albania

Three to Watch

Berat Djimsiti

Position Defender

Age 28

Height 191cm

Club Atalanta (Italy)

Berat Djimsiti

Despite being born in Zurich and representing Switzerland at intermediate level, Djimsiti made the decision to play senior international football for Albania in July 2015 having been granted Albanian citizenship the year before.

After making over a century of appearances for Swiss club Zurich, Djimsiti made the switch to Italian side Atalanta in 2015, and has now established himself in the side after initial loan spells at Avellino and Benevento, and has now played more than 100 games for the club both domestically and in Europe. His only goal for Albania came against Armenia in October 2015, but he was left out of the final EURO 2016 squad.

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Sokol Cikalleshi

Position Forward

Age 30

Height 185cm

Club Konyaspor (Turkey)

Sokol Cikalleshi

A nomadic striker who has played club football in Albania, Croatia and Turkey and has been a regular in the senior national team squad for Albania since making his debut against Romania in May 2014.

Although he was rarely used during the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifying campaign, Cikalleshi returned to favour for EURO 2020 qualifying and scored four goals in the campaign before adding a further four goals to his tally for the national team in the UEFA Nations League last year. After a successful year with Turkish side Akhisar Belediyespor, Cikalleshi completed a move to Konyaspor in 2020, and has continued his good form with his current club.

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Rey Manaj

Position Forward

Age 24

Height 182cm

Club Barcelona (Spain)

Rey Manaj

The first Albanian to play senior football for Spanish giants Barcelona, Menaj is still yet to make an appearance for the side despite being named on the bench last season.

A regular goalscorer for the Barcelona B team, the striker has continued his form for the national team in recent games. Brought up in Italy, Manaj represented Piacenza at youth level before making senior appearances for Cremonese and Inter Milan with loan spells Pescara, Pisa and Spanish side Granada. A permanent move to Albacete followed in 2018 before Barcelona signed him in January 2020.

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