Valmir Nafiu

Valmir Nafiu
Personal information
Date of birth	23 April 1994 (age 30)
Place of birth	Tetovo, North Macedonia
Height	1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Position(s)	Winger, striker
Youth career
	Shkëndija
2012	Basel
2012–2013	Hamburger SV
Senior career*
Years	Team
2010–2011	Shkëndija
2011–2012	Basel
2012–2013	Hamburger SV II
2013–2015	Hamburger SV
2015	APOEL
2016	Skënderbeu
2016–2018	Renova
2018–2023	Shkëndija
2023	→ FC Košice (loan)
International career‡
	Macedonia U17
	Macedonia U19
2013–2015	Macedonia U21
	*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 4 August 2023; ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 11 June 2015

Valmir Nafiu (Macedonian: Валмир Нафиу;^[1] born 23 April 1994) is a Macedonian professional footballer who plays mainly as a winger or striker.

Club career

Shkëndija

At the end of his debuting season, Nafiu garnered interest from FC Basel and FC Barcelona.^[2]

He went on trial where he impressed the Swiss club and Basel and Shkëndija reached a deal for Nafiu to remain in Switzerland before officially completing the transfer once he turned eighteen.

Basel

Nafiu officially joined on 23 April 2012, on his eighteenth birthday. He mainly played for the youth teams at Basel and was not capped at senior level. At Basel, Nafiu trained under Thorsten Fink.^[3]

Hamburger SV

When Fink left Basel and took the managerial position at Hamburger SV, Nafiu followed suit. In 2012, Nafiu made his debut for Hamburg's reserve team. He made his Bundesliga debut at 25 October 2014 against Hertha BSC replacing Pierre-Michel Lasogga after 74 minutes in a 3–0 away defeat.^[4] He added a further Bundesliga appearance against VfL Wolfsburg on 9 November 2014,^[5] before he mutually terminated his contract with Hamburger SV in January 2015.

APOEL

On 27 January 2015, Nafiu signed a four-and-a-half-year contract with contract with Cypriot club APOEL FC.^[6] He made his official debut on 31 January 2015, coming on as a 75th-minute substitute in APOEL's 0–1 away victory against Nea Salamina for the Cypriot First Division.^[7] He scored his first official goal for APOEL on 21 March 2015, in his team's 2–2 home draw against Apollon Limassol for the play-offs of the Cypriot First Division.^[8] In his first season at APOEL, he appeared in twelve matches in all competitions and helped his team to win both the Cypriot championship and the cup.^[9]

On 18 December 2015, APOEL announced that Nafiu's contract with the club was terminated by mutual consent.^[10]

Skënderbeu

In early 2016 Nafiu joined Albanian side Skënderbeu, winning the 2015–16 league title but playing very little.^[11]

Renova

Nafiu returned to his native North Macedonia in summer 2016, signing with Renova.^[11] Over two seasons, he became a regular starter scoring 11 goals.^[11]

Shkëndija

Nafiu's performances for Renova attracted the attentions of his youth club Shkëndija and he returned to the club in 2018, winning the league title in his first season there.^[11]

Career statistics

As of 20 April 2015^[12]

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club	Season	League			National cup		Continental^[a]		Total
Club	Season	Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Shkëndija	2010–11	Macedonian First League	19	1	0	0	—		19	1
	2011–12	Macedonian First League	0	0	0	0	1	0	1	0
	Total		19	1	0	0	1	0	20	1
FC Basel	2011–12	Swiss Super League	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Hamburger SV II	2012–13	Regionalliga Nord	12	1	—		—		12	1
Hamburger SV	2013–14	Bundesliga	0	0	0	0	—		0	0
	2014–15	Bundesliga	2	0	0	0	—		2	0
	Total		2	0	0	0	—		2	0
APOEL	2014–15	Cypriot First Division	10	1	2	0	—		12	1
	2015–16	Cypriot First Division	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	Total		10	1	2	0	—		12	1
Career total			43	3	2	0	1	0	46	3

^ Includes UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League matches.

Honours

Shkëndija

Macedonian First League: 2010–11, 2018–19

APOEL

References

^ "Шкендија и дефинитивно се раздели со Валмир Нафиу". Ekipa (in Macedonian). 15 June 2023. Retrieved 2 June 2024.
^ "Valmir Nafiu accompanies Basel for their training camp". Macedonianfootball.com. 26 June 2011. Archived from the original on 1 July 2011. Retrieved 21 November 2014.
^ "Valmir Nafiu training with Hamburger". Macedonianfootball.com. 28 August 2012. Archived from the original on 13 October 2012. Retrieved 21 November 2014.
^ "Hertha BSC vs. Hamburger SV 3-0". Soccerway. 25 October 2014. Retrieved 25 October 2014.
^ "Wolfsburg vs. Hamburger SV 2-0". Soccerway. 9 November 2014. Retrieved 9 November 2014.
^ "Σύναψη συμφωνίας με Valmir Nafiu" (in Greek). APOEL FC. 27 January 2015. Archived from the original on 7 September 2020. Retrieved 27 January 2015.
^ "Ν. ΣΑΛΑΜΙΝΑ 0-1 ΑΠΟΕΛ". APOEL FC. 31 January 2014. Archived from the original on 3 January 2019. Retrieved 31 January 2014.
^ ΑΠΟΕΛ 2-2 Απόλλωνας Λεμεσού [APOEL 2-2 Apollon Limassol] (in Greek). APOEL FC. 21 March 2015. Archived from the original on 19 April 2021. Retrieved 21 March 2015.
^ "APOEL secure league to wrap up Cypriot double". UEFA.com. 24 May 2015. Archived from the original on 22 July 2015. Retrieved 24 May 2015.
^ Κοινή συναινέσει λύση συνεργασίας με Valmir Nafiu (in Greek). APOEL FC. 18 December 2015. Retrieved 18 December 2015.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "Unglaublich! Was macht eigentlich Ex-HSV-Talent Valmir Nafiu?" [Unbelievable! What is ex-HSV talent Valmir Nafiu actually doing?]. Morgenpost (in German). 18 April 2021. Retrieved 7 June 2024.
^ "V. Nafiu". Soccerway. Retrieved 28 January 2015.