Njazi Kuqi

Template:Short description Template:Use dmy dates Template:Infobox football biography Njazi Kuqi (born 25 March 1983) is a Finnish former professional footballer, who played as a forward.

Kuqi started his career with FC Lahti of the Veikkausliiga in 2002, spending three years with the club and scoring twenty goals in all competitions. In January 2005, Kuqi signed for Birmingham City, but failed to make any first–team appearances during his 18-month spell with the club. During his time at Birmingham, Kuqi was loaned out for a month to Blackpool in January 2006, making four appearances before returning to his parent club. He was loaned out once again in March 2006, joining Peterborough United until the end of the 2005–06 season. However, he only made one appearance for Peterborough, and returned to Birmingham a month earlier than scheduled. At the end of the campaign, Kuqi was released by Birmingham.

Ahead of the 2006–07 season, Kuqi joined Dutch side FC Groningen on a free transfer. However, he was released just two months after signing for the club, having not made a single appearance for the club. Six months later, in January 2007, Kuqi signed for German outfit FC Carl Zeiss Jena, but made just one first–team appearance in twelve months, before signing for TuS Koblenz in January 2008 on a three–year deal. He spent two and a half seasons with Koblenz, scoring eleven times. In August 2010, Kuqi joined League Two side Stevenage, but left after playing just one game. Shortly after, in September 2010, Kuqi joined Dundee on a one-year deal, but was released a month later when the club went into administration. Kuqi has also played internationally for the Finland national team, earning 12 caps and scoring 5 goals for his country.

Club career

Youth career

Kuqi was born in Vučitrn, SFR Yugoslavia (present-day Vushtrri, Kosovo), and moved to Finland with his family as a child. In Finland, Kuqi played for youth sectors of Finnairin Palloilijat, MP Mikkeli and Kangasniemen Palloilijat. Also HJK (Helsingin jalkapallo klubi)

FC Lahti

He began his senior career with FC Lahti in 2002, aged 19, and he was named Finland's Under-21 Player of the Year in 2004.<ref name="Now Swansea have a look at Kuqi jr" /> Kuqi spent three seasons with the club, scoring a total of 20 goals in 57 appearances in all competitions.<ref name="FC Lahti – 2004" />

Birmingham

In January 2005, Kuqi signed for Birmingham City for a fee of £400,000,<ref name="Peterborough seal Kuqi loan deal" /> but failed to make any first–team appearances for the club during the latter stages of the 2004–05 season,<ref name="Birmingham City 2004/2005 player appearances">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> although he was an unused substitute in Birmingham's 2–0 away defeat to Chelsea in the FA Cup.<ref name="Chelsea 2–0 Birmingham" /> Kuqi featured regularly for Birmingham's reserve side,<ref name="Blues For Newcastle Reserves" /> but had a number of more experienced strikers in front of him, including Emile Heskey and Mikael Forssell, which made it difficult for him to break into the starting eleven.<ref name="Birmingham City 2005/2006 player appearances">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

During the second half of the 2005–06 season, Kuqi was sent out on loan to Blackpool on a month's loan deal.<ref name="Blackpool sign Birmingham's Kuqi" /> A day after joining the club, he made his debut in the club's 4–2 win against Doncaster Rovers, coming on as an 81st-minute substitute.<ref name="Blackpool 4–2 Doncaster" /> Kuqi subsequently started in the club's 3–0 loss away to MK Dons,<ref name="MK Dons 3–0 Blackpool" /> and played a total of four times for Blackpool before returning to his parent club.<ref name="Games played by Njazi Kuqi in 2005/2006">Template:Cite news</ref> In March 2006, Kuqi was loaned out once more, this time to Peterborough United until the end of the season.<ref name="Peterborough seal Kuqi loan deal"/> However, Kuqi played just once for the club, starting in Peterborough's 2–2 draw with Barnet,<ref name="Peterborough 2–2 Barnet" /> before returning to Birmingham a month earlier than expected.<ref name="Njazi Kuqi – All time playing career" /> At the end of the 2006–07 season, Kuqi was released by Birmingham, having not made a single first–team appearance.<ref name="Njazi Kuqi – All time playing career"/>

Groningen

In June 2006, Kuqi signed for FC Groningen on a free transfer, where he was to compete for a place in the team with players such as the former Manchester United striker Erik Nevland. After a range of conflicts, Kuqi was released by Groningen in August 2006, having made no first-team appearances for the club, with the season just two weeks old.<ref name="FC Groningen – 2006/07">Template:Cite news</ref>

Carl Zeiss Jena

Six months later, he signed an 18-month contract with FC Carl Zeiss Jena after failing to win a contract during a trial at his brother's former club, Ipswich Town.<ref name="Ipswich 3–1 Stevenage" /> However, Kuqi struggled to make first-team appearances for the club,<ref name="Njazi Kuqi at NFT" /> and was subsequently featuring regularly in the reserve side, FC Carl Zeis Jena II, in the German NOFV-Oberliga.<ref name="Njazi Kuqi at NFT" />

TuS Koblenz

In January 2008, he joined TuS Koblenz on a three-year contract.<ref name="Njazi Kuqi at NFT" /> During the second half of the club's 2007–08 campaign, Kuqi scored four goals in nine appearances, scoring his first goal for Koblenz in a 1–1 draw away to FC St. Pauli.<ref name="St. Pauli 1–1 Koblenz" /> He also scored in the club's 3–2 away win against 1. FC Kaiserslautern ten days later.<ref name="Njazi Kuqi at NFT" /><ref name="Kaiserlautern 2–3 Koblenz" /> He subsequently started the following season as the club's point of attack, and played a total of 29 games during the season, scoring five times as Koblenz narrowly avoided relegation.<ref name="Njazi Kuqi at NFT" /> Kuqi remained at the club ahead of the 2009–10 season, although his season was disrupted by persistent injuries,<ref name=Soccerway/> only managing to play in 14 games, scoring twice in losses against FC St. Pauli and Karlsruher SC respectively.<ref name="Koblenz 1–5 St Pauli" /><ref name="Karlsruher 2–1 Koblenz" /> Kuqi played his last game for the club in March 2010, coming on as an 83rd-minute substitute in a 2–0 loss to Rot-Weiß Oberhausen.<ref name="Rot-Weiß Oberhausen 2–0 Koblenz" /> He left the club at the end of the 2009–10 season.<ref name="Njazi Kuqi at NFT" />

Kuqi spent a week on trial at Dutch Eerste Divisie side RBC Roosendaal in July 2010, scoring in the club's 1–0 friendly win against Royal Antwerp.<ref name="RBC trial Blues striker" /> However, just three days after his trial at Roosendaal, Kuqi linked up with his brother Shefki once again, having previously played alongside him at Koblenz,<ref name="Koblenz claim Kuqi deal" /> as he joined Championship side Swansea City on trial for two weeks.<ref name="Now Swansea have a look at Kuqi jr"/> He featured in a pre–season friendly against Port Talbot Town, scoring the winning goal in the 93rd minute.<ref name="Trialist Njazi Kuqi nets winner on Swansea debut" /><ref name="Young Swans leave it late at Port Talbot " /> He also netted in another friendly against Llanelli, scoring the final goal of the game from 25–yards in a 5–1 win.<ref name="Llanelli 1–5 Swansea City" /> However, he was unsuccessful in his attempt to earn a contract at Swansea, and subsequently requested a trial at League Two side Stevenage in August 2010.<ref name="Ipswich 3–1 Stevenage"/>

Stevenage

He played in a reserve match for the club against Ipswich Town.<ref name="Ipswich 3–1 Stevenage"/> Three days later, Kuqi made his debut in the club's 3–1 win against Stockport County, coming on as a substitute in the 84th minute.<ref name="Stevenage 3–1 Stockport" /> He left Stevenage after failing to secure a full-time contract with the club.<ref name=Soccerway/>

Dundee

Shortly after, on 1 September 2010, Kuqi signed for Scottish First Division club Dundee on a one-year contract.<ref name="Njazi Kuqi joins the Dee" /> He made his debut for the club in a 3–1 loss to Dunfermline Athletic,<ref name="Dunfermline 3–1 Dundee" /> and featured in two other games for the club.<ref name=sb1011/> However, in October 2010, Kuqi was one of nine players released by Dundee after the club went into administration.<ref name="Axed Dundee players feel let down by administration hit club" /><ref name="Dundee given 50–50 survival chance by administrator" /><ref name="Axed Dundee players seek clarity from union chief" /> On being released, Kuqi said "My family just moved in two weeks ago. Of course you feel let down. Before I came here they spoke differently. They promised things and then after five weeks you're in administration".<ref name="Axed Dundee players feel let down by administration hit club"/>

TPS Turku

On 28 March 2011, TPS Turku announced that the club had signed Kuqi on a one-year contract.<ref name="Njazi Kuqi returns to Veikkausliiga" /> He made his debut for the club on 6 May 2011, scoring in a 2–0 win over HJK Helsinki, the first game of the 2011 Veikkausliiga season.<ref name="TPS 2–0 HJK" /> Kuqi scored eight goals in 23 appearances for the club during the 2011 season.<ref name=Soccerway/>

Panionios

In September 2011, Kuqi joined Super League side Panionios. He made his debut for the club in a 1–0 away win against Panetolikos, scoring the only goal of the game in the eleventh minute.<ref name="Panetolikos 0–1 Panionios" /> Two weeks later, in his third appearance for the club, Kuqi scored twice in a 3–0 victory away at Kerkyra.<ref name="Kerkyra 0–3 Panionios" />

Atromitos

In June 2012 it was announced that Kuqi would transfer from Panionios to another Super League club, Atromitos,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> a club which he left after a mutual consent contract termination.

ATK

On 12 September 2017, Kuqi joined Indian Super League franchise ATK for the 2017–18 season.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> He was released in January 2018, having scored once in six appearances.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=Soccerway/>

Helsinki IFK

On 11 December 2018, Finnish Veikkausliiga-side HIFK Fotboll announced, that they had signed Kuqi for the 2019 season on a one-year deal.<ref>Njazi Kuqi IFK:hon, hifkfotboll.fi, 11 December 2018</ref>

International career

In March 2005, Kuqi was called up to the Finland squad for a friendly against Kuwait. He started the match, and scored the only goal of the game in a 1–0 win.<ref name="International Friendly Matches 2005" /> Six days later, he came off the substitute's bench to score twice within the space of five minutes in Finland's 4–1 win against Saudi Arabia.<ref name="International Friendly Matches 2005"/><ref name="Saudi Arabia 1–4 Finland" /> In 2005, he got a six-month ban to the national team after leaving the team, after a U21-match against Czech Republic was played, for a birthday night out in Prague with a fellow international Toni Koskela. After that, Kuqi was out of the picture and it was thought that he was keen to play for Kosovo,<ref name="Football in Kosovo: What Does Independence Bring?" /> but in August 2008 he was called up to the squad once more when Stuart Baxter selected him for a friendly against Israel, although he was an unused substitute.<ref name="International Friendly Matches 2008" /> In September 2008, Kuqi gained his third cap as a 75th-minute substitute in Finland's 2010 World Cup qualifier against Germany, with the game ending 3–3.<ref name="Finland 3–3 Germany" />

Personal life

He is the younger brother of footballer Shefki Kuqi and older brother of footballer Albert Kuqi.<ref name="Llanelli 1–5 Swansea City"/><ref name="Making a play for citizenship" /><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> They are of Kosovo Albanian descent.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Career statistics

Club

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			National cup		League cup		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Lahti	2002<ref name=Veikkaus>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	Veikkausliiga	24	5							24	5
	2003<ref name=Veikkaus/>	Veikkausliiga	14	6							14	6
	2004<ref name=Veikkaus/>	Veikkausliiga	15	5							15	5
	2005<ref name=Veikkaus/>	Veikkausliiga	0	0							0	0
	Total		53	16							53	16
Birmingham City	2004–05<ref name=sb0405>Template:Soccerbase season</ref>	Premier League	0	0	0	0	0	0	—		0	0
	2005–06<ref name=sb0506>Template:Soccerbase season</ref>	Premier League	0	0	0	0	0	0	—		0	0
	Total		0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Blackpool (loan)	2005–06<ref name=sb0506/>	League One	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	4	0
Peterborough United (loan)	2005–06<ref name=sb0506/>	League Two	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
Carl Zeiss Jena	2006–07<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	2. Bundesliga	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
	2007–08<ref name=fbd0708>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	2. Bundesliga	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	Total		1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
TuS Koblenz	2007–08<ref name=fbd0708/>	2. Bundesliga	9	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	9	4
	2008–09<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	2. Bundesliga	29	5	1	0	0	0	0	0	30	6
	2009–10<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	2. Bundesliga	14	2	2	0	0	0	0	0	16	2
	Total		52	11	3	0	0	0	0	0	55	11
Stevenage	2010–11<ref name=Soccerway/>	League Two	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
Dundee	2010–11<ref name=sb1011>Template:Soccerbase season</ref>	Scottish First Division	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	0
TPS Turku	2011<ref name=Soccerway/>	Veikkausliiga	21	8					2Template:Efn	0	23	8
Panionios	2011–12<ref name=Soccerway/>	Superleague Greece	24	10	2	0	—		—		26	10
Atromitos	2012–13<ref name=Soccerway/>	Superleague Greece	16	1	1	0	—		2Template:Efn	0	19	1
Pro Vercelli	2013–14<ref name=Soccerway/>	Lega Pro Prima Divisione	7	0	0	0	0	0	1Template:Efn	0	8	0
Olympiacos Volou	2014–15<ref name=Soccerway/>	Football League (Greece)	8	3	3	0	—		—		11	3
SG Sonnenhof Großaspach	2014–15<ref name=Soccerway/>	3. Liga	8	3	3	0	—		—		11	3
PK-35 Vantaa	2016<ref name=Soccerway/>	Veikkausliiga	12	8	1	1	5	2	—		18	11
Inter Turku	2016<ref name=Soccerway/>	Veikkausliiga	13	8	0	0	0	0	1Template:Efn	0	14	8
	2017<ref name=Soccerway/>	Veikkausliiga	18	7	3	0	—		—		22	7
	Total		31	15	3	0	0	0	1	0	35	15
ATK	2017–18<ref name=Soccerway/>	Indian Super League	6	1	—		—		—		6	1
Career total			248	76	16	1	5	2	6	0	375	79

International

Appearances and goals by national team and year

National team	Year	Apps	Goals
Finland<ref name="Njazi Kuqi at NFT"/>	2005	2	3
	2008	1	0
	2012	8	2
	2013	1	0
Total		12	5

Scores and results list Finland's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Kuqi goal.

List of international goals scored by Njazi Kuqi

No.	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	12 March 2005	Kuwait National Stadium, Kuwait City, Kuwait	Template:Fb	1–0	1–0	Friendly
2	18 March 2005	Prince Mohamed bin Fahd Stadium, Dammam, Saudi Arabia	Template:Fb	2–1	4–1	Friendly
3				4–1
4	1 June 2012	Tamme Stadium, Tartu, Finland	Template:Fb	1–0	2–1	Friendly
5				2–0

External links

• Template:FIFA player
• Template:NFT player
• Template:Soccerway