Ermir Lenjani

Ermir Lenjani

Lenjani playing with Rennes
Personal information
Full name Ermir Lenjani
Date of birth (1989-08-05) 5 August 1989
Place of birth Karaçevë, Gjilan, SFR Yugoslavia
Height 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Playing position Defender, midfielder
Club information
Current team
 Rennes
Number 17
Youth career
2005–2009 Winterthur
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2009–2013 Winterthur 96 (17)
2010–2011 → Grasshopper (loan) 6 (0)
2013–2015 St. Gallen 48 (2)
2015– Rennes 4 (0)
2015–2016 → Nantes (loan) 21 (1)
National team‡
2013– Albania 22 (3)

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 14 May 2016.

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 19 June 2016

Ermir Lenjani (born 5 August 1989) is an Albanian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for French club Rennes and the Albanian national team.

Club career

Early career

Born in Karaçevë, Kamenicë, Gjilan,[1] modern day Kosovo, Lenjani moved to Switzerland as a child where he joined the FC Winterthur academy as a teenager. He broke through into the first team during the 2009–10 season second-half.[2]

Winterthur

On 8 March 2009 Lenjani debutted with Winterthur in the 2008–09 Swiss Challenge League match against Thun and scored the first and last goals in the 50th and 87th minutes, to give his team a 2–4 away victory.[3] Two months after he played his next match on 16 May 2009 against Locarno and scored against a goal in the 34th minute to equal the result 1–1, where then successed by a hat-trick of three goals from the Croatian midfielder Tomo Barlecaj and made a 1–4 away victory which came from behind.[4] He played in another 10 matches until the end and finished the season from second-half with total of 12 appearances and 3 goals. The next season he played the entire season, making a total of 29 appearances in which he scored 6 goals.

Loan to Grasshopper

Lenjani was loaned out to Grasshopper Zürich for the first half of the 2010-11 season in order to gain experience. He made it his debut with Grasshopper on 17 July 2010 in the opening match of the 2010–11 Swiss Super League against Neuchâtel Xamax where he came in as a substitute in the 74th minute in place of Steven Lang and the match finished in the 1–1 draw.[5] Lenjani scored 2 goals in a 0–12 destruction over Gumefens/Sorens valid for the 2010–11 Swiss Cup.[6] He played 6 league matches in total for Grasshopper.

Return to Winterthur

He returned to FC Winterthur for the second-half remaining season and established himself as a first team player. He made it 14 league appearances where scored 4 goals. In the 2011–12 Swiss Challenge League he played 25 matches and scored 2 goals. He started another league campaign, the 2012–13 Swiss Challenge League. He played 16 matches and scored 2 goals in the first half of the season.

St. Gallen

Ermir Lenjani lining up with St. Gallen

He joined Swiss Super League side FC St. Gallen in January 2013. Lenjani gave two assist to give the victory 2–1 St. Gallen against Luzern on 3 August 2014 in a match which came from behind of the 0–1 result in the first half, thanks to Lenjani's assists in the 78th minute for the goal scored by Marco Mathys and for another goal scored by Džengis Čavušević in the 90+3rd minute.[7]

Rennes

While during the winter transfers window German and Italian media talked about agreement reaching with Stuttgart or Verona, but on 5 January 2015, Lenjani signed with the French team of Rennes, after he passed successfully the medical examination.[8][9] He was presented to the media two days later, where he was assigned squad number 19.[10]

He made his debut with the club on 13 January 2015 by playing as a starter in the quarter-final of the Coupe de la Ligue against Bastia, in where Lenjani left the team with 9 players on the pitch as he received a red card in the 76th minute.[11][12] Lenjani made it his first league debut on 7 February 2015 by coming on as a substitute in the 71st minute for Pedro Henrique in a 1–1 draw against Olympique de Marseille.[13]

Loan to Nantes

On 17 August 2015 Lenjani moved on loan with the purchase right to fellow French team FC Nantes until the end of the 2015–16 season.[14] He made a dream debut with the club in second week of 2015–16 Ligue 1, scoring the only goal of the match against Stade de Reims in the 76th minute after receiving a pass from Johan Audel.[15]

International career

Lenjani first announced his desire to represent Albania internationally in January 2013, when he began the procedure to gain Albanian citizenship through his Albanian ethnicity. He was called up by Gianni De Biasi for a friendly against Armenia in August 2013 but did not feature in the game.[16][17] Lenjani received his Albanian citizenship on 8 October 2013 among Faton Ademi to be eligible to play for Albania even in the competitive matches.[18]

2014 FIFA World Cup qualification

Lenjani was first named by manager Gianni De Biasi in the Albania squad to face Switzerland and Cyprus for the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifiers.[19] On both occasions he was on bench but didn't managed to play any minute as he remained as an unused substitute.[20][21]

He made his debut for Albania on 15 November 2013 in a friendly match, the first one after the end of the qualification campaign against Belarus playing the full 90 minutes match, which finished in a 0–0 draw.[22][23] He received another call up for the next friendly match on 5 March 2014 against Malta.[24]

UEFA Euro 2016 qualifiers

Lenjani playing with national team during the UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying match against Armenia, where he was one of the main protagonists.

Lenjani received a call-up for the match against Portugal on 7 September 2014, valid for the start of UEFA Euro 2016 qualifiers.[25] He played as a starter against Portugal in a crucial 0–1 away victory with the goal scored by Bekim Balaj in the 52nd minute with a cross from Odise Roshi.[26] On 11 October 2014 in the 2nd Group I match against Denmark, Lenjani managed to score his first international goal in the 38th minute of the match, which ended as a 1–1 draw.[27]

In the next qualifying match three days later away against Serbia, Lenjani played as a started until 42nd minute where the match was postponed due to Serbian fans launching flares onto the pitch.[28] He along with other Albanian players where attacked by Serbian hooligans who came onto the pitch with chairs and other objects. Initially, UEFA awarded Serbia with a 3–0 win, but were deducted three points, leading both Serbia and Albania appeals to the Court of Arbitration for Sport,[29] who on 10 July 2015, awarded Albania with a 3–0 victory and Serbia were still deducted three points.[30]

In the 4th Group I's match against Armenia on 29 March 2015, Lenjani started from the bench because of small physique problems, but anyway the coach Gianni De Biasi chose him among Shkëlzen Gashi to come in to play and by risking not a few but due to an emergency because the result was in disfavor of Albania 0–1 after an accidentally Own goal by the Albania's defender Mërgim Mavraj in the 4th minute.[31][32] In the 70th minute the Armenian defender Hovhannes Hambardzumyan did a bad tackle to Lenjani and the referee David Fernández Borbalán gave him the second yellow card to leave Armenia with 10 men for the rest of the match. This favorised too much Albania and 7 minutes later they managed to score with the same Mërgim Mavraj, which previously scored own goal and at this time scored a header after a cross from Taulant Xhaka. Then would come the 81st minute when Lenjani took a pass from the left and crossed into the area where there finds the fellow substitute Shkëlzen Gashi which managed to score with a header to overturn the score 2–1 and the match ended in the victory.[33]

Career statistics

Club

As of 14 May 2016[34][35][36]
Club Season League Cup Continental[lower-alpha 1] Other[lower-alpha 2] Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Winterthur 2008–09 Swiss Challenge League 12300——123
2009–10 29610——306
Grasshopper 2010–11 Swiss Challenge League 6012——72
Winterthur 2010–11 Swiss Challenge League 14400——144
2011–12 25250——302
2012–13 16220——182
Winterthur Total 961780——10417
St. Gallen 2012–13 Swiss Super League 7000——70
2013–14 2924280—414
2014–15 12020——140
Total 4826280—624
Rennes 2014–15 Ligue 1 3020——50
2015–16 10———10
Total 4020——60
Nantes 2015–16 Ligue 1 21130——241
Total 21130——241
Career total 168 20 20 4 8 0 0 0 203 24
  1. ↑ Including continental competitions, such as UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League
  2. ↑ Including other competitions, such as Swiss Super Cup

International

As of 19 June 2016[37][38]
Albania national team
YearAppsGoals
201310
201471
201570
201672
Total223

International goals

As of match played 29 May 2016. Albania score listed first, score column indicates score after each Lenjani goal.[39]
International goals by date, venue, cap, opponent, score, result and competition
No. Date Venue Cap Opponent Score Result Competition Ref
1 11 October 2014 Elbasan Arena, Elbasani, Albania 5  Denmark 1–0 1–1 UEFA Euro 2016 qualification [40]
2 26 March 2016 Ernst-Happel-Stadion, Vienna, Austria 16  Austria 1–2 1–2 Friendly match [41]
3 29 May 2016 Profertil Arena, Hartberg, Austria 17  Qatar 2–1 3–1 Friendly match [42]

References

  1. ↑ "Lenjani është në vendlindjen e tij në Karaçevë" (in Albanian). Telegrafi. 28 December 2014. Retrieved 27 March 2016.
  2. ↑ "Ermir Lenjani, Player Profile" (in German). FC-St.Gallen.ch. 27 March 2016. Archived from the original on December 28, 2014. Retrieved 27 March 2016.
  3. ↑ "Thun vs. Winterthur 2 – 4". Soccerway. 8 March 2009. Retrieved 27 March 2016.
  4. ↑ "Locarno vs. Winterthur 1 – 4". Soccerway. 16 May 2009. Retrieved 27 March 2016.
  5. ↑ "Grasshopper vs. Neuchâtel Xamax 1 – 1". Soccerway. 17 July 2010. Retrieved 27 March 2016.
  6. ↑ "Gumefens / Sorens vs. Grasshopper 0 – 12". Soccerway. 17 October 2010. Retrieved 27 March 2016.
  7. ↑ "St. Gallen vs. Luzern". Soccerway. 3 August 2014. Retrieved 27 March 2016.
  8. ↑ "Ermir Lenjani firmos me Rennes" (in Albanian). Sport.albeu.com. 5 January 2015. Retrieved 27 March 2016.
  9. ↑ "Lenjani transferohet ne Ligue 1. Mesfushori firmos me Rennes" (in Albanian). Infoalbania.al. 5 January 2015. Retrieved 27 March 2016.
  10. ↑ "Rennes, prezantohet Ermir Lenjani" (in Albanian). Sport.albeu.com. 7 January 2015. Retrieved 27 March 2016.
  11. ↑ "Bastia vs. Rennes 3 – 1". Soccerway. 13 January 2015. Retrieved 27 March 2016.
  12. ↑ "Ermir Lenjani debuton me karton të kuq me Renne në Kupën e Francës" (in Albanian). Shqiptarja.com. 13 January 2015. Retrieved 27 March 2016.
  13. ↑ "Rennes vs. Olympique Marseille 1 – 1". Soccerway. 7 February 2015. Retrieved 27 March 2016.
  14. ↑ Rinald Bregasi (17 August 2015). "Ermir Lenjani zyrtarisht te Nantes" (in Albanian). SuperSport Albania. Retrieved 22 August 2015.
  15. ↑ "Debutim ëndrrash për Ermir Lenjanin, shënon dhe i jep 3 pikët Nantesit (Video)" (in Albanian). Panorama Sport. 22 August 2015. Retrieved 22 August 2015.
  16. ↑ "De Biazi i shton dy emra te rinj Kombetares Shqiptare ne takimin me Armenine" (in Albanian). Gazeta Dielli. 12 August 2013. Retrieved 27 March 2016.
  17. ↑ "Ekskluzive: Ermir Lenjani "blerja" e re e De Biazit kundër Armenisë" (in Albanian). aSport.al. 7 August 2013. Archived from the original on March 5, 2016. Retrieved 27 March 2016.
  18. ↑ "Lenjani dhe Ademi marrin shtetesine shqiptare" (in Albanian). Panorama Sport. 19 October 2013. Retrieved 27 March 2016.
  19. ↑ "Kombëtarja, lista për 2 ndeshjet e fundit" (in Albanian). Top Channel. 6 October 2013. Retrieved 27 March 2016.
  20. ↑ "Albania vs. Switzerland 1 – 2". Soccerway. 11 October 2013. Retrieved 27 March 2016.
  21. ↑ "Cyprus vs. Albania 0 – 0". Soccerway. 15 October 2013. Retrieved 27 March 2016.
  22. ↑ "Belarus vs. Albania 0 – 0". Soccerway. 15 November 2013. Retrieved 27 March 2016.
  23. ↑ "Shqipëria barazon me Bjellorusinë" (in Albanian). Kosovain.eu. 16 November 2013. Retrieved 27 March 2016.
  24. ↑ "Risia per Malten, Taulant Xhaka vishet kuqezi" (in Albanian). Botasot.info. 1 March 2014. Retrieved 27 March 2016.
  25. ↑ "De Biazi flet për ndeshjen me Portugalinë" (in Albanian). FSHF.org. 30 August 2014. Retrieved 27 March 2016.
  26. ↑ ""Bekim" kuqezi në Aveiro, Shqipëria shokon Portugalinë" (in Albanian). Panorama Sport. 7 September 2014. Retrieved 7 September 2014.
  27. ↑ ""Flirtuam" me fitoren, por bashkëkryesojmë me Danimarkën" (in Albanian). Albdreams.net. 11 October 2014. Retrieved 11 October 2014.
  28. ↑ Ames, Nick (15 October 2014). "Reflecting on the chaos of Serbia vs. Albania in Belgrade" (ESPN). ESPN. Retrieved 22 October 2014.
  29. ↑ "The football associations of Albania and Serbia file appeals at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS)" (PDF). Court of Arbitration for Sport. Retrieved 8 January 2015.
  30. ↑ "FOOTBALL: The CAS rejects the appeal filed by the Serbian FA, upholds in part the appeal filed by the Albanian FA: the match Serbia-Albania is deemed to have been forfeited by Serbia (0-3)". Tribunal Arbitral du Sport / Court of Arbitration for Sport. 10 July 2015. Retrieved 10 July 2015.
  31. ↑ "Ermir Lenjani: Rrezikova për Kombëtaren, ia vlejti" (in Albanian). Panorama Sport. 3 April 2015. Retrieved 27 March 2016.
  32. ↑ "Albania vs. Armenia 2 – 1". Soccerway. 29 March 2015. Retrieved 27 March 2016.
  33. ↑ "Fitore e çmendur, super-Shqipëria përmbys Armeninë" (in Albanian). Panorama Sport. 29 March 2015. Retrieved 27 March 2016.
  34. ↑ "Albania - E. Lenjani - Profile with news, career statistics and history". 27 March 2016. Retrieved 27 March 2016.
  35. ↑ "Profile and stats". Scoresway. 27 March 2016. Retrieved 27 March 2016.
  36. ↑ "Football : Ermir Lenjani". Football Database. 22 March 2016. Retrieved 22 March 2016.
  37. ↑ Ermir Lenjani at National-Football-Teams.com
  38. ↑ "Ermir Lenjani - national football team player". EU-football.info. 27 March 2016. Retrieved 27 March 2016.
  39. ↑ "Armando Sadiku - national football team player". EU-Football.info. 11 October 2015. Retrieved 11 October 2015.
  40. ↑ "Albania vs. Denmark 1 – 1". Soccerway. 11 October 2014. Retrieved 30 March 2016.
  41. ↑ "Austria vs. Albania 2 – 1". Soccerway. 26 March 2016. Retrieved 30 March 2016.
  42. ↑ "Albania vs. Qatar 3 – 1". Soccerway. 29 May 2016. Retrieved 29 May 2016.
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