He was born in Sweden, raised in Norway, plays for Kosovo at international level and is now in Germany on loan from an Italian club. Easy, right? And while you wrap your head around all that, know this: Fortuna Düsseldorf’s on-loan Lazio midfielder Valon Berisha could be the key to keeping them in the top flight in 2019/20.

But what else is there to know about the 26-year-old? bundesliga.com fills in the blanks…

Valon Berisha

Age: 26
Club: Fortuna Düsseldorf (on loan from Lazio)
Position: Midfielder
Country: Norway (20 caps), Kosovo (20 caps)

Key stats

Berisha was born in the Swedish city of Malmo in 1993 to Kosovo-Albanian immigrant parents, but cut his teeth in the game in the youth academy of Norwegian club Egersund after moving to the neighbouring Scandinavian country at an early age. He made his debut in the Norwegian top flight at the age of 17 for Viking FK on 21 March 2010 and went on to make a total of 12 league appearances that season, starting four and scoring one.

After representing Norway at every age category from the U15s upwards, Berisha made his senior international debut for The Lions aged in 2012 just a few weeks before his 20th birthday. All of which pricked the ears of serial Austrian champions Red Bull Salzburg, who made their move for the highly-rated youngster in summer that year. He stayed there for six years, winning the Austrian league and cup double under former Bayer Leverkusen coach Roger Schmidt in 2013/14, retaining the league title under current Eintracht Frankfurt boss Adi Hütter in 2014/15 and helping the side reach the UEFA Europa League semi-finals in 2017/18 – including beating Borussia Dortmund along the way.

Berisha (r.) helped Lazio lift the Coppa Italia and the Supercoppa Italiana during his time in Italy. - Marco Rosi/Getty Images

A total of 45 goals and 65 assists in 233 competitive games for Salzburg convinced Lazio to come calling in summer 2018, and he helped the side lift the Italian cup in his first season in Serie A. He moved to Düsseldorf in January 2019, initially on loan but with an option to buy, and made his first appearance for the club under coach Uwe Rösler in the 1-1 draw with Frankfurt on Matchday 20.

Plays a bit like: Leon Goretzka

Admittedly the Bayern Munich star is taller and rangier than the 5'10" Berisha, but their styles of play stand up to comparison. Both are at home in the midfield engine room, equally comfortable breaking up opposition moves as they are at starting – and finishing – attacks of their own, typically arriving with late runs into the box.

Did you know?

Berisha was born in Sweden to Kosovan parents, but spent most of his childhood growing up in Norway. He made his senior international debut for the latter in 2012, but after Kosovo became a FIFA member he applied for - and was granted - permission to switch his international allegiance to the country of his parents’ birth. Berisha, whose younger brother Veton laced his boots for Bundesliga 2 side Greuther Fürther between 2015 and 2017 - earned his first Kosovo cap in 2016 and has played for them ever since.

The midfielder made his Bundesliga debut on Matchday 20 in a 1-1 draw with Eintracht Frankfurt. - Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Bongarts/Getty Images

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What they’re saying

“We’re delighted to have signed Valon Berisha. His ideas on the pitch will give us the creativity we’ve been lacking in one or two games this season. On top of that, we hope to have an additional goal threat from him in midfield. I’m sure he won’t need much time to settle and that he’ll be able to help us quickly.” - Düsseldorf sporting director Lutz Pfannenstiel

“A lot of people associate me with being a fighter, who’s aggressive out on the pitch. And it’s true! But I’m also technically good and creative. I’m actually more of a traditional box-to-box player who can help the team both in attack and defence.” - Berisha

About the clubs

Fortuna Düsseldorf

Merkur Spielarena