Fatos Bećiraj
Fatos Bećiraj (Albanian: Fatos Besim Beqiraj; born 5 May 1988) is a Montenegrin professional footballer who plays as a striker for the Montenegro national team.
![]() Bećiraj with Dynamo Moscow in 2016 | |||
Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Date of birth | 5 May 1988 | ||
Place of birth | Peć, Yugoslavia | ||
Height | 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in) | ||
Playing position(s) | Striker | ||
Youth career | |||
2005–2007 | Shqiponja | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
2007 | Besa Pejë | ||
2008–2010 | Budućnost | 81 | (39) |
2010–2014 | Dinamo Zagreb | 90 | (30) |
2014 | Changchun Yatai | 28 | (7) |
2015 | Dinamo Minsk | 23 | (9) |
2016–2017 | Dynamo Moscow | 60 | (13) |
2018 | Mechelen | 4 | (0) |
2018–2020 | Maccabi Netanya | 54 | (20) |
National team‡ | |||
2009–2010 | Montenegro U21 | 5 | (0) |
2009– | Montenegro | 69 | (9) |
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 31 August 2019 ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 19 November 2019 |
Club career
Early career and Budućnost
Bećiraj began his career in Peć with the local club KF Shqiponja at 17 years of age before joining their city rivals Besa Pejë in July 2007. After spending the first half of the 2007–08 season with Besa Pejë his good performances in the Kosovar Superliga attracted attention from several clubs in the region, and in January 2008 he moved to the Montenegrin side FK Budućnost Podgorica.
He immediately established himself as a first team regular at Budućnost, scoring 9 goals in 15 appearances in the second half of the 2007–08 season,[1] helping the club win the Montenegrin championship title and finish runners-up in the 2007–08 Montenegrin Cup. In the following two seasons Bećiraj scored 28 league goals in 62 matches for the club,[1] becoming league top scorer in the 2008–09 season with 18 goals scored.
Dinamo Zagreb
It was announced on 30 August 2010 that Beqiraj signed for Croatian club Dinamo Zagreb.[2] Beqiraj played very well in his debut season with Dinamo and became regularly called up to the Montenegro national team. He played in 22 league matches and scored 8 goals, most notably a beautiful goal against NK Rijeka and a fine header against Hajduk Split.
Beqiraj struggled to find his goalscoring form at the beginning of the 2011–12 season, finally scoring after eight matches without a goal, netting the fifth goal in a 5–0 win against NK Karlovac. He then scored the last goal in a 4–1 win against Malmö FF in the Champions League Play-off. Beqiraj then continued his goalscoring form in domestic competition, scoring against NK Varaždin, NK Istra, NK Zadar, NK Šibenik and RNK Split.
On 22 November 2011, Bećiraj scored Dinamo's first goal in the 2011–12 Champions League, netting a header in Dinamo's 6–2 away loss to Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabéu.[3]
Bećiraj was the first choice striker throughout the 2011–12 season and became top scorer of the Prva HNL with 15 goals in 28 appearances, becoming the first foreign player to accomplish that feat.
Changchun Yatai
In February 2014, Bećiraj transferred to Chinese Super League side Changchun Yatai.[4]
Dinamo Minsk
In January 2015, Bećiraj transferred to Belarusian Premier League side Dinamo Minsk.
On 6 August 2015, Bećiraj scored a 118th-minute winner in a 1–1 extra-time (2–1 aggregate) win over Swiss side Zürich in the second leg of the Europa League third qualifying round.[5]
Dynamo Moscow
On 18 February 2016, he signed a 3.5-year contract with the Russian side FC Dynamo Moscow.[6] He scored his first goal for Dynamo Moscow on 19 March 2016, giving his club a 1–0 win over FC Ufa.[7]
On 11 January 2018, his Dynamo contract was dissolved by mutual consent, making him a free agent.[8]
Mechelen
The day after, Bećiraj signed a contract for 3.5 years with the Belgian top tier club KV Mechelen.[9][10]
Maccabi Netanya
On 5 September 2018, Beciraj signed for Israeli Premier League side Maccabi Netanya. He was the top goalscorer for the club in his debut season scoring 15 goals in all club competitions. His second season with Netanya wasn't as successful, scoring only 7 times in the league and once in the Toto Cup. On 7 June 2020, Beciraj requested to be released from the club.[11] In 2 seasons with the club, Beciraj scored a total of 23 goals in 63 appearances for the club.
International career
Bećiraj was first called up for the Montenegro U21 by coach Dušan Vlaisavljević in 2009, winning his first cap in a 2011 European Under-21 Championship qualifier against Kazakhstan U21 on 7 June 2009.[12] He went on to earn five caps for the U21 team before receiving his first call-up for the senior team in March 2009, for a 2010 World Cup qualifier against Italy.[13] He had his international debut in the match, coming on as a substitute for Radomir Đalović in the 70th minute.[14] He scored his first goal for Montenegro on 17 November 2010 in a friendly match against Azerbaijan.[15] On 7 June 2019, Bećiraj captained Montenegro in a 1–1 draw against his country of birth of Kosovo.[16]
Career statistics
Club
Club | Season | League | Cup | Continental | Total | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
Budućnost Podgorica | 2007–08 | Prva CFL | 15 | 9 | – | – | 15 | 9 | ||
2008–09 | 32 | 18 | – | 2[lower-alpha 1] | 2 | 34 | 20 | |||
2009–10 | 30 | 10 | – | 2[lower-alpha 2] | 0 | 32 | 10 | |||
2010–11 | 4 | 2 | – | 4[lower-alpha 2] | 2 | 8 | 4 | |||
Total | 81 | 39 | – | 8 | 4 | 89 | 43 | |||
Dinamo Zagreb | 2010–11 | Prva HNL | 22 | 8 | 6 | 6 | 6[lower-alpha 2] | 0 | 34 | 14 |
2011–12 | 28 | 15 | 5 | 1 | 12[lower-alpha 1] | 2 | 45 | 18 | ||
2012–13 | 27 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 10[lower-alpha 1] | 2 | 38 | 7 | ||
2013–14 | 13 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 4[lower-alpha 3] | 2 | 20 | 7 | ||
Total | 90 | 30 | 15 | 10 | 32 | 6 | 137 | 46 | ||
Changchun Yatai | 2014 | Chinese Super League | 28 | 7 | – | – | 28 | 7 | ||
Dinamo Minsk | 2015 | Vysheyshaya Liga | 23 | 9 | 7 | 6 | 12[lower-alpha 2] | 4 | 42 | 19 |
Dynamo Moscow | 2015–16 | Russian Premier League | 12 | 2 | 1 | 0 | – | 17 | 2 | |
2016–17 | Russian Football National League | 30 | 9 | 3 | 1 | – | 33 | 10 | ||
2017–18 | Russian Premier League | 18 | 2 | 0 | 0 | – | 18 | 2 | ||
Total | 60 | 13 | 4 | 1 | – | 64 | 14 | |||
KV Mechelen | 2017–18 | First Division A | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
Maccabi Netanya | 2018–19 | Israeli Premier League | 30 | 13 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 33 | 15 |
2019–20 | Israeli Premier League | 24 | 7 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 30 | 8 | |
Career total | 340 | 118 | 35 | 20 | 52 | 14 | 427 | 151 |
- Appearances in the Champions League
- Appearances in the Europa League
- One appearance and a goal in the Champions League, three appearances and a goal in the Europa League
International
- As of 19 November 2019[1]
National Team | Year | Apps | Goals |
---|---|---|---|
Montenegro | |||
2009 | 3 | 0 | |
2010 | 7 | 1 | |
2011 | 4 | 0 | |
2012 | 5 | 2 | |
2013 | 6 | 0 | |
2014 | 5 | 0 | |
2015 | 7 | 2 | |
2016 | 7 | 2 | |
2017 | 6 | 2 | |
2018 | 9 | 0 | |
2019 | 10 | 0 | |
Total | 69 | 9 |
International goals
- As of match played 1 September 2017. Montenegro score listed first, score column indicates score after each Bećiraj goal.[18]
No. | Date | Venue | Cap | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 17 November 2010 | Podgorica City Stadium, Podgorica, Montenegro | 10 | ![]() | 2–0 | 2–0 | Friendly |
2 | 11 September 2012 | Stadio Olimpico, Serravalle, San Marino | 18 | ![]() | 6–0 | 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification | |
3 | 3–0 | ||||||
4 | 5 September 2015 | Podgorica City Stadium, Podgorica, Montenegro | 33 | ![]() | 1–0 | 2–0 | UEFA Euro 2016 qualification |
5 | 9 October 2015 | 35 | ![]() | 2–1 | 2–3 | ||
6 | 8 October 2016 | 42 | ![]() | 4–0 | 5–0 | 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification | |
7 | 11 October 2016 | Parken Stadium, Copenhagen, Denmark | 43 | ![]() | 1–0 | 1–0 | |
8 | 10 June 2017 | Podgorica City Stadium, Podgorica, Montenegro | 47 | ![]() | 4–1 | ||
9 | 1 September 2017 | Astana Arena, Astana, Kazakhstan | 48 | ![]() | 2–0 | 3–0 |
Honours
Budućnost Podgorica
Dinamo Zagreb
References
- "Fatos Bećiraj". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmerman. Retrieved 30 August 2010.
- "Modre redove pojačao i Bećiraj!" (in Croatian). NK Dinamo Zagreb. 30 August 2010. Archived from the original on 25 November 2010. Retrieved 30 August 2010.
- http://www.vecernji.hr/sport/nogomet/beqiraj-tomecak-zabili-realu-dinamo-ublazio-poraz-madridu-clanak-34908
- 亚泰已敲定签约贝奇拉耶 黑山国脚将成进攻核心 at sports.sohu.com 2014-03-01 Retrieved 2014-03-02
- "Match Report". UEFA. 6 August 2015. Retrieved 25 August 2015.
- Бечирай и Хольмен - в «Динамо» (in Russian). FC Dynamo Moscow. 18 February 2016.
- "Ufa-Dynamo game report" (in Russian). Russian Football Premier League. 19 March 2016.
- Фатос Бечирай покидает «Динамо» (in Russian). FC Dynamo Moscow. 11 January 2018.
- "KV Mechelen rond (sic) transfer af en haalt met Montenegrijnse international broodnodige spits" (in Dutch). De Standaard. 13 January 2018.
- "NIEUWE SPITS BIJ KVM: FATOS BECIRAJ TEKENT" (in Dutch). KV Mechelen. 12 January 2018.
- https://www.one.co.il/Article/19-20/1,1,8,44812/360490.html
- "About Fatos Bećiraj" (in Montenegrin). Football Association of Montenegro. Archived from the original on 5 October 2011. Retrieved 30 August 2010.
- "Filipović pozvao Bašu i Bećiraja" (in Montenegrin). Football Association of Montenegro. 22 March 2009. Retrieved 30 August 2010.
- "Montenegro – Italy Match Report". FIFA. 28 March 2009. Retrieved 30 August 2010.
- "Pobjeda za kraj uspješne godine" (in Serbian). fscg.co.me. 17 November 2010. Retrieved 18 November 2010.
- "Bondscoach Montenegro weigert te werken tegen Kosovo" (in Dutch). Goal. 7 June 2019. Retrieved 7 June 2019.
- "Fatos Bećiraj". Soccerway. Perform Group. Retrieved 16 January 2018.
- "Fatos Bećiraj". European Football. Retrieved 12 October 2016.