Mërgim Berisha

Mërgim Berisha (born 11 May 1998) is a German professional footballer who plays as a centre-forward for Austrian club Red Bull Salzburg.

Mërgim Berisha
Berisha with Red Bull Salzburg in February 2020
Personal information
Full name Mërgim Berisha
Date of birth (1998-05-11) 11 May 1998
Place of birth Berchtesgaden, Germany
Height 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)
Position(s) Centre-forward
Club information
Current team
 Red Bull Salzburg
Number 8
Youth career
2008–2016 Red Bull Salzburg
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2014–2017 Liefering 41 (17)
2017– Red Bull Salzburg 19 (8)
2017–2018 → LASK (loan) 18 (5)
2018 → 1. FC Magdeburg (loan) 4 (0)
2019–2020 → SC Rheindorf Altach (loan) 31 (14)
National team‡
2019– Germany U21 7 (1)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 20 December 2020
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 17 November 2020

Club career

Liefering

On 7 November 2014, Berisha made his debut as a professional footballer against Mattersburg after coming on as a substitute at 73rd minute in place of Daniel Ripić and just 50 seconds after his substitution scored his side's third goal during a 3–1 home win.[1]

Red Bull Salzburg

On 28 December 2016, Berisha signed his first professional contract with Austrian Bundesliga side Red Bull Salzburg after agreeing to a four-year deal.[2] On 3 April 2017, he made his debut in a 0–5 away win against SC Rheindorf Altach after coming on as a substitute at 77th minute in place of Wanderson.[3] Berisha helped his team winning the 2016–17 UEFA Youth League by being one of the top scorers in the tournament, scoring 7 goals in total.[4]

Loan at LASK

On 21 August 2017, Berisha joined Austrian Bundesliga side LASK, on a season-long loan.[5] Five days later, he made his debut in a 1–0 away defeat against Rapid Wien after being named in the starting line-up.[6]

Loan at 1. FC Magdeburg

On 19 June 2018, Berisha joined 2. Bundesliga side 1. FC Magdeburg, on a season-long loan.[7] Two months later, he made his debut with 1. FC Magdeburg in the 2018–19 DFB-Pokal first round against Darmstadt 98 after coming on as a substitute at 81st minute in place of Tobias Müller.[8]

Loan at SC Rheindorf Altach

On 10 January 2019, Berisha joined Austrian Bundesliga side SC Rheindorf Altach, on a 1½ season-long loan.[9] On 23 February 2019, he made his debut in a 0–0 away draw against Wolfsberger AC after being named in the starting line-up.[10]

2019–20 season

On 6 January 2020, Berisha returned to Austrian Bundesliga side Red Bull Salzburg.[11] On 14 February 2020, he played the first game after the return in a 2–3 home defeat against former club LASK after coming on as a substitute in the 59th minute in place of Patrick Farkas.[12]

2020–21 season
Berisha pointing to the sky following his one goal against Lokomotiv Moscow in the UEFA Champions League group stage in December 2020

On 13 September 2020, Berisha commenced his season with the club by winning in the opening match of 2020–21 season against Wolfsberger AC after being named in the starting line-up.[13]

On 3 November 2020, Berisha scored his first UEFA Champions League goal in a 2–6 defeat against German side Bayern Munich in the 2020–21 season,[14] he also scored in the away tie in Munich as Salzburg lost 3–1.[15]

On 1 December 2020, Berisha scored two goals against Russian side Lokomotiv Moscow, which allowed Red Bull Salzburg win the match in Moscow (3–1), take the club get third place in the group and reach the 2020–21 UEFA Europa League knockout phase.

International career

On 7 October 2019, Berisha received a call-up from Germany U21 for the friendly match against Spain U21 and 2021 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification match against Bosnia and Herzegovina U21.[16] Three days later, he made his debut with Germany U21 in a friendly match against Spain U21 after coming on as a substitute at 46th minute in place of Janni Serra.[17]

Personal life

Berisha was born in Berchtesgaden, Germany to Kosovo Albanian parents from Suva Reka.[18]

Career statistics

Club
As of 20 December 2020[19]
Club Season League Cup Continental[lower-alpha 1] Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Liefering 2014–15 Austrian First League 3100—31
2015–16 8200—82
2016–17 301400—3014
Total 411700—4117
Red Bull Salzburg 2016–17 Austrian Bundesliga 1010—20
2017–18 0010—10
2018–19 0000—00
2019–20 811010101
2020–21 10721842012
Total 19851943313
LASK (loan) 2017–18 Austrian Bundesliga 18521—206
1. FC Magdeburg (loan) 2018–19 2. Bundesliga 4010—50
Total 22531—256
SC Rheindorf Altach (loan) 2018–19 Austrian Bundesliga 14700—147
2019–20 17732—203
Total 311432—3416
Career total 113441149413352
  1. Including continental competitions, such as UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League

Honours

Club
Red Bull Salzburg

References
  1. "Liefering besiegt Mattersburg 3:1 und rückt LASK näher" [Liefering defeated Mattersburg 3–1 and moved closer to LASK]. Sky Sport Austria (in German). 7 November 2014.
  2. "Mergim Berisha signs for the Red Bulls". FC Red Bull Salzburg. 28 December 2016.
  3. "Një Berishë tjetër debuton në Austri" [Another Berisha debuts in Austria] (in Albanian). Koha Ditore. 3 April 2017.
  4. "Red Bull Salzburg is the 2016–17 UEFA Youth League champion". OnceAMetro.com. 24 April 2017.
  5. "Mergim Berisha wechselt zum LASK" [Mergim Berisha is switching to LASK] (in German). LASK. 21 August 2017. Archived from the original on 21 August 2017.
  6. "Rapid Wien vs. LASK 1–0". Soccerway. Retrieved 26 August 2017.
  7. "2. Bundesliga: Salzburgs Stürmer Mergim Berisha kommt auf Leihbasis zum 1. FC Magdeburg" [2. Bundesliga: Salzburg striker Mergim Berisha is on loan to 1. FC Magdeburg] (in German). Onefootball. 19 June 2018.
  8. "1. FC Magdeburg 0:1 SV Darmstadt 98" (in German). German Football Association. 17 August 2018.
  9. "Mergim Berisha goes on loan to SCR Altach". FC Red Bull Salzburg. 10 January 2019.
  10. "Wolfsberger AC vs. Rheindorf Altach 0–0". Soccerway. Retrieved 23 February 2019.
  11. FC Red Bull Salzburg [@RedBullSalzburg] (6 January 2020). "OFFIZIELL: Youth League-Sieger Mergim #Berisha kehrt zurück von seiner Leihe beim SCR Altach und verstärkt ab sofort unsere Offensive. Willkommen zurück, Mergim! #WirSindZukunft" [OFFICIAL: Youth League winner Mergim #Berisha returns from his loan at SCR Altach and is now strengthening our offensive. Welcome back, Mergim! #WeAreThFuture] (Tweet) (in German) – via Twitter.
  12. "Salzburg vs. LASK 2–3". Soccerway. Retrieved 14 February 2020.
  13. "Wolfsberger AC vs. Salzburg 1–3". Soccerway. Retrieved 13 September 2020.
  14. "Salzburg–Bayern". UEFA. Retrieved 3 November 2020.
  15. "Bayern Munich 3–1 Salzburg". BBC Sport. Retrieved 25 November 2020.
  16. "Kiomourtzoglou und Berisha nachnominiert" [Kiomourtzoglou and Berisha nominated] (in German). German Football Association. 7 October 2019.
  17. "Spanien U 21–Deutschland U 21 1:1" [Spain U 21–Germany U 21 1:1] (in German). German Football Association. 10 October 2019.
  18. "Aufgepasst DFB! Dieses Talent steht bei vielen auf dem Zettel" [Attention DFB! Many people have this talent on the list] (in German). Sport Bild. 3 November 2016.
  19. Mërgim Berisha at Soccerway
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.