• Source: Mehmet Hetemaj

Mehmet Hetemaj (born 8 December 1987) is a Finnish football commentator and a former professional footballer who played as a defensive midfielder. Born in Yugoslavia, he has represented both Finland national team and Kosovo national football team. He started his football career in HJK youth team.




Club career






= HJK Helsinki

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Hetemaj started his career in Finland in HJK Helsinki where he made 17 appearances between 2006 and 2007. During 2007 season he was loaned to Viikingit for 9 matches.




= Panionios

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In 2008, he agreed a move to Greek club Panionios F.C. In June 2009 he was loaned out to Serie B outfit AlbinoLeffe, where he established himself as a regular.




= AlbinoLeffe

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In June 2010 AlbinoLeffe announced to have completed a bid to sign the player on a permanent basis from Panionios. He signed a four-year contract. In July 2012 he was loaned out to Serie B outfit Reggina Calcio. The loan contract with Reggina ended after the 2012–13 season and Hetemaj returned to AlbinoLeffe. In January 2014 it was announced that Hetemaj had signed a loan contract with a Finnish Premier League team Honka.




= Monza

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In July 2014 he joined Italian club Monza.




= SJK

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Hetemaj joined SJK in January 2015. Since then he has become a fan favorite and scored many important goals for the club. Hetemaj has been the clubs captain since 2019. Hetemaj announced his retirement from playing in December 2022.




International career






= Finland Under-21

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Hetemaj, along with his older brother Përparim Hetemaj, was called up to represent Finland U-21 at the 2009 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship.




= Finland

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Hetemaj made his senior debut for Finland against Japan in February 2009. After a convincing season in AlbinoLeffe he was called up again on 21 May 2010 for a match against Estonia.




= Kosovo

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Hetemaj made his senior debut for Kosovo in a 6–1 loss against Turkey in May 2014, a friendly match. However, he lost his eligible to switch for Kosovo in competitive match after accepting the call-up from Finland in 2016, after Kosovo became a member of UEFA and FIFA.




Personal life


Of Kosovar Albanian descent, Hetemaj was born in Skenderaj, Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, and moved to Finland with his family as refugees in 1992. His family first arrived at Oulu but they moved to Helsinki, looking for a milder climate, due to his father, Miftar, having asthma. He has an older brother, the footballer Përparim, and two sisters, Fatlume and Fatbardhe.




Later career


After his playing career, Hetemaj has worked as a studio commentator in Veikkausliiga matches in Ruutu+ broadcasts since 2023, in European final tournament matches for Yle, and in UEFA Champions League matches for MTV since 2024.




Career statistics






= Club

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As of 25 July 2016




= International

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As of 7 June 2017




= International goals

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Scores and results list Finland's goal tally first.




Honours


HJK Helsinki

Finnish Cup: 2006




References






External links


Mehmet Hetemaj at U.C. AlbinoLeffe (in Italian)
Mehmet Hetemaj at National-Football-Teams.com
Mehmet Hetemaj at Soccerbase
Mehmet Hetemaj at Soccerway
Profile at Welt Fussball (in German)

Kata Kunci Pencarian:

• Mehmet Hetemaj
• Hetemaj
• Përparim Hetemaj
• Seinäjoen Jalkapallokerho
• Fatbardhe Hetemaj
• Mehmed
• List of association footballers who have been capped for two senior national teams
• UC AlbinoLeffe
• Drenica
• List of Kosovo Albanians