Ilir Shaqiri
Ilir Shaqiri
Ilir Shaqiri (born 17 July 1996) is a Kosovar-Albanian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Swiss club FC Luzern and the Kosovo national team.
Club career Early career Shaqiri started playing football at the age of six for local club KF Drenica, where he spent six years. He then moved to KF Prishtina, where he spent two years before joining the youth academy of FC Basel in 2011.
Basel Shaqiri made his professional debut for Basel on 30 May 2014, in a 2–0 win over FC Zürich in the Swiss Super League. He scored his first goal for the club on 11 August 2014, in a 3–0 win over FC Aarau.
Luzern On 1 February 2016, Shaqiri signed a three-and-a-half-year contract with FC Luzern. He made his debut for the club on 6 February 2016, in a 1–0 win over FC Lausanne-Sport. He scored his first goal for the club on 19 February 2016, in a 3–1 win over FC Zürich.
International career Shaqiri has represented Kosovo at the under-17, under-19, and under-21 levels. He made his debut for the senior team on 13 November 2015, in a 2–0 friendly defeat to Albania. He scored his first goal for the team on 24 March 2018, in a 2–0 friendly win over Madagascar.
Personal life Shaqiri is the younger brother of Xherdan Shaqiri, who plays for Liverpool and the Switzerland national team.
Career statistics Club As of 20 August 2021 Season Team Division Apps Goals 2013–14 Basel U21 1. Liga Promotion 10 7 2014–15 Basel Super League 21 4 2015–16 Basel Super League 15 6 2015–16 Luzern Super League 17 3 2016–17 Luzern Super League 34 7 2017–18 Luzern Super League 33 6 2018–19 Luzern Super League 31 10 2019–20 Luzern Super League 31 6 2020–21 Luzern Super League 32 7 2021–22 Luzern Super League 4 1 Total 228 57
International As of 11 June 2022 Year Team Apps Goals 2015 Kosovo 1 0 2016 Kosovo 5 0 2017 Kosovo 2 0 2018 Kosovo 7 1 2019 Kosovo 6 0 2020 Kosovo 4 0 2021 Kosovo 10 0 2022 Kosovo 4 0 Total 39 1
Honours Basel Swiss Super League: 2014–15, 2015–16 Swiss Cup: 2014–15, 2015–16 Uhrencup: 2013
Luzern Swiss Cup: 2020–21
Individual Kosovo Footballer of the Year: 2018
