He is a UEFA Europa League semi-finalist with RB Salzburg and a Coppa Italia champion with Lazio. Now Kosovo international Valon Berisha will be bringing his talents to Melbourne City in a coup for the Isuzu UTE A-League.
Berisha, the namesake of the A-League Men’s all-time leading goalscorer Besart Berisha but no relation, moves to reigning premiers City on a season-long deal loan from Ligue 1 outfit Stade de Reims – the home of former Adelaide United sensations Mohamed Toure and Yaya Dukuly.
Valon Berisha brings European pedigree and silverware to Melbourne, where fans will be able to watch him in action when City and defending champions kick-off the 2022-23 season in a Grand Final rematch at AAMI Park on October 7.
During his six years with Austrian powerhouse Salzburg, the 29-year-old won five league titles and four cups, playing alongside the likes of Hungarian star Dominik Szoboszlai, former Liverpool forward Takumi Minamino, Amadou Haidara, Duje Caleta-Car and Hwang Hee-chan.
In 2017-18, Berisha played a key role as Salzburg enjoyed their best-ever European campaign after making it all the way through to the Europa League semi-finals, with the Kosovan scoring four goals in the knockout phase.
Berisha scored against Real Sociedad in the round of 32, converted a pair of penalties in a stunning victory away to Borussia Dortmund in the last 16 and netted another goal as Salzburg conquered Lazio in the quarter-finals.
“I’m very excited to be here in Melbourne with a team that has been so successful on the pitch over the last few years, and I will do my best to help the team win more silverware this season,” said Berisha, who scored 45 goals and supplied 65 assists across 223 appearances for Salzburg between 2012 and 2018.
“It is a new challenge for me, and I can’t wait to get started.
“The players and coaches have been fantastic since I arrived and I’m excited to meet the City fans at our first match.”
He added: “I like pressure because I’m used to having the pressure.
“Even when I played in bigger stages in Europa League and also qualifiers for (UEFA) Champions League, I’m used to having pressure all the time.
“But football is about today and tomorrow, it’s not about what you’ve done before.
“For me, I came here and I want to start all over, this is a new chapter and I want to show myself to my teammates first and then, of course, to the league.
“In the end, the most important for me is the team to win because if the team wins you’ll win personally.”
Berisha was snapped up by Serie A giants Lazio for €7.5million at the end of that memorable 2017-18 Europa League campaign, having scored against Simeone Inzaghi’s side.
He teamed up with the likes of Ciro Immobile, Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, Joaquin Correa, Francesco Acerbi and Luiz Felipe as Lazio went on to claim the Coppa Italia before clinching the Suppercoppa Italiana that same year in 2019.
A loan stint in the Bundesliga followed via Fortuna Dusseldorf, coming up against German juggernaut Bayern Munich in 2020.
At the conclusion of his temporary switch to Fortuna, Berisha linked up with Reims in France ahead of 2020-21, where he has been based since going head-to-head with the likes of superstar Paris Saint-Germain trio Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe and Neymar.
Berisha featured in 13 Ligue 1 matches for Reims last season following a 24-game campaign in 2020-21.
At international level, Berisha has 36 caps, four goals and five assists to his name for Kosovo, having switched allegiances from Norway (20 matches between 2012 and 2016) after Kosovo became a FIFA member in 2016.
Valon played with A-Leagues legend Besart Berisha in the Kosovo national team.
While not related, the pair are friends and Valon sought insight from the former Brisbane Roar, Melbourne Victory and Western United striker – a one-time Kosovo international – about moving to Australia.
“Even though Besart played for the rivals he was talking good about the league,” Valon Berisha said.
“Knowing him from before, being in the national team, he talked really good about it and I remembered that.
“When he reached out now I knew he was going to tell me good things.”
“We’re excited to bring Valon to Melbourne City, he’s only 29 years of age and joins directly from one of the strongest leagues in world football,” said City’s director of football Michael Petrillo.
“His game fits what we need from our key midfield players. He plays with aggression and intensity both in and out of possession and has impressive technical ability.
“He is the type of player that will create chances and is also very capable of scoring himself.
“Most importantly he has a great mentality and application to the game and is a proven winner with five Austrian Bundesliga titles and four Austrian Cups with RB Salzburg.”
Berisha joins fellow European imports Richard van der Venne and Thomas Lam at City for the upcoming season.
