Bekim Balaj

Bekim Balaj was born on 11 January 1991 and is an Albanian professional footballer who plays as a forward. He started his career at his hometown club Vllaznia, made his professional debut at the age of 17 and scored 17 goals in 38 games before moving to Turkey to join Gençlerbirliği. After little success there he returned to Albania with Tirana, scoring 15 league goals in 37 games, and joined Sparta Prague in January 2013, was loaned to Jagiellonia Białystok for the 2013-14 season and moved to the Croatian club HNK Rijeka in January 2015. He played for Albania at under-19 and under-21 level, made his senior debut in 2012, scored the winner with a volley against Portugal in Euro 2016 qualifying and was in the squad for UEFA Euro 2016.