Fatos Bećiraj

Fatos Bećiraj (Montenegrin: Фатос Бећирај, Albanian: Fatos Besim Beqiraj; born 5 May 1988) is a Montenegrin former professional footballer who played as a striker.

Fatos Bećiraj
Bećiraj with Dynamo Moscow in 2016
Personal information
Date of birth (1988-05-05) 5 May 1988
Place of birth Peć, SR Serbia, Yugoslavia[1]
Height 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)[1]
Position(s) Striker
Youth career
2005–2007 Shqiponja
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2007 Besa Pejë
2008–2010 Budućnost 81 (39)
2010–2014 Dinamo Zagreb 90 (30)
2014 Changchun Yatai 28 (7)
2015 Dinamo Minsk 23 (9)
2016–2017 Dynamo Moscow 60 (13)
2018 Mechelen 4 (0)
2018–2020 Maccabi Netanya 54 (20)
2020–2021 Wisła Kraków 10 (0)
2021 → Bnei Yehuda (loan) 13 (2)
2021 Astana 7 (2)
2022 Dečić 32 (6)
2023 Mornar 16 (2)
International career‡
2009–2010 Montenegro U21 5 (0)
2009–2021 Montenegro 86 (15)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 3 June 2023
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 16 November 2021

Club career

Early career and Budućnost

Bećiraj began his career in his hometown of Peja with the local club Shqiponja at 17 years of age, before joining their city rivals Besa Pejë in July 2007. After spending the first half of the 2007–08 season with Besa Pejë, his good performances in the Kosovar Superliga attracted attention from several clubs in the region, and in January 2008, Bećiraj moved to the Montenegrin First League side Budućnost Podgorica.

He immediately established himself as a first team regular at Budućnost, scoring 9 goals in 15 appearances in the second half of the 2007–08 season,[2] helping the club win the Montenegrin championship title and finish runners-up in the 2007–08 Montenegrin Cup. In the following two seasons, Bećiraj scored 28 league goals in 62 matches for the club,[2] becoming league top scorer in the 2008–09 season with 18 goals scored.

Dinamo Zagreb

On 30 August 2010, it was announced that Bećiraj signed for Croatian club Dinamo Zagreb.[3] He played well in his debut season with Dinamo and became regularly called up to the Montenegro national team. He played in 22 league matches and scored 8 goals, most notably a beautiful goal against Rijeka and a fine header against Hajduk Split.

Bećiraj struggled to find his goalscoring form at the beginning of the 2011–12 season, finally scoring after eight matches without a goal, netting the fifth goal in a 5–0 win against Karlovac. He then scored the last goal in a 4–1 win against Malmö in the 2011–12 UEFA Champions League Play-off. Bećiraj then continued his goalscoring form in domestic competition, scoring against Varaždin, Istra 1961, Zadar, Šibenik and Split.

Bećiraj with Dinamo Zagreb in 2011

On 22 November 2011, Bećiraj scored Dinamo's first goal in the 2011–12 UEFA Champions League, netting a header in the club's 6–2 away loss to Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabéu.[4]

Bećiraj was the first choice striker throughout the 2011–12 season and became top scorer of the Prva HNL with 15 goals in 28 appearances, becoming the first foreign player to accomplish that feat.

Changchun Yatai

In February 2014, Bećiraj transferred to Chinese Super League side Changchun Yatai.[5] On 8 March 2014, he made his debut for Yatai in a 1-0 away defeat against Beijing Guoan. On 23 April 2014, he scored his first goal for the club in a 3-1 away win against defending champions Guangzhou Evergrande. He made 28 appearances for Yatai in the 2014 season and scored 7 goals.

Dinamo Minsk

In January 2015, Bećiraj transferred to Belarusian Premier League side Dinamo Minsk. On 6 August 2015, he scored a 118th-minute winner in a 1–1 extra-time (2–1 aggregate) win over Swiss side Zürich in the second leg of the 2015–16 UEFA Europa League third qualifying round.[6]

Dynamo Moscow

On 18 February 2016, Bećiraj signed a 3.5-year contract with Russian side Dynamo Moscow.[7] He scored his first goal for Dynamo Moscow on 19 March 2016, giving his club a 1–0 win against Ufa.[8] On 11 January 2018, Bećiraj's Dynamo contract was dissolved by mutual consent, making him a free agent.[9]

Mechelen

The day after leaving Dynamo Moscow, on 12 January 2018, Bećiraj signed a contract with the Belgian First Division A club Mechelen.[10][11]

Maccabi Netanya

On 5 September 2018, Bećiraj signed with Israeli Premier League side Maccabi Netanya. He was the top goalscorer for the club in his debut season scoring 15 goals in all club competitions. His second season with Netanya wasn't as successful, scoring only 7 times in the league and once in the Toto Cup. On 7 June 2020, Bećiraj requested to be released from the club.[12] In the two seasons with the club, he scored a total of 23 goals in 63 appearances for the club.

Wisła Kraków

On July 25, 2020 Bećiraj signed with Polish side Wisła Kraków on a two-year contract after leaving Maccabi Netanya by contract termination.

Bnei Yehuda

On February 11, 2021 Bećiraj signed for Bnei Yehuda of the Israeli Premier League.[13]

International career
Bećiraj playing for Montenegro in 2015

Bećiraj was first called up for the Montenegro U21 national team by head coach Dušan Vlaisavljević in 2009, winning his first cap in a 2011 European Under-21 Championship qualifier against Kazakhstan on 7 June 2009.[14] He went on to earn five caps for the U21 team before receiving his first call-up for the senior team in March 2009, for a 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifier against Italy.[15] Bećiraj made his international debut in that match, coming on as a substitute for Radomir Đalović in the 70th minute of the game.[16] He scored his first goal for Montenegro on 17 November 2010 in a friendly match against Azerbaijan.[17] On 7 June 2019, Bećiraj captained Montenegro in a 1–1 draw against Kosovo.[18] In November 2022, Bećiraj announced the end of his national team career, after 86 appearances and 15 scored goals.

Career statistics

Club
As of match played 2 June 2020.[2][1]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League Cup Continental Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Budućnost Podgorica 2007–08 Montenegrin First League 159––159
2008–09 Montenegrin First League 3218–2[lower-alpha 1]23420
2009–10 Montenegrin First League 3010–2[lower-alpha 2]03210
2010–11 Montenegrin First League 42–4[lower-alpha 2]284
Total 8139–848943
Dinamo Zagreb 2010–11 1. HNL 228666[lower-alpha 2]03414
2011–12 1. HNL 28155112[lower-alpha 1]24518
2012–13 1. HNL 2741110[lower-alpha 1]2387
2013–14 1. HNL 133324[lower-alpha 3]2207
Total 9030151032613746
Changchun Yatai 2014 Chinese Super League 287––287
Dinamo Minsk 2015 Belarusian Premier League 2397612[lower-alpha 2]44219
Dynamo Moscow 2015–16 Russian Premier League 12210–172
2016–17 Russian Football National League 30931–3310
2017–18 Russian Premier League 18200–182
Total 601341–6414
Mechelen 2017–18 Belgian First Division A 40000040
Maccabi Netanya 2018–19 Israeli Premier League 301332003315
2019–20 Israeli Premier League 2476100308
Total 542093006323
Wisła Kraków 2020–21 Ekstraklasa 1001000110
Bnei Yehuda (loan) 2020–21 Israeli Premier League 1320000132
Career total 36312036205214451153
  1. Appearances in the Champions League
  2. Appearances in the Europa League
  3. One appearance and a goal in the Champions League, three appearances and a goal in the Europa League

International
As of match played 16 November 2021.[2]
National teamYearAppsGoals
Montenegro
200930
201071
201140
201252
201360
201450
201572
201672
201762
201890
2019100
202061
202195
Total8415

International goals
Scores and results list Montenegro's goal tally first.[19]
International goals by date, venue, cap, opponent, score, result and competition
No. Date Venue Cap Opponent Score Result Competition
1 17 November 2010Podgorica City Stadium, Podgorica, Montenegro10 Azerbaijan2–02–0Friendly
2 11 September 2012Stadio Olimpico, Serravalle, San Marino18 San Marino6–02014 FIFA World Cup qualification
3 3–0
4 5 September 2015Podgorica City Stadium, Podgorica, Montenegro33 Liechtenstein1–02–0UEFA Euro 2016 qualification
5 9 October 201535 Austria2–12–3
6 8 October 201642 Kazakhstan4–05–02018 FIFA World Cup qualification
7 11 October 2016Parken Stadium, Copenhagen, Denmark43 Denmark1–01–0
8 10 June 2017Podgorica City Stadium, Podgorica, Montenegro47 Armenia4–1
9 1 September 2017Astana Arena, Astana, Kazakhstan48 Kazakhstan2–03–0
10 8 September 2020Stade Josy Barthel, Luxembourg City, Luxembourg71 Luxembourg1–01–02020–21 UEFA Nations League C
11 27 March 2021Podgorica City Stadium, Podgorica, Montenegro77 Gibraltar1–04–12022 FIFA World Cup qualification
12 5 June 202180 Israel1–21–3Friendly
13 8 October 2021Victoria Stadium, Gibraltar81 Gibraltar2–03–02022 FIFA World Cup qualification
14 3–0
15 16 November 2021Podgorica City Stadium, Podgorica, Montenegro84 Turkey1–01–2

Honours

Budućnost Podgorica[1]

Dinamo Zagreb[1]

Dynamo Moscow[1]

Individual

References
  1. "F. Bećiraj: Summary". Soccerway. Perform Group. Retrieved 2 June 2020.
  2. "Fatos Bećiraj". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved 30 August 2010.
  3. "Modre redove pojačao i Bećiraj!" (in Croatian). NK Dinamo Zagreb. 30 August 2010. Archived from the original on 25 November 2010. Retrieved 30 August 2010.
  4. http://www.vecernji.hr/sport/nogomet/beqiraj-tomecak-zabili-realu-dinamo-ublazio-poraz-madridu-clanak-34908
  5. 亚泰已敲定签约贝奇拉耶 黑山国脚将成进攻核心. Sohu Sports (in Chinese (China)). 1 March 2014. Retrieved 2 March 2014.
  6. "Match Report". UEFA. 6 August 2015. Retrieved 25 August 2015.
  7. Бечирай и Хольмен - в «Динамо» (in Russian). FC Dynamo Moscow. 18 February 2016.
  8. "Ufa-Dynamo game report" (in Russian). Russian Football Premier League. 19 March 2016.
  9. Фатос Бечирай покидает «Динамо» (in Russian). FC Dynamo Moscow. 11 January 2018.
  10. "KV Mechelen rond (sic) transfer af en haalt met Montenegrijnse international broodnodige spits" (in Dutch). De Standaard. 13 January 2018.
  11. "NIEUWE SPITS BIJ KVM: FATOS BECIRAJ TEKENT" (in Dutch). KV Mechelen. 12 January 2018.
  12. "עקב בקשתו: פאטוס בצ'יראי עוזב את מכבי נתניה". 7 June 2020.
  13. Rahmani, Maor (11 February 2021). "פאטוס בצ'יראי חתם בבני יהודה עד לסיום העונה" (in Hebrew). ONE. Retrieved 11 February 2021.
  14. "About Fatos Bećiraj" (in Montenegrin). Football Association of Montenegro. Archived from the original on 5 October 2011. Retrieved 30 August 2010.
  15. "Filipović pozvao Bašu i Bećiraja" (in Montenegrin). Football Association of Montenegro. 22 March 2009. Retrieved 30 August 2010.
  16. "Montenegro – Italy Match Report". FIFA. 28 March 2009. Archived from the original on 6 April 2009. Retrieved 30 August 2010.
  17. "Pobjeda za kraj uspješne godine" (in Serbian). fscg.co.me. 17 November 2010. Retrieved 18 November 2010.
  18. "Bondscoach Montenegro weigert te werken tegen Kosovo" (in Dutch). Goal. 7 June 2019. Retrieved 7 June 2019.
  19. "Fatos Bećiraj". European Football. Retrieved 19 November 2019.
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