Mërgim Berisha

Mërgim Berisha
Berisha with Red Bull Salzburg in 2020
Personal information
Date of birth (1998-05-11) 11 May 1998 (age 26)
Place of birth Berchtesgaden, Germany
Height 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)[1]
Position(s) Forward
Team information
Current team
 TSG Hoffenheim
Number 10
Youth career
2008–2016 Red Bull Salzburg
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2014–2017 FC Liefering 41 (17)
2017–2021 Red Bull Salzburg 39 (16)
2017–2018 → LASK (loan) 18 (5)
2018 → 1. FC Magdeburg (loan) 4 (0)
2019–2020 → Rheindorf Altach (loan) 31 (14)
2021–2023 Fenerbahçe 23 (5)
2022–2023 → FC Augsburg (loan) 23 (9)
2023 FC Augsburg 2 (0)
2023– TSG Hoffenheim 18 (1)
International career‡
2019–2021 Germany U21 13 (1)
2023– Germany 2 (0)
Medal record
 Germany U21
UEFA European Under-21 Championship
Winner 2021
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 19:27, 8 December 2024 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 20:42, 28 March 2023 (UTC)

Mërgim Berisha (born 11 May 1998) is a German professional footballer who plays as a forward for Bundesliga club TSG Hoffenheim and the Germany national team.

Club career

FC Liefering

On 7 November 2014, Berisha made his debut with FC Liefering as a professional footballer against Mattersburg after coming on as a substitute at 73rd minute in place of Daniel Ripić and just 50 seconds after his substitution scored his side's third goal during a 3–1 home win.[2]

Red Bull Salzburg

On 28 December 2016, Berisha signed his first professional contract with Austrian Bundesliga side Red Bull Salzburg after agreeing to a four-year deal.[3] On 3 April 2017, he made his debut in a 0–5 away win against SC Rheindorf Altach after coming on as a substitute at 77th minute in place of Wanderson.[4] Berisha helped his team winning the 2016–17 UEFA Youth League by being one of the top scorers in the tournament, scoring seven goals in total.[5]

Loan at LASK

On 21 August 2017, Berisha joined Austrian Bundesliga side LASK, on a season-long loan.[6] Five days later, he made his debut in a 1–0 away defeat against Rapid Wien after being named in the starting line-up.[7]

Loan at 1. FC Magdeburg

On 19 June 2018, Berisha joined 2. Bundesliga side 1. FC Magdeburg, on a season-long loan.[8] Two months later, he made his debut with 1. FC Magdeburg in the 2018–19 DFB-Pokal first round against Darmstadt 98 after coming on as a substitute at 81st minute in place of Tobias Müller.[9]

Loan at Rheindorf Altach

On 10 January 2019, Berisha joined Austrian Bundesliga side Rheindorf Altach, on a 1+1⁄2-season loan.[10] On 23 February 2019, he made his debut in a 0–0 away draw against Wolfsberger AC after being named in the starting line-up.[11]

Return to Red Bull Salzburg

2019–20 season

On 6 January 2020, Berisha returned to Austrian Bundesliga side Red Bull Salzburg.[12] On 14 February 2020, he played the first game after the return in a 2–3 home defeat against former club LASK after coming on as a substitute in the 59th minute in place of Patrick Farkas.[13]

2020–21 season
Berisha pointing to the sky after scoring against Lokomotiv Moscow in the UEFA Champions League group stage in December 2020

On 13 September 2020, Berisha commenced his season with the club by winning in the opening match of the season against Wolfsberger AC after being named in the starting line-up.[14]

On 3 November, Berisha scored his first UEFA Champions League goal in a 2–6 defeat against German side Bayern Munich in the 2020–21 season,[15] he also scored in the away tie in Munich as Salzburg lost 3–1.[16] On 1 December, Berisha scored two goals against Russian side Lokomotiv Moscow, which allowed Red Bull Salzburg to win the match in Moscow 3–1, to secure third place in the group and reach the 2020–21 UEFA Europa League knockout phase.

On 1 May 2021, Berisha scored Salzburg's opening goal in a 3–0 win against his former club LASK in the final of the Austrian Cup, securing the club's third straight domestic cup title.[17]

Fenerbahçe

On 2 September 2021, Berisha signed a four-year contract with Süper Lig club Fenerbahçe and received squad number 11.[18]

Loan at FC Augsburg

On 31 August 2022, Berisha joined FC Augsburg on loan with an option to buy.[19]

FC Augsburg

On 2 July 2023, Fenerbahçe announced that FC Augsburg had triggered the buy-option and acquired Berisha permanently,[20] for a fee reported to be around €4 million.[21]

TSG Hoffenheim

On 30 August 2023, Bundesliga club TSG Hoffenheim announced the signing of Berisha on a four-year contract,[22] for a reported fee of €14 million.[23]

International career

On 7 October 2019, Berisha received a call-up from Germany U21 for the friendly match against Spain U21 and 2021 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification match against Bosnia and Herzegovina U21.[24] Three days later, he made his debut with Germany U21 in a friendly match against Spain U21 after coming on as a substitute at 46th minute in place of Janni Serra.[25]

On 17 March 2023, he received his first official call-up to the German senior national team for the friendlies against Peru and Belgium.[26]

Personal life

Berisha was born in Berchtesgaden, Germany, to Kosovo Albanian parents from Suhareka.[27]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 8 December 2024[28]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup[a] Continental Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
FC Liefering 2014–15 Austrian First League 3 1 0 0 — 3 1
2015–16 Austrian First League 8 2 0 0 — 8 2
2016–17 Austrian First League 30 14 0 0 — 30 14
Total 41 17 0 0 — 41 17
Red Bull Salzburg 2016–17 Austrian Bundesliga 1 0 1 0 0 0 2 0
2017–18 Austrian Bundesliga 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0
2019–20 Austrian Bundesliga 8 1 1 0 1[b] 0 10 1
2020–21 Austrian Bundesliga 28 14 4 3 10[c] 5 42 22
2021–22 Austrian Bundesliga 2 1 0 0 1[d] 0 3 1
Total 39 16 7 3 12 5 58 24
LASK (loan) 2017–18 Austrian Bundesliga 18 5 2 1 — 20 6
1. FC Magdeburg (loan) 2018–19 2. Bundesliga 4 0 1 0 — 5 0
Rheindorf Altach (loan) 2018–19 Austrian Bundesliga 14 7 0 0 — 14 7
2019–20 Austrian Bundesliga 17 7 3 2 — 20 9
Total 31 14 3 2 — 34 16
Fenerbahçe 2021–22 Süper Lig 22 4 1 0 8[e] 3 31 7
2022–23 Süper Lig 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 1
Total 23 5 1 0 8 3 32 8
FC Augsburg (loan) 2022–23 Bundesliga 23 9 0 0 — 23 9
FC Augsburg 2023–24 Bundesliga 2 0 1 0 — 3 0
Total 25 9 1 0 — 26 9
TSG Hoffenheim 2023–24 Bundesliga 8 0 1 0 — 9 0
2024–25 Bundesliga 10 1 3 0 3[b] 0 16 1
Total 18 1 4 0 3 0 25 1
Career total 199 67 19 6 23 8 241 81
  1. ^ Includes Austrian Cup, Turkish Cup, DFB-Pokal
  2. ^ a b Appearance(s) in UEFA Europa League
  3. ^ Eight appearances and four goals in UEFA Champions League, two appearances and one goal in UEFA Europa League
  4. ^ Appearance(s) in UEFA Champions League
  5. ^ Six appearances and two goals in UEFA Europa League, two appearances and one goal in UEFA Europa Conference League

International

As of match played 28 March 2023
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team Year Apps Goals
Germany 2023 2 0
Total 2 0

Honours

Red Bull Salzburg Youth

Red Bull Salzburg

References

  1. ^ "Mërgim Berisha". FC Augsburg. Retrieved 1 September 2022.
  2. ^ "Liefering besiegt Mattersburg 3:1 und rückt LASK näher" [Liefering defeated Mattersburg 3–1 and moved closer to LASK]. Sky Sport Austria (in German). 7 November 2014.
  3. ^ "Mergim Berisha signs for the Red Bulls". FC Red Bull Salzburg. 28 December 2016.
  4. ^ "Një Berishë tjetër debuton në Austri" [Another Berisha debuts in Austria] (in Albanian). Koha Ditore. 3 April 2017.
  5. ^ a b "Red Bull Salzburg is the 2016–17 UEFA Youth League champion". OnceAMetro.com. 24 April 2017.
  6. ^ "Mergim Berisha wechselt zum LASK" [Mergim Berisha is switching to LASK] (in German). LASK. 21 August 2017. Archived from the original on 21 August 2017.
  7. ^ "Rapid Wien vs. LASK 1–0". Soccerway. Retrieved 26 August 2017.
  8. ^ "2. Bundesliga: Salzburgs Stürmer Mergim Berisha kommt auf Leihbasis zum 1. FC Magdeburg" [2. Bundesliga: Salzburg striker Mergim Berisha is on loan to 1. FC Magdeburg] (in German). Onefootball. 19 June 2018.
  9. ^ "1. FC Magdeburg 0:1 SV Darmstadt 98" (in German). German Football Association. 17 August 2018.
  10. ^ "Mergim Berisha goes on loan to SCR Altach". FC Red Bull Salzburg. 10 January 2019.
  11. ^ "Wolfsberger AC vs. Rheindorf Altach 0–0". Soccerway. Retrieved 23 February 2019.
  12. ^ FC Red Bull Salzburg [@RedBullSalzburg] (6 January 2020). "OFFIZIELL: Youth League-Sieger Mergim #Berisha kehrt zurück von seiner Leihe beim SCR Altach und verstärkt ab sofort unsere Offensive. Willkommen zurück, Mergim! #WirSindZukunft" [OFFICIAL: Youth League winner Mergim #Berisha returns from his loan at SCR Altach and is now strengthening our offensive. Welcome back, Mergim! #WeAreThFuture] (Tweet) (in German) – via Twitter.
  13. ^ "Salzburg vs. LASK 2–3". Soccerway. Retrieved 14 February 2020.
  14. ^ "Wolfsberger AC vs. Salzburg 1–3". Soccerway. Retrieved 13 September 2020.
  15. ^ "Salzburg–Bayern". UEFA. Retrieved 3 November 2020.
  16. ^ "Bayern Munich 3–1 Salzburg". BBC Sport. Retrieved 25 November 2020.
  17. ^ a b "U.S.'s Brenden Aaronson, Jesse Marsch lead Salzburg to Austrian Cup". ESPN. 2 May 2021. Retrieved 2 May 2021.
  18. ^ "Mergim Berisha Fenerbahçemizde" [Mergim Berisha in Fenerbahçe] (in Turkish). Fenerbahçe S.K. 2 September 2021.
  19. ^ "FCA verpflichtet Mittelstürmer Mergim Berisha" (in German). Augsburg. 31 August 2022. Retrieved 31 August 2022.
  20. ^ "Teşekkür ederiz" [We thank you]. Fenerbahçe SK. 2 July 2023. Retrieved 30 August 2023.
  21. ^ "Official: Augsburg sign Berisha permanently". Bulinews. 2 July 2023. Retrieved 30 August 2023.
  22. ^ "Mërgim Berisha wechselt zur TSG" [Mërgim Berisha is moving to TSG] (in German). TSG 1899 Hoffenheim. 30 August 2023.
  23. ^ "Oficjalnie: Mergim Berisha zasilił szeregi Hoffenheim" [Officially: Mergim Berisha has joined the ranks of Hoffenheim]. Goal.pl (in Polish). 30 August 2023.
  24. ^ "Kiomourtzoglou und Berisha nachnominiert" [Kiomourtzoglou and Berisha nominated] (in German). German Football Association. 7 October 2019.
  25. ^ "Spanien U 21–Deutschland U 21 1:1" [Spain U 21–Germany U 21 1:1] (in German). German Football Association. 10 October 2019.
  26. ^ "Vier Rückkehrer und fünf Neulinge für Peru und Belgien" (in German). German Football Association. 17 March 2023. Retrieved 17 March 2023.
  27. ^ "Aufgepasst DFB! Dieses Talent steht bei vielen auf dem Zettel" [Attention DFB! Many people have this talent on the list] (in German). Sport Bild. 3 November 2016.
  28. ^ Mërgim Berisha at Soccerway
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