has been a former Albania youth international, representing his country at under-17, u-20 and u-21 levels.

Style of play

Usually a striker, Shehaj has been deployed as central midfielder by the coach Gentian Mezani. ^[7]

Career statistics

Club

As of 9 September 2017 ^{[13] [14] [15]}

Club	Season	League			Cup		Continental		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Flamurtari Vlorë	2006–07	Albanian Superliga	2	1	0	0	—		—		2	1
	2007–08		12	0	0	0	—		—		12	0
	2008–09		26	3	7	3	—		—		33	6
	2009–10		19	2	0	0	2 [lower-alpha 1]	0	—		21	2
	2010–11		21	2	3	0	—		—		24	2
	2011–12		8	0	3	1	4 [lower-alpha 1]	2	—		15	3
	2013–14		24	4	8	2	—		—		32	6
	2014–15		23	3	4	5	4 [lower-alpha 1]	1	1 [lower-alpha 2]	0	32	9
	2015–16		22	0	5	6	—		—		27	6
	2016–17		33	2	4	0	—		—		37	2
	Total		190	17	34	17	10	3	1	0	235	37
Pogradeci (loan)	2011–12	Albanian Superliga	2	0	0	0	—		—		2	0
Kastrioti Krujë (loan)	2012–13	Albanian Superliga	19	2	7	0	—		—		26	2
Teuta Durrës	2017–18	Albanian Superliga	1	1	0	0	—		—		1	1
	Total		1	1	0	0	—		—		1	1
Career total			212	20	41	17	10	3	1	0	264	40

1. All appearance(s) in UEFA Europa League
2. Appearance in Albanian Supercup

Honours

Club

Flamurtari Vlorë ^[13]

• Albanian Cup: 2008–09, 2013–14

References

1. "Ardit Shehaj" (in Albanian). FSHF.org. Retrieved 16 June 2017.
2. Pëllumb Starova (24 January 2012). "Pogradeci huazon Begajn dhe Shehajn nga Flamurtari" [Pogradeci loans Begaj and Shehaj from Flamurtari] (in Albanian). Panorama Sport. Retrieved 24 January 2012.
3. "Flamurtari Vlorë vs. Kamza 5 – 0". Soccerway. 22 October 2014. Retrieved 3 January 2015.
4. "Kupa, Laçi përmbys Bylisin dhe kalon më tej. Ja çiftet e turit të tretë" [Cup, Laçi overturns Bylis and goes through. Here are the pairs of third round.] (in Albanian). Panorama Sport. 4 November 2015. Retrieved 4 November 2015.
5. Olsi Karagjozi (11 September 2016). "Flamurtari feston me 5 gola ndaj Luftëtarit" [Flamurtari celebrates with 5 goals over Luftëtari] (in Albanian). SuperSport Albania. Retrieved 12 September 2016.
6. Adi Metaliu (18 December 2016). "Në Vlorë vendos Shehaj, Flamurtari kalon minimalisht Lacin" [Shehaj decides in Vlorë, Flamurtari minimally passes Laçi] (in Albanian). SuperSport Albania. Retrieved 20 December 2016.
7. Elton Nika (21 December 2016). "Shehaj largon euforinë: Të mundim patjetër Korabin!" [Shehaj restrains euphoria: We must have to defeat Korabi!] (in Albanian). Sport Ekspres. Retrieved 21 December 2016.
8. Andi Deçka (27 May 2017). "Flamurtari qëndron në Superiore" [Flamurtari stays in Superliga] (in Albanian). SuperSport Albania. Archived from the original on 31 May 2017. Retrieved 1 June 2017.
9. Elton Nika (9 June 2017). "Shehaj, besnik i Flamurtarit: Do jemi protagonistë" [Shehaj, loyal to Flamurtari: We're going to be protagonists] (in Albanian). Sport Ekspres. Retrieved 16 June 2017.
10. Andi Deçka (14 July 2017). "Teuta firmos me Ardit Shehaj" [Teuta signs with Ardit Shehaj] (in Albanian). SuperSport Albania. Retrieved 8 September 2017.
11. Andi Deçka (9 September 2017). "Teuta e nis me fitore, thyen 2–1 Luftëtarin" [Teuta starts with a win, breaks Lufëtari 2-1] (in Albanian). SuperSport Albania. Archived from the original on 10 September 2017. Retrieved 9 September 2017.
12. "Ardit Shehaj "s'i ndahet" Flamurtarit, por këtë herë jo në Vlorë" [Ardit Shehaj doesn't separate from Falmurtari, but this time not in Vlora] (in Albanian). VIPSport.al. 27 January 2018. Retrieved 19 February 2020.
13. "Albania - A. Shehaj - Profile with news, career statistics and history". Soccerway. Retrieved 31 December 2014.
14. "Football : Ardit Shehaj". Football Database. Retrieved 31 December 2014.
15. "Profile of Ardit Shehaj at Scoresway.com". Scoresway.com. Retrieved 31 December 2014.

External links

• Ardit Shehaj – UEFA competition record ( archive )
• Ardit Shehaj at Soccerway