Arbër Zeneli

Arbër Zeneli
Zeneli with IF Elfsborg in 2015
Personal information
Full name Arbër Zeneli
Date of birth (1995-02-25) 25 February 1995
Place of birth Säter, Sweden
Height 1.76 m (5 ft 9 in)
Playing position Midfielder
Club information
Current team
 Heerenveen
Number 13
Youth career
0000–2007 Hälsinggårdens AIK
2007–2013 IF Elfsborg
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2014–2015 IF Elfsborg 46 (11)
2016– Heerenveen 71 (14)
National team‡
2010–2012 Sweden U17 7 (1)
2012–2014 Sweden U19 17 (5)
2014–2016 Sweden U21 11 (1)
2016– Kosovo 11 (3)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 2 July 2018
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 10 September 2018

Arbër Zeneli (born 25 February 1995) is a Swedish-born Kosovo Albanian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Dutch club Heerenveen and the Kosovo national team.

Personal life

Zeneli was born in Säter, but grew up in Falun, before moving to Borås with his family when he was 11 years old.[1][2] He is of Albanian descent.[3] He has named his father as his greatest role model in life.[4]

Club career

IF Elfsborg

Zeneli started playing football for Hälsinggården, but left as a 12-year-old for Elfsborg's youth academy. In 2011, he scored a late winning goal in the final of Swedish Under-17 Championships against Brommapojkarna.[5] The following year he helped his team reach the final in the same competition, and scored another goal, although this time Elfsborg lost to Malmö FF.[6] In 2013 Elfsborg won the U21-Allsvenskan with he in the squad, after a 5–2 final win away against Häcken.[7]

Having been promoted to the senior team in December 2013.[8] He made his senior debut on 1 March 2014, in the 2013–14 Svenska Cupen. He went on to play a total of three games in the competition which Elfsborg later won beating Helsingborg in the final. He made his first Allsvenskan appearance in the premier game of the season on 31 March, away against Åtvidaberg.[9] In May the same year, former Premier League player and teammate Anders Svensson labeled him as one of the greatest talents he had ever seen.[10] Zeneli played 16 games during the 2014 season and finished the season by scoring his first senior goal that subsequently sealed the win for his team against Brommapojkarna. He dedicated the goal to his former coach Klas Ingesson who had died a couple of days earlier.[11]

Heerenveen

On 10 November 2015, Zeneli signed a 3.5-year contract with Heerenveen for an estimated fee of €2 million.[12] He made his Eredivisie debut on 16 January 2016,[13] and scored his first goal the following weekend on 23 January.[14] His performance earned him the man of the match award.[15]

International career

Sweden

Youth

Zeneli has represented Sweden in under-17, under-19 and under-21 level.

Kosovo

On 24 August 2016, Arbër Zeneli decided to represent Kosovo on international level.[16] Zeneli made his debut with Kosovo in the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification match against Croatia on 6 October 2016.[17]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played on 24 February 2018[18][19]
Club Season League Cup Continental Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
IF Elfsborg 2014 Allsvenskan 1614110—212
2015 30106250—4112
Total 461110360006214
Heerenveen 2015–16 Eredivisie 17400—174
2016–17 34641—387
2017–18 13312—145
Total 64135300006916
Career total 11024156600013130

International

As of 10 September 2018[20]
National teamYearAppsGoals
Kosovo 201630
201730
201853
Total113

International goals

As of 10 September 2018[20]
Scores and results list Kosovo's goal tally first.
NoDateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
1. 29 May 2018 Letzigrund, Zürich, Switzerland  Albania 1–0 3–0 Friendly
2. 2–0
3. 10 September 2018 Fadil Vokrri Stadium, Pristina, Kosovo  Faroe Islands 1–0 2–0 2018–19 UEFA Nations League D

Honours

Club

IF Elfsborg

International

Sweden U21

References

  1. ↑ "Elfsborgs Arber Zeneli om Ingesson och barndomen i Falun". dalademokraten.se. Retrieved 24 January 2016.
  2. ↑ Björklund, Emil. "Zeneli – en bollkonstnär i skulpturstaden - Borås Tidning". Borås Tidning (in Swedish). Retrieved 24 January 2016.
  3. ↑ "Europeiskt intresse för Elfsborgs Zeneli - Sporten P4 Sjuhärad - P4 Sjuhärad". Retrieved 27 January 2016.
  4. ↑ "Supertalangen peppas av Anders Svensson - Sport | SVT.se". svt.se. Retrieved 24 January 2016.
  5. ↑ "Elfsborg mästare i pojk-SM". svenskfotboll.se. Retrieved 24 November 2014.
  6. ↑ "Malmö FF Svenska Mästare 2012". svenskfotboll.se. Retrieved 24 November 2014.
  7. ↑ "Elfsborgs U21-lag vann SM". sverigesradio.se. Retrieved 24 November 2014.
  8. ↑ "Elfsborg slår rekord i "U-uppflyttning"". svenskelitfotboll.se. Retrieved 24 November 2014.
  9. ↑ "Åtvidaberg vs. Elfsborg 2 - 1". Soccerway. Retrieved 5 October 2014.
  10. ↑ "Anders Svensson tokhyllar: "En av de största talangerna jag sett"". fotbolldirekt.se. Retrieved 24 November 2014.
  11. ↑ "Zeneli rörd efter sitt första allsvenska mål". Borås Tidning. Retrieved 24 November 2014.
  12. ↑ "sc Heerenveen versterkt zich in winterstop met Arber Zeneli - sc Heerenveen". www.sc-heerenveen.nl. Retrieved 23 January 2016.
  13. ↑ "Zeneli fick spela 90 minuter i debuten - Borås Tidning". Borås Tidning (in Swedish). Retrieved 23 January 2016.
  14. ↑ "Svensksuccé när Heerenveen vände och vann". fotbollskanalen. Retrieved 23 January 2016.
  15. ↑ "sc Heerenveen on Twitter". Twitter. Retrieved 23 January 2016.
  16. ↑ "Zeneli väljer Kosovo - här är U21-truppen". Retrieved 24 August 2016.
  17. ↑ https://www.fifa.com/worldcup/matches/round=276483/match=300361568/index.html
  18. ↑ "Arber Zeneli » Club matches". worldfootball.net. Retrieved 3 February 2018.
  19. ↑ "Arber Zeneli". Soccerway. Retrieved 20 January 2016.
  20. 1 2 "Arbër Zeneli". EU-Football.info.
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