Armando Sadiku (born 27 May 1991) is an Albanian professional footballer who plays as a striker for Swiss Challenge League club Bellinzona.
Sadiku began his senior career with Turbina playing two seasons in Albania's second tier Kategoria e Parë. In 2009 he went to Gramozi in top-flight division Kategoria Superiore where he had a breakthrough year, scoring eight goals, which earned him a move to fellow top-flight side Elbasani. Sadiku played only a half season with Elbasani, as he was banned from Albanian football due to non-sporting behavior.
His ban forced him to move abroad going to Switzerland playing at first for Locarno. Sadiku found his form in Switzerland, becoming a reliable goalscorer in second tier Swiss Challenge League, where he won the top goalscorer award in his first full season. In July 2012 he moved to Lugano, and scored 20 goals in the 2012-13 season. This was enough for him to be the league's top scorer for the second year in a row.
In November 2013, he joined top flight side Zürich, but his time at the club was marred by lack of playing time and injuries. Most notably a knee ligament injury in May 2014, which left him sidelined for six months. He returned the next season but failed to make a significant impact, scoring only three goals, but the club still won the 2013–14 Swiss Cup.
Sadiku's form improved in the first half of 2015–16 season, scoring eight goals in 18 appearances. Despite being the top scorer of the team at this time, he was sent on loan to fellow relegation strugglers Vaduz, which was dubbed as an "owngoal" by Swiss media. Sadiku helped Vaduz to retain their top flight status for another season, in addition relegating his parent club. In January 2017, Sadiku was sent on loan again, this time at his former side FC Lugano where he rejoined Paolo Tramezzani.
In 2023, following a successful stint with the Spanish club FC Cartagena, he joined Indian Super League side Mohun Bagan Super Giant.
At youth level, he represented Albania under-19 and under-21 side He made his senior debut in 2012 in a friendly against Georgia. He was part of Albania's UEFA Euro 2016 squad, where he scored Albania's first-ever goal at a UEFA European Championship. Sadiku's 12 goals for Albania mean he sits fifth in the country's top scorer rankings.
Club career Early career Born in Cërrik, Elbasan, Sadiku started his youth career aged 7 with a local club Fushë Mbreti from where he moved later at the youth ranks of his boyhood club Turbina, making his professional debut in the Kategoria e Parë whereas he played during the two seasons 2007–08 and 2008–09.
Gramozi In the summer of the 2009, Sadiku completed a transfer to newly promoted Kategoria Superiore side Gramozi, owned by the brother of Albanian oil tycoon Rezart Taci; it was the club's first ever top flight season. He made his first top flight appearance on 23 August at the age of 18 in the opening matchday against Shkumbini which ended in a goalless draw, with Sadiku coming on in the second half.
He opened his scoring account on 19 September in matchday 4 versus Skënderbeu, netting a tap-in for the temporary equalizer in an eventual 4–1 away loss. One week later, Sadiku was again on the scoresheet as Gramozi recorded their first ever Kategoria Superiore win by beating Flamurtari.
Sadiku finished his only Gramozi season by scoring 8 goals in 28 league appearances, as Gramori was relegated after only one season.
Elbasani During the summer transfer window, Sadiku signed for his hometown club Elbasani. During the 2010–11 season first-half he played 14 matches and scored 5 goals. He made his debut with the club on 22 August 2010 during the opening league match against Tirana at home, playing 75 minutes in a 1–1 draw. He scored his first goal of the season in his second appearance six days later, netting a last-minute winner in a 2–1 away win over Bylis.
On 19 December 2010, during the league match against Laçi, Sadiku, who had scored earlier in the match, was sent-off in the 82nd minute. A minute before his dismissal, he scored but was caught offside by the assistant referee Eduard Miho, which enraged Sadiku, who ran towards him and pushed away by throat, spitting and also insulted him the process. Disciplinary Committee suspended Sadiku from Albanian football for two years, also fining him. That was his last match in Albanian football, as Sadiku left the club to purchase a career in Switzerland. As it happened with Gramozi in previous season, Elbasani also ranked in the last place and were relegated to Kategoria e Parë.
Locarno Sadiku moved for the first time aboard in March 2011 where he completed a transfer to Swiss Challenge League side Locarno. The transfer was made official on 13th. He arrived in the morning and even travelled with the side to the away fixture with Schaffhausen. He made his debut later that day, playing for 82 minutes in a 2–1 loss. He opened his scoring account on Switzerland on his third appearance for the club, netting the winning goal against Chiasso on 1 April for a 2–1 win.
However that goal was to open the floodgates of the striker scoring in Switzerland, as he managed a brace against Kriens, and goals versus Aarau and Winterthur, which gave him 9 in 12 appearances as the team barely avoided relegation.
Sadiku begun 2011–12 season on strong fashion, netting twice on the opening day against Wohlen as the match was lost 5–2. He returned to the scoring sheet later on 20 August by scoring a brace in Locarno's 3–0 defeat of Étoile Carouge, giving his side the first win of the season. Then he scored on Swiss Cup round 2 against Wil which was not enough as Locarno was eliminated on penalties after regular time ended 1–1. Sadiku concluded his second Locarno season by netting 19 goals in the championship, being the highest scorer as Locarno finished 9th.
Lugano On 23 July 2012, Lugano confirmed via their official website the purchase of Sadiku on a three-year contract. With the deal Sadiku would earn CHF200,000 per season.
He made his competitive debut one week later in matchday 3 of championship against Biel-Bienne, netting a brace to lead the team into 4–0 home win. He scored another brace later on 19 August in the 4–1 home win over Wohlen to take his tally up to 4 league goals. Sadiku reached double-figures for the second season in a row on 29 October where he scored his team's only goal in a 1–2 home defeat to Winterthur. Sadiku eventually finished his first Lugano season making 32 league appearances collecting 2849 minutes and netting 20 goals in, to become top scorer as the team finished 7th in the championship, failing to clinch a spot to top flight next season. He also contributed with 2 goals in 2 cup matches.
He started the new season by netting in the 1–3 home defeat to St. Gallen for the 2013–14 Swiss Cup round 2 which eliminated Lugano from the competition. During the first part of 2013–14 season, Sadiku scored 6 goals in 11 appearances. including a brace in the 3–1 home win over Schaffhausen, before leaving in November.
Zürich On 13 November 2013, Zürich and Lugano reached an agreement for the transfer of Sadiku for €500,000. The transfer was made official on 1 January 2014 where the player signed a contract until June 2018, taking squad number 11. At Zürich, he found his Albania teammate Burim Kukeli.
Sadiku made his first Swiss Super League appearance on 1 February against Sion where he came in the last minutes. Sadiku scored his first top flight goal on 16 February in the 3–1 home win over Thun.
Later on 26 March, he made another appearance as substitute, entering in the final minutes of extra time of Swiss Cup semi-final match against Thun which finished in a goalless draw which lead the match to penalty shootouts where Sadiku successfully converted his penalty shootout attempt as the team won 5–4. He also played in the final of competition against Basel as Zürich won after extra-time to win their 8th cup in history. This win constituted his first career trophy.
On 10 May 2014, during the league match against St. Gallen, Sadiku entered as substitute in the 70th minute and was injured shortly after, breaking knee ligament which would keep him sidelined for the next 6 months.
Sadiku made his on-field return on 30 November 2014 in 2014–15 Swiss Super League matchday 17 versus Basel where he came as a substitute in a 1–2 home loss. He opened his scoring account for 2014–15 season during the 5–0 win over Cham for Swiss Cup round 3. He concluded 2014–15 season by scoring 3 goals in 14 league appearances, in addition 1 goal in 1 cup match.
Loan to Vaduz During the first part of 2015–16 season, Sadiku was used scarcely, and often as a substitute by coach Sami Hyypiä despite being the team's top goalscorer in the league. That lead him to request a loan to another Swiss Super League side in order to play more to be ready to represent Albania in the UEFA Euro 2016 in France. His wish was fulfilled and on 12 January 2016 Sadiku was loaned out to the bottom-side Vaduz until the end of season. During his presentation one day later, Sadiku was allocated squad number 32 and dubbed his Vaduz move as the "right decision". His parent club Zürich was criticized by the Swiss media, which dubbed the loan an "own goal" and an "arrogant" decision.
Sadiku made his debut for the club on 6 February scoring a brace and providing two assists in a 5–2 away win against fellow relegation strugglers Lugano, one of his former sides. On 28 February, he was again on the scoresheet scoring his team's only goal in a 1–1 draw against Grasshopper, giving Vaduz one point.
On 6 April, he scored a brace in the 2015–16 Liechtenstein Cup semi-final match against Eschen/Mauren, helping the team to win the 2–1 and progress to the final. Four days later, Sadiku scored his fourth league goal for Vaduz and also provided an assist during the 3–0 home win against St. Gallen, helping Vaduz to a first success after six consecutive winless league matches. He scored his tenth league goal of the season during the 5–4 away defeat to Young Boys. Vaduz eventually finished 8th which was enough to avoid relegation.
He was returned to Zürich in the summer and was target of top European clubs from Serie A and Bundesliga, but didn't leave due to club's high economical demands.
Loan to Lugano In January 2017 assistant manager of Sadiku at Albania national team Paolo Tramezzani was appointed as a head coach of Lugano and soon after he made Sadiku himself to move on loan at Lugano making a return after 3 years thus remaining in the Super League. He made his debut after return on 4 February in team's 4–0 away defeat at Basel. Following his debut, he went on to score in five consecutive league matches, including the winner against St. Gallen, as Lugano become a contenter for a European spot next season. Sadiku formed a fierce partnership with Ezgjan Alioski, as the duo scored 25 goals together. On 7 May, Sadiku scored against Basel and celebrated by taking off his shirt receiving his second yellow card as the match finished in a 2–2 draw. On 21 May, Sadiku scored against Vaduz to open Lugano's way for a 3–0 victory which secured them participation in the 2017–18 UEFA Europa League next season. He finished the second part of the 2016–17 season by scoring 9 times in 16 appearances.
Legia Warsaw On 12 July 2017, Sadiku joined Polish Ekstraklasa side Legia Warsaw by penning a three-year contract. The transfer fee was undisclosed, but it was reported that Legia paid €1.5 million for his services, making Sadiku the most expensive purchase of Polish football. He was presented two days later, where he was given squad number 99, stating: "I am happy I have signed with such a great club. This is a good step in my career. I hope we will qualify for the Champions League group stage."