Arijan Qollaku

Arijan Martin Qollaku (born 4 January 1997) is a professional footballer who plays as a right back for Swiss club Schaffhausen. Born in Switzerland, Qollaku represents Albania internationally.

Club Career

Qollaku was born in Bulach, a town in the Canton of Zurich, Switzerland and joined FC Zurich as a youth. He was released in July 2015 and spent time on trial with fellow Swiss side FC Wil, even featuring in a friendly against his former employers. However, ultimately he joined Grasshoppers in early 2016 and signed his first professional contract in February 2017 alongside teammates Nedim Bajrami and Petar Pusic. He made his debut the next month, playing 64 minutes in a 1-0 loss against Basel.

International Career

Qollaku was eligible to represent Kosovo and Albania in international level. He refused an invitation from Kosovo national under-21 football team to accept invitation from Albania national under-21 football team coach Alban Bushi.

Qollaku was called up to Albania U21 for the Friendly match against France U21 on 5 June 2017 and the 2019 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification opening match against Estonia U21 on 12 June 2017.

He received Albanian citizenship from president Bujar Nishani on 12 June 2017, the day of the opening match of the qualifiers against Estonia U21 so he couldn't participate in this match but however he became eligible to play for Albania in the next competitive matches.