sport.wikisort.org - Athlete

Myrto Uzuni (born 31 May 1995) is an Albanian professional footballer who plays as a winger for Spanish club Granada and the Albania national team.[1]

Myrto Uzuni

Personal information
Full name	Myrto Uzuni
Date of birth	(1995-05-31) 31 May 1995 (age 27)
Place of birth	Berat, Albania
Height	1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Position(s)	Winger
Club information
Current team	Granada
Number	11
Youth career
2005–2012	Doxa Pigadakia
2012–2013	Tomori
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2013–2014	Tomori	23	(3)
2014–2017	Apolonia	70	(23)
2017–2018	Laçi	38	(11)
2018–2020	Lokomotiva	61	(16)
2020–2022	Ferencváros	42	(19)
2022–	Granada	18	(5)
National team‡
2015–2016	Albania U21	7	(1)
2018–	Albania	24	(5)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 12 March 2022 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 23:08, 26 March 2022 (UTC)

Club career

Early career

Uzuni was born in Berat but moved to Zakynthos, Greece along with his family as a child, where he remained for six years until 2012, which is when he returned to his hometown Berat. He joined his local side Tomori and began playing for the club's under-17 side, where he was the 2012–13 under-17 First Division top goalscorer with 14 goals. The following season he scored four times in his first four games, before joining the under-19 side for a football tournament in Spain in September 2013. Tomori won the tournament and Uzuni was the top goalscorer with seven goals, which led to a call up to the senior team by the head coach Madrid Muxhaj.[2][3]

Tomori

He made his professional debut in an Albanian Cup fixture against Pogradeci on 24 October 2013, where he came on as a 53rd-minute substitute for Fatjon Lajthia in the goalless draw.[4] He quickly became an important first team player for the under-19s, but he was once again called up to the senior team for the return leg of the Albanian Cup fixture against Pogradeci. Uzuni started the game and he quickly marked his first start with his first senior goal in the second minute, before adding a 71st-minute winner in the 3–2 win that saw his side progress to the next round of the cup.[5] He soon made his league debut in the Kategoria e Parë against Veleçiku on 14 December 2013 in a 1–0 away win, where he came on at half time for Salvador Gjonaj.[6] Overall, he made 11 league appearances and scored one goal to help his side finish in 4th place, as well as adding two goals in four Albanian Cup games in his debut professional season, taking his tally to three goals in 15 games.

Having established himself in the first team during the second half of the previous season under Madrid Muxhaj, the club saw a change of management as Eqerem Memushi took charge of the squad ahead of the 2014–15 campaign. The new head coach showed faith in the young player, by starting him in the opening game of the season in a 1–0 win against Shkumbini.[7] He continued to remain in the first team with his good displays, and in December he scored twice in 11 days before the winter break. His performances throughout 2014 won him the Tomori Player of the Year award,[8] which was given to the player shortly before he would go on to join top flight side Apolonia in the January transfer window of 2015.

Apolonia

In January 2015 Uzuni joined Kategoria Superiore side Apolonia by penning a four-year contract.[9]

Laçi

On 17 August 2017, after being a target of several top flight clubs, Uzuni completed a transfer to Laçi for €20,000.[10] On the same day, he played and scored in a friendly against Iliria which ended 2–2.[10] He made his competitive debut later on 10 September in 2017–18 Kategoria Superiore matchday 1 against Partizani, playing full-90 minutes as Laçi caused an upset by winning 2–0.[11] He opened his scoring account on 21 October in the matchday 6 against Lushnja which finished in a 3–0 win with lifted Laçi in 3rd place in championship.[12]

Later on 10 December, Uzuni scored his second of the season – the lone goal of the match versus Skënderbeu – to end the latter's undefeated streak in league.[13] It was Laçi's first league win over Skënderbeu since April 2015.[14] He scored his first top flight brace later on 14 March of the following year in the 3–1 win at Lushnja; he also hit the crossbar twice and had a goal canceled for offside.[15] He has scored seven goals with three different teams at Roza Haxhiu Stadium, thus making his favourite stadium to score.[16]

In the final matchday, Uzuni scored a brace in the 4–2 home win over Teuta which gave him ten for the campaign, as Laçi finished in 4th place to return to UEFA Europa League for the first time in three years.[17]

In July 2018, Uzuni was included in manager Besnik Prenga squad list for the 2018–19 UEFA Europa League campaign.[18] He made his debut in the competition on 12 July in the first leg of first qualifying round versus Anorthosis Famagusta. He played the entire match as Laçi lost 2–1.[19] In the returning leg, he scored an 89th-minute header to give Laçi the 1–0 home win and progression to next round through away goal rule.[20][21]

Uzuni's final match for the team occurred on 31 August 2018 in the 1–1 draw versus Skënderbeu where he scored the opener with a powerful shot inside the penalty area.[22]

NK Lokomotiva

On 3 September 2018, Uzuni moved for the first time aboard and joined the Croatian club NK Lokomotiva by signing a four-year contract.[23] Laçi reportedly earned €350,000 which Lokomotiva will pay in two installments.[23] He took squad number 21,[24] and made his competitive debut on 16 September in the 5–2 hammering of Slaven Belupo, setting up a goal.[25] His maiden goal for the club came in his third league appearance, a 3–0 win at Gorica.[26]

Ferencváros

On 7 August 2020, Uzuni joined Nemzeti Bajnokság I champions Ferencváros on a four-year deal for a reported fee of $1.98 million.

In Ferencváros's UEFA Champions League third qualifying round match against Dinamo Zagreb on 16 September, Uzuni scored an own goal to draw the sides level at 1–1 in the first half but then netted a 65th-minute winner to set up a two-legged play-off tie against Molde for entrance into the group stage.[27]

On 29 September 2020, he was member of the Ferencváros team which qualified for the 2020–21 UEFA Champions League group stage after beating Molde on 3–3 aggregate (away goals) at the Groupama Aréna.[28]

On 24 November 2020, Uzuni scored his first Champions League goal in a 2–1 away defeat against Juventus in the 2020–21 season.[29]

On 20 April 2021, Ferencváros won the 2020-21 Nemzeti Bajnokság I season by beating archrival Újpest FC 3–0 at the Groupama Arena. The goals were scored by Uzuni (third and 77th minute) and Tokmac Nguen (30th minute).[30]

Granada

On 31 January 2022, Uzuni moved to Spanish La Liga side Granada on a three-and-a-half-year contract.[31]

International career

Youth

Following some impressive performances in the Albanian Superliga with Apolonia, he received his first international call up by Albania under-21s head coach Skënder Gega in the squad from home league Albanian Superliga to participate in for a 3-days mini preparatory stage in Durrës, Albania from 22–25 February 2015.[32]

He was called up then in March 2015 for the opening 2017 UEFA U21 Championship qualifier against Liechtenstein on 28 March 2015. He was given the number 10 shirt for his international debut and he started in midfield. He played the full 90 minutes in the 2–0 away victory to get Albania off to a winning start thanks to the goals of Rey Manaj and Liridon Latifi.[33][34]

Later on 20 May 2016, Uzuni scored his first goal with under-21 side in a friendly against Czech Republic, netting his team's only goal in the 1–1 draw.[35]

Senior

Uzuni received his first senior call-up on 2 October 2018 by manager Christian Panucci for the friendly against Jordan and the 2018–19 UEFA Nations League C match against Israel.[36]

Personal life

In December 2017, Uzuni unveiled that his inspiration is Portuguese striker Cristiano Ronaldo. On 24 November 2020 against Juventus, he scored for Ferencváros, copied his celebration, and swapped shirts with him.[37]

Career statistics

Club

As of 30 January 2022[1][38]

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			National Cup		Europe		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Tomori	2013–14	Kategoria e Parë	11	1	4	2	—		—		15	3
	2014–15		12	2	1	0	—		—		13	2
	Total		23	3	5	2	—		—		28	5
Apolonia	2014–15	Kategoria Superiore	18	1	2	1	—		—		20	2
	2015–16	Kategoria e Parë	25	5	4	1	—		—		29	6
	2016–17		26	17	3	4	—		—		29	21
	Total		70	23	9	6	—		—		79	29
Laçi	2017–18	Kategoria Superiore	35	10	7	1	—		—		42	11
	2018–19		3	1	0	0	4[lower-alpha 1]	1	1[lower-alpha 2]	0	8	2
	Total		38	11	7	1	4	1	1	0	50	13
Lokomotiva	2018–19	Croatian First League	29	7	3	1	—		—		32	8
	2019–20		32	9	5	3	—		—		37	12
	Total		61	16	8	4	—		—		69	20
Ferencváros	2020–21	Nemzeti Bajnokság I	26	12	1	0	9[lower-alpha 3]	3	—		36	15
	2021–22		16	7	2	8	13[lower-alpha 4]	6	—		31	21
	Total		42	19	3	8	22	9	—		67	36
Career total			234	72	32	27	26	10	1	0	293	103

International

As of match played 26 March 2022[39]

Appearances and goals by national team and year

National team	Year	Apps	Goals
Albania	2018	4	0
	2019	4	0
	2020	4	1
	2021	10	2
	2022	1	1
Total		23	4

As of match played 26 March 2022

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

List of international goals scored by Myrto Uzuni

No.	Date	Venue	Cap	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	11 November 2020	Elbasan Arena, Elbasan, Albania	10	Kosovo	2–0	2–1	Friendly
2	31 March 2021	San Marino Stadium, Serravalle, San Marino	15	San Marino	2–0	2–0	2022 FIFA World Cup qualification
3	8 September 2021	Elbasan Arena, Elbasan, Albania	18		5–0	5–0	2022 FIFA World Cup qualification
4	26 March 2022	RCDE Stadium, Barcelona, Spain	23	Spain	1–1	1–2	Friendly
5	24 September 2022	Bloomfield Stadium, Tel Aviv, Israel		Israel	1–1	1–2	2022–23 UEFA Nations League

Honours

Laçi[1]

• Albanian Cup runner-up: 2017–18
• Albanian Supercup runner-up: 2018

Lokomotiva

• Croatian Cup runner-up: 2019–20

Ferencváros

• Nemzeti Bajnokság I: 2020–21, 2021–22

References

External links

• Myrto Uzuni at the Albanian Football Association
• Myrto Uzuni – UEFA competition record (archive)

На других языках

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- [en] Myrto Uzuni

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[es] Myrto Uzuni

Myrto Uzuni (Berat, 31 de mayo de 1995) es un futbolista albanés que juega de delantero en el Granada C. F. de la Primera División de España.

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[fr] Myrto Uzuni

Myrto Uzuni est un footballeur international albanais né le 31 mai 1995 à Berat. Il joue au poste d'ailier avec le club espagnol de Grenade CF.

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[it] Myrto Uzuni

Myrto Artan Uzuni (Berat, 31 maggio 1995) è un calciatore albanese, attaccante del Granada e della nazionale albanese.

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