Lumbardh Salihu

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Lumbardh Salihu
FIFPro Tournament 2015, AUT vs. UKR 2015-06-26 (28).jpg
Salihu with Austria at the 2015 FIFPro Tournament
Personal information
Full name Lumbardh Salihu
Date of birth (1992-11-18) 18 November 1992 (age 33)
Place of birth Gjilan, Kosovo
Height 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in) [1]
Position Attacking midfielder
Youth career
2005–2010 Floridsdorfer AC
2008–2009 → Brigittenau (loan)
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
2009–2010 Wiener Linien 16 (11)
2010–2011 Liesing ASK 8 (4)
2011 Wienerberg 11 (4)
2011–2012 Northampton Town 2 (0)
2012–2014 Austria Klagenfurt 18 (0)
2013–2014 Annabichler SV 13 (2)
2015 Post SV Wien 13 (2)
2015–2016 SV Oberwart 16 (3)
2016 1. SC Sollenau 12 (1)
2016–2017 SV Schwechat 13 (2)
2017 Llapi 5 (0)
2017–2018 SV Haitzendorf 26 (2)
2018–2019 Obergänsernndorf 24 (0)
2019–2021 Oberp./Schwarz. 20 (2)
2022 Gerasdorf/Stammersdorf 7 (0)
2022–2023 FC Mistelbach 12 (2)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals

Lumbardh Salihu (born 18 November 1992) is a former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder. Salihu lately competed on the celebrity version of Big Brother VIP Kosova and was crowned as the winner of the second season on 2 February 2024.

Contents

Early life

His father, Salih Salihu, served as a deputy in the Assembly of the Republic of Kosovo for Vetëvendosje. [2] His father left Kosovo for economic reasons. [3] He and the family joined his father in Vienna in 2003. [4]

Football career

Early career

On 2005. Salihu started the career at Floridsdorfer AC. While, on 2008 was on loan for a year to Brigittenau.[ clarification needed ]

On 1 July 2009. Salihu signed to Wiener Stadtliga

On 1 January 2011. Salihu signed to Wiener Stadtliga side Wienerberg. On 13 March 2011, he making his debut in a 1–2 away win against Landstraßer after coming on as a substitute in the 61st minute in place of Denis Gavrilovic.[ clarification needed ]

Northampton Town

On 29 July 2011. Salihu signed to League Two side Northampton Town. [5] On 23 August 2011, he made his debut in a 4–0 defeat against Wolverhampton Wanderers in an EFL Cup match [6] and after debut Gary Johnson, the Northampton Town manager said of his debut that "He's only just come back from an injury and he's only 18 so it was one of those where we just wanted to give him a little feel for it". He was released in January 2012. [7] [8]

Austria Klagenfurt and Annabichler SV

On 4 July 2012. Salihu signed to Regionalliga Mitte side Austria Klagenfurt and in 2013–14 season, he also came to Landesliga Kärnten side Annabichler SV (farm team).[ clarification needed ]

Post SV Wien

On 1 January 2015. Salihu signed to Wiener Stadtliga side Post SV Wien. On 27 February 2015, he making his debut in a 0–0 away draw against Ostbahn XI after being named in the starting line-up.[ clarification needed ]

Regionalliga Ost

He played for some the Regionalliga Ost teams as with Oberwart (2015–2016), 1. SC Sollenau (2016) and SV Schwechat (2016–2017).[ clarification needed ]

Llapi

On 21 January 2017. Salihu signed to Football Superleague of Kosovo side Llapi. [9] [10]

Later career

On 1 July 2017. Salihu signed to 1. Niederösterreichische Landesliga side Haitzendorf. On 12 August 2017, he making his debut in a 1–1 home draw against Rohrbach/Gölsen after coming on as a substitute in the 46th minute in place of Benjamin Pasic.[ clarification needed ]

Media career

Salihu was crowned winner of the second season of Big Brother VIP Kosova in February 2024. [11] [12] He said he would invest the €144,000 prize money into property in Kosovo or Albania. [13] On the show, he dated Kader Kicaj, though the pair split up after the series finished. [14] He was later linked with singer Semi Japuaj. [15] He gained Kosovar citizenship in September 2024. [16]

Political career

Salihu joined the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) in October 2024, being welcomed by party leader Lumir Abdixhiku, who said, "Welcome to the real biggest house in Kosovo, Lumbardh!" [17] This was part of the LDK's strategy to recruit influential public figures with significant influence on social media. [18] He met with the Kosovar diaspora in Switzerland in order to include expatriates in decision-making processes in Kosovo. [19] However, he made a gaffe in a January 2025 interview by stating "I'm going to be a father soon" whilst talking about his sister's pregnancy. [20]

He achieved 6,000 votes in his first bid for a seat in the Kosovo Assembly in February 2025. [21] He was endorsed by the family of Ibrahim Rugova, former President of Kosovo. [22] He ran for a seat for a second time in December 2025, but was again unsuccessful. [23]

References

  1. ↑ "Stats" . Retrieved 31 December 2025.
  2. ↑ "The LDK strikes with a "strong" transfer before the elections, takes Lumbardhi from Big Brother". Insajderi. 24 October 2024. Retrieved 31 December 2025.
  3. ↑ "Lumbardhi's story about life, challenges, failures and the last two pains before entering BBVK - Telegrafi". telegrafi.com. 29 December 2023. Retrieved 31 December 2025.
  4. ↑ "Lumbardh Salihu flet për jetën në Austri dhe rikthimin në Kosovë". YouTube. 10 May 2024. Retrieved 31 December 2025.
  5. ↑ "Northampton Town sign up Austrian duo". BBC Sport. 29 July 2011.
  6. ↑ "Northampton Town: Cobblers have their moments but Wolves cruise to victory". Northampton Chronicle & Echo. 24 August 2011.
  7. ↑ "Northampton Town release Austrian pair". BBC Sport. 26 January 2012. Retrieved 31 December 2025.
  8. ↑ "Cobblers release Austrian duo". Sky Sports. 26 January 2012. Retrieved 31 December 2025.
  9. ↑ "Lumbardh Salihu bëhet pjese e FC Llapit" (in Albanian). Llapi. 21 January 2017. Archived from the original on 22 February 2017.
  10. ↑ "Lumbardh Salihu lë Austrinë për t'iu bashkuar FC Llapit" (in Albanian). Llapi. 21 January 2017.
  11. ↑ "Lumbardhi speaks for the first time after the victory in BBVK: I played a perfect game". BalkanWeb. 6 February 2024. Retrieved 31 December 2025.
  12. ↑ "Lumbardh Salihu speaks after emerging as a winner from Big Brother VIP Kosova - Telegrafi". telegrafi.com. 5 February 2024. Retrieved 31 December 2025.
  13. ↑ "Lumbardhi tregon se çfarë po bën me çmimin e fituar në Big Brother VIP Kosova: Synime për të investuar në tokën shqiptare". Gazeta Koha Jonë (in Albanian). 11 May 2024. Retrieved 31 December 2025.
  14. ↑ ""The day will come when you will understand everything", Kader and Lumbardhi part ways". Reporter. 31 July 2024. Retrieved 31 December 2025.
  15. ↑ "Lumbardh Salihu and Semi Japuaj are caught in intimate moments, prompting hints of a relationship - Telegraph". telegrafi.com. 29 June 2025. Retrieved 31 December 2025.
  16. ↑ "'Big Brother VIP' winner gets new citizenship". alfapress.al. 30 September 2024. Retrieved 31 December 2025.
  17. ↑ "From Big Brother to politics, Lumbardh Salihu is the son of the former VV MP". Reporter. 24 October 2024. Retrieved 31 December 2025.
  18. ↑ Halitaj, Agron; Xhema, Shqipron; Zeqiri, Ardita (10 January 2025). "Kosovo Parties Count on Celebrities' Influence to Reach More Votes". Prishtina Insight. Retrieved 31 December 2025.
  19. ↑ "LDK meets with diaspora in Switzerland, Lumbardh Salihu: Deeply grateful for your support - Telegraph". telegrafi.com. 25 January 2025. Retrieved 31 December 2025.
  20. ↑ ""I'm having a sister, I'm going to be a father soon", the former Big Brother winner's gaffe 'melts' the studio with laughter". Pamfleti. 21 January 2025. Retrieved 31 December 2025.
  21. ↑ "Lumbardhi confirms his candidacy for MP, BBVK winner tries his luck for the second time - Telegraph". telegrafi.com. 4 December 2025. Retrieved 31 December 2025.
  22. ↑ "Lumbardh Salihu is welcomed by the Rugova family: I am honored, Ibrahim Rugova remains my political hero - Telegraph". telegrafi.com. 8 February 2025. Retrieved 31 December 2025.
  23. ↑ "Lumbardh Salihu speaks after the elections: The result is not satisfactory, but I will not stop - Telegraph". telegrafi.com. 30 December 2025. Retrieved 31 December 2025.
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