Herolind Shala (born 1 February 1992) is a professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Kosovo First League club Feronikeli.
Shala progressed through the youth academies of Tollnes and Notodden, where he also began his professional career and later played for Odd before moving abroad to Sparta Prague in 2015. During his time at the Czech club, he had loan spells at Slovan Liberec and Kasımpaşa. He subsequently played for Lyngby, IK Start, Vålerenga, Stabæk, Erzurumspor FK, and returned to IK Start before joining Partizani Tirana and later Feronikeli.
At international level, Shala represented Norway at youth level before switching allegiance to Albania, playing for the under-21 and senior national teams. He later changed international allegiance to Kosovo and earned 27 caps for the Kosovo national team between 2016 and 2021.
Club career
Sparta Prague On 11 January 2015, Shala joined Czech First League side Sparta Prague. On 23 February 2015, he made his debut in a 4–1 home win against Příbram after being named in the starting line-up.
Lyngby On 30 August 2017, Shala joined Danish Superliga side Lyngby. On 19 November 2017, he made his debut in a 3–1 home defeat against Randers after coming on as a substitute at 69th minute in place of Martin Ørnskov.
IK Start On 4 August 2018, Shala joined with the newly promoted team of Eliteserien side IK Start, on a season-long contract. On 6 August 2018, he made his debut in a 4–1 away defeat against Brann after coming on as a substitute at 70th minute in place of Tobias Christensen.
Vålerenga On 11 February 2019, Shala joined Eliteserien side Vålerenga, on a two-year contract. On 30 March 2019, he made his debut in a 2–0 home win against Mjøndalen after being named in the starting line-up.
Stabæk On 5 March 2021, Shala joined Eliteserien side Stabæk. On 19 May 2021, he made his debut against his former club Odd after being named in the starting line-up and assists in his side's two goals during a 2–2 home draw.
Erzurumspor FK On 9 September 2021, Stabæk announced the transfer of Shala to TFF First League club Erzurumspor FK. That same day, the club confirmed that Shala's transfer was permanent.
International career Norway From 2009, until 2012, Shala has been part of Norway at youth international level, respectively has been part of the U17 and U21 teams and he with these teams played three matches, which were friendly matches.
Albania Under-21 In May 2013. When he was called up for both the Norwegian and the Albanian under-21 team, he withdrew from the Norwegian squad as he wanted to represent Albania instead. On 11 July 2013, he made his debut for the Albanian U-21 team against Bosnia and Herzegovina U21 by playing full 90-minutes.Bosnia-Herzegovina U21 vs. Albania U21 - 11 June 2013 - Soccerway
On 5 March 2014, he was called up for the closing match of the 2015 UEFA European Under-21 qualification against Austria.Gega shpall listën për ndeshjen e fundit në eliminatore aSport.al He played as a starter and scored the last goal for his side in the 57th minute, where the match finished in an away 1–3 victory with other goals scored by Enis Gavazaj and Vasil Shkurti.Austria U21 vs. Albania U21 - 5 March 2014 Soccerway
Senior On 7 September 2014, Shala received his first senior national team call-up by the Albania national team coach Gianni De Biasi for the UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying match against Portugal.De Biazi flet për ndeshjen me Portugalinë - FSHF.org "Në fund trajneri i Kombëtares së Shqipërisë publikoi edhe listën me 24 lojtarë të grumbulluar për këtë takim. Ata janë: 24. Herolind Shala" On 14 November 2014, he made his debut for senior team in the "Group I" Friendly Match against the Euro 2016 hosts, France, by coming on as a substitute in the 76th minute.France vs. Albania - 14 November 2014 - Soccerway In the other match against Italy, he played once again as a substitute at this time in the 71st minute.Italy football team defeated Albania 1:0, 18 November 2014 EU-football.info
Kosovo On 30 August 2016, Shala received a call-up from Kosovo for a 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification match against Finland. On 6 October 2016, he made his debut with Kosovo in a 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification match against Croatia after coming on as a substitute at 77th minute in place of Arbër Zeneli.
Personal life Shala was born in Porsgrunn, Norway to Kosovo Albanian parents from Drenas. His family belong to the Shala tribe. He and his family speak Albanian in the Gheg dialect of the language.
Career statistics Club
+ Appearances and goals by club, season and competitionClubSeasonLeagueCupEuropeIncluding continental competitions, such as UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa LeagueTotalDivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsOdd2011Tippeligaen4000—40201226330—293201330830—338201430965—3614Total9020125—10225Sparta Prague2014–15Czech First League3010—40Slovan Liberec (loan)2015–16Czech First League2464091367Kasımpaşa (loan)2016–17Süper Lig10172—173Lyngby2017–18Danish Superliga15210—162Start2018Eliteserien14311—154Vålerenga2019Eliteserien21610—226202024200—242Total45810—468Stabæk2021Eliteserien11020—130Erzurumspor F.K.2021–22TFF First League24110—2512022–2328000—2802023–249010—100Career total211402989124850
International
+ Appearances and goals by national team and yearNational teamYearAppsGoalsAlbania201420201520201620Total60Kosovo201630201710201890201930202070202140Total330
Honours Odd Norwegian Cup runner-up: 2014
References
External links