Enis Bardhi

Summary

Enis Bardhi (born 2 July 1995) is a Macedonian professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Süper Lig club Trabzonspor and the North Macedonia national team.

Enis Bardhi
Bardhi with Macedonia in 2017
Personal information
Full name Enis Bardhi[1]
Date of birth (1995-07-02) 2 July 1995 (age 28)
Place of birth Skopje, Macedonia
Height 1.72 m (5 ft 8 in)
Position(s) Attacking midfielder
Team information
Current team
Trabzonspor
Number 8
Youth career
Shkupi
2013 Brøndby
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2013–2014 Prespa Birlik 10 (5)
2014–2017 Újpest 79 (20)
2017–2022 Levante 148 (23)
2022– Trabzonspor 57 (11)
International career
2012–2013 Macedonia U17 1 (0)
2013–2014 Macedonia U19 4 (0)
2014–2017 Macedonia U21 14 (4)
2015– North Macedonia 64 (16)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 17 March 2024
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 27 March 2024

Club career edit

Early career edit

Born in Skopje to Albanian parents, Bardhi started his early career at KF Skupi. He later joined the Brøndby IF's youth system in 2013. In November of that year, however, he agreed to a one-year professional deal with Swedish Football Division 2 club KSF Prespa Birlik.[2] He featured in ten matches and scored five goals for the club during his spell, helping in their narrow escape from relegation.[3]

Újpest edit

In August 2014, Bardhi moved to Hungarian Nemzeti Bajnokság I club Újpest on trial,[4] and signed a three-year contract late in the month.[5]

Levante edit

On 17 July 2017, Bardhi agreed to a three-year deal with La Liga side Levante UD for an estimated €1.5 million.[6][7] He made his La Liga debut on August 21, starting in a 1–0 home win against Villarreal CF.[8]

On 26 August, he scored his debut goal in the top tier, a direct free kick in a 2–2 home draw against Deportivo de La Coruña.[9]

Trabzonspor edit

On 12 August 2022, Bardhi moved to Turkish Süper Lig club Trabzonspor.[10]

International career edit

Bardhi was born in Macedonia to a Kosovar Albanian family and was thus eligible to represent Macedonia, Albania or Kosovo. Bardhi desired to represent Albania, stating "I do not believe there is an Albanian born in Skopje, with Albanian families, who would not want to play for Albania".[11] Redi Jupi, who was appointed as scouting manager for the Albanian Football Association, never approached Bardhi or responded to Bardhi's agents. With Football Federation of Macedonia showing genuine interest and Bardhi viewing the Albanian Football Association's handling of the situation and response as unprofessional, he accepted the call-up for Macedonia.[11]

However, Jetmir Salihu, a representative for the Albanian Football Association, dismissed Bardhi's claim, unveiling all the text messages between him and the player, showing that Bardhi was never interested in playing for Albania in the first place.[12] He also accused the player of trying to damage the image of the association with the aim to be seen as a hero to Albanian people, stating: "Since 2010 I've had hundreds of such cases, footballers that have refused the national team and at the end they came out with such statements because they want to make FSHF guilty so they can win the sympathy of Albanians."[12]

Bardhi represented North Macedonia at under-17, under-19 and under-21 levels before making his senior international debut on 27 March 2015, coming on as a first-half substitute for Artim Položani in a 2–1 UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying home loss against Belarus.[13]

Bardhi was part of North Macedonia's UEFA Euro 2020 squad, starting in all three of their group stage games.[14] In September 2023, he became the captain of the North Macedonia national football team.[15]

Career statistics edit

Club edit

As of match played 18 September 2023[16]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National Cup League Cup Europe Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Prespa Birlik 2014 Swedish Division 2 10 5 10 5
Újpest 2014–15 NB I 21 2 6 0 3 0 30 2
2015–16 29 6 5 1 34 7
2016–17 29 12 4 1 33 13
Total 79 20 15 2 3 0 97 22
Levante 2017–18 La Liga 26 9 4 0 30 9
2018–19 36 3 2 0 38 3
2019–20 30 7 2 0 32 7
2020–21 26 1 4 1 30 2
2021–22 30 3 2 0 32 3
Total 148 23 14 1 162 24
Trabzonspor 2022–23 Süper Lig 30 6 3 0 9[a] 1 42 7
2023–24 5 2 0 0 5 2
Total 35 8 3 0 9 1 47 9
Career total 272 56 32 3 3 0 9 1 316 60
  1. ^ Two appearances in UEFA Champions League, six appearances and one goal in UEFA Europa League, one appearance in UEFA Europa Conference League

International edit

As of match played 20 November 2023[17]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team Year Apps Goals
North Macedonia 2015 4 0
2016 2 0
2017 5 1
2018 8 2
2019 8 2
2020 4 0
2021 11 4
2022 10 4
2023 10 3
Total 62 16
Scores and results list North Macedonia's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Bardhi goal.[17]
List of international goals scored by Enis Bardhi
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1 9 October 2017 Stadion Mladost, Strumica, Macedonia   Liechtenstein 3–0 4–0 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification
2 16 November 2018 Rheinpark Stadion, Vaduz, Liechtenstein 1–0 2–0 2018–19 UEFA Nations League D
3 19 November 2018 Philip II Arena, Skopje, Macedonia   Gibraltar 1–0 4–0
4 25 March 2019 Stožice Stadium, Ljubljana, Slovenia   Slovenia 1–1 1–1 UEFA Euro 2020 qualification
5 9 September 2019 Daugava Stadium, Riga, Latvia   Latvia 2–0 2–0
6 28 March 2021 Toše Proeski Arena, Skopje, North Macedonia   Liechtenstein 1–0 5–0 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification
7 11 November 2021 Vazgen Sargsyan Republican Stadium, Yerevan, Armenia   Armenia 2–0 5–0
8 3–0
9 5–0
10 5 June 2022 Victoria Stadium, Gibraltar   Gibraltar 1–0 2–0 2022–23 UEFA Nations League C
11 12 June 2022 Toše Proeski Arena, Skopje, North Macedonia 1–0 4–0
12 17 November 2022   Finland 1–1 1–1 Friendly
13 20 November 2022   Azerbaijan 1–0 1–3
14 16 June 2023   Ukraine 1–0 2–3 UEFA Euro 2024 qualification
15 9 September 2023   Italy 1–1 1–1
16 20 November 2023   England 1–0 1–1

Honours edit

Újpest

Individual

References edit

  1. ^ "Acta del Partido celebrado el 18 de mayo de 2019, en Valencia" [Minutes of the Match held on 18 May 2019, in Valencia] (in Spanish). Royal Spanish Football Federation. Archived from the original on 8 March 2020. Retrieved 16 June 2019.
  2. ^ "Ekskluzive: Bardhi prej sot te KSF Prespa në Suedi" [Exclusive: Bardhi from today of KSF Prespa from Sweden] (in Macedonian). PortAlb. 15 November 2013. Retrieved 16 August 2017.
  3. ^ "Grattis Enis!" [Thanks Enis!] (in Swedish). KSF Prespa. 17 July 2017. Archived from the original on 16 August 2017. Retrieved 16 August 2017.
  4. ^ "Leigazoljuk Enis Bardhi-t" [Enis Bardhi on trial] (in Hungarian). Újpest FC. 29 August 2014. Archived from the original on 16 August 2017. Retrieved 16 August 2017.
  5. ^ "Ekskluzive: Enis Bardhi te Ujpesti i Hungarisë" [Exclusive: Enis Bardhi to Újpest in Hungary] (in Macedonian). PortAlb. 30 August 2014. Retrieved 16 August 2017.
  6. ^ "North Macedonia - E. Bardhi - Profile with news, career statistics and history - Soccerway". int.soccerway.com. Retrieved 24 August 2019.
  7. ^ "Bardhi se compromete con el Levante UD por las próximas tres temporadas" [Bardhi signs with Levante UD for the following three seasons] (in Spanish). Levante UD. 17 July 2017. Retrieved 16 August 2017.
  8. ^ "La Liga echaba de menos a Morales" [La Liga was missing Morales] (in Spanish). Marca. 21 August 2017. Retrieved 21 August 2017.
  9. ^ "El Levante rescata un punto con polémica" [Levante rescue a point with controversy] (in Spanish). Marca. 26 August 2017. Retrieved 27 August 2017.
  10. ^ "Levante UD and Trabzonspor reach an agreement for the transfer of Bardhi". Levante UD. 12 August 2022. Retrieved 22 August 2022.
  11. ^ a b "E vërteta e talentit Enis Bardhi: Desha të luaja për Shqipërinë, shkova te Maqedonia prej Redi Jupit". Panorama Sport. 18 September 2017.
  12. ^ a b "Përfaqësuesi i FSHF publikon mesazhet e Enis Bardhit: Pretendove të dalësh hero, dole palaço (FOTO)" [Representative of FSHF publishes Elis Bardhi's messages: You pretended to be a hero, but you become a clown] (in Albanian). Panorama Sport. 18 September 2017. Retrieved 28 May 2018.
  13. ^ "Belarus get the better of FYR Macedonia". UEFA.com. 27 March 2015. Retrieved 16 August 2017.
  14. ^ UEFA.com. "History". UEFA.com. Retrieved 26 May 2022.
  15. ^ "Enis Bardhi named new captain of the Macedonian football team". Republika. 8 September 2023.
  16. ^ Enis Bardhi at Soccerway. Retrieved 16 August 2017.
  17. ^ a b "Enis Bardhi". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved 27 March 2018.

External links edit

  • Profile at Macedonian Football (in English)
  • HLSZ (in Hungarian)
  • Enis Bardhi at BDFutbol  
  • Enis Bardhi – UEFA competition record (archive)  
  • Enis Bardhi at Soccerway