Sometimes, you have to work harder than others to achieve great things in life and that was exactly the case for Fenerbahce striker Vedat Muriqi.
The Kosovan is dominating the headlines with his great displays in front of goal, and because of interest from Tottenham, West Ham and others, but for him, to come to this level was almost impossible given what he went through as a child.
Born in Prizren, Kosovo, the 25 year old experienced difficulties that nobody should have to face. When he was a child, he found himself a victim of the Kosovo War and its aftermath.
Speaking to Anadolu Agency in 2016, the then Giresunspor striker explained what he went through: “I lost my father at the age of seven. Back then, we went to Albania because of the war. The soldiers were searching for us so we had no chance. They even found us in Kosovo, but luckily, we managed to survive. They told us to run away and the home will get bombed in two hours. We slept on the basement floor, lying on top of the water bottles for two days. All we had was just an onion and bread.”
Speaking about his reactions and thoughts, Muriqi recalled that his mother was always crying because she couldn’t give her children what they needed.
“We had to migrate to other places because of the war. There were 55 (extended family) of us and we were all living in the same room. I was a kid during those days so as a kid, I wanted some food from my mum, but all we had was just an onion and some bread. We were eating it three times a day. In addition to that, we had just two litres of milk for 55 people. Sometimes our families had tea, they were giving us the sugar. It went like that for almost two years.”
With a desire to drag himself and his family forward, Muriqi turned to football. He started his career at Kosovo side FK Liria in 2005 and spent five years at the club before being promoted to the first team. After his spell there, he joined Albanian club KF Deuta Turres, and in 2014 moved to Turkey with second tier club Giresunspor.
His performances at Giresunspor earned him a chance to join Genclerbirligi, but at the Ankara club he struggled to make an impact. Subsequently joining Caykur Rizespor in 2018, he established himself as a key player, helping his club get promotion to the Super Lig.
Once in the big time, Muriqi managed to score 17 goals for Rizespor and his performances earned him a move to Fenerbahce, a club he’d supported since his childhood.
Speaking to Sporx about Muriqi, his new teammate Max Kruse explained the 25 year old is like Robert Lewandowski, and predicted big things for his future: “He is ambitious, he is working crazy, he has hunger. I told him he is like Lewandowski. In my opinion, I think he could reach the level of Bayern Munich in the next two or three years.”
It seems the 25 year old won’t be staying much longer at Fenerbahce despite joining the club in July. A growing list of clubs are reportedly interested in him after his great start to the season with the Yellow Canaries.
Vedat Muriqi is getting ready to make another big jump in his career, and it’s safe to say it’s very well deserved.
