Enis Bardhi
Enis Bardhi (Macedonian: Енис Барди; born 2 July 1995) is a Macedonian professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Spanish club Levante UD and the North Macedonia national team.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name |
Enis Bardhi[1] Енис Барди | ||
| Date of birth | 2 July 1995 | ||
| Place of birth | Skopje, Macedonia (present-day North Macedonia) | ||
| Height | 1.72 m (5 ft 8 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Attacking midfielder | ||
| Club information | |||
Current team | Levante | ||
| Number | 10 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2012 | Shkupi | ||
| 2013 | Brøndby | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2013–2014 | Prespa Birlik | 10 | (5) |
| 2014–2017 | Újpest | 79 | (19) |
| 2017– | Levante | 103 | (19) |
| National team‡ | |||
| 2012–2013 | Macedonia U17 | 1 | (0) |
| 2013–2014 | Macedonia U19 | 4 | (0) |
| 2014–2017 | Macedonia U21 | 14 | (4) |
| 2015– | North Macedonia | 31 | (5) |
|
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 6 February 2021 ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 11 October 2020 | |||
During the 2017–18 season, he was the joint-best free kick taker in La Liga along with Lionel Messi.
Club career
Early career
Born in Skopje, he started the early career at Skupi F.C so later on he became part of K.F Albarsa where he use to play 2 seasons for the first team at the 3rd Macedonian division by showing a tremendous talent and after successful years there Bardhi joined Brøndby IF's youth setup in 2013, from FK Shkupi. In November of that year, however, he agreed to a one-year deal with Swedish Football Division 2 club KSF Prespa Birlik.[2]
Bardhi played ten matches and scored five goals for the club during his spell, helping in their narrow escape from relegation.[3]
Újpest
In August 2014, Bardhi moved to Hungarian Nemzeti Bajnokság I club Ujpest on trial,[4] and signed a three-year contract late in the month.[5]
Levante
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 21 August, starting in a 1–0 home win against Villarreal CF.[8]
On 26 August 2017 Bardhi scored his first goal in the top tier, netting his team's first through a direct free kick in a 2–2 home draw against Deportivo de La Coruña.[9] The only person who scored more free kicks in the 17/18 season was Lionel Messi.
In the 2018-19 season Bardhi cemented himself as a first team regular, making 36 appearances in the league.
International career
Bardhi, born in Macedonia and ethnic Albanian, was eligible to represent either Macedonia or Albania. 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".[10] Redi Jupi, who was appointed as scouting manager for the Albanian Football Association, never approached Bardhi or respond to Bardhi's managers call out. With Macedonia showing genuine interest and Bardhi viewing the FSHF handling of the situation and response as unprofessional, accepted the call-up for Macedonia.[10]
However, Jetmir Salihu, a representative for the FSHF, dismissed Bardhi's claim, who unveiled all the messages between him and the player, replying that Bardhi was never interested to come to Albania in the first place.[11] He also accused the player of trying to damage the image of Albanian Football Association with the aim to be seen as 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."[11]
Bardhi represented Macedonia at under-17, under-19 and under-21 levels before making his full international debut on 27 March 2015, coming on as a first-half substitute for Artim Položani in a 1–2 UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying home loss against Belarus.[12]
Career statistics
Club
- As of 24 August 2019[13]
| Club | Season | League | Cup | League Cup | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Prespa Birlik | 2014 | Division 2 | 10 | 5 | — | — | — | 10 | 5 | |||
| Total | 10 | 5 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 10 | 5 | |||
| Újpest | 2014–15 | NB I | 21 | 2 | 5 | 0 | — | 3 | 0 | 29 | 2 | |
| 2015–16 | 29 | 5 | 5 | 1 | — | — | 34 | 6 | ||||
| 2016–17 | 29 | 12 | 2 | 1 | — | — | 31 | 13 | ||||
| Total | 79 | 19 | 12 | 2 | — | 3 | 0 | 94 | 21 | |||
| 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 | ||||
| Total | 92 | 19 | 8 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 100 | 19 | |||
| Career totals | 181 | 43 | 20 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 205 | 45 | ||
International
- As of 9 September 2019[14]
| Macedonia | ||
|---|---|---|
| Year | Apps | Goals |
| 2015 | 4 | 0 |
| 2016 | 2 | 0 |
| 2017 | 5 | 1 |
| 2018 | 8 | 2 |
| 2019 | 6 | 2 |
| 2020 | 6 | 0 |
| Total | 31 | 5 |
International goals
- Scores and results list North Macedonia's goal tally first.[14]
| # | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 9 October 2017 | Stadion Mladost, Strumica, Macedonia |  Liechtenstein | 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification | ||
| 2. | 16 November 2018 | Rheinpark Stadion, Vaduz, Liechtenstein | 2018–19 UEFA Nations League D | |||
| 3. | 19 November 2018 | Philip II Arena, Skopje, Macedonia |  Gibraltar | |||
| 4. | 25 March 2019 | Stožice Stadium, Ljubljana, Slovenia |  Slovenia | UEFA Euro 2020 qualification | ||
| 5. | 9 September 2019 | Daugava Stadium, Riga, Latvia |  Latvia |
References
- "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. Retrieved 16 June 2019.
- "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.
- "Grattis Enis!" [Thanks Enis!] (in Swedish). KSF Prespa. 17 July 2017. Retrieved 16 August 2017.
- "Leigazoljuk Enis Bardhi-t" [Enis Bardhi on trial] (in Hungarian). Újpest FC. 29 August 2014. Retrieved 16 August 2017.
- "Ekskluzive: Enis Bardhi te Ujpesti i Hungarisë" [Exclusive: Enis Bardhi to Újpest in Hungary] (in Macedonian). PortAlb. 30 August 2014. Retrieved 16 August 2017.
- "North Macedonia - E. Bardhi - Profile with news, career statistics and history - Soccerway". int.soccerway.com. Retrieved 24 August 2019.
- "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.
- "La Liga echaba de menos a Morales" [La Liga was missing Morales] (in Spanish). Marca. 21 August 2017. Retrieved 21 August 2017.
- "El Levante rescata un punto con polémica" [Levante rescue a point with controversy] (in Spanish). Marca. 26 August 2017. Retrieved 27 August 2017.
- "E vërteta e talentit Enis Bardhi: Desha të luaja për Shqipërinë, shkova te Maqedonia prej Redi Jupit". Panorama Sport. 18 September 2017.
- "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 hero, but you become harlequin] (in Albanian). Panorama Sport. 18 September 2017. Retrieved 28 May 2018.
- "Belarus get the better of FYR Macedonia". UEFA.com. 27 March 2015. Retrieved 16 August 2017.
- Enis Bardhi at Soccerway. Retrieved 16 August 2017.
- Enis Bardhi at National-Football-Teams.com
External links
- Profile at Macedonian Football (in English)
- HLSZ (in Hungarian)
- Enis Bardhi at BDFutbol
- Enis Bardhi – UEFA competition record
- Enis Bardhi at Soccerway