Naser Aliji

Naser Aliji

Aliji in action with Albania in 2017
Personal information
Full name	Naser Ismail Aliji
Date of birth	(1993-12-27) 27 December 1993 (age 30)
Place of birth	Kumanovo, Macedonia
Height	1.77 m (5 ft 10 in)
Position(s)	Left-back
Team information
Current team	Dinamo City
Number	20
Youth career
1998–2004	Baden
2004–2008	Aarau
2008–2013	Basel
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2011–2014	Basel U21	53	(3)
2013–2016	Basel	29	(1)
2015	→ Vaduz (loan)	24	(0)
2016–2017	1. FC Kaiserslautern	20	(0)
2018	Virtus Entella	17	(0)
2018–2019	Dinamo București	16	(0)
2019–2022	Budapest Honvéd	33	(1)
2022–2024	Voluntari	61	(1)
2024–	Dinamo City	0	(0)
International career‡
2007–2008	Switzerland U15	1	(0)
2008	Switzerland U16	2	(1)
2011	Switzerland U18	3	(0)
2013–2014	Switzerland U20	6	(1)
2014	Switzerland U21	2	(0)
2015–	Albania	14	(0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 12 May 2024 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 7 June 2024

Naser Ismail Aliji (born 27 December 1993) is a professional footballer who plays as a left-back, and also for the Albania national team. Born in Macedonia, he played for Switzerland at youth international levels, and made his senior debut for Albania in 2015.

Club career

Early career

Aliji was born in Kumanovo and is of Albanian ethnicity. He lived there until he was four years old, at which time his mother moved to Baden, Switzerland together with her two other siblings, a sister and a brother, to join their father, who had been working there for many years. Aliji started his youth football aged 4 when he was sent by his brother to play with FC Baden. ^[1] Aged 9, he moved to FC Aarau for one year and then he joined FC Basel in 2008. ^[2] Later he played in their U-18 team and in their U21 team where he received various individual prizes as the youngster of the year. ^{[3] [4]}

Basel

Aliji signed his first professional contract with FC Basel on 20 June 2013 and joined their first team. ^[5] Aliji made his first team debut on 17 August as he was substituted in during the Swiss Cup first round match against BSC Old Boys. ^[6] He played his first match in the starting eleven in the Swiss Cup quarter-final against Le Mont on 5 February 2014 as Basel won 6–1. One minute before half time he gave the final pass to Marco Streller for him to score the third goal of the game. ^[7] On 16 March 2014, Aliji made his Swiss Super League debut and played the full 90 minutes at St. Jakob-Park in the 5–0 home win, against Aarau. ^[8] At the end of the 2013–14 Super League season Aliji won the league championship with Basel. ^[9] They also reached the final of the 2013–14 Swiss Cup, but were beaten 2–0 by Zürich after extra time. During the 2013–14 Champions League season Basel reached the group stage and finished the group in third position. Thus they qualified for the Europa League knockout phase where they advanced as far as the quarter-finals.

The season 2014–15 was also a successful one for Basel. Aliji scored his first goal for the team in the away game in the Stadion Brügglifeld on 19 July 2014 as Basel won 2–1 against Aarau. ^[10] Despite this goal in the first match of the season and despite the fact that Basel had entered the Champions League in the group stage reaching the knockout phase on 9 December 2014 as they managed a 1–1 draw at Anfield against Liverpool, ^[11] Aliji totaled just 17 appearances during the first half of the season, 5 (of 18) League, 3 (of 3) in the Cup and just 1 (of 6) in the Champions League, as well 8 further appearances in test games, mostly as substitute. ^[12] Because Sousa did not rely upon Aliji and he could not make the starting eleven Basel looked for another solution. On 17 January 2015, it was announced that Aliji would be lent out to Vaduz to gain first team playing experience. ^[13]

At the end of the season Basel won the championship for the sixth time in a row. ^[14]

Loan on Vaduz

In January 2015 during the Winter transfers window, Aliji was loaned out to the fellow Swiss Super League team FC Vaduz for 1 year and half. ^[15] Aliji made his debut for Vaduz on 15 February 2015 in the away match against Aarau, playing the full 90 minutes of the game, which ended in a 1–0 victory. ^[16] Until the end of the league season Aliji played 17 matches all as a starter and substituted off in just one occasion. Aliji won the 2014–15 Liechtenstein Cup playing two matches including the final against Triesenberg on 13 May 2015 when Vaduz won 5–0 and Aliji played the full 90-minutes. ^[17]

Having won the 2014–15 Liechtenstein Cup, Vaduz gained the right to participate in the 2015–16 UEFA Europa League first qualifying round, where they were shorted to play against San Marino side La Fiorita. In the first leg, Aliji played the full 90-minutes match in a 5–0 away victory. ^[18] Then Vaduz qualified in the next round beating La Fiorita 5–1 in the second leg and winning on aggregate 10–1. ^[19] Vaduz finds as an opponent in the 2015–16 UEFA Europa League Second qualifying round the Estonia side Nõmme Kalju. Aliji managed to play another full 90-minutes European match in the first leg to help his team to take a 3–1 victory. ^[20]

Return to Basel

Following an injury to Adama Traoré with the Ivory Coast national team due to the absence of other left-backs, Basel used the contract rights to recall Aliji to their first team squad from the loan to Vaduz. ^[21] Under trainer Urs Fischer Aliji won the Swiss Super League championship at the end of the 2015–16 Super League season for the third time. For the club it was the seventh title in a row and their 19th championship title in total. ^[22]

On 1 July 2016, Basel announced that Aliji was leaving the club and would move to Germany. ^[23] During his time with their first team, Aliji played a total of 64 games for Basel scoring one goal. 21 of these games were in the Swiss Super League, nine in the Swiss Cup, four in the UEFA competitions (Champions League and Europa League) and 22 were friendly games. He scored his sole goal in the domestic league. ^[24]

1. FC Kaiserslautern

On 1 July 2016, Aliji joined 2. Bundesliga side 1. FC Kaiserslautern on a free transfer, signing a contract until June 2019. ^{[25] [26]}

He should have compensated for the departure of Chris Löwe on the left side of defence. Initially a regular player under coach Tayfun Korkut, Aliji was not able to convince FCK and was sorted out under Korkut's successor Norbert Meier. Because, initially, he was unable to find a new club, Aliji's contract with FCK was terminated on 31 August 2017, two years before it expired, against payment of a severance payment. ^[27]

Later years

Following this, Aliji was without a club for six months. In January 2018 he joined Italian club Virtus Entella in Serie B for six months. He later played for Dinamo București and Budapest Honvéd. He joined Voluntari in the summer of 2022.

Personal life

In the summer of 2018 Aliji returned to Switzerland to be with his father who had a cancer diagnosis. ^[28]

International career

Despite playing for Macedonia youth national teams and Switzerland youth national teams, Aliji did not exclude the option of representing Albania at international level. ^[2] On 17 December 2014, the FSHF representative for talents in Switzerland, Sokol Dauti, confirmed that Aliji had decided to represent Albania and begun the procedure to get an Albanian passport. ^[29] Three of his former teammates at Basel Taulant Xhaka, Shkëlzen Gashi and Arlind Ajeti play for Albania, despite having represented Swiss youth national teams. ^[30] On 5 March 2015, Aliji received Albanian citizenship alongside his teammate Ajeti, and became the first player ever from Macedonia to wear the Albania national team shirt. ^[31]

Aliji received his first call-up to the Albania national team by the coach Gianni De Biasi for the UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying match against Armenia on 29 March 2015. ^[32] Despite the invitation he wasn't eligible yet to play for Albania in competitive matches as he hadn't yet received the go ahead from FIFA. Then Aliji was called up again in the next match of Albania, the friendly one against France on 13 June 2015. ^[33] He debuted for Albania at international level against France playing the full 90-minutes match which finished in a 1–0 crucial victory against the UEFA Euro 2016 hosts with a free-kick scored by Ergys Kaçe in the 43rd minute. ^[34]

On 21 May 2016, Aliji was named in Albania's preliminary 27-man squad for UEFA Euro 2016, ^[35] and in Albania's final 23-man UEFA Euro 2016 squad on 31 May. ^[36]

Aliji didn't manage to play any minute of all Group A matches as Albania were eliminated by ranking in the 3rd place behind hosts France against which lost 2–0 and Switzerland against which they also lost 1–0 in the opening match and ahead of Romania by beating them 1–0 in the closing match with a goal by Armando Sadiku. ^[37] Albania finished the group in the third position with three points and with a goal difference –2, and was ranked last in the third-placed teams, which eventually eliminated them. ^[38]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 12 May 2024 ^{[39] [40]}

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			Cup		Europe [lower-alpha 1]		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Basel U21	2011–12	1. Liga Promotion	22	1	—		—		—		22	1
	2012–13		20	1	—		—		—		20	1
	2013–14		10	0	—		—		—		10	0
	2014–15		1	1	—		—		—		1	1
	Total		53	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	53	3
Basel	2013–14	Swiss Super League	9	0	4	0	3 [lower-alpha 2]	0	—		16	0
	2014–15		5	1	3	0	1 [lower-alpha 3]	0	—		9	1
	2015–16		15	0	2	0	—		—		17	0
	Total		29	1	9	0	4	0	0	0	42	1
Vaduz (loan)	2014–15	Swiss Super League	17	0	2	0	—		—		19	0
	2015–16		7	0	0	0	5 [lower-alpha 2]	1	—		12	1
	Total		24	0	2	0	5	1	0	0	31	1
1. FC Kaiserslautern	2016–17	2. Bundesliga	20	0	1	0	—		—		21	0
Virtus Entella	2017–18	Serie B	17	0	—		—		—		17	0
Dinamo București	2018–19	Liga I	16	0	—		—		—		16	0
Budapest Honvéd	2019–20	Nemzeti Bajnokság I	21	1	4	0	—		—		25	1
	2020–21		12	0	3	1	2 [lower-alpha 2]	0	—		17	1
	Total		107	1	8	1	2	0	0	0	96	2
Voluntari	2022–23	Liga I	36	1	2	0	—		1 [lower-alpha 4]	1	39	2
	2023–24		24	0	1	0	—		—		25	0
	Total		60	1	3	0	0	0	1	1	64	1
Career total			273	6	22	1	11	1	1	1	288	8

1. Including continental competitions, such as UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League
2. All appearance(s) in UEFA Europa League
3. Appearance in UEFA Champions League
4. Appearance in Liga I European play-offs

International

As of 7 June 2024 ^{[39] [41]}

Appearances and goals by national team and year

National team	Year	Apps	Goals
Albania	2015	3	0
	2016	4	0
	2017	4	0
	2018	1	0
	2019	1	0
	2024	1	0
Total		14	0

Honours

Basel

• Swiss Super League: 2013–14, 2014–15, 2015–16
• Swiss Cup runner-up: 2013–14

Vaduz

• Liechtenstein Cup: 2014–15

Budapest Honvéd

• Magyar Kupa: 2019–20

Individual

• FC Basel Rookies of the Year: 2011, ^[3] 2013 ^[4]

References

1. "Naser Aliji – Euro 2016 profile" (in Albanian). FSHF.org. Retrieved 30 November 2017. • Kur i keni patur fillesat me futbollin? Kur keni filluar të luani si futbollist profesionist? Kur isha 4 vjec , vëllai më i madh me coi të luaja fuboll me ekipin e Baden , në Zvicër
2. "Intervistë/Naser Aliji: Te Baseli po jetoj si në ëndërr" (in Albanian). Gazeta LAJM. Archived from the original on 14 July 2015. Retrieved 2 July 2016.
3. FC Basel 1893 (2011). "Die BKB zeichnete am Luzern-Spiel die "Rookies of the Year" aus" (in German). FC Basel 1893. Archived from the original on 23 February 2014. Retrieved 31 May 2011.
4. FC Basel 1893 (2013). "Auszeichnung der "Rookies of the Year"" (in German). FC Basel 1893. Archived from the original on 23 February 2014. Retrieved 6 June 2013.
5. FC Basel 1893 (2013). "Profiverträge für Nachwuchsspieler und Leihverträge für Profispieler" (in German). FC Basel 1893. Archived from the original on 23 February 2014. Retrieved 20 June 2013.
6. Marti, Caspar (2013). "Der FCB muss gegen OB eine Extraschicht schieben" (in German). FC Basel 1893. Archived from the original on 23 February 2014. Retrieved 17 August 2013.
7. Marti, Caspar (2013). "Der FCB zieht ohne Mühe in den Cuphalbfinal ein" (in German). FC Basel 1893. Archived from the original on 9 February 2014. Retrieved 5 February 2014.
8. Marti, Caspar (2014). "Der FCB setzt gegen Aarau das gewünschte Zeichen" (in German). FC Basel 1893. Archived from the original on 17 March 2014. Retrieved 16 March 2014.
9. Grossenbacher, Sacha (2014). "Fotos vom Spiel gegen Lausanne sowie den anschliessenden Feierlichkeiten" (in German). FC Basel 1893. Retrieved 18 May 2014.
10. Verein "Basler Fussballarchiv” (19 July 2014). "FC Aarau - FC Basel 1:2 (0:2)". Verein "Basler Fussballarchiv”. Retrieved 16 November 2022.
11. "Liverpool 1 Basel 1". BBC Sport. 10 December 2014. Retrieved 10 December 2014.
12. Zindel, Josef (2015). Rotblau: Jahrbuch Saison 2015/2016. FC Basel Marketing AG. ISBN   978-3-7245-2050-4.
13. FC Basel 1893 (2015). "Naser Aliji leihweise zu Vaduz". FC Basel 1893. Retrieved 17 January 2015.
14. FC Basel 1893 (29 May 2015). "Der Meisterfreitag im bunten Zeitraffer". The championship Friday in a colorful time lapse (in German). FC Basel 1893 AG. Retrieved 16 November 2022.
15. "Naser Aliji huazohet nga Basel tek Vaduz, pritet zyrtarizimi" (in Albanian). Koha Jonë. 16 January 2016. Archived from the original on 25 October 2016. Retrieved 2 July 2016.
16. "Aarau vs. Vaduz 0 – 1". Soccerway. 15 February 2015. Retrieved 2 July 2016.
17. "Ostschweizer Fussballverband - telegram Cup" (in German). football.ch. 13 May 2015. Archived from the original on 14 July 2015. Retrieved 2 July 2016.
18. "La Fiorita vs. Vaduz 0 – 5". Soccerway. 2 July 2015. Retrieved 2 July 2016.
19. UEFA Europa League 2016 - Vaduz-La Fiorita UEFA.com
20. UEFA Europa League 2016 - Vaduz-Kalju UEFA.com
21. Adi Metaliu (10 September 2015). "Baseli kthen nga huazimi Naser Alijin" (in Albanian). Super Sport Albania. Retrieved 2 July 2016.
22. SRF (30 April 2016). "FC Basel holt den 19. Meistertitel". FC Basel wins their 19th championship title (in German). Schweizer Radio und Fernsehen (SRF). Retrieved 16 November 2022.
23. FC Basel 1893 (1 July 2016). "Naser Aliji zum 1 FC Kaiserslautern". Naser Aliji moves to 1 FC Kaiserslautern (in German). FC Basel 1893 AG. Retrieved 16 November 2022.
24. Verein "Basler Fussballarchiv” (2021). "Naser Aliji - FCB statistic". Verein "Basler Fussballarchiv”. Retrieved 16 November 2022.
25. "Naser Aliji wechselt in die pfalz" (in German). 1. FC Kaiserslautern. 1 July 2016. Retrieved 2 July 2016.
26. Rinald Bregasi (30 June 2016). "Naser Aliji transferohet te Kaiserslautern" (in Albanian). Super Sport Albania. Archived from the original on 7 August 2016. Retrieved 2 July 2016.
27. der-betze-brennt.de (2017). "Spieler-Datenblatt - Naser Aliji" (in German). der-betze-brennt.de. Retrieved 16 November 2022.
28. "Fussball: Die traurige Rückkehr von Ex-FCB-Star Naser Aliji". 3 October 2018.
29. "Ekskluzive/ Naser Aliji vishet Kuq e Zi" (in Albanian). Shqiperia.ch. Archived from the original on 14 July 2015. Retrieved 2 July 2016.
30. "Albaner melden FCB-Linksfuss Aliji spielt für den Doppeladler!" (in German). Blick. 18 December 2014. Retrieved 2 July 2014.
31. "Ajeti e Aliji marrin shtetësi shqiptare (foto)" (in Albanian). aSport.al. 9 March 2015. Archived from the original on 13 May 2016. Retrieved 2 July 2016.
32. "De Biazi publikon listën kundër Armenisë" (in Albanian). aSport.al. 23 March 2015. Retrieved 2 July 2016.
33. "De Biazi shpall listën anti-Francë, mungojnë Agolli, Kukeli, Xhaka dhe Shkëlzen Gashi" (in Albanian). Panorama Sport. 8 June 2015. Retrieved 2 July 2016.
34. "Albania vs. France – Football Match Summary – June 13, 2015 – ESPN".
35. Fatjon Pandovski (21 May 2016). "De Biasi leaves out Albanian top scorer Salihi". UEFA. Retrieved 30 May 2016.
36. "De Biasi shpall listën zyrtare të Euro 2016". FSHF.org. 31 May 2016. Retrieved 31 May 2016.
37. UEFA EURO 2016 – Albania – Matches. UEFA.com.
38. "Albania out of Euro 2016 after Portugal draw with Hungary". Fourfourtwo.com. 22 June 2016. Retrieved 9 October 2016.
39. "Naser Aliji". National Football Teams. Retrieved 12 June 2024.
40. "N.Aliji". Soccerway.
41. "Naser Aliji - national football team player". EU-Football.info. 2 July 2016. Retrieved 2 July 2016.

External links

• Naser Aliji – UEFA competition record ( archive )
• Profile at FC Basel (in German)
• Profile season 2015/16 at Swiss Football League Website (in German)
• Naser Aliji at Soccerway
• Naser Aliji at National-Football-Teams.com
• Naser Aliji at the Albanian Football Association (in Albanian and English)