Bekim Balaj

Bekim Balaj, born on January 11, 1991, is a talented Albanian professional footballer who currently plays as a forward for Vllaznia Shkodër, the club where he began his football journey. Making his professional debut at the young age of seventeen, Balaj quickly made a name for himself by scoring seventeen goals in thirty-eight appearances for his hometown club.

His career took a turn when he moved to Turkey to join Gençlerbirliği, although his time there was not as fruitful as anticipated. Returning to Albania, he showcased his skills at Tirana, netting fifteen league goals in thirty-seven matches before making a significant move to Sparta Prague in the Czech Republic in January 2013.

During his tenure at Sparta Prague, Balaj was loaned to Polish club Jagiellonia Białystok for the entire 2013-14 season, where he found his form again, scoring nine goals in thirty-six games across all competitions. In January 2015, he transferred to Croatian side HNK Rijeka for a fee of six hundred thousand euros, furthering his professional career.

On the international stage, Balaj began representing Albania's under-19 team in 2008, followed by the under-21 squad two years later. He made his senior debut in 2012 and played a pivotal role in Albania's successful UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying campaign, famously scoring the winning goal against Portugal. His contributions earned him a spot in the twenty-three-man squad for UEFA Euro 2016, where he made his tournament debut against Romania in the final group match.