Besart Berisha

Albania

Berisha started applying for Albanian citizenship in September 2006 along with Mërgim Mavraj, Genc Mehmeti and Alban Dragusha, this following the recommendations of Hans-Peter Briegel before he resigned from his role as the manager of the Albania national team. Berisha received the Albanian citizenship on 7 September 2006 along with Mavraj. Despite these four players were tested and selected by Hans-Peter Briegel, but only three of them were in plans of the next upcoming coach of Albania, Otto Barić, where the Croatian coach meet Berisha in Germany and coach Thomas Doll and had only required his services, Mërgim Mavraj's and Genc Mehmeti's, as for Alban Dragusha he has not given any concrete statement.

UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying

Berisha received his first call up and played his first game for Albania under the coach Otto Barić, on 11 October 2006 against the Netherlands valid for the UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying Group G and where Berisha came on as a substitute in the 79th minute for Erjon Bogdani, as the match finished in the 2–1 loss. In another four following matches he was called up and played in all four matches including two in the starting line up. First he played as a substitute in a goalless draw on 24 March 2007 against Slovenia replacing Devi Muka in the 86th minute and playing for the first time as attacking midfielder behind the back of Alban Bushi and Erjon Bogdani. Then four days later in another goalless draw in a row, against…

Youth and Hamburger SV

Berisha began his youth career at German side Berliner VB 49 academies aged nine. He then moved to various German teams, such as Berliner FC Dynamo, TSV Lichtenberg, SV Lichtenberg 47 until 2003, when he moved to NOFV-Oberliga club Tennis Borussia Berlin, where a 17-year-old Berisha won the national youth league's golden boot, outclassing future Germany strikers, Mario Gomez and Lukas Podolski. He stayed for just a year before being spotted by Bundesliga club Hamburger SV. For the first half of the 2004–05 season, Berisha wasn't included in Hamburg's starting lineup for any of the matches, and for the second half he was loaned to Danish Superliga team Aalborg Boldspilklub where he spent a rather unsuccessful spell, playing only three games and scoring no goals. The following season 2005–06 he was loaned to fellow Superliga side AC Horsens, where he scored 11 goals in 32 appearances, becoming the team's top scorer that season. For the 2006–07 football season, he remained at Hamburg and was given his chances in the first team making his German Bundesliga debut on 12 August 2006 against Arminia Bielefeld, coming on as a substitute in the 78th minute in place of Nigel de Jong, as the match finished in a 1–1 draw. On 6 December 2006, Berisha became the first Albanian ever to score a goal in the group stages of the UEFA Champions League by scoring his first goal for Hamburg in the match against CSKA Moscow at home in Hamburg. Exactly 10 days later,…

Club

As of 1 April 2021

International

Scores and results list Albania's goal tally first.

Besart Berisha was born in Pristina and moved later to Germany where he was raised. He is the brother-in-law of Albanian footballers Enis Fetahu and former Kosovo international goalkeeper Samir Ujkani. Berisha became an Australian citizen in 2019.