Samir Ujkani
 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Samir Ujkani | ||
| Date of birth | 5 July 1988 | ||
| Place of birth | Vučitrn, SFR Yugoslavia | ||
| Height | 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)[1] | ||
| Playing position | Goalkeeper | ||
| Club information | |||
| Current club | Palermo | ||
| Number | 22 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2001–2007 | Ingelmunster | ||
| 2006–2007 | Anderlecht | ||
| 2007–2008 | Palermo | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 2008– | Palermo | 30 | (0) |
| 2009–2012 | → Novara (loan) | 86 | (0) |
| 2012 | Palermo primavera | 1 | (0) |
| 2013 | → Chievo (loan) | 0 | (0) |
| National team‡ | |||
| 2007–2009 | Albania U21 | 6 | (0) |
| 2008– | Albania | 20 | (0) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 19:30, 3 February 2014 (UTC +1).. † Appearances (Goals). | |||
Samir Ujkani (born 5 July 1988) is an Albanian international football goalkeeper, playing for Palermo and the Albanian national team.
Early life
Ujkani was born in Resnik, a village near Vučitrn, SFR Yugoslavia. His family then moved to Belgium six years after his birth.[2]
Club career
Youth clubs
At the age of thirteen, Ujkani enrolled into Ingelmunster, spending six years there before moving to Anderlecht. The Anderlecht football academy has a reputation of producing talented goalkeepers such as Jacky Munaron.[3] Ujkani played until June 2007 for the Anderlecht Under-19s, and made also ten appearances with their Reserves team.
On June 2007, he agreed to sign a 5-year contract with Palermo of Serie A.[2]
Palermo
Since then, he served as unused bench in two UEFA Cup matches for Palermo, and several Serie A matches as well. He was confirmed as third-choice goalkeeper for the rosanero's 2008–09 season campaign, and later promoted as second goalkeeper after the club chose to transfer-list veteran goalie Alberto Fontana.
On 26 April 2009, he made his professional debut with Palermo, replacing injured Marco Amelia during a Serie A game against Milan at San Siro[4] and his performance was congratulated from Ricardo Kaka in the end of the match.[5] On July 2009 he was loaned out to Lega Pro Prima Divisione club Novara to exchange with Giacomo Brichetto, also in order to gain first team experience.[6]
Novara
Ujkani immediately cemented his place as the first choice keeper. He is a pivotal and influential member of squad, promoting Novara from the Lega Pro Prima Divisione to the Serie B in the 2009–10 season. This event was significant as the club had returned to Serie B after 33 years.[7] This led Novara to ask for an extension to his loan, which was agreed by Palermo on July 2010.[8]
Ujkani helped Novara reach promotion to the Serie A after 55 years of absence.[9] On 31 January 2011 Palermo announced to have sold 50% of Ujkani's transfer rights to Novara along with Michel Morganella (both tagged for €1.5M),[10] as part of a bid involving striker Pablo Andrés González (€5M).[11]
Ujkani has been a crucial member of the squad in the Serie A, helping Novara beat Inter Milan home and away when Ujkani pulled off a point-blank save to deny Giampaolo Pazzini and held off Wesley Sneijder when he struck the free kick from a dangerous position.[12] He also helped Novara secure a draw against top club SSC Napoli[13]
From the 16th of October 2011, Ujkani sustained a broken nose and lost four teeth when he colided with team mate Michel Morganella against Bologna. Being one of the fan favourites, The mayor of Novara, Andrea Ballarè, visited Ujkani in hospital.[14] Ujkani returned on the 5th of December against Lazio.
Return to Palermo and loan to Chievo
On June 14, 2012, Palermo owner Maurizio Zamparini confirmed that Ujkani will be playing on Palermo for the 2012–13 Serie A season.[15][16] On 22 June 2012, Palermo announced from their website to have re-acquired the full transfer rights of Ujkani and fellow Novara player Michel Morganella.[17]
After the arrival of goalkeeper Stefano Sorrentino in rosanero, Ujkani moved on loan to Chievo.[18] In his short stint at Chievo, he did not play a single game, serving as backup choice behind Christian Puggioni, and was not acquired by the Verona-based club, thus making his return to Palermo by the end of season.
International career
Ujkani received an Albanian passport in summer 2007 and started playing for the Albania U21. He made his debut on 1 June in a European qualification match against Italy.
On 6 October 2008, he received his first senior call-up for the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification qualifying matches with Hungary and Portugal.[19] He made his full senior debut on June 10, 2009 in a 1–1 draw vs Georgia at Albania.
Career statistics
- As of July 2012
| Club performance | League | Cup | Continental | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Club | League | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| 2008–09 | Palermo | Serie A | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||
| 2009–10 | Novara | Lega Pro | 23 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 26 | 0 | ||
| 2010–11 | Serie B | 39 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 40 | 0 | |||
| 2011–12 | Serie A | 24 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 26 | 0 | |||
| Total | Novara | 86 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 92 | 0 | |||
| 2012–13 | Palermo | Serie A | 19 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 20 | 0 | ||
| Career total | 106 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 114 | 0 | ||
International
| Albania national team | ||
|---|---|---|
| Year | Apps | Goals |
| 2009 | 4 | 0 |
| 2010 | 1 | 0 |
| 2011 | 8 | 0 |
| 2012 | 5 | 0 |
| 2013 | 2 | 0 |
| Total | 20 | 0 |
Last updated: 2013-8-22
Source: Samir Ujkani at National-Football-Teams.com
References
- ↑ "samir ujkani novara – Serie B". La Gazzetta dello Sport. Retrieved 31 January 2011.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Migliaccio e Ujkani i primi acquisti del Palermo". US Città di Palermo. 2007-06-08. Retrieved 2009-04-30.
- ↑ Jean-Paul Bonomi (6 FEB 2010). "Ujkani: "Novara? Città molto tranquilla, super-organizzata e… la società di calcio è fantastica!"". oknovara.it. Retrieved 4 March 2012.
- ↑ "Esordio di Ujkani in Serie A". US Città di Palermo. 2009-04-26. Retrieved 2009-04-30.
- ↑ http://news.al/lajme/artikull/iden/236101/titulli/Ujkani-Kaka-me-pergezoi Ujkani : Kaka me pergezoi ne fund te ndeshjes
- ↑ "NEWS: ARRIVA SAMIR UJKANI" (in Italian). Novara Calcio. 2009-07-24. Retrieved 2009-07-23.
- ↑ "La storia" (in Italian). Novara Calcio. Retrieved 1 November 2010.
- ↑ "MOVIMENTI IN USCITA DEL PALERMO" (in Italian). US Città di Palermo. 2010-07-16. Retrieved 2010-07-18.
- ↑ "Novara seal return to Serie A".
- ↑ "Bilancio Palermo 2010/11: utile grazie a Cavani e Kjaer" (in Italian). ju29ro.com. 8 February 2012. Retrieved 3 April 2012.
- ↑ "ACQUISTATO PABLO ANDRES GONZALEZ" (in Italian). US Città di Palermo. 31 January 2011. Retrieved 31 January 2011.
- ↑ AP (12 February 2012). "Inter Milan slip up against lowly Novara". Aljazeera. Retrieved 4 March 2012.
- ↑ "Match Report 1 -1 Novara v Napoli". transfermarkt. 4 March 2012. Retrieved 4 March 2012.
- ↑ "Il Sindaco in visita a Ujkani ricoverato al "Maggiore"" (in Italian). andreaballare. 4 March 2012. Retrieved 17 October 2011.
- ↑ "Zamparini e konfirmon: Ujkani portier i ri i Palermos" (in Albanian). asport. 14 June 2012. Retrieved 16 June 2012.
- ↑ "Samir Ujkani happy to be staying with Palermo". tribalfootball. 19 June 2012. Retrieved 19 June 2012.
- ↑ "MOVIMENTI DI MERCATO" [MARKET MOVEMENTS] (in Italian). US Città di Palermo. 22 June 2012. Retrieved 22 June 2012.
- ↑ "UJKANI CEDUTO AL CHIEVO, CETTO SI TRASFERISCE AL SAN LORENZO" [UJKANI SOLD AT CHIEVO, CETTO MOVES IN SAN LORENZO] (in Italian). US Città di Palermo. 29 January 2013. Retrieved 29 January 2013.
- ↑ "Albania: Ujkani convocato nazionale "A"" (in Italian). US Città di Palermo. 2008-10-06. Retrieved 2008-10-06.
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