NJAZI KUQI"THE FINNISH FOOTBALL NEXT STAR"

Njazi Kuqi
Date of birth
25 March 1983 (1983-03-25) (age 26)
Place of birth
Vučitrn, SFR Yugoslavia
Height
1.93 m (6 ft 4 in)
Playing position
Striker
Club information
Current club
TuS Koblenz
Number
9
Senior career1
Years
Club
App (Gls)*
2002-20052005-2006200620062007-200820082008-
FC LahtiBirmingham→ Blackpool→ Peterborough (loan)FC GroningenCarl Zeiss JenaTuS Koblenz
53 (16)00 0(0)04 0(0)01 0(0)00 0(0)01 0(0)38 0(9)
National team
2004-
Finland
03 0(3)
1 Senior club appearances and goalscounted for the domestic league only.* Appearances (Goals)
Njazi Kuqi (born 25 March 1983[1] in Vučitrn) is a Finnish footballer of Kosovar Albanian origin who plays for TuS Koblenz.
Contents[hide]
1 Career
1.1 International
2 Personal
3 References
//
[edit] Career
Kuqi began his career with FC Lahti in 2002, where he was given the award of Finland's Under-21 player of the year (2004). The young striker moved to Birmingham City at the beginning of 2005, having made some productive appearances for his home team FC Lahti and becoming a lucrative goalscorer in the appearances he made. He had a number of more experienced strikers in front of him at Birmingham including Emile Heskey and Mikael Forssell, as well as a host of fellow youngsters like DJ Campbell. He also had brief spells on loan with League Two sides Blackpool and Peterborough United.
In 2006, he was released by Birmingham City and signed by FC Groningen, where he was to compete for a place in the team with players such as the former Manchester United striker Erik Nevland. After a range of conflicts, Kuqi was dismissed from the Groningen squad on 17 August 2006.
In January 2007, he signed an 18-month contract with FC Carl Zeiss Jena after failing to win a contract during a trial at his brother's former club, Ipswich Town. However Kuqi has had problems fitting into the squad for a while was playing with the reserve side of FC Carl Zeiss Jena (FC Carl Zeis Jena II) in the German NOFV-Oberliga. In January 2008, he signed a contract with TuS Koblenz for 3 years.
[edit] International
In 2004, Kuqi got his first full cap against Kuwait. In 2005, he got a six month ban to the national team after leaving the team for a birthday night out in Prague with a fellow international Toni Koskela. After that, Kuqi was out of the picture and it was thought that he is keen to play for Kosovo, but in August 2008 he was back in the Finnish squad, when Stuart Baxter selected him for a friendly against Israel. Soon after he finally gained his third cap as a late substitute in Finland's 3:3 qualification draw with Germany.
[edit] Personal
He is the younger brother of Shefki Kuqi and elder brother of Daut Kuqi.