Etrit Berisha

Early career

Berisha was born in Pristina, Kosovo. He began playing football at the age of eight as a midfielder before switching to goalkeeper. He began his youth career with 2 Korriku, but his development was interrupted by the Kosovo War. He subsequently joined KEK-u in Obiliq/Kastriot, where he spent three years before returning to 2 Korriku and progressing to the senior team. He also trained with Bashkimi in Kumanovo, Macedonia, under coach Bylbyl Sokoli.

Kalmar

He joined Swedish club Kalmar in January 2008 following a trial arranged by Albert Bunjaki, then a member of Kalmar's coaching staff and head coach of the unofficial Kosovo national team. He was part of the Kalmar squad that won the 2008 Allsvenskan, serving as one of the club's three goalkeepers, although he did not make a league appearance during the season. On 28 August 2008, he was named in the matchday squad for the 2008–09 UEFA Cup second qualifying round match against Gent, remaining an unused substitute in Kalmar's 4–0 victory. While still part of Kalmar's U21 team, he was loaned to Swedish fourth-tier club Lindsdals IF for the 2009 season, making 14 league appearances and receiving a red card in September. He then returned to Kalmar for the 2010 season and was promoted to the first team, being named in the squad for the opening 2010 Allsvenskan matchday on 13 March against IFK Göteborg, remaining on the bench in a 3–0 home defeat. After Kalmar had failed to win any of their first nine…

At international level, Berisha has been a regular part of the Kosovo national youth teams and was also called up by the senior team.

Albania: Beginnings and 2014 World Cup qualification

Berisha received his first senior call-up to the Albania national team in May 2012 for friendlies against Qatar and Iran under coach Gianni De Biasi. He made his debut later that month in a 1–0 win against Iran in Istanbul, playing the full match and keeping a clean sheet. On 1 June 2012, he obtained Albanian citizenship, becoming eligible for competitive fixtures. He appeared again for Albania in the August 2012 friendly against Moldova, coming on as a second-half substitute. Berisha was included in the squad for the opening matches of the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifiers against Cyprus and Switzerland in September 2012, remaining an unused substitute in both fixtures. He made his competitive debut the following month in the qualifier against Slovenia on 16 October 2012, playing the full 90 minutes in a 1–0 home win at the Qemal Stafa Stadium, which marked Albania's first victory over Slovenia. Following his debut in the qualifiers, Berisha became Albania's starting goalkeeper for the remainder of the campaign. On 22 March 2013, he started in the 1–0 away win against Norway in Oslo, Albania's first victory over Norway. He featured in all remaining qualifiers, as Albania finished the group with ten points and did not progress to the 2014 FIFA World Cup.

UEFA Euro 2016 campaign…

Berisha is noted for his height (1.94 m), reach and reflexes, attributes that assist him in aerial duels and one-on-one situations. He is also an authoritative organiser of his defence and communicates frequently with his teammates, traits that have been remarked upon since his early years at Kalmar. Unusually for a goalkeeper, Berisha has frequently taken and converted penalties. He records four goals from the penalty spot during his spell at Kalmar FF (with one recorded penalty missed in his career overview), underlining his rare dual role as both shot-stopper and spot-kick taker. Media coverage of key cup matches has emphasised Berisha's composure in high-pressure penalty situations. For example, contemporary reports of a Swedish Cup final noted that he "saved two penalties and one he scored himself", a sequence that was widely reported as decisive in the outcome. In interviews Berisha has described how earlier team-mates and coaches influenced his role as a penalty taker. After the cup final he said: "I learned these from Henke. He took penalties at Kalmar and after a match we played against Malmo, it was almost the same situation as in the final. It was Nanne who at that time said that I should become a penalty taker after I had scored many goals in training." Contemporaneous reportage from Kalmar's move to Lazio described him as "a fast-reacting goalkeeper who likes to verbally organise the defence." He stated that his favourite player and role model is the Dutch…

Berisha was born in Pristina, Kosovo, and is of Albanian ethnicity. He is a cousin of Drilon Berisha, a former footballer who played for the Kosovan club Prishtina and the Armenian club Ulisses. In January 2013, he revealed that he had applied for Swedish citizenship after residing in the country for five years since joining Kalmar FF from his hometown club 2 Korriku, stating that acquiring Swedish nationality would allow him to hold triple citizenship (Kosovo, Albania and Sweden) and could facilitate his future career in European football as an EU player, describing it as "a step forward for my professional future". Following Albania's historic participation at UEFA Euro 2016, Berisha was among the members of the national team who were issued diplomatic passports by the Albanian government in recognition of their achievement.