Freddie Veseli

Freddie Veseli
Personal information
Full name Frédéric Shtjefan Veseli[1]
Date of birth (1992-11-20) 20 November 1992
Place of birth Renens, Switzerland
Height 1.84 m (6 ft 0 in)
Playing position Defender
Club information
Current team
 Empoli
Number 13
Youth career
2003–2005 Renens
2005–2008 Lausanne-Sport
2008–2010 Manchester City
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2010–2012 Manchester City 0 (0)
2012–2013 Manchester United 0 (0)
2013–2015 Ipswich Town 0 (0)
2014 → Bury (loan) 18 (0)
2014 → Port Vale (loan) 15 (0)
2015 Port Vale 22 (1)
2015–2016 Lugano 33 (0)
2016– Empoli 17 (0)
National team‡
2007 Switzerland U15 4 (0)
2007–2008 Switzerland U16 8 (0)
2008–2009 Switzerland U17 16 (0)
2009–2010 Switzerland U18 12 (0)
2010–2011 Switzerland U19 9 (0)
2011–2012 Switzerland U20 7 (1)
2012 Switzerland U21 1 (0)
2015– Albania 8 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 18:42, 15 May 2017 (UTC).
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 11 June 2017

Frédéric Shtjefan Veseli (born 20 November 1992) is an Albanian professional footballer who plays as a defender for Italian club Empoli and the Albania national team.

Born in Renens, Switzerland, Veseli began his youth career with local club FC Renens before joining Lausanne-Sport in 2005. In 2008, he was signed by English club Manchester City, before joining Manchester United in January 2012. Having failed to break into the first team, he was released in July 2013 and joined Ipswich Town, who allowed him to go on loan to Bury in the second half of the 2013–14 season. He was loaned out to Port Vale for the first half of the 2014–15 season, before joining permanently in January 2015. He returned to Switzerland in July 2015 and joined Lugano, and featured on the losing side in the 2016 Swiss Cup final before he signed with Italian side Empoli in August 2016.

He represented Switzerland at every level of youth football, and captained the Switzerland under-17s to victory in the 2009 FIFA U-17 World Cup. After refusing call-ups from Kosovo, in November 2015 he accepted the Albanian national team's invitation to continue his international career, and was named in the squad for UEFA Euro 2016.

Club career

Early career

Veseli started his football career with Renens. In 2005, he joined Lausanne-Sport, where he remained until 2008, when he moved to England to join Manchester City's Elite Development Squad. He would spend the next four seasons playing primarily for the reserve team. During the 2010–11 season, manager Roberto Mancini named Veseli on the bench for the first team in a Third Round League Cup match against West Bromwich Albion on 22 September.[2] Prior to the 2011–12 season, Veseli featured prominently at the 2011 World Football Challenge but did not make any first-team appearance that year.

On 31 January 2012, the last day of the 2012 winter transfer window, Veseli moved across the city to Alex Ferguson's Manchester United on a free transfer.[3][4] Manchester United released Veseli at the end of his contract in July 2013.[5]

Ipswich Town

In July 2013, Veseli was signed by Mick McCarthy's Championship club Ipswich Town on a two-year deal.[6] On 6 August, Veseli made his professional debut in a 2–0 League Cup defeat by Stevenage at Broadhall Way.[7]

On 31 December 2013, Veseli had signed a one-month loan deal for struggling League Two side Bury.[8] His loan spell at Gigg Lane was later extended by a further month before finally being extended to the full 93-day period. He started 18 league games for the club and was influential in their rise from 20th in the table and fighting relegation up to 11th, when he left, after new manager David Flitcroft decided to include Veseli in a back three alongside Pablo Mills and Jimmy McNulty. In his 18 appearances the "Shakers" kept ten clean sheets.[9]

Port Vale

In July 2014, Veseli signed on loan for League One side Port Vale for the first half of the 2014–15 season, with manager Micky Adams intending him to provide first team competition for right-back Adam Yates.[10][9] He missed two weeks after breaking his ribs in September.[11] He returned to the starting eleven at centre-half on 15 November, helping the "Valiants" to a 1–0 win over Rochdale at Vale Park.[12] He was picked out as the star player in the following week's 1–0 defeat to Milton Keynes Dons.[13] He joined Port Vale on a permanent basis on 7 January 2015, after being released by Ipswich.[14] On 21 February, he scored his first goal in professional football with a speculative effort from 30-yards in a 3–0 home win over Doncaster Rovers.[15] The goal helped him to be named in the Football League team of the week.[16]

Lugano

In July 2015, Veseli rejected a contract offer from Port Vale and instead signed a 12-month deal with Swiss Super League side Lugano.[17] He played 33 of the club's 36 league games in the 2015–16 season, as Lugano avoided relegation by finishing just one point above bottom club FC Zürich. Lugano also reached the final of the Swiss Cup at Letzigrund, where Veseli was sent off in stoppage time after receiving two yellow cards in a 1–0 defeat to Zürich.[18]

Empoli

Vesli signed a two-year contract with Italian Serie A club Empoli in August 2016.[19] He played 17 games for the "Azzurri", but was an unused substitute on the last day of the 2016–17 as Empoli were relegated with a 2–1 defeat at Palermo.[20]

International career

In May 2009, Veseli reached the semi-finals of the UEFA European Under-17 Championship, which was held in Germany. In October 2009, he competed in the FIFA U-17 World Cup, which was held in Nigeria, playing in six matches and eventually winning the competition as captain with a 1–0 victory over the hosts at the Abuja Stadium.[21]

Although he has Swiss citizenship, Veseli declared to the media that he would welcome a call-up from Albania, given his Albanian ethnicity.[22] He had also been contacted several times by Kosovo coach Albert Bunjaki, but refused to commit himself to Kosovo.

Albania

On 7 November 2015, Veseli accepted the invitation of Albania coach Gianni De Biasi for friendly matches against Kosovo and Georgia.[23] He made his first appearance as a substitute against Kosovo.[24]

Euro 2016

On 21 May 2016, Veseli was named in Albania's preliminary 27-man squad for UEFA Euro 2016,[25] and in Albania's final 23-man UEFA Euro 2016 squad on 31 May.[26] He appeared as an 86th-minute substitute against hosts France in Albania's second group game, which ended in a 2–0 defeat.[27] Albania finished the group in the third position with three points and with a goal difference –2, and was ranked last in the third-placed teams, which eventually eliminated them.[28]

Style of play

Speaking in July 2014, Port Vale manager Micky Adams stated that Veseli was "quick, he can handle the ball and he's got decent pedigree".[29]

Career statistics

Club

As of 5 August 2017 [30][31][32]
Club Season League FA Cup League Cup Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Manchester City 2010–11[33] Premier League 00———00
2011–12[34] Premier League 0000000000
Total 0000000000
Manchester United 2011–12[34] Premier League 0000000000
2012–13[35] Premier League 0000000000
Total 0000000000
Bury (loan) 2013–14[36] League Two 180———180
Ipswich Town 2013–14[36] Championship 00—10—10
2014–15[37] Championship 0000000000
Total 0000100010
Port Vale 2014–15[37] League One 371—10—381
Lugano 2015–16[38] Swiss Super League 33050——380
Empoli 2016–17[38] Serie A 170———170
2017–18[38] Serie B 0010000010
Total 170100000180
Career total 10516020001131

International

As of 11 June 2017 [30][39]
Albania national team
YearAppsGoals
201520
201630
201730
Total80

Honours

Club

Lugano

International

Switzerland U17

References

  1. ↑ Dekret për dhënie të shtetësisë shqiptare nr. 9554 President.al
  2. ↑ "Baggies pile pressure on Mancini". ESPN. 22 September 2010. Retrieved 1 February 2012.
  3. ↑ Tuck, James (31 January 2012). "Reds swoop for Veseli". ManUtd.com. Manchester United. Retrieved 31 January 2012.
  4. ↑ "Man Utd sign Manchester City defender Frederic Veseli". BBC Sport. 31 January 2012. Retrieved 2 August 2014.
  5. ↑ McKeegan, Alice (7 June 2013). "Veseli heads list of released United players". Manchester Evening News. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 3 August 2014.
  6. ↑ "Ipswich Town sign ex-Manchester United defender Frederic Veseli". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. 19 July 2013. Retrieved 19 July 2013.
  7. ↑ "Stevenage v Ipswich". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. 6 August 2013. Retrieved 6 August 2013.
  8. ↑ "Bury sign Burke and Veseli as Brian Jensen extends contract". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. 31 December 2013. Retrieved 13 April 2014.
  9. 1 2 "It's good up north duck, says new boy Frederic Veseli". The Sentinel. 30 July 2014. Retrieved 2 August 2014.
  10. ↑ "Ipswich defender Frederic Veseli signs on loan". BBC Sport. 29 July 2014. Retrieved 2 August 2014.
  11. ↑ "Freddie Veseli and Achille Campion injury latest". The Sentinel. 24 September 2014. Retrieved 24 September 2014.
  12. ↑ Baggaley, Mike (15 November 2014). "Rob Page hails Chris Robertson and Freddie Veseli". The Sentinel. Retrieved 17 November 2014.
  13. ↑ Baggaley, Mike (23 November 2014). "Why this defender was Mike Baggaley's star man against MK Dons". The Sentinel. Retrieved 24 November 2014.
  14. ↑ Smith, Pete (7 January 2015). "Freddie Veseli signing confirmed". The Sentinel. Retrieved 7 January 2015.
  15. ↑ "Port Vale 3- 0 Doncaster Rovers". BBC Sport. 21 February 2015. Retrieved 21 February 2015.
  16. ↑ Baggaley, Mike (24 February 2015). "Freddie Veseli's stunner wins him spot in Football League team of week - video". The Sentinel. Retrieved 24 February 2015.
  17. ↑ Baggaley, Michael (10 July 2015). "Freddie Veseli joins FC Lugano". The Sentinel. Retrieved 11 July 2015.
  18. 1 2 "Lugano vs. Zürich - 29 May 2016 - Soccerway". au.soccerway.com. Retrieved 5 June 2017.
  19. ↑ "Empoli, biennale per l'ex Lugano Veseli - GazzaMercato". Gazza Mercato (in Italian). 6 August 2016. Retrieved 6 August 2016.
  20. ↑ Corkhill, Barney (28 May 2017). "Empoli relegated from Serie A following final-day defeat". Sports Mole. Retrieved 30 May 2017.
  21. ↑ "Switzerland - Nigeria". FIFA. 15 November 2009. Retrieved 31 January 2012.
  22. ↑ "Veseli: I gatshëm të luaj për Shqipërinë (in English: Veseli: Ready to play for Albania)". Albeu. 15 May 2013. Retrieved 26 September 2013.
  23. ↑ "Ekskluzive, refuzoi Kosovën katër herë, Veseli i bashkohet Shqipërisë - Telegrafi". Telegrafi. 7 November 2015. Retrieved 6 August 2016.
  24. ↑ "Talenti Veseli debuton për kuqezinjtë në ndeshjen ndaj Kosovës". syri.net. 9 November 2015. Retrieved 6 August 2016.
  25. ↑ Fatjon Pandovski (21 May 2016). "De Biasi leaves out Albanian top scorer Salihi". UEFA. Retrieved 30 May 2016.
  26. ↑ "De Biasi names 23-man Albania squad for Euro 2016". Yahoo Sport. Retrieved 31 May 2016.
  27. ↑ Steinberg, Jacob (14 June 2016). "France left it late again before confirming their place in the last 16 thanks to goals from Antoine Griezmann and Dimitri Payet". The Guardian. Retrieved 16 June 2016.
  28. ↑ "Albania out of Euro 2016 after Portugal draw with Hungary". Fourfourtwo.com. 22 June 2016. Retrieved 9 October 2016.
  29. ↑ "Introducing Frederic Veseli - Port Vale sign former Manchester United and Manchester City starlet". The Sentinel. 29 July 2014. Retrieved 2 August 2014.
  30. 1 2 Freddie Veseli at National-Football-Teams.com
  31. ↑ Freddie Veseli at Soccerway
  32. ↑ Freddie Veseli – UEFA competition record
  33. ↑ "Games played by Freddie Veseli in 2010/2011". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
  34. 1 2 "Games played by Freddie Veseli in 2011/2012". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
  35. ↑ "Games played by Freddie Veseli in 2012/2013". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
  36. 1 2 "Games played by Freddie Veseli in 2013/2014". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
  37. 1 2 "Games played by Freddie Veseli in 2014/2015". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
  38. 1 2 3 Freddie Veseli at Soccerway
  39. ↑ Freddie Veseli at EU-Football.info
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