On 12 July 2013, Halimi was signed to the VfB Stuttgart II. On 21 September 2013, he made his professional debut in a 3. Liga match against Rot-Weiß Erfurt and he ended the season with 14 matches and one goal. In order to gain more playing time, Halimi signed with Stuttgarter Kickers for the 2014–15 season.[1] In one season he made two goals in 37 league matches for the Kickers and was chosen as the Player of the Month of 3. Liga for November 2014.[2]
I really missed my teammates and the club. Never before have I experienced having such a strong bond to a club or any teammates before, as I did in Brøndby last season.
— Halimi on returning to Brøndby IF, August 2018.[7]
On 30 August 2018, Halimi returned and signed a two-year contract with Danish Superliga club Brøndby.[8][9] Three days later, he made his debut in a 2–2 home draw against Midtjylland after coming on as a substitute at 76th minute in place of Lasse Vigen.[10]
SV Sandhausen
On 2 September 2019, Halimi signed a two-year contract with 2. Bundesliga club SV Sandhausen.[11] On 21 September, he made his debut in a 1–1 home draw against VfL Bochum after being named in the starting line-up.[12] He scored his first goal for Sandhausen against Holstein Kiel on 22 December, exploiting a poor pass from opposing goalkeeper Dominik Reimann in an eventual 2–2 draw.[13]
On 23 December 2020, in the second round of the DFB-Pokal, Halimi made his cup debut for Sandhausen, coming off the bench at half-time for Julius Biada as they were knocked out 4–0 by VfL Wolfsburg.[14] His first goal of the 2020–21 season came on 20 February 2021, as he struck a volley from the edge of the area off a header from Nils Röseler in a 2–1 loss to SC Paderborn; Sandhausen's third loss in a row.[15]
During his two seasons with Sandhausen, Halimi made 27 total appearances in which he scored two goals, as he failed to become an established starter.[16]
From 2011, until 2012, Halimi has been part of Germany at youth international level, respectively has been part of the U18 and U19 teams and he with these teams played 3 matches. On 7 October 2015, he received a call-up from Kosovo for the friendly match against Equatorial Guinea,[21] and made his debut after being named in the starting line-up.[22]
Personal life
Halimi was born in Frankfurt, Germany to Kosovo Albanian parents from the village Malishevë of Gjilan.[23]