Veton Berisha

Norwegian footballer (born 1994)

Veton Berisha

Berisha with Rapid Wien in 2017

Personal information
Full name|  Veton Berisha
Date of birth|  (1994-04-13) 13 April 1994 (age 30)
Place of birth|  Egersund, Norway
Height|  1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)[1]
Position(s)|  Forward
Team information

Current team

|  Molde
Number|  14
Youth career
0000–2009|  Egersund
Senior career*
Years|  Team|  Apps|  (Gls)
2009–2010|  Egersund|  21|  (1)
2010–2015|  Viking|  94|  (24)
2015–2017|  Greuther Fürth|  63|  (11)
2017–2019|  Rapid Wien|  44|  (7)
2019|  Brann|  26|  (3)
2020–2022|  Viking|  68|  (46)
2022–2023|  Hammarby IF|  14|  (4)
2023–|  Molde|  22|  (5)
International career‡
2009|  Norway U15|  1|  (0)
2010|  Norway U16|  9|  (3)
2011|  Norway U17|  9|  (3)
2011–2012|  Norway U18|  14|  (8)
2013|  Norway U19|  2|  (1)
2013–2016|  Norway U21|  17|  (2)
2016–|  Norway|  10|  (1)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 4 December 2023
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 12 June 2022

Veton Berisha (born 13 April 1994) is a Norwegian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Molde in Eliteserien. His parents are from Kosovo and he is the younger brother of Valon Berisha. Berisha has represented Norway at every level from under-15 to full international level.

## Club career

[edit]

Berisha was born in Egersund,[2] and started his career in the local club Egersunds IK. He was considered one of the biggest Norwegian talents at his age and, like his brother Valon, Veton was on a trial with Manchester City before he signed for Viking in May 2009, but did not join the club until the summer of 2010.[3] He made his debut for Egersunds' first-team in 2009 against Hundvåg,[4] and in total he played 21 matches for the Third Division side.

After joining Viking, Berisha trained with the first team in the pre-season ahead of the 2011 season,[5] and made his debut for the club when he replaced Erik Nevland after 60 minutes in the first round of the 2011 Norwegian Cup against his old club Egersund.[2] Berisha got his first minutes of playing-time in Tippeligaen in the 1–3 loss against Tromsø on 19 May 2011,[6] and started his first match for Viking when Brann was beaten 3–0 on 17 June 2011.[7]

On 19 June 2011, Berisha and his brother Valon became the first brothers to start a match for Viking in 22 years since Jan and Egil Fjetland played against Molde in the 1989 Norwegian Cup final.[8] After the match, Viking's manager Åge Hareide said that "It's fun to start the game with two brothers, I only wish they could pass the ball to others than themselves, as it would create a lot more chances for us, but since they are brothers I guess we can forgive them.[8] In the match against Aalesund on 17 July 2011, Berisha got his first league-goal when he scored the match-winning goal 12 minutes after he came on as a substitute to replace Erik Nevland.[9]

During the mid-summer break in the 2012 season, Berisha expressed a concern about his lack of playing time; he had only played 69 minutes in the league that season and his last appearance in Viking's starting line-up was on 7 August 2011. But Berisha was hoping for a fresh start after Kjell Jonevret was hired as the new head coach following Hareide's departure.[10] In the fourth round of the 2012 Norwegian Cup, Berisha scored Viking's first goal after only one minute on the pitch, but Brann eventually won 3–2.[11]

On 15 July 2012, Berisha secured Jonevret his first victory as Viking-coach, when he scored the match-winning goal in the stoppage-time against Hønefoss.[12]

On 22 April 2013, it was reported that Berisha fractured his right elbow and would be absent for two months.[13]

After scoring 11 goals in 14 matches halfway through the 2015 season, Berisha joined 2\. Bundesliga side Greuther Fürth on a free transfer on 1 July 2015.[14] On 1 September 2017, he signed a three-year contract with Austrian club Rapid Wien.[15]

On 30 March 2019, he returned to Norwegian football, signing a four-year contract with Brann.[16] In January 2020, Berisha joined his former club Viking for a reported fee of around NOK 6.5 million. He signed a four-year contract with the club.[17][18]

On 23 July 2022, Berisha transferred to Hammarby IF in the Swedish Allsvenskan, signing a four-and-a-half-year deal.[19] The transfer fee was reportedly set at around 20 million Norwegian kroner, making it a record breaking transfer for Hammarby.[20] In total, Berisha made 15 competitive appearances for Hammarby, scoring four goals, helping the side to reach a 3rd place in the 2022 Allsvenskan table.[21]

On 24 January 2023, Molde announced the signing of Berisha to a four-year contract.[22] He was sought out as a replacement for David Datro Fofana and the transfer fee was reportedly set at around 35-40 million Swedish kronor, with potential bonuses included.[23][24][25]

## International career

[edit]

Having played one match for Norway U15 in 2009, Berisha played nine matches for Norway U16 the next year where he scored three goals. In 2011, Berisha also scored three goals in nine matches while representing his country, this time for the under-17 team. He made 14 appearances and scored eight goals for Norway U18 before representing the under-19 team twice in 2013, scoring one goal. Between 2013 and 2016, Berisha played 17 matches and scored two goals for the under-21 team.[26]

On 29 May 2016, Berisha debuted for the Norwegian senior squad in a friendly match against Portugal.[27] He scored his first goal for Norway on 5 June 2016 against Belgium.[citation needed]

Like his brother Valon, he was approached by Kosovo when the country became FIFA members in May 2016. Veton Berisha decided to keep representing Norway.[28][29]

## Career statistics

[edit]

### Club

[edit]

As of match played 14 March 2024[30][31]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition  Club  | Season  | League  | National cup[a] | Europe  | Total

|
|
|
|
|

Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals
Viking | 2011 | Eliteserien | 12 | 1 | 4 | 0 | — | 16 | 1
2012 | Eliteserien  | 21 | 7 | 3 | 1 | — | 24 | 8
2013 | Eliteserien  | 22 | 4 | 1 | 0 | — | 23 | 4
2014 | Eliteserien  | 25 | 1 | 4 | 2 | — | 29 | 3
2015 | Eliteserien  | 14 | 11 | 2 | 1 | — | 16 | 12
Total  | 94 | 24 | 14 | 4 | — | 108 | 28
Greuther Fürth | 2015–16 | 2\. Bundesliga | 33 | 8 | 1 | 0 | — | 34 | 8
2016–17 | 2\. Bundesliga  | 26 | 3 | 2 | 1 | — | 28 | 4
2017–18 | 2\. Bundesliga  | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 5 | 0
Total  | 63 | 11 | 4 | 1 | — | 67 | 12
Rapid Wien | 2017–18 | Austrian Bundesliga | 27 | 4 | 2 | 0 | — | 29 | 4
2018–19 | Austrian Bundesliga  | 17 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 10[b] | 1 | 29 | 5
Total  | 44 | 7 | 4 | 1 | 10 | 1 | 58 | 9
Brann | 2019 | Eliteserien  | 26 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 2[b] | 1 | 31 | 4
Viking  | 2020 | Eliteserien  | 28 | 16 | — | 1[b] | 0 | 29 | 16
2021 | Eliteserien  | 28 | 22 | 3 | 2 | — | 31 | 24
2022 | Eliteserien  | 12 | 8 | 3 | 3 | — | 15 | 11
Total  | 68 | 46 | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 75 | 51
Hammarby IF | 2022 | Allsvenskan | 14 | 4 | 1 | 0 | — | 15 | 4
Molde | 2023 | Eliteserien  | 22 | 5 | 7 | 2 | 9[c] | 0 | 38 | 7
2024 | Eliteserien  | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4[d] | 0 | 4 | 0
Total  | 22 | 5 | 7 | 2 | 13 | 0 | 42 | 7
Career total  | 331 | 100 | 39 | 13 | 26 | 2 | 396 | 115

1. ^ Includes Norwegian Cup, DFB Pokal, Austrian Cup, Svenska Cupen
2. ^ a b c Appearance(s) in UEFA Europa League
3. ^ Four appearances in UEFA Champions League, five appearances in UEFA Europa League
4. ^ Appearances in UEFA Europa Conference League

### International

[edit]

As of match played 12 June 2022[32]
Appearances and goals by national team and year  National team | Year | Apps | Goals

|
|
|

Norway | 2016 | 4 | 1
2017  | 0  | 0
2018  | 0  | 0
2019  | 0  | 0
2020 | 1 | 0
2021 | 2 | 0
2022 | 3 | 0
Total | 10 | 1

Scores and results list Norway's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Berisha goal.[32]
List of international goals scored by Veton Berisha  No.  | Date  | Venue  | Opponent  | Score  | Result  | Competition

|
|
|
|
|
|

1 | 5 June 2016 | King Baudouin Stadium, Brussels, Belgium |  Belgium | 2–1 | 2–3 | Friendly

## Honours

[edit]

Molde

* Norwegian Cup: 2023

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Veton Berisha at WorldFootball.net
2. ^ a b "Veton Berisha". altomfotball.no (in Norwegian). TV 2 (Norway). Retrieved 22 October 2021.
3. ^ Olsen, Olav Rege (16 May 2009). "Bror til Berisha signerte for Viking". Stavanger Aftenblad (in Norwegian). Archived from the original on 10 August 2010. Retrieved 8 July 2012.
4. ^ "Veton Berisha tatt ut til G-15 landslaget". Egersunds IK (in Norwegian). 26 August 2009. Retrieved 8 July 2012.
5. ^ "Veton har Valon som forbilde og rådgiver". Stavanger Aftenblad (in Norwegian). 17 March 2011. Archived from the original on 23 March 2011. Retrieved 8 July 2012.
6. ^ Kvendseth, Kristian Oftedal (23 May 2011). "Debutant Veton Berisha sulten på mer spill". Stavanger Aftenblad (in Norwegian). Archived from the original on 25 August 2011. Retrieved 8 July 2012.
7. ^ Nilssen, Stig (17 June 2011). "Veton Berisha gjorde som broren sa". Stavanger Aftenblad (in Norwegian). Archived from the original on 23 August 2011. Retrieved 8 July 2012.
8. ^ a b Nilssen, Knut Arne (20 June 2011). "Familien Berishas store dag". Stavanger Aftenblad (in Norwegian). Archived from the original on 22 August 2011. Retrieved 8 July 2012.
9. ^ Karstensen, Pål (17 July 2011). "Berisha ble matchvinner med sitt første Viking-mål". Verdens Gang (in Norwegian). Retrieved 8 July 2012.
10. ^ Nilssen, Knut Arne (27 June 2012). "Nå vil lillebror Berisha gripe sjansen". Stavanger Aftenblad (in Norwegian). Retrieved 8 July 2012.
11. ^ Larsen, Jan-Erik (4 July 2012). "Berisha tok en Balotelli". Stavanger Aftenblad (in Norwegian). Retrieved 8 July 2012.
12. ^ Time, Joar (15 July 2012). "Veton Berisha sørget for Jonevrets første". Verdens Gang (in Norwegian). Retrieved 15 July 2012.
13. ^ Time, Joar (22 April 2013). "Veton Berisha thyen dorën, mungon dy muaj". Koha Ditore (in Albanian). Retrieved 14 May 2013.
14. ^ "Berisha til tysk 2. divisjon". NRK (in Norwegian). 1 July 2015. Retrieved 15 January 2020.
15. ^ "Neuzugang: Veton Berisha verstärkt unseren Angriff". SK Rapid Wien (in German). 1 September 2017. Retrieved 15 January 2020.
16. ^ "Bekrefter Berisha-overgangen". SK Brann (in Norwegian). 30 March 2019. Retrieved 15 January 2020.
17. ^ "Veton er på vei hjem!". Viking FK (in Norwegian). 13 January 2020. Retrieved 15 January 2020.
18. ^ Flygind, Kjetil (14 January 2020). "Veton Berisha legger ekstra press på seg selv: – Det er viktig for meg å få det til i Viking". Stavanger Aftenblad (in Norwegian). Retrieved 15 January 2020.
19. ^ "Klart – Veton Berisha till Hammarby" (in Swedish). Hammarby Fotboll. 23 July 2022. Retrieved 23 July 2022.
20. ^ "Vikings kaptein bytter beite og fortsetter karrieren i Allsvenskan" (in Norwegian). Nettavisen. 22 July 2022. Retrieved 22 July 2022.
21. ^ "Veton Berisha lämnar Hammarby för spel i Molde" (in Swedish). Hammarby Fotboll. 24 January 2023. Retrieved 24 January 2023.
22. ^ "Veton Berisha er klar för Molde!". moldefk.no (in Norwegian). Molde FK. 24 January 2023. Retrieved 24 January 2023.
23. ^ "Veton Berisha klar for Molde" (in Norwegian). Nettavisen. 24 January 2023. Retrieved 24 January 2023.
24. ^ "Klart: Veton Berisha säljs till Molde" (in Swedish). Aftonbladet. 21 January 2023. Retrieved 24 January 2023.
25. ^ "Veton Berisha klar för Molde – lämnar Hammarby" (in Swedish). Expressen. 24 January 2023. Retrieved 24 January 2023.
26. ^ Veton Berisha at the Norwegian Football Federation (in Norwegian)
27. ^ Aas, Odd Inge (29 May 2016). "Høgmo slapp ikke til spilleren "alle" ville se". Stavanger Aftenblad (in Norwegian). "Mot det fjerde best rangerte laget i Europa slapp landslagssjefen til hele fem debutanter. Anders Trondsen og Veton Berisha fra start, Iver Fossum, Alexander Sørloth og Niklas Gunnarsson fra benken." [Against the fourth best-ranked team in Europe, national team manager [Per-Mathias Høgmo] introduced five debutants. Anders Trondsen and Veton Berisha from the start; Iver Fossum, Alexander Sørloth, and Niklas Gunnarsson from the bench.]
28. ^ Bakkehaug, Wegard (25 August 2016). "Berisha-brødrene velger hvert sitt landslag". Verdens Gang (in Norwegian). Retrieved 22 October 2021.
29. ^ Johannessen, Sturla; Kvamme, Sigve Vittersø (30 August 2016). "Berisha om valget av Norge: Blir sikkert kalt en sviker i Kosovo". TV 2 (in Norwegian). Retrieved 22 October 2021.
30. ^ "Veton Berisha". NIFS (in Norwegian). Retrieved 21 November 2021.
31. ^ Veton Berisha at Soccerway
32. ^ a b "Berisha, Veton". National Football Teams. Retrieved 22 October 2021.

* v
* t
* e

Molde FK - current squad

* 2 Bjørnbak
* 3 Øyvann
* 4 Lund
* 5 Hestad
* 6 Roaldsøy
* 7 Eikrem
* 8 Gulbrandsen
* 9 Ihler
* 10 Enggård
* 11 Samuel
* 12 Petersen
* 14 Berisha
* 15 Kaasa
* 16 Breivik
* 17 Dæhli
* 18 Stenevik
* 19 Haugan
* 20 Eriksen
* 21 Linnes
* 22 Posiadała
* 23 Granaas
* 24 Bakke
* 25 Hagelskjær
* 26 Amundsen
* 28 Haugen
* 29 Nyheim
* 30 Juberg-Hovland
* 31 Løvik
* 32 Lervik
* 33 Ødegård
* 34 McDermott
* Manager: Moe

*[Apps]: League appearances
*[Gls]: League goals
*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template
*[Granaas]: Sondre Granaas
*[Juberg-Hovland]: Leon-Robin Juberg-Hovland
*[Lervik]: Peder Hoel Lervik