Elvir Gigolaj
 Gigolag in 2016 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Elvir Gigolaj | ||
| Date of birth | 30 June 1992 | ||
| Place of birth | Croatia | ||
| Height | 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Forward | ||
| College career | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2010–2011 | Saint Mary's | 26 | (11) |
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2011 | London City | ||
| 2012–2013 | FC Edmonton | 6 | (1) |
| 2016–2017 | FC London | 39 | (40) |
| 2021 | St. Catharines Hrvat | ||
| 2024– | Hamilton City | ||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 8 February 2019 | |||
Elvir Gigolaj (born 30 June 1992) is a Bosnian footballer who plays with Hamilton City.
Early life
[edit]Gigolaj was born in Croatia to a Kosovar Albanian father and Bosniak mother from Brčko, Bosnia and Herzegovina. He was raised in London, Ontario, where his father owns a bakery that carries the family name.[1]
Club career
[edit]Early career
[edit]He, at one point, played for London City's soccer side who participated in the Canadian Soccer League and with whom he had a good relationship with his coach, Luka Shaqiri.[1][2]
Gigolaj attended St. Mary's University for two years from 2010 to 2012, playing for the Huskies in the 2010 and 2011 varsity seasons, scoring 11 goals in 26 appearances.[3][4]
FC Edmonton
[edit]In January 2012, after training with the team, Gigolaj officially joined FC Edmonton of the North American Soccer League.[1] Gigolaj then made his debut for FC Edmonton in the NASL on 3 June 2012 in which he came on as an 85th-minute substitute for Yashir Pinto as FC Edmonton went on to lose the match 2–1.[5]
He then scored his first professional goal of his career on 23 September 2012 against the Fort Lauderdale Strikers in which he found the net in the 90th minute to start a late comeback for Edmonton as they went from 2–0 down to finishing the match drawing 2–2.[6]
On 30 June 2013, it was announced that Gigolaj was released by FC Edmonton.[7]
Germany
[edit]After being released by FC Edmonton, Gigolaj attempted to join the reserve team of German Bundesliga side, Hertha BSC but he had hit paperwork problems.[8]
FC London
[edit]Gigolaj spent the 2016 and 2017 seasons with League1 Ontario club FC London.[9][10]
CSL
[edit]In 2021, he returned to the Canadian Soccer League to play with St. Catharines Hrvat.[11] Gigolaj signed with league rivals Hamilton City in 2024.[12]
Honours
[edit]FC London
- League1 Ontario First Team All Star: 2016[13]
- League1 Ontario Third Team All Star: 2017[14]
Career statistics
[edit]- As of 1 October 2017[15]
| Club | League | Season | League | Playoffs | Cup | Total | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |||
| FC Edmonton | NASL | 2012 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 1 |
| 2013 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| FC Edmonton total | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 1 | ||
| FC London | League1 Ontario | 2016[16] | 20 | 23 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 22 | 25 |
| 2017[17] | 19 | 17 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 20 | 17 | ||
| Total | 39 | 40 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 42 | 42 | ||
| Career total | 45 | 40 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 48 | 42 | ||
References
[edit]- ^ a b c Sandor, Steve (17 January 2012). "Confident Gigolaj wants to be a starter for FC Edmonton". The 11. Archived from the original on 6 August 2013.
- ^ "Canadian Soccer League". 2 October 2011. Archived from the original on 2 October 2011. Retrieved 15 July 2017.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - ^ "St. Mary's men's soccer 2010 stats". AUS. Retrieved 6 October 2017.
- ^ "St. Mary's men's soccer 2011 stats". AUS. Retrieved 6 October 2017.
- ^ "FC EDMONTON VS. ATLANTA SILVERBACKS 1 – 2". Soccerway. Retrieved 5 July 2013.
- ^ "FC EDMONTON VS. FORT LAUDERDALE STRIKERS 2 – 2". Soccerway. Retrieved 5 July 2013.
- ^ Sandor, Steve. "LeRoy, Gigolaj cut loose by FC Edmonton". The 11. Archived from the original on 23 January 2015. Retrieved 22 January 2015.
- ^ Sandor, Steve. "Canadian striker Gigolaj waiting on DFB clearance before he can play with Hertha Berlin's reserves". The 11. Archived from the original on 23 January 2015. Retrieved 22 January 2015.
- ^ "Elvir Gigolaj 2016". League1 Ontario. Retrieved 8 February 2019.
- ^ "Elvir Gigolaj 2017". League1 Ontario. Retrieved 8 February 2019.
- ^ "Canadian Soccer League | Player Stats". cslregistration.ca. Archived from the original on 21 September 2021. Retrieved 12 September 2021.
- ^ Adamson, Stan (12 August 2024). "Unity Hold Scarborough in Rough and Tumble - Wins for Falcons, Serbian White Eagles". Canadian Soccer League. Retrieved 12 August 2024.
- ^ "League1 Ontario Announces 2016 Men's First And Second Team All-Stars". League1 Ontario. 17 November 2016.
- ^ "League1 Ontario Announces 2017 Men's First, Second and Third Team All-Stars". League1 Ontario. 10 November 2017.
- ^ Elvir Gigolaj at Soccerway
- ^ "Elvir Gigolaj 2016 profile".
- ^ "Elvir Gigolaj 2017 profile".
External links
[edit]- Elvir Gigolaj at Soccerway
- 1992 births
- Living people
- Men's association football forwards
- Canadian men's soccer players
- Canadian people of Albanian descent
- Canadian people of Bosnia and Herzegovina descent
- Canadian people of Kosovan descent
- Soccer players from London, Ontario
- Croatian emigrants to Canada
- Naturalized citizens of Canada
- Croatian people of Albanian descent
- Croatian people of Kosovan descent
- Croatian people of Bosniak descent
- London City Soccer Club players
- FC Edmonton players
- Canadian Soccer League (1998–present) players
- North American Soccer League (2011–2017) players
- League1 Ontario players
- FC London players
- Hamilton City SC players
- 21st-century Canadian sportsmen