Ardian Gashi

Ardian Gashi (born 20 June 1981) is a Kosovar retired footballer who played as a midfielder]. Gashi played for Molde, Vålerenga, Brann, Fredrikstad and Odd in the Norwegian top division, and Helsingborg in Allsvenskan.

Ardian Gashi
Gashi with Vålerenga in 2006
Personal information
Date of birth (1981-06-20) 20 June 1981
Place of birth Đakovica, Kosovo, SFR Yugoslavia
(now Gjakova, Kosovo)
Height 1.72 m (5 ft 8 in)
Position(s) Midfielder
Youth career
KIL/Hemne
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2001 Molde 4 (0)
2002–2003 Ørn-Horten 39 (9)
2003 Vålerenga (loan) 14 (1)
2004–2006 Vålerenga 62 (10)
2006–2007 Brann 18 (0)
2007–2009 Fredrikstad 64 (10)
2010–2014 Helsingborg 124 (8)
2014–2017 Odd 29 (0)
2017–2018 Ørn-Horten 13 (0)
Total 367 (38)
International career
2002–2003 Norway U21 18 (2)
2004–2013 Norway 14 (0)
2014 Kosovo 2 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Gashi is from Kosovo, but his family moved to Norway when he was eight years old. He became a Norwegian citizen, and has played for the Norway national team until 2014, when he started to play for Kosovo.

Club career

Gashi was born in Gjakova, SFR Yugoslavia but Gashi's family, who is of Albanian ethnicity, moved from Kosovo to Norway as refugees when he was eight years old.[1][2] Gashi's family moved to Kyrksæterøra in Norway and he started to play football at the local club KIL/Hemne before he moved transferred to Molde in 1998.[3] After a spell at Ørn Horten he went to Oslo to play for Vålerenga on loan in 2003, and later permanently.

Gashi was an important player in Vålerenga's good 2004 season, when the club finished as runners-up in the league.

In the 2005 season Gashi missed a number of games in August, due to having to serve a prison sentence for breaking the speed limits while driving. He was sentenced to 18 days in prison, but was released after 14, for good behavior, and thus managed to play in Vålerenga's 1–0 loss.[4] He was later to play in the penalty shootout loss against Club Brugge in the last round of UEFA Champions League qualification.

On 30 August 2006, Gashi signed for Brann in a transfer worth about NOK 7.000.000. On 25 July 2007, he signed with Fredrikstad FK. It was announced in December 2009 that he would join Swedish club Helsingborgs IF for the 2010 season.

In Helsingborg he became somewhat of and icon to the club and in the 2011 season he formed a very successful central midfield partnership with May Mahlangu which was a key to Helsingborg won both the cup and the league.

On 5 August 2014, he joined Odd, signing a contract until the summer of 2017.[5]

International career

Gashi played 18 matches for the Norway U21 national team between 2002 and 2003, scoring two goals.[6] He was later capped seven times for the senior team between 2004 and 2005, his last cap was the 2006 World Cup qualifying match against Belarus on 12 October 2005. In October 2012, Gashi was again called up for the national team squad, following Håvard Nordtveit's suspension ahead of the 2014 World Cup qualifying match against Cyprus[7][8] Gashi started the match on the bench, but came on as a substitute for Magnus Wolff Eikrem after 89 minutes.[9]

Even though Gashi has been capped for Norway, he has stated several times that his biggest dream is to represent Kosovo as a footballer.[10] He has stated that, although he is ethnically Albanian, he would like to score against Albania in the qualifiers for the FIFA World Cup 2014, if he would be selected for the upcoming 2013 matches and would not follow the example of Granit Xhaka, another ethnic Albanian, playing for Switzerland, who graced Albania in their match against the Swiss.[2]

Ahead of the friendly match against South Africa in January 2013, Gashi persuaded Egil "Drillo" Olsen to play with him as the holding midfielder, and Drillo praised Gashi's performance after the match.[11]

Gashi switched to the Kosovar FA, and made an appearance for them in their first ever game against Haiti national football team in a 1–1 tie.

Career statistics
As of 25 August 2018[12]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Season Club Division League Cup Total
AppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Molde 2001 Tippeligaen 402161
Ørn-Horten 2002 Adeccoligaen 26821289
2003 13120151
Total 399414310
Vålerenga 2003 Tippeligaen 14120161
2004 25431285
2005 22642268
2006 15032182
Total 76111258816
Brann 2006 Tippeligaen 700070
2007 11030140
Total 18030210
Fredrikstad 2007 Tippeligaen 11500115
2008 25331284
2009 28241323
Total 6410727112
Helsingborg 2010 Allsvenskan 27540315
2011 30140341
2012 27010280
2013 27200272
2014 13000130
Total 1248901338
Odd 2014 Tippeligaen 11030140
2015 16031191
2016 201030
2017 Eliteserien 000000
Total 29071361
Ørn-Horten 2017 3. divisjon 300030
2018 10000100
Total 13000130
Career total 36738441041148

Honours

Vålerenga

Brann

Helsingborg

Individual

References
  1. Langerød, Dag (23 March 2008). "Bryr seg ikke om gullrekord" (in Norwegian). Nettavisen. Archived from the original on 22 February 2013. Retrieved 15 October 2012.
  2. Gazeta Tema (18 October 2012). "Lojtari shqiptar i Norvegjisë, Ardian Gashi: Do t'i shënoj Shqipërisë". Archived from the original on 21 February 2014. Retrieved 12 November 2012.
  3. Løfaldli, Reidar (15 October 2012). "- Han var like aggressiv da som han er nå". 100% Fotball (in Norwegian). Adresseavisa. Archived from the original on 4 March 2014. Retrieved 15 October 2012.
  4. "Valerenga's Gashi gets out of jail to play in UEFA Champions League". Internet Soccer Fans Association. 23 August 2005. Retrieved 7 February 2007.
  5. "Ny spiller inn i troppen". odd.no/ (in Norwegian). Odds BK. 5 August 2014. Archived from the original on 8 August 2014. Retrieved 5 August 2014.
  6. "Ardian Gashi's profil". fotball.no (in Norwegian). Football Association of Norway. Archived from the original on 26 May 2012. Retrieved 7 February 2013.
  7. Heltne, Lars (14 October 2012). "Ardian Gashi kalt inn i landslagstroppen". 100% Fotball (in Norwegian). Aftenposten. Archived from the original on 20 October 2012. Retrieved 14 October 2012.
  8. Evensen, Marius (14 October 2012). "Gashi inn i landslagstroppen" (in Norwegian). TV2. Retrieved 14 October 2012.
  9. Burheim, Mads Gudim (16 October 2012). "- Håper dette var starten på mange flere mål på landslaget" (in Norwegian). Dagbladet. Retrieved 22 November 2012.
  10. "Gashi blør for Kosovo" (in Norwegian). ibergen.no. 3 December 2006. Archived from the original on 22 February 2013. Retrieved 15 October 2012.
  11. Natvig, Sjur (9 January 2013). "Gashi overtalte Drillo" (in Norwegian). Nettavisen. Norwegian News Agency. Retrieved 12 January 2013.
  12. "Ardian Gashi on altomfotball.no". TV2 (Norway). Retrieved 6 August 2014.
  13. Kniksen-prisene 2004 – Eliteserien – NRK Sport
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