Anel Raskaj

Raskaj, 2010

Anel Raskaj ( born August 19, 1989 in Prizren ) is a Kosovar football player. The midfielder, who has lived in Sweden since 2003, is the captain of the Kosovo national football team.

Career

Raskaj lived until the age of 14 in his hometown of Prizren, where he played in the youth of the KF Liria. In 2003 he moved with his family to Sweden. There he joined the youth team of the IF Leikin, quickly his talent was discovered by the higher category club Halmstad BK and after a few months he joined the club on.

Raskaj went through the various youth teams of his new club. In a junior tournament in France, he was awarded as the best player. The offer of a French club to sign him, he struck out and signed with his Swedish club a long-term contract. Previously, he had already been taken into account as a junior player repeatedly in the squad Allsvenskanmannschaft and had as a substitute in the fall 2007 debut in a game against Kalmar FF in the highest Swedish league. Then, the club took him to the 2008 season finally on into the professional squad. On the side of Mikael Rosén, Ajsel Kujovic, Magnus Bahne and Tomas Žvirgždauskas he quickly established himself as a regular force in midfield and contributed with 27 games of the season in reaching the eighth square table.

The talent Raskajs was also the person in charge of the Svenska Fotbollförbundet not hidden. Since he can not gain Swedish citizenship until 2011, however, the team coach of the Swedish U- 21 team Jörgen Lennartsson could not nominate for the U-21 European Championship in 2009 him. Also the Albanian Association Federata Shqiptare e Futbollit approached by his good services to him, but he refused aground for the Albanian national team. Still undecided whether he should deny his international career for Sweden and Kosovo, he ran in the summer of 2009 for the first time for the non-recognized Kosovar selection in a friendly match against Kalmar FF on.

Meanwhile, equipped with the back number "10" denied Raskaj in the 2009 season all 30 games and was thus an important prop in a relegation battle. With his game-winning goal in a 1-0 away win at reigning champions Kalmar FF he also scored his first league goal for the club. In 2010 he was promoted to captain of the Kosovar selection that is neither FIFA nor UEFA member. In July, he finally declared on the website of his club to have chosen a national career in Kosovo, but wanted an emergence of Sweden - in particular with regard to the U-21 team in a possible qualification for the U-21 European Championship 2011 - not completely ruled out. He was on March 5, 2014 the first official international match of Kosovo was part of the squad. The friendly against Haiti ended 0-0.