Përparim Hetemaj (born 12 December 1986) is a Finnish football coach and a former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. Born in Kosovo, Hetemaj arrived in Finland when he was six years old and played for HJK's youth teams; signing a professional contract in 2004 at age 17. He joined Greek side AEK Athens in 2006, and moved to Twente in 2009. Subsequently, in 2010, he was signed by Brescia and was transferred to Chievo in 2011. Hetemaj played a total of 300 matches in the Serie A, before returning to Finland in 2022 after a season with Reggina in the Serie B.
Hetemaj made his international debut for Finland in February 2009, at the age of 22, and made 50 appearances, including appearing in 2014 and 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifications, before his retirement from international football in 2018.
On 25 November 2023, it was announced by HJK, that Hetemaj will end his professional playing career after the season, and will start working as an assistant coach of their reserve team Klubi 04 in 2024.Perparim Hetemaj’n huima peliura päättyy, hjk.fi, 25 November 2023 On 4 July 2025, HJK announced that Hetemaj had become the new head coach of Klubi 04, replacing Aleksi Lalli after Lalli moved to HJK's first-team coaching staff.
Hetemaj is regarded as a club legend of HJK Helsinki.
Early and personal life Of Kosovo Albanian ethnicity, Hetemaj was born in Skenderaj, Yugoslavia, and moved to Finland with his family as refugees in 1992. His family first arrived at Oulu but they moved to Helsinki due to his father Miftar suffering from asthma. He has a younger brother, the footballer Mehmet, and two sisters, Fatlume and Fatbardhe. In 2004, he acquired Finnish citizenship.
Club career
HJK Helsinki Hetemaj started his career at the youth academy of HJK Helsinki, and in 2004 played for its second team, Klubi-04, in 26 Ykkönen—the second tier of Finnish football—matches, in which he scored six goals. He played 26 matches and scored a goal in the 2005–06 season of Veikkausliiga—the premier division of Finnish football. After playing seven matches for HJK during the 2006–07, he was sold to AEK Athens for a fee of €450.000.
AEK Athens Hetemaj made his AEK Athens debut on 26 September 2006 in a 1–1 draw against Anderlecht in the UEFA Champions League. After seven matches, Hetemaj's 2006–07 season ended on 8 February 2007, when he suffered a fractured leg after a tackle by Kevin Thomson during a friendly match between the Finnish and Scottish national teams.
He was again on playing condition in October 2007, but he did not play for AEK and in January 2008 he was loaned to Apollon Kalamarias until the end of the season to gain more playing experience. He scored his first goal in the Super League Greece on 23 February 2008 against Asteras Tripolis. He played a total of eight matches for Apollon Kalamarias in the 2007–08, and for the following season Hetemaj played nine league matches with AEK. Unsatisfied, Hetemaj asked to be transferred,
Twente On 31 August 2009, Hetemaj signed a 1+1 year contract with Dutch club FC Twente as part of an exchange deal for Youssouf Hersi. Hetemaj started the season 2009–10 in the reserve team but was unable to break through to the first team that won the Eredivisie.
Brescia Even before having played a match for Twente, On 1 February 2010, Hetemaj was signed by Italian club Brescia on a free transfer. Hetemaj only played four matches in 2009–10 Serie B; Brescia was promoted to Serie A and he signed a three-year contract. He made his Serie A debut on 12 September 2010, playing the full minutes in a 3–2 home victory over Palermo. He scored his first Serie A goal on 22 September 2010 against Roma, becoming the first Finnish footballer to score in Serie A and arousing Roma's interest in him. Hetemaj went on to score again in a 3–1 victory against Bologna.
Chievo
On 30 June 2011, Hetemaj signed for Serie A side Chievo in a co-ownership deal for €1.4 million.Brescia Calcio S.p.A. bilancio (financial report and accounts) on 30 June 2011 (in Italian), PDF purchased Italian C.C.I.A.A. As a result, he chose the number 56 shirt number at the club. He made his debut for Chievo on 11 September 2011 against Novara, when he provided an assist to Cyril Théréau score the second goal of Chievo in the drawn. At the end of the season and after 32 league matches, Chievo bought Hetemaj's full rights on 18 June 2012 for an additional €800,000.A.C. Chievo-Verona S.r.l. bilancio (financial report and accounts) on 30 June 2012 (in Italian), PDF purchased Italian C.C.I.A.A. In the 2012–13 season and the 2013–2014, Hetemaj played 30 and 32 league matches respectively and did not score in any competition. Hetemaj marked his 100th appearance for Chievo on 22 August 2014 in a 1–0 defeat against Pescara in the Coppa Italia. After four years at Chievo and 130 Serie A matches, he scored his first goal for the club on 12 September 2015 in a 1–1 draw against Juventus. During his time with the club, Hetemaj recorded 249 appearances in all competitions combined.
Benevento On 2 September 2019, Hetemaj signed a two-year contract with the Serie B club Benevento. At the end of his first season with the club coached by Filippo Inzaghi, Benevento won the Serie B title and were promoted to Serie A.Inzaghi's Benevento promoted to Serie A, thescore.com
Reggina On 28 July 2021, Hetemaj joined Serie B side Reggina on a one-year deal. He negotiated to terminate his contract on 21 April 2022 three games prior to the season ending, and returned to Finland to join his former club HJK Helsinki for the 2022 Veikkausliiga season."Tuli paljon kämmäiltyä" – Perparim Hetemaj palasi kotiin viimeistä kertaa, yksi asia saa HJK:n tähtihankinnan herkäksi, mtvuutiset.fi, MTV Oy, 21 April 2022
Return to HJK On 21 April 2022, Hetemaj returned to HJK and signed a two-year contract with an option for a third. During the 2022 season, Hetemaj played in 29 games in all competitions combined and recorded four goals, including both of HJK's goals in the UEFA Europa League group stage, against AS Roma and Ludogorets.
On 14 December 2023, Hetemaj scored a goal from penalty in his last official match as a professional footballer, in a 4–2 away loss against PAOK in the UEFA Conference League.Perparim Hetemaj teki maalin uransa viimeisessä ottelussa – HJK:lle murskatappio Kreikassa, Iltalehti, Janne Palomäki, 14 December 2023
International career Youth Hetemaj was first drafted to play for Finland U19 on 7 September 2004 for a match against Sweden in Vihti. He made four appearances in the U19 team and scored two goals. Hetemaj made his debut for the U21 side on 13 April 2005 against Estonia. Hetemaj, along with his brother Mehmet, was called up to represent Finland at the 2009 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship and he played in all the three matches which Finland played.
Senior Hetemaj made his senior debut for Finland as an 84th-minute substitute against Japan on 4 February 2009 in a 5–1 loss. He gained his first UEFA European Championship qualifying game on 3 June 2011 when Mixu Paatelainen chose him to the starting line up against San Marino. On 26 May 2012, he scored his first national goal—a last-minute goal—against Turkey in a friendly match, which assured a 3−2 victory for Finland.
Përparim Hetemaj was part of Finland squad in 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification. Thus, despite having a chance to switch to represent Kosovo, his Finland cap in the qualification effectively locked him to represent Finland only. However, Hetemaj refused to play against Kosovo. His brother Mehmet played once for Kosovo before the Football Federation of Kosovo became a member of UEFA and FIFA. However, he also lost the eligibility for Kosovo after played for Finland after Kosovo became a member.
On 8 January 2018, Hetemaj announced that he would retire from international duty.
Coaching career In the end of the 2023 season, Hetemaj announced his retirement from professional football as a player. He was appointed as an assistant coach of Klubi 04, the reserve team of HJK, starting in 2024.Perparim Hetemaj'n upea ura päättyy – tämän takia keskikentän raastaja muistetaan todellisena kulttipelaajana, Yle, Mika Halonen, 25 November 2023
Outside football Charity work As of 2015, Hetemaj occasionally helps football club of his birthplace, Drenica, and he usually helps with different monetary means as well as technical means.
Career statistics Club
+ Appearances and goals by club, season and competitionClubSeasonLeagueNational cupEuropeTotalDivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsKlubi-042004Ykkönen216——216HJK Helsinki2005Veikkausliiga26100002612006Veikkausliiga70000070Total3310000331AEK Athens2006–07Super League Greece7010401202007–08Super League Greece001000102008–09Super League Greece1202010150Total1904050280Apollon Kalamarias (loan)2007–08Super League Greece111——111Twente2009–10Eredivisie0010—10Brescia2009–10Serie B40——402010–11Serie A30210—312Total34210—352Chievo2011–12Serie A32030—3502012–13Serie A30000—3002013–14Serie A32020—3402014–15Serie A32010—3302015–16Serie A28110—2912016–17Serie A23010—2402017–18Serie A32310—3332018–19Serie A30210—312Total2396100—2496Benevento2019–20Serie B33000—3302020–21Serie A31010—320Total64010—650Reggina2021–22Serie B31110—320HJK Helsinki2022Veikkausliiga162101222942023Veikkausliiga16050121331Total32260243625Career total4811924029353621
International
+ Appearances and goals by national team and yearNational teamYearCompetitiveFriendlyTotalAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsFinland200900202020100000002011404080201220638320135020702014405191201540105020161050602017401050Total240264504
Scores and results list Finland's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Hetemaj goal.
+ List of international goals scored by Përparim HetemajNo.DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition1 26 May 2012 Red Bull Arena, Salzburg, Austria 3–2 3−2 Friendly2 15 August 2012 Windsor Park, Belfast, Northern Ireland 3–2 3−3 Friendly3 14 November 2012 GSP Stadium, Nicosia, Cyprus 2−0 3−0 Friendly4 31 May 2014 Ventspils Olimpiskais Stadions, Ventspils, Latvia 1–0 2–0 2014 Baltic Cup
Honours HJK Helsinki Veikkausliiga: 2022, 2023 Finnish Cup: 2006 Finnish League Cup: 2023
Benevento Serie B: 2019–20
Finland Baltic Cup runner-up: 2012; third place: 2014
References
a. Albanian spelling: Përparim Hetemaj, Serbo-Croatian spelling: Perparim Hetemaj
External links
Perparim Hetemaj at A.C. ChievoVerona Perparim Hetemaj – SPL competition record