Ezgjan Alioski facts for kids
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Alioski playing for Macedonia in 2014
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Ezgjan Alioski Езѓан Алиоски |
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| Date of birth | 12 February 1992 | ||
| Place of birth | Prilep, Macedonia | ||
| Height | 1.71 m (5 ft 7 in) | ||
| Position(s) | |||
| Team information | |||
|
Current team
|
Lugano | ||
| Number | 7 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2003–2010 | Young Boys | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2010–2013 | Young Boys U23 | 57 | (4) |
| 2013–2016 | Schaffhausen | 77 | (4) |
| 2015–2016 | → Lugano (loan) | 16 | (3) |
| 2016–2017 | Lugano | 34 | (16) |
| 2017–2021 | Leeds United | 161 | (21) |
| 2021–2025 | Al-Ahli | 32 | (6) |
| 2022–2023 | → Fenerbahçe (loan) | 17 | (1) |
| 2025– | Lugano | 0 | (0) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2010–2011 | Macedonia U19 | 6 | (0) |
| 2013–2014 | Macedonia U21 | 10 | (0) |
| 2013– | North Macedonia | 85 | (13) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 22 September 2023 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 12 June 2025 |
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Ezgjan Alioski (whose name is pronounced Ez-jan Ah-lee-os-kee) was born on February 12, 1992. He is a professional footballer from North Macedonia. He plays as a defender or midfielder. Currently, he plays for the Swiss Super League club Lugano. He also plays for the North Macedonia national team.
Many people call him 'Gjanni'. Alioski is a very flexible player who uses his left foot well. He can play in many different positions. These include striker, defensive midfielder, attacking midfielder, right winger, left wing-back, or left-back.
Fans of Leeds United called him their own “Duracell Bunny”. This was because he had amazing speed and could run for a very long time without getting tired.
Contents
Club Career Highlights
Starting Out in Football
Alioski started his football journey in 2003. He joined the youth academy of Young Boys. From 2010 to 2013, he played as a left-back for their second team. During this time, he scored four goals in 57 games. In January 2013, he moved to Schaffhausen on loan. He then joined them permanently in October 2013. He scored four goals in 77 matches for Schaffhausen.
Playing for Lugano
In January 2016, Alioski joined Lugano on loan. He played his first game for them on February 13, 2016. His team lost 2–1 to Thun. Even though he was signed as a left-back, his manager, Zdeněk Zeman, changed his position. Alioski started playing as an attacking right winger and striker. This happened towards the end of the 2015–16 season. He scored his first goal for Lugano on May 11, 2016. It was in a big 4–0 win against Zürich.
In June 2016, Alioski's move to Lugano became permanent. The new manager, Andrea Manzo, kept him in attacking roles. He scored his first goal of the new season on July 30, 2016. It was in a 2–1 win over Young Boys. He scored seven goals in his first ten games for the club. On April 9, 2017, Alioski scored three goals in one game (a hat-trick) for Lugano. This helped them win 4–2 against Sion.
He played very well in his first full season. He helped Lugano finish third in the Swiss Super League. Alioski scored 16 goals in 34 games for Lugano. He was the third-highest goal scorer in the league during the 2016–17 season. He also made 14 assists in 34 games, which was the third-highest in the league.
Time at Leeds United
Alioski was a key player when Leeds United returned to the Premier League. This happened in the 2019–20 season after 16 years away. He scored important goals during that season.
2017–18 Season at Leeds
Alioski joined the English club Leeds United on July 13, 2017. He played his first game on August 6, 2017. Leeds won 3–2 against Bolton Wanderers. He also helped set up a goal for his teammate Chris Wood. He got another assist and was named "man of the match" in a 2–0 win over Sunderland. On August 26, Alioski scored his first goal for Leeds. He also won "man of the match" in a 2–0 victory against Nottingham Forest.
His goal against Nottingham Forest was so good that he won the Championship Goal of the Month Award for August. In November 2017, Alioski scored in all four of Leeds United's games. He was given the club's Player of the Month award. On April 16, 2018, Alioski was one of four players nominated for Leeds United's Player of The Year award. He scored the winning goal on April 21 in a 2–1 win against Barnsley. He finished the season with seven goals and five assists. At Leeds' annual award ceremony, Alioski won the Goal of the Season award for his amazing goal against Nottingham Forest.
2018–19 Season at Leeds
He scored his first goal of the 2018–19 season on August 11. It was in a 4–1 victory over Derby County. Alioski started the season as a winger, playing on either the right or left side. However, when the regular left-back Barry Douglas got injured, Alioski stepped in. He played very well as a left-back. His good performance meant that even when Douglas returned, Alioski kept his spot.
He continued to do well in this wing-back position throughout 2019. He made strong runs up the left side of the field. He scored goals against Stoke City, Bolton Wanderers, and West Bromwich Albion. This brought his total for the 2018–19 Championship season to seven goals. However, on April 22, he got injured during a game against Brentford. He had a torn meniscus and missed the rest of the season, including the play-offs.
In the 2018–19 season, Alioski played 47 games and scored seven goals. Leeds finished third in the regular season. They qualified for the play-offs against Derby County. Leeds won the first game 1–0. But they lost the second game 2–4, and were knocked out.
2019–20 Season at Leeds
On August 24, Alioski scored his first goal of the 2019–20 season. It was in a 3–0 win over Stoke City. The football season was paused in March 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. When the season started again in June, Alioski and Leeds earned promotion to the Premier League. They also became the EFL Championship winners for the 2019–20 season. Alioski played a big part in their promotion, scoring important goals and helping to change games.
2020–21 Season at Leeds
Alioski played his first Premier League game on September 19, 2020. He came on as a substitute in Leeds' 4–3 home win over Fulham. A few days earlier, he had started a League Cup game against Hull City. He scored the only goal in that game, which ended 1–1. Hull City then won on penalties.
He made his first Premier League start on October 5, 2020, against Manchester City. On December 16, 2020, he scored his first Premier League goal. It was in a 5–2 home win against Newcastle United. Alioski scored his last goal of 2020 in a 5–0 away win over West Bromwich Albion. As the 2020-21 season ended, Leeds offered Alioski a new contract. However, they could not agree, so Alioski left Leeds after four years.
Playing for Al-Ahli
On July 29, 2021, Alioski signed with the Saudi Arabian club Al-Ahli.
Loan to Fenerbahçe
On August 2, 2022, he joined Süper Lig club Fenerbahçe on loan. This loan lasted for the rest of the 2022-23 season. Alioski won the 2023 Turkish Cup with Fenerbahçe. They beat İstanbul Başakşehir 2-0 in the final game.
International Football Career
Alioski could have played for either Macedonia or Albania. This is because he has Albanian family roots. But he chose to play for the country where he was born, Macedonia. He played for Macedonia at different youth levels. He then made his debut for the senior team in 2013.
He scored his first goal for his country on September 5, 2016. It was against Albania in a 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification match. He mostly played as a left wing-back for his national team. Later, he moved to a more attacking midfield position.
On September 6, 2018, Alioski scored in a 2–0 win over Gibraltar. This was in the UEFA Nations League. He scored again in his country's next game on September 9. It was another 2–0 UEFA Nations League win, this time against Armenia.
In May 2021, Alioski was chosen for the 26-man squad to play in the UEFA Euro 2020 tournament. This was a very special moment. It was the first time North Macedonia had ever played in a major football tournament. During North Macedonia's first game against Austria, an opposing player, Marko Arnautović, said some angry words towards Alioski and his teammate Egzon Bejtulai. The Football Federation of Macedonia asked UEFA to look into the matter. On June 17, 2021, Alioski scored a goal against Ukraine. He scored from a rebound after his own penalty kick was saved.
About Ezgjan Alioski
Alioski is a Muslim. His family is of Albanian origin from Crnilište. He is very good at languages and can speak many fluently. These include Albanian, Croatian, English, French, German, Italian, Macedonian, and Spanish. He is a citizen of both North Macedonia and Switzerland.
Career Statistics
Club Appearances and Goals
| Club | Season | League | National cup | League cup | Continental | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Schaffhausen | 2013–14 | Swiss Challenge League | 26 | 2 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 27 | 2 | ||
| 2014–15 | 35 | 2 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 36 | 2 | ||||
| 2015–16 | 16 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 17 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 77 | 4 | 3 | 0 | — | — | 80 | 4 | ||||
| Lugano | 2015–16 | Swiss Super League | 16 | 3 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 18 | 3 | ||
| 2016–17 | 34 | 16 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 35 | 16 | ||||
| Total | 50 | 19 | 3 | 0 | — | — | 53 | 19 | ||||
| Leeds United | 2017–18 | Championship | 42 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | 45 | 7 | |
| 2018–19 | 44 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 47 | 7 | |||
| 2019–20 | 39 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 41 | 5 | |||
| 2020–21 | Premier League | 36 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | — | 37 | 3 | ||
| Total | 161 | 21 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 1 | — | 170 | 22 | |||
| Al-Ahli | 2021–22 | Saudi Pro League | 28 | 6 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 30 | 6 | ||
| 2023–24 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 4 | 0 | ||||
| 2024–25 | — | — | — | 6 | 0 | 6 | 0 | |||||
| Total | 32 | 6 | 2 | 0 | — | 6 | 0 | 40 | 6 | |||
| Fenerbahçe (loan) | 2022–23 | Süper Lig | 17 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | 8 | 0 | 26 | 1 | |
| Career total | 337 | 51 | 11 | 0 | 7 | 1 | 14 | 0 | 369 | 52 | ||
International Appearances and Goals
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| North Macedonia | |||
| 2013 | 3 | 0 | |
| 2014 | 5 | 0 | |
| 2015 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2016 | 4 | 1 | |
| 2017 | 8 | 0 | |
| 2018 | 7 | 3 | |
| 2019 | 8 | 1 | |
| 2020 | 6 | 2 | |
| 2021 | 15 | 5 | |
| 2022 | 6 | 0 | |
| 2023 | 9 | 0 | |
| 2024 | 9 | 0 | |
| 2025 | 4 | 1 | |
| Total | 85 | 13 | |
- As of match played 6 June 2025. North Macedonia score listed first, score column indicates score after each Alioski goal.
| No. | Date | Venue | Cap | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 September 2016 | Loro Boriçi Stadium, Shkodër, Albania | 7 |  Albania |
1–1 | 1–2 | 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 2 | 6 September 2018 | Victoria Stadium, Gibraltar | 21 |  Gibraltar |
2–0 | 2–0 | 2018–19 UEFA Nations League D |
| 3 | 9 September 2018 | Philip II Arena, Skopje, Macedonia | 22 |  Armenia |
1–0 | 2–0 | |
| 4 | 13 October 2018 | 23 |  Liechtenstein |
4–1 | 4–1 | ||
| 5 | 21 March 2019 | 26 |  Latvia |
1–0 | 3–1 | UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying | |
| 6 | 5 September 2020 | Toše Proeski Arena, Skopje, North Macedonia | 34 | Armenia |
1–0 | 2–1 | 2020–21 UEFA Nations League C |
| 7 | 14 October 2020 | 38 |  Georgia |
1–1 | 1–1 | ||
| 8 | 4 June 2021 | 44 |  Kazakhstan |
1–0 | 4–0 | Friendly | |
| 9 | 17 June 2021 | Arena Națională, Bucharest, Romania | 46 |  Ukraine |
1–2 | 1–2 | UEFA Euro 2020 |
| 10 | 5 September 2021 | Laugardalsvöllur, Reykjavík, Iceland | 49 |  Iceland |
2–0 | 2–2 | 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 11 | 8 October 2021 | Rheinpark Stadion, Vaduz, Liechtenstein | 51 | Liechtenstein |
2–0 | 4–0 | |
| 12 | 14 November 2021 | Toše Proeski Arena, Skopje, North Macedonia | 54 | Iceland |
1–0 | 3–1 | |
| 13 | 6 June 2025 | 84 |  Belgium |
1–1 | 1–1 | 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification |
Awards and Achievements
Leeds United
- EFL Championship: 2019–20
Fenerbahçe
- Turkish Cup: 2022–23
Al-Ahli
- AFC Champions League Elite: 2024–25
Individual Awards
- Swiss Super League Team of the Year: 2016–17
- EFL Championship Goal of the Month: August 2017
- Leeds United Goal of the Season: 2017–18
See also
In Spanish: Ezgjan Alioski para niños
