Elvir Gigolaj

Elvir Gigolaj (born 30 June 1992) is a Bosnian footballer.

Elvir Gigolaj

Personal information
Full name	Elvir Gigolaj
Date of birth	(1992-06-30) 30 June 1992 (age 30)
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
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 8 February 2019

Early life

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

Early career

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

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

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

Gigolaj spent the 2016 and 2017 seasons with League1 Ontario club FC London.^[9][10] In 2021, he returned to the Canadian Soccer League to play with St. Catharines Hrvat.^[11]

Honours

FC London

• League1 Ontario First Team All Star: 2016^[12]
• League1 Ontario Third Team All Star: 2017^[13]

Career statistics

As of 1 October 2017^[14]

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^[15]	20	23	1	1	1	1	22	25
		2017^[16]	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

1. Sandor, Steve (17 January 2012). . The 11. Archived from the original on 6 August 2013.
2. . 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)
3. "St. Mary's men's soccer 2010 stats". AUS. Retrieved 6 October 2017.
4. "St. Mary's men's soccer 2011 stats". AUS. Retrieved 6 October 2017.
5. "FC EDMONTON VS. ATLANTA SILVERBACKS 1 – 2". Soccerway. Retrieved 5 July 2013.
6. "FC EDMONTON VS. FORT LAUDERDALE STRIKERS 2 – 2". Soccerway. Retrieved 5 July 2013.
7. Sandor, Steve. . The 11. Archived from the original on 23 January 2015. Retrieved 22 January 2015.
8. Sandor, Steve. . The 11. Archived from the original on 23 January 2015. Retrieved 22 January 2015.
9. "Elvir Gigolaj 2016". League1 Ontario. Retrieved 8 February 2019.
10. "Elvir Gigolaj 2017". League1 Ontario. Retrieved 8 February 2019.
11. "Canadian Soccer League | Player Stats". cslregistration.ca. Retrieved 12 September 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
12. "League1 Ontario Announces 2016 Men's First And Second Team All-Stars". League1 Ontario. 17 November 2016.
13. "League1 Ontario Announces 2017 Men's First, Second and Third Team All-Stars". League1 Ontario. 10 November 2017.
14. Elvir Gigolaj at Soccerway
15. "Elvir Gigolaj 2016 profile".
16. "Elvir Gigolaj 2017 profile".