Olger Merkaj
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 23 July 1997 | ||
| Place of birth | Vlorë, Albania | ||
| Height | 1.82 m (6 ft 0 in) | ||
| Position(s) | |||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Vado | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2012–2016 | Sampdoria | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2016–2017 | Sampdoria | 0 | (0) |
| 2016–2017 | → Tuttocuoio (loan) | 11 | (2) |
| 2017 | Casale | 16 | (2) |
| 2017–2019 | Chieri | 48 | (11) |
| 2019–2020 | US Breno | 20 | (7) |
| 2020–2021 | Bra | 37 | (18) |
| 2021–2022 | Foggia | 17 | (2) |
| 2022 | Campobasso | 16 | (1) |
| 2022 | Trapani | 10 | (2) |
| 2022–2023 | Luparense | 13 | (1) |
| 2023 | Derthona | 14 | (2) |
| 2023– | Vado | 3 | (1) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 20 December 2023 | |||
Olger Merkaj (born 23 July 1997) is an Albanian professional footballer who plays as a right winger or forward for Italian Serie D club Vado.
Early life and youth career
Merkaj was born in Vlorë, Albania and moved to Italy aged 8. He started his youth career at Sampdoria in 2012.[2][3]
Tuttocuoio
On 26 June 2016 Merkaj was loaned to Lega Pro side Tuttocuoio.[4] He made it his club debut on 31 July 2016 in the 2015–16 Coppa Italia match against Casertana coming on as a substitute in the 83rd minute in place of Irakli Shekiladze.[5]
Chieri
On 2 December 2017 Casale announced that Merkaj moved to fellow Serie D side Chieri.[6] Four days later Merkaj debuted for Chieri with a goal in the Coppa Italia Serie D 3 round against Unione Sanremo. Merkaj's goal came in the 31st minute, 4 minutes after the opening goal of the match scored by Unione Sanremo and served to end the match in the 1–1, where then advanced in the penalty shoot-out where Merkaj's side was defeated 4–2.[7]
Foggia
On 9 July 2021, he signed with Serie C club Foggia.[8]
Campobasso
On 21 January 2022, he moved to Campobasso.[9]
Trapani
On 14 September 2022, he joined Trapani.[10]
Luparense
On 5 December 2022, Merkaj left Trapani to join Luparense.[11]
International career
Merkaj received his first international call up at the Albania national under-17 football team by coach Džemal Mustedanagić for the 2014 UEFA European Under-17 Championship elite round.[12] However, due to health problems he was sent to a hospital in Czech Republic and was unable to participate in the tournament. He was visited at hospital by 4 Captains of all Group 4 youth national teams, Keidi Bare of Albania U17, Ryan Ledson of England U17, Filippo Romagna of Italy U17 and David Záleský of Czech Republic U17.[13]
Following a good season with Tuttocuoio in the 2016–17 Lega Pro's first-half he received his first call-up at the Albania national under-21 football team by coach Alban Bushi for a gathering from 21 to 28 January 2017.[14]