Hamdi Salihi
Encyclopedia
Hamdi Salihi nicknamed The Bomber is an Albania
Albania
Albania , officially known as the Republic of Albania , is a country in Southeastern Europe, in the Balkans region. It is bordered by Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, the Republic of Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south and southeast. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea...

n football
Football (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...

 player. He plays as a striker for Albania national football team
Albania national football team
The Albania national association football team is the national association football team of Albania and is controlled by the Football Association of Albania...

 and for Rapid Wien
SK Rapid Wien
The Sportklub Rapid Wien is an Austrian football club playing in the country's capital city of Vienna. Rapid is the most popular club in Austria and also record title holder having won the Austrian national football title 32 times...

 of Austria at club level. He first started his football career at his hometown club Vllaznia, where he shone as the number one goalscorer for the Albanian league. After impressing the Greek club of Panionios he signed for the Athens team but after playing only 6 games, Salihi returned to Albania where he signed for the capital team Tirana. In 2007 he joined the Austrian team of Ried, where he managed to get on the goalscorers table, scoring 37 goals in 2 years. After his impressive seasons Rapid Vienna signed the Albanian striker.

KS Vllaznia Shkodër

Salihi started his footballing career at his home town club KS Vllaznia Shkodër
KS Vllaznia Shkodër
Klub Futboll Vllaznia Shkodër is an Albanian football club based in Shkodër. KF Vllaznia have been Albanian champions nine times and won the National Cup six times, the last success coming at the end of the 2007–08 season, after a long 21 year drought in the competition...

. In the 2002–2003 Salihi featured for the club only two times in his first professional year. In 2003–2004 Salihi was given a chance to show his qualities as a young player which he managed to score 14 goals in 33 games. In his third season with the club he played just half of the season of 2004–2005 which he managed to score 16 goals in only 20 matches and then after an impressive season in Albania
Albania
Albania , officially known as the Republic of Albania , is a country in Southeastern Europe, in the Balkans region. It is bordered by Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, the Republic of Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south and southeast. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea...

's top division he moved to Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....

.

Panionios

In 2004, Salihi moved to Panionios in in the top division of Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....

. The young Albanian
Albanians
Albanians are a nation and ethnic group native to Albania and neighbouring countries. They speak the Albanian language. More than half of all Albanians live in Albania and Kosovo...

 striker only managed to play in 6 games, mostly coming on as a substitute in the last few minutes. After the season was over he decided to go back to his country to play for KF Tirana.

KF Tirana

Salihi moved back to Albania and played for KF Tirana starting from the 2005–2006 season. He had a very successful season winning the National Cup and the golden boot as the highest scorer of the Albanian Superliga. He continued with KS Tirana for another half season, again being the highest scorer in the league before he left to play in the Austrian Bundesliga
Austrian Bundesliga
The Austrian Football Bundesliga is the highest-ranking national league club competition in Austrian football. It is the competition which decides the Austrian national football champions, as well the country's entrants for the various European cups run by UEFA.The Austrian Bundesliga, which began...

. In his time with KF Tirana Salihi became known all over the world for his goalscoring abilities. He finished 8th in The IFFHS World's best Top Division Goal Scorer 2006. In one season with KF Tirana he managed to score 29 goals in 33 games altogether. Also Salihi play half of the season in 2006–2007 right before getting solded to SV Ried
SV Ried
SV Ried is an Austrian association football club from Ried im Innkreis. The team plays its home matches at the 7,680 capacity Keine-Sorgen Arena. The club currently plays in the Bundesliga after winning promotion from the Erste Liga in the 2004/05 season...

 from KF Tirana which he managed to score 13 goals in 17 games.

SV Ried

In the 2007 January transfer window
Transfer window
The transfer window is the period during the year in which a football club can transfer players from other countries into their playing staff. Such a transfer is completed by registering the player into the new club through FIFA...

 Salihi joined SV Ried
SV Ried
SV Ried is an Austrian association football club from Ried im Innkreis. The team plays its home matches at the 7,680 capacity Keine-Sorgen Arena. The club currently plays in the Bundesliga after winning promotion from the Erste Liga in the 2004/05 season...

 of the Austrian Bundesliga
Austrian Bundesliga
The Austrian Football Bundesliga is the highest-ranking national league club competition in Austrian football. It is the competition which decides the Austrian national football champions, as well the country's entrants for the various European cups run by UEFA.The Austrian Bundesliga, which began...

. He completed his first half season at SV Ried
SV Ried
SV Ried is an Austrian association football club from Ried im Innkreis. The team plays its home matches at the 7,680 capacity Keine-Sorgen Arena. The club currently plays in the Bundesliga after winning promotion from the Erste Liga in the 2004/05 season...

 with 6 goals, helping his club to become vice-champions of the Austrian Football Bundesliga. Salihi also scored 2 goals on the first round Uefa Cup
UEFA Cup
The UEFA Europa League is an annual association football cup competition organised by UEFA since 1971 for eligible European football clubs. It is the second most prestigious European club football contest after the UEFA Champions League...

 qualifiers against Neftchi, one of which was scored on the second leg match in the 85th minute. Until the 85th minute the score was 2–0 for Neftchi and if the score was kept they were going to qualify for the second round on the away goals rule 3–3 as SV Ried had won 3–1 at home. Thanks to Salihi's goal the overall score was 4–3 and SV Ried safely went through to the next round.

In the 2007–08 season, Salihi enjoyed a decent season at the club, becoming the league's joint 4th top scorer along with Carsten Jancker
Carsten Jancker
Carsten Jancker is a former German professional footballer and current manager.- Career :A striker, Jancker is physically very large for a footballer, standing at . His height and strength have proved to be an advantage when playing as a target man, as displayed during his most successful days at...

 of SV Mattersburg
SV Mattersburg
SV Mattersburg is an Austrian association football club from Mattersburg, Burgenland. For sponsorship reasons, the club is currently also known as SV Bauwelt Koch Mattersburg....

 with 12 league goals. Despite this, SV Ried
SV Ried
SV Ried is an Austrian association football club from Ried im Innkreis. The team plays its home matches at the 7,680 capacity Keine-Sorgen Arena. The club currently plays in the Bundesliga after winning promotion from the Erste Liga in the 2004/05 season...

 only finished 7th out of 10 in the league. In the 2008–09 season Salihi improved himself to 14 league goals at Ried, scoring one fourth of his team's goals. Ried placed fifth at the end of the season. On the 2009–2010 season Salihi play 6 games which he score twist for his club but couple weeks later he was solded to Rapid Wien.

Rapid Wien

On 31 August 2009 Salihi signed with Austrian giants SK Rapid Wien
SK Rapid Wien
The Sportklub Rapid Wien is an Austrian football club playing in the country's capital city of Vienna. Rapid is the most popular club in Austria and also record title holder having won the Austrian national football title 32 times...

 on a 3 years contract. On his first match with Rapid
SK Rapid Wien
The Sportklub Rapid Wien is an Austrian football club playing in the country's capital city of Vienna. Rapid is the most popular club in Austria and also record title holder having won the Austrian national football title 32 times...

 Salihi entered into the match in second half as a substitute and scored on the 83rd minute his first goal with Rapid
SK Rapid Wien
The Sportklub Rapid Wien is an Austrian football club playing in the country's capital city of Vienna. Rapid is the most popular club in Austria and also record title holder having won the Austrian national football title 32 times...

. The goal drew the score with Salzburg, 2–2, and saved Rapid
SK Rapid Wien
The Sportklub Rapid Wien is an Austrian football club playing in the country's capital city of Vienna. Rapid is the most popular club in Austria and also record title holder having won the Austrian national football title 32 times...

 from a loss.

At the end of the season Salihi scored 17 goals, 2 of which were from the previous club SV Ried
SV Ried
SV Ried is an Austrian association football club from Ried im Innkreis. The team plays its home matches at the 7,680 capacity Keine-Sorgen Arena. The club currently plays in the Bundesliga after winning promotion from the Erste Liga in the 2004/05 season...

 making him the 5th leading goalscorer behind two of his team mates Steffen Hofmann
Steffen Hofmann
Steffen Hofmann is a German footballer, playing for Rapid Vienna of the Austrian Bundesliga. He plays as an attacking midfielder.-Career:...

, who was in first, and Nikica Jelavić
Nikica Jelavic
Nikica Jelavić is a Croatian football centre forward who plays for Scottish Premier League side Rangers and the Croatian national team....

 who was tied in third. At the end of the season Rapid Wien was in third place three points behind champions Red Bull Salzburg and two points behind Austria Wien. Rapid Wien qualified for the 2010–11 UEFA Europa League Second qualifying round.

Salihi score his first goal of 2010–2011 season on August, 22, 2010 against SV Mattersburg
SV Mattersburg
SV Mattersburg is an Austrian association football club from Mattersburg, Burgenland. For sponsorship reasons, the club is currently also known as SV Bauwelt Koch Mattersburg....

 in 2 – 0 win. On 25 September 2010 he score 2 goals and helped his team to win 3 – 2 against Kapfenberger SV
Kapfenberger SV
Kapfenberger SV is an Austrian association football club from Kapfenberg. In the 2007/08 Austrian Football First League season they became champion and advanced to Austrian Bundesliga. The club was founded in 1919 as Kapfenberger SC...

. Salihi scored one goal for Rapid Vienna on November, 4, 2010 aginast CSKA Sofia in UEFA Europa League. On 11 November 2010, Salihi find the net 2 times against TSV Hartberg
TSV Hartberg
TSV Hartberg is an Austrian association football club based in Hartberg, founded in 1946, which is currently playing in the Austrian Football First League. They finished in 7th position in the 2007–2008 season while playing in the Third level Regionalliga...

 in Austrian Cup
Austrian Cup
The Austrian Cup, in German: ÖFB-Cup is an annual football competition held by the Austrian Football Association, the ÖFB.It has been held since 1919, with the exception of the time of the Anschluss between 1939 and 1945 and the period between 1950 and 1958 when the competition was deemed of...

. The Bomber on 20 November 2010 against LASK Linz
LASK Linz
LASK Linz is an Austrian association football club, from the Upper-Austrian state capital Linz. It is the oldest football club hailing from that region, and currently plays in the Austrian Football First League. The club's colours are black and white...

 scored four goals in a 5 – 0 victory. One week later Salihi added one more goal against the previous champions Austria Vienna in a 1–0 win. His 9th and 10th goals of the season came against Innsbruck
Innsbruck
- Main sights :- Buildings :*Golden Roof*Kaiserliche Hofburg *Hofkirche with the cenotaph of Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor*Altes Landhaus...

 on 11 December 2010. Anther double came against his former club SV Ried
SV Ried
SV Ried is an Austrian association football club from Ried im Innkreis. The team plays its home matches at the 7,680 capacity Keine-Sorgen Arena. The club currently plays in the Bundesliga after winning promotion from the Erste Liga in the 2004/05 season...

 on March 6, 2011, which ended 2-0 for Rapid
SK Rapid Wien
The Sportklub Rapid Wien is an Austrian football club playing in the country's capital city of Vienna. Rapid is the most popular club in Austria and also record title holder having won the Austrian national football title 32 times...

. These were his first goals of 2011. One week later on March 13, 2011, he scored in the 72nd minute the only goal of the derby against Austria Vienna in a 1-0 win.

National team

Salihi scored his first goal for the Albanian National team in a 3–0 win over Malta on 23 August 2007. He was sent in the game on the 22nd minute replacing Erjon Bogdani
Erjon Bogdani
Erjon Bogdani , is an Albanian football striker. Bogdani plays for A.C. Cesena, in Italian Serie A and the Albanian national team.-Early Years:...

. Only after 12 minutes played, The Bomber took advantage of a mistake made by the Maltese goalie and scored. Salihi scored the important 3–2 goal in a friendly for Albania B against AC Milan, The thriller match ended 3–3.

The second international goal of Salihi came in Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....

, when he scored for Albania in the last match of the FIFA 2010 World Cup Qualifiers. Albania lost 4–1. Neither Sweden
Sweden national football team
The Swedish national football team represents Sweden in association football and is controlled by the Swedish Football Association, the governing body for Football in Sweden. Sweden's home ground is Råsunda Stadium in Stockholms län and their head coach is Erik Hamrén. Sweden made their first...

 nor Albania
Albania national football team
The Albania national association football team is the national association football team of Albania and is controlled by the Football Association of Albania...

 qualified for the FIFA 2010 World Cup.

Salihi has had overall 33 appearances with the National team, most of them as a substitute.

Career statistics

Updated to games played 22 September 2011.
Club Season League Cup Europe Other Total
AppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Vllaznia Shkodër
KS Vllaznia Shkodër
Klub Futboll Vllaznia Shkodër is an Albanian football club based in Shkodër. KF Vllaznia have been Albanian champions nine times and won the National Cup six times, the last success coming at the end of the 2007–08 season, after a long 21 year drought in the competition...

2002–03 2 0 1 0 0 0
3 0
2003–04 33 14 3 2 2 0
38 16
2004–05 20 16 2 1 4 2
26 19
Total 55306362--6435
Panionios Athens 2004–05
Alpha Ethniki 2004-05
-League standings:* NB:Olympiakos and Panionios originally both had 3 points deducted as punishment for the incidents before their match on Jan 9 but these deductions were cancelled on appeal.- References :* * * *...

6 0 1 1 0 0
7 1
Total 601100--71
KF Tirana 2005–06 35 29 5 2 4 1
44 32
2006–07 17 13 3 2 4 2
24 17
Total 52428483--6849
SV Ried
SV Ried
SV Ried is an Austrian association football club from Ried im Innkreis. The team plays its home matches at the 7,680 capacity Keine-Sorgen Arena. The club currently plays in the Bundesliga after winning promotion from the Erste Liga in the 2004/05 season...

2006–07 15 6 2 0 0 0
17 6
2007–08
Austrian Football Bundesliga 2007-08
-Final standings:P = Matches played; W = Matches won; D = Matches drawn; L = Matches lost; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against; GD = Goal difference; Pts = Points-Results:Last updated 24 March 2008...

33 12 2 2 4 2
39 16
2008–09
Austrian Football Bundesliga 2008-09
The Austrian Football Bundesliga 2008–09 was the 97th season of top-tier football in Austria. The competition is officially called tipp3-Bundesliga powered by T-Mobile, named after the Austrian betting company tipp3 and the Austrian branch of German mobile phone company T-Mobile. The season started...

28 14 3 2 0 0
31 16
2009–10 6 2 1 2 0 0
7 4
Total 82348642--9442
Rapid Wien
SK Rapid Wien
The Sportklub Rapid Wien is an Austrian football club playing in the country's capital city of Vienna. Rapid is the most popular club in Austria and also record title holder having won the Austrian national football title 32 times...

2009–10 23 15 3 1 5 1
31 17
2010–11
2010–11 Austrian Football Bundesliga
The 2010–11 Austrian Football Bundesliga is the 99th season of top-tier football in Austria. The competition was officially called tipp3-Bundesliga powered by T-Mobile, named after the Austrian betting company tipp3 and the Austrian branch of German mobile phone company T-Mobile. The season began...

32 18 5 6 7 1 5 4 49 29
2011–12
2011–12 Austrian Football Bundesliga
The 2011–12 Austrian Football Bundesliga will be the 100th season of top-tier football in Austria. The competition will officially be called tipp3-Bundesliga powered by T-Mobile, named after the Austrian betting company tipp3 and the Austrian branch of German mobile phone company T-Mobile...

6 2 2 8
8 10
Total 61351015122548856
Career total 256141332930954324183

National team statistics

|-
|2006||1||0
|-
|2007||5||1
|-
|2008||4||0
|-
|2009||8||1
|-
|2010||9||4
|-
|2011||8||3
|-
!Total||35||9
|}

KF Tirana

  • Albanian Superliga (1): 2006–07
  • Albanian Superliga runner-up (1): 2005-06
  • Albanian Cup (1): 2005–06
  • Albanian Supercup
    Albanian Supercup
    The Albanian Supercup of football has been played since 1989. It is a single match at the beginning of the season between the winners of the Albanian First Division and Albanian Cup. Every match has been played in the National Stadium of Tirana....

     (2): 2005, 2006

Individual

  • Albanian Golden Boot
    Albanian Superliga Seasons Top Scorers
    The following is the list of the Albanian Superliga top scorers by season..* - Incomplete data-Ranking:...

     (1): 2005-06
  • Albanian Footballer of the Year (1): 2010

International goals

Updated to games played August 10, 2011.
# Date Venue Opponent Score Tirana
Tirana
Tirana is the capital and the largest city of Albania. Modern Tirana was founded as an Ottoman town in 1614 by Sulejman Bargjini, a local ruler from Mullet, although the area has been continuously inhabited since antiquity. Tirana became Albania's capital city in 1920 and has a population of over...

, Albania
Albania
Albania , officially known as the Republic of Albania , is a country in Southeastern Europe, in the Balkans region. It is bordered by Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, the Republic of Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south and southeast. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea...

 
2–0 3–0 Win Friendly
2. 14 October 2009 Råsunda Stadium
Råsunda Stadium
Råsunda Fotbollstadion, also Råsundastadion, Råsunda Stadium or just Råsunda, is a Swedish national football stadium. It is located in Solna Municipality in Metropolitan Stockholm and named after Råsunda, a zone of Solna.-History:...

, Stockholm
Stockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...

, Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....

 
1–4 1–4 Loss 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification
2010 FIFA World Cup qualification
The qualification competition for the 2010 FIFA World Cup was a series of tournaments organised by the six FIFA confederations. Each confederation — the AFC , CAF , CONCACAF , CONMEBOL , OFC , and UEFA — was allocated a certain number of the 32 places at the tournament...

3. 25 May 2010 Podgorica City Stadium
Podgorica city stadium
Podgorica Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Podgorica, Montenegro.Notable matches played at the stadium include:*SFR Yugoslavia - Luxembourg 0:0 - att: 15,000...

, Podgorica
Podgorica
Podgorica , is the capital and largest city of Montenegro.Podgorica's favourable position at the confluence of the Ribnica and Morača rivers and the meeting point of the fertile Zeta Plain and Bjelopavlići Valley has encouraged settlement...

, Montenegro
Montenegro
Montenegro Montenegrin: Crna Gora Црна Гора , meaning "Black Mountain") is a country located in Southeastern Europe. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea to the south-west and is bordered by Croatia to the west, Bosnia and Herzegovina to the northwest, Serbia to the northeast and Albania to the...

 
1–0 1–0 Win Friendly
4. 2 June 2010 Qemal Stafa Stadium, Tirana
Tirana
Tirana is the capital and the largest city of Albania. Modern Tirana was founded as an Ottoman town in 1614 by Sulejman Bargjini, a local ruler from Mullet, although the area has been continuously inhabited since antiquity. Tirana became Albania's capital city in 1920 and has a population of over...

, Albania
Albania
Albania , officially known as the Republic of Albania , is a country in Southeastern Europe, in the Balkans region. It is bordered by Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, the Republic of Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south and southeast. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea...

 
1–0 1–0 Win Friendly
5. 11 August 2010 Niko Dovana Stadium, Durres
Durrës
Durrës is the second largest city of Albania located on the central Albanian coast, about west of the capital Tirana. It is one of the most ancient and economically important cities of Albania. Durres is situated at one of the narrower points of the Adriatic Sea, opposite the Italian ports of Bari...

, Albania
Albania
Albania , officially known as the Republic of Albania , is a country in Southeastern Europe, in the Balkans region. It is bordered by Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, the Republic of Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south and southeast. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea...

 
1–0 1–0 Win Friendly
6. 7 September 2010 Qemal Stafa Stadium, Tirana
Tirana
Tirana is the capital and the largest city of Albania. Modern Tirana was founded as an Ottoman town in 1614 by Sulejman Bargjini, a local ruler from Mullet, although the area has been continuously inhabited since antiquity. Tirana became Albania's capital city in 1920 and has a population of over...

, Albania
Albania
Albania , officially known as the Republic of Albania , is a country in Southeastern Europe, in the Balkans region. It is bordered by Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, the Republic of Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south and southeast. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea...

 
1–0 1–0 Win UEFA Euro 2012 Qualifying
UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying
The qualifying competition for UEFA Euro 2012 is a series of parallel association football competitions held over 2010 and 2011 to decide the qualifiers for UEFA Euro 2012, to be held in Poland and Ukraine...

7. 26 March 2011 Qemal Stafa Stadium, Tirana
Tirana
Tirana is the capital and the largest city of Albania. Modern Tirana was founded as an Ottoman town in 1614 by Sulejman Bargjini, a local ruler from Mullet, although the area has been continuously inhabited since antiquity. Tirana became Albania's capital city in 1920 and has a population of over...

, Albania
Albania
Albania , officially known as the Republic of Albania , is a country in Southeastern Europe, in the Balkans region. It is bordered by Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, the Republic of Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south and southeast. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea...

 
1–0 1–0 Win UEFA Euro 2012 Qualifying
UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying
The qualifying competition for UEFA Euro 2012 is a series of parallel association football competitions held over 2010 and 2011 to decide the qualifiers for UEFA Euro 2012, to be held in Poland and Ukraine...

8. 10 August 2011 Loro Boriçi Stadium, Shkoder
Shkodër
Shkodër , is a city located on Lake of Shkoder in northwestern Albania in the District of Shkodër, of which it is the capital. It is one of the oldest and most historic towns in Albania, as well as an important cultural and economic centre. Shkodër's estimated population is 90,000; if the...

, Albania
Albania
Albania , officially known as the Republic of Albania , is a country in Southeastern Europe, in the Balkans region. It is bordered by Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, the Republic of Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south and southeast. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea...

 
3–2 3–2 Win Friendly
9 11 October 2011 Qemal Stafa Stadium, Tirana
Tirana
Tirana is the capital and the largest city of Albania. Modern Tirana was founded as an Ottoman town in 1614 by Sulejman Bargjini, a local ruler from Mullet, although the area has been continuously inhabited since antiquity. Tirana became Albania's capital city in 1920 and has a population of over...

, Albania
Albania
Albania , officially known as the Republic of Albania , is a country in Southeastern Europe, in the Balkans region. It is bordered by Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, the Republic of Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south and southeast. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea...

 
1–0 1–1 Draw UEFA Euro 2012 Qualifying
UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying
The qualifying competition for UEFA Euro 2012 is a series of parallel association football competitions held over 2010 and 2011 to decide the qualifiers for UEFA Euro 2012, to be held in Poland and Ukraine...


External links

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