Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | Iljasa Zulfiu[1] | ||
Date of birth | [2] | 27 March 1998||
Place of birth | Miratovac, Serbia, FR Yugoslavia[3] | ||
Height | 1.67 m (5 ft 6 in)[4] | ||
Position(s) | Second striker[4] | ||
Team information | |||
Current team | Zhenis | ||
Number | 19 | ||
Youth career | |||
2008–2015 | Lugina | ||
2015–2017 | Radnik Surdulica | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
2017–2018 | Radnik Surdulica | 1 | (0) |
2017 | → Pukovac (loan) | 6 | (0) |
2017–2018 | → Ozren Sokobanja (loan) | 29 | (6) |
2018–2019 | Flamurtari | 1 | (2) |
2019–2021 | Malisheva | ||
2021–2022 | Laçi | 30 | (2) |
2022–2024 | Dukagjini | 51 | (7) |
2024– | Zhenis | 4 | (0) |
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 6 April 2024 |
Iljasa Zulfiu[1] (Serbian: Иљаса Зулфији, romanized: Iljasa Zulfiji,[5] Albanian: Ilaz Zylfiu;[6] born 27 March 1998) is a Serbian professional footballer of Albanian descent who plays as a second striker for Kazakhstani club Zhenis.[2]
Born in Miratovac, a small town in the municipality of Preševo as a member of Albanian ethnic group,[3] Zulfiu started playing football at the age of 10.[7] He was playing with football club Lugina, based in Aliđerce,[4] until he joined Radnik Surdulica as a youngster.[3] After almost two years with youth team, Zulfiu signed a one-year scholarship contract with Radnik in February 2017.[8] He was also loaned on dual registration to the Serbian League East side Pukovac,[9] making six appearances until the end of the 2016–17 campaign.[10]
In summer 2017, Zulfiu joined the first team of Radnik Surdulica under coach Simo Krunić,[11] but moved on new loan deal to Ozren Sokobanja shortly after.[12] He scored his premier goal for the first season victory of Ozren over Timok on 16 September 2017.[4] After the whole first-half season in the third-ranked league, a loan deal was terminated and Zulfiu returned to Radnik ending of November same year.[13]
On 29 November 2017, Zulfiu made his official debut for Radnik Surdulica, replacing Miloš Stanković in 69 minute of the Serbian SuperLiga match against Red Star Belgrade.[14] He has been reported as the first Albanian footballer in the club history since finding in 1926.[15] In February 2018, Zulfiu signed his first four-your professional contract with Radnik,[16] after which he extended his loan deal to Ozren until the end of 2017–18 campaign.[17]
Returning from loan deal in summer 2018, Zulfiu started new season preparing under coach Mladen Dodić,[18] but after being excluded from the 2018–19 Serbian SuperLiga player list, Zulfiu mutually terminated the contract and left Radnik as a free agent on the last day of July same year, along with teammate Krsta Đorđević.[19]
Zulfiu is a 1.67 m high attacker, who usually plays as a second striker or attacking midfielder.[4] He is characterized by speed and lucidity, affirmed as a goalscorer in the Serbian League East.[20] He has also promoted himself as a free kick taker, scoring in a match against Jedinstvo Paraćin.[21][22] He is often compared with Fadil Vokrri, a former Kosovo Albanian football forward.[4][12][20]
Club | Season | League | Cup | Other | Total | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
Radnik Surdulica | 2016–17[10] | Serbian SuperLiga | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | |
2017–18[23] | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | |||
Total | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | |||
Pukovac (loan) | 2016–17[10] | Serbian League East | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 6 | 0 | |
Ozren Sokobanja (loan) | 2017–18[10] | 29 | 6 | 0 | 0 | — | 29 | 6 | ||
Flamurtari | 2018–19 | Kosovo Superleague | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | |
Malisheva | 2019–20 | Kosovo First League | Not available | |||||||
2020–21 | ||||||||||
Total | 36 | 6 | 0 | 0 | — | 36 | 6 | |||
Laçi | 2020–21 | Kategoria Superiore | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 9 | 0 | |
2021–22 | 21 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 31 | 2 | ||
2022–23 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
Total | 30 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 40 | 2 | ||
Dukagjini | 2022–23 | Kosovo Superleague | 34 | 4 | 1 | 0 | — | 35 | 4 | |
2023–24 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | ||
Total | 34 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 39 | 8 | ||
Career total | 101 | 12 | 6 | 0 | 9 | 4 | 116 | 16 |