One to watch: Albania's Elseid Hysaj
Tuesday, June 14, 2016
Article summary
Right-back Elseid Hysaj reportedly has several admirers among Europe's elite clubs and is enhancing his reputation further at UEFA EURO 2016. Fatjon Pandovski introduces the 22-year-old.
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Name: Elseid Hysaj
Club: Napoli
Position: Defender
Nationality: Albanian
Date of birth: 2 February 1994
Preferred foot: right
Height: 182cm
They say ...
"He's a fantastic defender who can play on the right or the left. He is very dynamic and has great technical ability."
Albania coach Gianni De Biasi
Background ...
Born in Shkoder, close to the border with Montenegro, Hysaj was brought up by his mother and grandparents before his father, working as a bricklayer in Italy, asked his son to join him across the Adriatic to pursue his football. The 14-year-old soon linked up with Empoli, making his first-team debut aged 17. After two seasons in Serie B and one in Serie A, he signed for Napoli in 2015. He made his Albania debut at 19.
Playing style ...
A fearless, attack-minded full-back, the 22-year-old is already a key man for Napoli and Albania. He has good vision to pick out crosses and hit long-range passes, as witnessed against Switzerland on Saturday. But first and foremost he is a defender, blessed with pace and a good reading of the game. "He is very intelligent, very balanced," said De Biasi. Consistent too: Elseid missed just one match this season as Napoli finished runners-up to Juventus.
Shades of ...
Classy and comfortable on the ball while being unremitting without it. Fans of a more mature vintage should think of Germany's Stefan Reuter, the former Nürnberg, Bayern, Juventus and Dortmund player.
Areas of improvement ...
The obvious thing missing from Hysaj's repertoire is goals. He has made over 170 outings for Empoli, Napoli and Albania yet has managed just a solitary goal.
He says ...
"I take everything I do seriously. I practise hard and work hard. I study my game and work on my mistakes. I want to get better."
