Simon Simoni
Albanian footballer (born 2004)
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Simon Simoni (Albanian pronunciation: [ˈsimɔn siˈmɔni]; born 14 July 2004) is an Albanian professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for German 2. Bundesliga club 1. FC Kaiserslautern on loan from Eintracht Frankfurt. He represents Albania at both senior and under-21 level.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 14 July 2004 | ||
| Place of birth | Lezhë, Albania | ||
| Height | 1.92 m (6 ft 4 in) | ||
| Position | Goalkeeper | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | 1. FC Kaiserslautern | ||
| Number | 25 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2013–2014 | Besëlidhja | ||
| 2014–2021 | Shënkolli | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2018–2021 | Shënkolli | 4 | (0) |
| 2021–2023 | Dinamo Tirana | 26 | (0) |
| 2023– | Eintracht Frankfurt | 0 | (0) |
| 2023– | Eintracht Frankfurt II | 22 | (0) |
| 2024–2025 | → FC Ingolstadt 04 (loan) | 1 | (0) |
| 2025– | → 1. FC Kaiserslautern (loan) | 4 | (0) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2020 | Albania U16 | 3 | (0) |
| 2019–2020 | Albania U17 | 2 | (0) |
| 2021 | Albania U18 | 2 | (0) |
| 2021–2022 | Albania U19 | 8 | (0) |
| 2021 | Albania U20 | 2 | (0) |
| 2022– | Albania U21 | 11 | (0) |
| 2025– | Albania | 1 | (0) |
|
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 27 December 2025 ‡ National team caps and goals as of 4 September 2025 | |||
After progressing through youth systems at Besëlidhja in Albania, he made senior appearances at age of 17 for Dinamo Tirana before moving to Germany in early 2023 with Eintracht Frankfurt. After a loan to Ingolstadt 04, he joined 1. FC Kaiserslautern on 1 year-and-half loan in January 2025.
Having previously appeared for the Albania at every youth level from under-16 to under-21, he made his senior debut in 2025.
Club career
On 1 January 2023, Simoni signed for Bundesliga club Eintracht Frankfurt on a four-and-a-half-year contract.[1]
On 5 July 2024, Simoni moved on loan to 3. Liga club FC Ingolstadt 04.[2]
On 15 January 2025, he was loaned to 1. FC Kaiserslautern in 2. Bundesliga for 18 months.[3][4]
On 29 October 2025, Simoni made his first appearance of the season for Kaiserslautern in the DFB-Pokal second round match against SpVgg Greuther Fürth, keeping a clean sheet in a 1–0 away win that secured qualification to the round of 16.[5] He made six saves and was rated the best player of the match, earning an average rating around 8.0. The match also marked his return to action after a seven-month absence.[6]
International career
Simoni represented Albania in their youth national teams, including U16, U17, U18, U19, U20 and U21.[7] Simoni received his first senior call-up in June 2022 under coach Edoardo Reja for a friendly against Estonia, following the simultaneous absences of regular goalkeepers Etrit Berisha and Thomas Strakosha. He was considered back-up to Gentian Selmani but remained an unused substitute.[8] Under coach Sylvinho, he was occasionally included in squads as a reserve behind Berisha, Strakosha and Elhan Kastrati. On 27 May 2024, he was named in the 27-man preliminary squad for UEFA Euro 2024 as one of four goalkeepers,[9] but was omitted when the squad was reduced to 26 players ahead of the tournament.[10]
In August 2024, he was again called up for the start of the 2024–25 UEFA Nations League A, serving as third-choice behind Strakosha and Alen Sherri.[11]
In September 2025, Simoni was called up for a friendly against Gibraltar and a 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifier against Latvia, being added to the squad as a replacement for Kastrati, who withdrew due to injury.[12] He made his senior debut on 4 September against Gibraltar, coming on as a substitute for Mario Dajsinani in the 61st minute, as Albania kept a clean sheet in a 0–1 away victory.[13]
Career statistics
Club
- As of match played 15 September 2023[14]
| Club | Season | League | National cup | Europe | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Shënkolli | 2018–19 | Kategoria e Parë | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2019–20 | Kategoria e Parë | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | ||
| 2020-21 | Kategoria e Dytë | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||
| Total | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | |||
| Dinamo Tirana | 2021-22 | Kategoria Superiore | 16 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 18 | 0 | |
| 2022–23 | Kategoria e Parë | 10 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 11 | 0 | ||
| Total | 26 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 29 | 0 | |||
| Eintracht Frankfurt II | 2022–23 | Hessenliga | 8 | 0 | — | — | — | 8 | 0 | |||
| 2023–24 | Regionalliga Südwest | 7 | 0 | — | — | — | 7 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 15 | 0 | — | — | — | 15 | 0 | |||||
| Career total | 45 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 48 | 0 | ||
International
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Albania | |||
| 2025 | 1 | 0 | |
| Total | 1 | 0 | |