Veton Berisha
Berisha with Rapid Wien in 2017
Personal information
Full name Veton Berisha
Date of birth (1994-04-13) 13 April 1994 (age 29)
Place of birth Egersund, Norway
Height 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)[1]
Position(s) Forward
Team information
Current team
 Molde
Number 9
Youth career
0000–2009 Egersund
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2009–2010 Egersund 21 (1)
2010–2015 Viking 94 (24)
2015–2017 Greuther Fürth 63 (11)
2017–2019 Rapid Wien 44 (7)
2019 Brann 26 (3)
2020–2022 Viking 68 (46)
2022–2023 Hammarby IF 14 (4)
2023– Molde 22 (5)
International career‡
2009 Norway U15 1 (0)
2010 Norway U16 9 (3)
2011 Norway U17 9 (3)
2011–2012 Norway U18 14 (8)
2013 Norway U19 2 (1)
2013–2016 Norway U21 17 (2)
2016– Norway 10 (1)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 4 December 2023
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 12 June 2022

Veton Berisha (born 13 April 1994) is a Norwegian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Molde in Eliteserien. His parents are from Kosovo and he is the younger brother of Valon Berisha. Berisha has represented Norway at every level from under-15 to full international level.

Club career

Berisha was born in Egersund,[2] and started his career in the local club Egersunds IK. He was considered one of the biggest Norwegian talents at his age and, like his brother Valon, Veton was on a trial with Manchester City before he signed for Viking in May 2009, but did not join the club until the summer of 2010.[3] He made his debut for Egersunds' first-team in 2009 against Hundvåg,[4] and in total he played 21 matches for the Third Division side.

After joining Viking, Berisha trained with the first team in the pre-season ahead of the 2011 season,[5] and made his debut for the club when he replaced Erik Nevland after 60 minutes in the first round of the 2011 Norwegian Cup against his old club Egersund.[2] Berisha got his first minutes of playing-time in Tippeligaen in the 1–3 loss against Tromsø on 19 May 2011,[6] and started his first match for Viking when Brann was beaten 3–0 on 17 June 2011.[7]

On 19 June 2011, Berisha and his brother Valon became the first brothers to start a match for Viking in 22 years since Jan and Egil Fjetland played against Molde in the 1989 Norwegian Cup final.[8] After the match, Viking's manager Åge Hareide said that "It's fun to start the game with two brothers, I only wish they could pass the ball to others than themselves, as it would create a lot more chances for us, but since they are brothers I guess we can forgive them.[8] In the match against Aalesund on 17 July 2011, Berisha got his first league-goal when he scored the match-winning goal 12 minutes after he came on as a substitute to replace Erik Nevland.[9]

During the mid-summer break in the 2012 season, Berisha expressed a concern about his lack of playing time; he had only played 69 minutes in the league that season and his last appearance in Viking's starting line-up was on 7 August 2011. But Berisha was hoping for a fresh start after Kjell Jonevret was hired as the new head coach following Hareide's departure.[10] In the fourth round of the 2012 Norwegian Cup, Berisha scored Viking's first goal after only one minute on the pitch, but Brann eventually won 3–2.[11]

On 15 July 2012, Berisha secured Jonevret his first victory as Viking-coach, when he scored the match-winning goal in the stoppage-time against Hønefoss.[12]

On 22 April 2013, it was reported that Berisha fractured his right elbow and would be absent for two months.[13]

After scoring 11 goals in 14 matches halfway through the 2015 season, Berisha joined 2. Bundesliga side Greuther Fürth on a free transfer on 1 July 2015.[14] On 1 September 2017, he signed a three-year contract with Austrian club Rapid Wien.[15]

On 30 March 2019, he returned to Norwegian football, signing a four-year contract with Brann.[16] In January 2020, Berisha joined his former club Viking for a reported fee of around NOK 6.5 million. He signed a four-year contract with the club.[17][18]

On 23 July 2022, Berisha transferred to Hammarby IF in the Swedish Allsvenskan, signing a four and a half-year deal.[19] The transfer fee was reportedly set at around 20 million Norwegian kroner, making it a record breaking transfer for Hammarby.[20] In total, Berisha made 15 competitive appearances for Hammarby, scoring four goals, helping the side to reach a 3rd place in the 2022 Allsvenskan table.[21]

On 24 January 2023, Molde announced the signing of Berisha to a four-year contract.[22] He was sought out as a replacement for David Datro Fofana and the transfer fee was reportedly set at around 35-40 million Swedish kronor, with potential bonuses included.[23][24][25]

International career

Berisha played one match for Norway U15 in 2009, and the next year he played nine matches for Norway U16 where he scored three goals. In 2011, he again scored three goals in nine matches while representing his country, this time for the under-17 team. Berisha made 14 appearances and scored eight goals for Norway U18. He represented the under-19 team twice in 2013, scoring one goal. Between 2013 and 2016, he played 17 matches and scored two goals for the under-21 team.[26]

On 29 May 2016, he made his debut for the senior national team of Norway in a match against Portugal. He scored his first goal for Norway on 5 June 2016 against Belgium.[26]

Like his brother Valon, he was approached by Kosovo when they became FIFA members in May 2016. However, unlike his brother who elected to represent Kosovo, he decided to keep representing Norway.[27][28]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 12 November 2023[29][30]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League Cup Europe Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Viking 2011 Eliteserien 12 1 4 0 — 16 1
2012 Eliteserien 21 7 3 1 — 24 8
2013 Eliteserien 22 4 1 0 — 23 4
2014 Eliteserien 25 1 4 2 — 29 3
2015 Eliteserien 14 11 2 1 — 16 12
Total 94 24 14 4 — 108 28
Greuther Fürth 2015–16 2. Bundesliga 33 8 1 0 — 34 8
2016–17 2. Bundesliga 26 3 2 1 — 28 4
2017–18 2. Bundesliga 4 0 1 0 — 5 0
Total 63 11 4 1 — 67 12
Rapid Wien 2017–18 Austrian Bundesliga 27 4 2 0 — 29 4
2018–19 Austrian Bundesliga 17 3 2 1 10[a] 1 29 5
Total 44 7 4 1 10 1 58 9
Brann 2019 Eliteserien 26 3 3 0 2[a] 1 31 4
Viking 2020 Eliteserien 28 16 — 1[a] 0 29 16
2021 Eliteserien 28 22 3 2 — 31 24
2022 Eliteserien 12 8 3 3 — 15 11
Total 68 46 6 5 1 0 75 51
Hammarby IF 2022 Allsvenskan 14 4 1 0 — 15 4
Molde 2023 Eliteserien 21 5 7 2 8 0 36 7
Career total 330 100 39 13 21 2 390 115
  1. ^ a b c Appearance(s) in UEFA Europa League

International

As of match played 12 June 2022[31]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team Year Apps Goals
Norway 2016 4 1
2017 0 0
2018 0 0
2019 0 0
2020 1 0
2021 2 0
2022 3 0
Total 10 1
Scores and results list Norway's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Berisha goal.[31]
List of international goals scored by Veton Berisha
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1 5 June 2016 King Baudouin Stadium, Brussels, Belgium  Belgium 2–1 2–3 Friendly

Honours

Molde

References

  1. ^ Veton Berisha at WorldFootball.net
  2. ^ a b "Veton Berisha". altomfotball.no (in Norwegian). TV 2 (Norway). Retrieved 22 October 2021.
  3. ^ Olsen, Olav Rege (16 May 2009). "Bror til Berisha signerte for Viking". Stavanger Aftenblad (in Norwegian). Archived from the original on 10 August 2010. Retrieved 8 July 2012.
  4. ^ "Veton Berisha tatt ut til G-15 landslaget". Egersunds IK (in Norwegian). 26 August 2009. Retrieved 8 July 2012.
  5. ^ "Veton har Valon som forbilde og rådgiver". Stavanger Aftenblad (in Norwegian). 17 March 2011. Archived from the original on 23 March 2011. Retrieved 8 July 2012.
  6. ^ Kvendseth, Kristian Oftedal (23 May 2011). "Debutant Veton Berisha sulten på mer spill". Stavanger Aftenblad (in Norwegian). Archived from the original on 25 August 2011. Retrieved 8 July 2012.
  7. ^ Nilssen, Stig (17 June 2011). "Veton Berisha gjorde som broren sa". Stavanger Aftenblad (in Norwegian). Archived from the original on 23 August 2011. Retrieved 8 July 2012.
  8. ^ a b Nilssen, Knut Arne (20 June 2011). "Familien Berishas store dag". Stavanger Aftenblad (in Norwegian). Archived from the original on 22 August 2011. Retrieved 8 July 2012.
  9. ^ Karstensen, Pål (17 July 2011). "Berisha ble matchvinner med sitt første Viking-mål". Verdens Gang (in Norwegian). Retrieved 8 July 2012.
  10. ^ Nilssen, Knut Arne (27 June 2012). "Nå vil lillebror Berisha gripe sjansen". Stavanger Aftenblad (in Norwegian). Retrieved 8 July 2012.
  11. ^ Larsen, Jan-Erik (4 July 2012). "Berisha tok en Balotelli". Stavanger Aftenblad (in Norwegian). Retrieved 8 July 2012.
  12. ^ Time, Joar (15 July 2012). "Veton Berisha sørget for Jonevrets første". Verdens Gang (in Norwegian). Retrieved 15 July 2012.
  13. ^ Time, Joar (22 April 2013). "Veton Berisha thyen dorën, mungon dy muaj". Koha Ditore (in Albanian). Retrieved 14 May 2013.
  14. ^ "Berisha til tysk 2. divisjon". NRK (in Norwegian). 1 July 2015. Retrieved 15 January 2020.
  15. ^ "Neuzugang: Veton Berisha verstärkt unseren Angriff". SK Rapid Wien (in German). 1 September 2017. Retrieved 15 January 2020.
  16. ^ "Bekrefter Berisha-overgangen". SK Brann (in Norwegian). 30 March 2019. Retrieved 15 January 2020.
  17. ^ "Veton er på vei hjem!". Viking FK (in Norwegian). 13 January 2020. Retrieved 15 January 2020.
  18. ^ Flygind, Kjetil (14 January 2020). "Veton Berisha legger ekstra press på seg selv: – Det er viktig for meg å få det til i Viking". Stavanger Aftenblad (in Norwegian). Retrieved 15 January 2020.
  19. ^ "Klart – Veton Berisha till Hammarby" (in Swedish). Hammarby Fotboll. 23 July 2022. Retrieved 23 July 2022.
  20. ^ "Vikings kaptein bytter beite og fortsetter karrieren i Allsvenskan" (in Norwegian). Nettavisen. 22 July 2022. Retrieved 22 July 2022.
  21. ^ "Veton Berisha lämnar Hammarby för spel i Molde" (in Swedish). Hammarby Fotboll. 24 January 2023. Retrieved 24 January 2023.
  22. ^ "Veton Berisha er klar för Molde!". moldefk.no (in Norwegian). Molde FK. 24 January 2023. Retrieved 24 January 2023.
  23. ^ "Veton Berisha klar for Molde" (in Norwegian). Nettavisen. 24 January 2023. Retrieved 24 January 2023.
  24. ^ "Klart: Veton Berisha säljs till Molde" (in Swedish). Aftonbladet. 21 January 2023. Retrieved 24 January 2023.
  25. ^ "Veton Berisha klar för Molde – lämnar Hammarby" (in Swedish). Expressen. 24 January 2023. Retrieved 24 January 2023.
  26. ^ a b Veton Berisha at the Norwegian Football Federation (in Norwegian)
  27. ^ Bakkehaug, Wegard (25 August 2016). "Berisha-brødrene velger hvert sitt landslag". VG (in Norwegian). Retrieved 22 October 2021.
  28. ^ Johannessen, Sturla; Kvamme, Sigve Vittersø (30 August 2016). "Berisha om valget av Norge: – Blir sikkert kalt en sviker i Kosovo". TV 2 (in Norwegian). Retrieved 22 October 2021.
  29. ^ "Veton Berisha". NIFS (in Norwegian). Retrieved 21 November 2021.
  30. ^ Veton Berisha at Soccerway
  31. ^ a b "Berisha, Veton". National Football Teams. Retrieved 22 October 2021.
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