Loret Sadiku

Loret Sadiku (born 28 July 1991) is a Kosovan professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder.

Early life

Born in SFR Yugoslavia, Sadiku was raised in Sweden and started to play youth football with local club Hånger IF in Värnamo. In 2003, he joined the youth setup of IFK Värnamo, the town's biggest club.^[2]

Club career

IFK Värnamo

In 2009, Sadiku was promoted to Värnamo's first team and made his professional debut in Ettan, Sweden's third tier. He was part of what would be known as a golden generation in the history of the club, together with players like Viktor Claesson, Simon Thern, Niklas Hult and Joseph Baffo. In 2010, Värnamo won a promotion to Superettan.^[2][3]

In 2011, led by head coach Jonas Thern, Värnamo finished 13th in the Superettan table. Sadiku made 29 league appearances, scoring twice, and appeared in both relegation play-off legs against Väsby United, which the club won by 3–0 on aggregate.^[4][5]

Helsingborgs IF

On 20 January 2012, Sadiku transferred to Allsvenskan club Helsingborgs IF.^[6] Two months later, he won the 2012 Svenska Supercupen with the club, through a 2–0 win against AIK.^[7] As defending Swedish champions, Helsingborg finished 6th in Allsvenskan, in which Sadiku made 19 appearances.^[4] Throughout the season, he also played five games in 2012–13 UEFA Champions League, before Helsingborg was knocked out in the play-off round by Celtic by 0–4 on aggregate.^[8]

In 2013, Sadiku played 27 league games, scoring twice, as Helsingborg finished 5th in the Allsvenskan table.^[9] Halfway through the 2014 season, after making 11 league appearances, Sadiku sought a move elsewhere and reportedly attracted interest from rival Malmö FF.^[10][11]

Turkish Süper Lig

On 28 June 2014, Sadiku signed a three-year contract with Mersin İdman Yurdu, newly promoted to the Turkish Süper Lig, together with Abdul Khalili from Helsingborg.^[12][13]

On 17 August 2016, Sadiku transferred to Kasımpaşa for a fee of €2 million, signing a three-year contract.^[14][15] On 12 January 2019, Sadiku signed a new three-and-a-half-year deal with the club.^[16]

Hammarby IF

On 18 February 2022, Sadiku signed a three-year contract with Hammarby IF in Allsvenskan, thus returning to Sweden after eight years abroad.^[17] Sadiku featured in the final of the 2021–22 Svenska Cupen, in which Hammarby lost by 4–5 on penalties to Malmö FF after the game ended in a 0–0 draw.^[18][19] In early July, Sadiku tested positive for COVID-19 and suffered from persistent symptoms that kept him sidelined for almost two months.^[20][21][22] He ended the season making 21 league appearances, helping his side to finish 3rd in the 2022 Allsvenskan table.^[4]

International

Sweden

Under-21

On 31 May 2012, Sadiku made his debut for Sweden U21 after being named in the starting line-up in a 2013 UEFA Under-21 qualification against Ukraine U21 and was nominated "Newcomer of the year".^[23]

Kosovo

On 2 March 2014, Sadiku received a call-up from Kosovo for the nation's first permitted by FIFA match against Haiti^[24] and made his debut after being named in the starting line-up.^[25]

Career statistics

Club

^[8]

1. ^ Appearances in the Superettan relegation play-offs
2. ^ Appearances in Svenska Supercupen
3. ^ Appearances in UEFA Champions League
4. ^ Appearances in UEFA Europa Conference League

References

1. ^
2. ^ "Talangfabriken IFK Värnamo" (in Swedish). IFK Värnamo. Retrieved 20 February 2022.
3. ^ Glavas, Jozo (24 February 2017). "Så gick det sen för Värnamos gyllene generation" (in Swedish). Sveriges Radio. Retrieved 20 February 2022.
4. ^ "Loret Sadiku" (in Swedish). Swedish Football Association. Retrieved 7 March 2022.
5. ^ "Nytt kontrakt även för IFK Värnamo" (in Swedish). Swedish Football Association. 6 November 2011. Retrieved 7 March 2022.
6. ^ "KLART: Loret Sadiku går till Helsingborg" (in Swedish). Fotbollskanalen. 20 January 2012. Retrieved 7 March 2022.
7. ^ "Bouaouzan sköt Supercupen till Helsingborg" (in Swedish). Swedish Football Association. 24 March 2012. Archived from the original on 18 April 2013. Retrieved 8 March 2022.
8. ^ "Loret Sadiku". Soccerway. Retrieved 6 March 2022.
9. ^ "Helsingborgs IF Verksamhetsberättelse 2013" (in Swedish). Helsingborgs IF. Retrieved 6 March 2022.
10. ^ "Mittbacksstjärnan lämnar HIF – kan hamna i MFF" (in Swedish). Fotbollskanalen. 3 June 2013. Retrieved 6 March 2022.
11. ^ "Helsingborgs IF Verksamhetsberättelse 2014" (in Swedish). Helsingborgs IF. Retrieved 6 March 2022.
12. ^ "Helsingborgs IF Verksamhetsberättelse 2014" (in Swedish). Helsingborgs IF. Retrieved 6 March 2022.
13. ^ "Zyrtare: Loret Sadiku firmos me turqit e Mersinit" (in Albanian). Panorama Sport. 28 June 2014.
14. ^ "Pas Herolind Shalës, edhe Sadiku nënshkruan me Kasimpasan" (in Albanian). Gazeta Zeri. 18 August 2016.
15. ^ "Sadiku Kasımpaşamızda" (in Turkish). Kasımpaşa. 17 August 2016. Retrieved 1 March 2022.
16. ^ "Sadiku ile sözleşme yenilendi" (in Turkish). Kasımpaşa. 12 January 2019. Retrieved 1 March 2022.
17. ^ "Loret Sadiku till Hammarby" (in Swedish). Hammarby. 18 February 2022. Retrieved 18 February 2022.
18. ^ "Straffar gav MFF första cupguldet på 33 år" (in Swedish). Swedish Football Association. 26 May 2022. Retrieved 26 May 2022.
19. ^ "Bajen golvat från elva meter i titelmatchen" (in Swedish). Hammarby Fotboll. 26 May 2022. Retrieved 26 May 2022.
20. ^ "Genomgång av skadeläget i herrtruppen" (in Swedish). Hammarby Fotboll. 22 July 2022. Retrieved 12 October 2022.
21. ^ "Skadeläget i herrtruppen" (in Swedish). Hammarby Fotboll. 6 August 2022. Retrieved 12 October 2022.
22. ^ "Så ser skadeläget ut" (in Swedish). Hammarby Fotboll. 31 August 2022. Retrieved 12 October 2022.
23. ^ "Sadiku: "Albanien visade mest kärlek"" (in Swedish). Aftonbladet. 27 August 2013. Archived from the original on 30 August 2013.
24. ^ "Kosova shpall listën anti-Haiti" (in Albanian). Albeu. 2 March 2014.
25. ^ "Player Database". eu-football.info. Retrieved 2020-01-05.