Shkodran Mustafi

Shkodran Mustafi
Mustafi training with Arsenal in 2018
Personal information
Full name Shkodran Mustafi[1]
Date of birth (1992-04-17) 17 April 1992 (age 32)[2]
Place of birth Bad Hersfeld, Germany
Height 1.84 m (6 ft 0 in)[3]
Position(s) Centre-back
Youth career
2000–2004 1. FV Bebra
2004–2006 SV Rotenburg
2006–2009 Hamburger SV
2009 Everton
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2009–2012 Everton 0 (0)
2012–2014 Sampdoria 51 (1)
2014–2016 Valencia 64 (6)
2016–2021 Arsenal 102 (7)
2021 Schalke 04 13 (1)
2021–2023 Levante 14 (2)
Total 244 (17)
International career
2008 Germany U16 5 (0)
2008–2009 Germany U17 24 (5)
2009–2010 Germany U18 6 (1)
2010–2011 Germany U19 9 (2)
2011–2013 Germany U20 10 (3)
2013 Germany U21 7 (0)
2014–2017 Germany 20 (2)
Medal record
Men's football
Representing  Germany
FIFA World Cup
Winner 2014 Brazil
FIFA Confederations Cup
Winner 2017 Russia
UEFA European Under-17 Championship
Winner 2009 Germany
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Shkodran Mustafi (German pronunciation: [ˈʃkoːdʁan ˈmʊstafiː]; born 17 April 1992) is a German former professional footballer who played as a centre-back.

Mustafi began his career in the youth ranks of Hamburger SV and English club Everton, where he made one substitute appearance for them before leaving to Sampdoria in January 2012. He signed a five-year deal at Valencia in August 2014, and moved to Arsenal for a reported £35 million two years later. He played 151 games for Arsenal. He later returned to the Bundesliga with Schalke 04 and La Liga with Levante.

Mustafi made his full international debut against Poland on 13 May 2014, and was part of the German teams that won the 2014 FIFA World Cup and the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup, also competing at UEFA Euro 2016.

Club career

[edit]

Early career

[edit]

Mustafi was born in Bad Hersfeld, Hesse,[4] to a Macedonian Albanian family originally from Gostivar in the former Yugoslavia.[5] Mustafi started his career in the youth system of local 1. FC Bebra, and had a stint with SV Rotenburg, before joining Hamburger SV's youth setup in 2006.[6]

Everton

[edit]
Mustafi playing for Everton in 2011

In May 2009, Mustafi joined Everton, initially assigned to the academy team.[7] He later stated that "Goodison Park feels like home", after turning down offers from Manchester City and Newcastle United.[8]

Mustafi made his competitive debut on 16 December 2009, replacing Tony Hibbert in the 75th minute of a 0–1 home loss against BATE Borisov, for the season's UEFA Europa League.[9] He was also named on the bench for the Premier League matches against Arsenal and Manchester City in January. Mustafi only appeared on the bench nine times in the following two campaigns, but never played in any further matches.[10]

Sampdoria

[edit]

In January 2012, Mustafi moved to Italian Serie B side Sampdoria, on a free transfer.[11] Mustafi was released by Everton after he asked manager David Moyes to allow him to move on for more game time.[12]

Mustafi made his Samp debut on 26 May 2012, starting and playing the full 90 minutes of a 1–3 loss at Varese.[13] It was his maiden appearance in the competition, as Sampdoria returned to Serie A at first attempt. He made his debut in the Italian top flight on 11 November 2012, starting in a 0–2 loss at Palermo.[14]

On 26 October of the following year he scored his first professional goal, netting the game's only against Atalanta at the Stadio Luigi Ferraris.[15]

Valencia

[edit]
Mustafi playing for Valencia in 2015

On 7 August 2014, Mustafi signed a five-year deal with La Liga's Valencia CF, for an undisclosed fee,[16] rumoured to be €8 million.[17] He debuted for his new team on 25 September, against Córdoba in an eventual 3–0 home win.[18] A month later, he scored his first goal for the team, opening a 3–1 home win over Elche.[19] In Valencia's next match on 2 November, against another regional rival, Villarreal, Mustafi scored a brace in a 3–1 away win to put Valencia into second place in the league.[20]

On 3 March 2016, Mustafi received a straight red card in the first half of Valencia's 7–0 loss at Barcelona in the first leg of the Copa del Rey semi-final, after conceding a penalty with a foul on Lionel Messi. He then pleaded for the team's forgiveness by the Che supporters.[21]

Arsenal

[edit]

On 30 August 2016, Mustafi joined English club Arsenal for an undisclosed fee, reported to be in excess of £35 million.[22][23] He made his debut in Arsenal's 2–1 Premier League win over Southampton at the Emirates Stadium on 10 September.[24] Mustafi beat Bacary Sagna's record unbeaten start of 17 games at the club in Arsenal's 3–3 draw against Bournemouth with his 18th game without defeat.[25] On 22 January 2017, he scored his first goal for the club in a home 2–1 league win over Burnley.[26] Because of illness, he missed Arsenal's 2–1 win over Chelsea in the 2017 FA Cup Final on 27 May.[27][28]

Mustafi was in the starting 11 against Manchester City in the EFL Cup final on 25 February 2018. He made a mistake in the 18th minute that allowed Sergio Agüero to score the first goal of a 3–0 City win.[29] On 29 May 2019, he was an unused substitute in the Europa League final against Chelsea, in which Arsenal were defeated 4–1.[30] He missed the 2020 FA Cup Final against the same team due to a hamstring injury, and Arsenal won 2–1.[31][32]

On 29 August 2020, Mustafi missed Arsenal's victory over Liverpool in the 2020 FA Community Shield because of injury.[33][34] The following 1 February, Arsenal and Mustafi reached a mutual agreement to terminate his contract.[35] During his tenure at Arsenal, he developed a reputation for errors.[36][37]

Schalke 04

[edit]

On 1 February 2021, Mustafi joined German side Schalke 04 on a permanent transfer.[38] He was reportedly signed as the replacement for Liverpool-bound Ozan Kabak on a six-month contract.[39] He made his debut five days later in a 0–3 defeat against RB Leipzig in the Bundesliga.[40] He played 13 games for the team from Gelsenkirchen, scoring in a 4–2 loss at Hoffenheim on 8 May.[41]

Levante

[edit]

On 2 September 2021, Mustafi returned to the city of Valencia, joining La Liga club Levante on a two-year deal.[42] He suffered from several injuries and made only 11 appearances as the team suffered relegation; this included three months with a knee injury from December to March 2022, followed by a quadriceps strain between April and July.[43][44] His one goal was the early opener in a 3–1 loss at Real Betis on 28 November 2021.[45] He was confirmed to have been released by the club on 10 July 2023 after his contract expired [46] and retired on 25 June 2024 to become the assistant coach of the German U17 national team, having not played senior football after leaving Levante.[47] In the four top-flights of Italy, England, Spain and Germany he amassed 240 league matches in his career.[48]

International career

[edit]
Mustafi celebrating Germany's victory in the 2014 FIFA World Cup

Eligible to represent Germany, North Macedonia and Albania,[49][50] Mustafi played for his country of birth at youth level; with the under-17 team he won the 2009 UEFA European Under-17 Championship.[51]

Joachim Löw called up Mustafi to the Germany national squad for a friendly match against Chile in February 2014,[52] he made his full international debut in a friendly match against Poland, playing the full 90 minutes of a goalless draw at the Volksparkstadion on 13 May 2014.[53]

Mustafi was selected in Germany's 30-man provisional squad before the 2014 FIFA World Cup by Löw. After initially not making the squad for the finals,[54] he was subsequently nominated as the replacement for the injured Marco Reus.[55] He appeared as a substitute in Germany's opening World Cup game against Portugal, coming on in the 73rd minute in place of Mats Hummels to win his second cap.[56]

In the team's second match, he again came on as a substitute, replacing Jérôme Boateng at half time against Ghana.[57] He was selected to start at right-back in Germany's round of 16 match against Algeria, but was substituted in the 70th minute for Sami Khedira due to an injury in his left thigh.[58] It was later confirmed by the DFB that Mustafi would take no further part in the World Cup due to the torn fibre muscle.[59]

Mustafi was also called up for UEFA Euro 2016. In Germany's opening match against Ukraine in Lille, he headed a delivery from Toni Kroos to open a 2–0 win. That was his first goal for Germany.[60][61] He was also part of their squad that won the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup in Russia,[62] but was omitted from the following year's World Cup in the same country due to a poor season with Arsenal.[63] So his 20th international appearance from October 2017 was eventually his last one.[64]

During this time, Mustafi was a part of a collaboration between the German Football Association and The LEGO Group, who in May 2016 released a Europe-exclusive collectible minifigure series, with Mustafi featured as the sixth of sixteen minifigures in the collection.[65]

Personal life

[edit]

Mustafi is an ethnic Albanian from Gostivar, North Macedonia. He was born and grew up in Germany and holds both Albanian and German citizenship. Mustafi is a practising Muslim.[66] In July 2016, he married Albanian model Vjosa Kaba in Gostivar.[67] The couple has a daughter, Noemi (born in July 2017), and a son, Amar (born in January 2019).[68][69]

Career statistics

[edit]

Club

[edit]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition[70]
Club Season League National cup League cup Europe Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Everton 2009–10 Premier League 0 0 0 0 0 0 1[a] 0 1 0
2010–11 Premier League 0 0 0 0 0 0 — 0 0
2011–12 Premier League 0 0 0 0 0 0 — 0 0
Total 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0
Sampdoria 2011–12 Serie B 1 0 — — — 1 0
2012–13 Serie A 17 0 0 0 — — 17 0
2013–14 Serie A 33 1 2 0 — — 35 1
Total 51 1 2 0 — — 53 1
Valencia 2014–15 La Liga 33 4 3 0 — — 36 4
2015–16 La Liga 30 2 4 0 — 10[b] 0 44 2
2016–17 La Liga 1 0 — — — 1 0
Total 64 6 7 0 — 10 0 81 6
Arsenal 2016–17 Premier League 26 2 4 0 0 0 7[c] 0 37 2
2017–18 Premier League 27 3 0 0 3 0 8[a] 0 38 3
2018–19 Premier League 31 2 1 0 2 0 6[a] 1 40 3
2019–20 Premier League 15 0 3 0 2 0 7[a] 1 27 1
2020–21 Premier League 3 0 0 0 1 0 5[a] 0 9 0
Total 102 7 8 0 8 0 33 2 151 9
Schalke 04 2020–21 Bundesliga 13 1 0 0 — — 13 1
Levante 2021–22 La Liga 11 1 1 0 — — 12 1
2022–23 Segunda División 3 1 0 0 — — 3 1
Total 14 2 1 0 — — 15 2
Career total 244 17 18 0 8 0 44 2 314 19
  1. ^ a b c d e Appearance(s) in UEFA Europa League
  2. ^ Seven appearances in UEFA Champions League, three appearances in UEFA Europa League
  3. ^ Appearances in UEFA Champions League

International

[edit]
Appearances and goals by national team and year[53]
National team Year Apps Goals
Germany
2014 6 0
2015 3 0
2016 6 1
2017 5 1
Total 20 2
Germany score listed first, score column indicates score after each Mustafi goal.[53]
List of international goals scored by Shkodran Mustafi
No. Date Venue Cap Opponent Score Result Competition
1 12 June 2016 Stade Pierre-Mauroy, Lille, France 11  Ukraine 1–0 2–0 UEFA Euro 2016
2 10 June 2017 Stadion Nürnberg, Nuremberg, Germany 16  San Marino 5–0 7–0 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification

Honours

[edit]
Mustafi holding the FIFA World Cup Trophy at Germany's victory parade in Berlin

Arsenal

Germany U17

Germany

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Acta del Partido celebrado el 22 de agosto de 2016, en Valencia" [Minutes of the Match held on 22 August 2016, in Valencia] (in Spanish). Royal Spanish Football Federation. Retrieved 16 June 2019.
  2. ^ "Shkodran Mustafi: Overview". ESPN. Retrieved 29 June 2020.
  3. ^ "Shkodran Mustafi: Overview". Premier League. Retrieved 23 February 2020.
  4. ^ "Shkodran Mustafi: Profile". worldfootball.net. HEIM:SPIEL. Retrieved 29 June 2020.
  5. ^ Panorama-sport (22 January 2014). "Shkodran Mustafi, "blerja" e kombetares". Panorama sport. Archived from the original on 25 January 2014. Retrieved 22 January 2014.
  6. ^ "ShieldSquare Captcha". validate.perfdrive.com. Retrieved 14 February 2021.
  7. ^ "Sein Gefühl sagte FC Everton" [His feelings told Everton FC] (in German). Hamburger Abendblatt. 2 May 2009. Retrieved 7 August 2014.
  8. ^ "Goodison Park Feels Like Home – New Everton Signing Mustafi Shkodran". Goal.com. 19 May 2009. Retrieved 7 August 2014.
  9. ^ "BATE sign off with Goodison win". UEFA. 17 December 2009. Retrieved 7 August 2014.
  10. ^ "ToffeeWeb - Everton Players: Shkodran Mustafi". www.toffeeweb.com. Retrieved 14 February 2021.
  11. ^ McLeod, Scott (4 January 2012). "Mustafi Moves On". Everton F.C. Retrieved 4 January 2012.
  12. ^ O'Rourke, Pete (15 July 2014). "Transfer news: Germany star Shkodran Mustafi explains Everton exit". Sky Sports. Retrieved 13 January 2017.
  13. ^ "Varese 3 – Sampdoria 1". Il Secolo XIX (in Italian). 26 May 2012. Retrieved 7 August 2014.
  14. ^ "Palermo 2 – 0 Sampdoria". Football Italia. 11 November 2012. Retrieved 7 August 2014.
  15. ^ "Sampdoria 1 – 0 Atalanta". Football Italia. 26 October 2013. Retrieved 7 August 2014.
  16. ^ "Comunicado Oficial" [Official announcement] (in Spanish). Valencia CF. 7 August 2014. Retrieved 7 August 2014.
  17. ^ "Mustafi ya es oficialmente jugador del Valencia" [Mustafi officially is a Valencia player]. Marca (in Spanish). 6 August 2014. Retrieved 7 August 2014.
  18. ^ Alcácer, Gayà y Feghouli traen el liderato (Alcácer, Gayá and Feghouli bring the lead); Super Deporte, 26 September 2014
  19. ^ "Valencia 3–1 Elche". Goal.com. 25 October 2014. Retrieved 1 November 2014.
  20. ^ "Valencia beats Villarreal 3–1 to move 2nd in Spain". Associated Press. 2 November 2014. Retrieved 2 November 2014.
  21. ^ Manuca, David (4 February 2016). "Mustafi apologizes for Barcelona drubbing". Goal.com. Retrieved 23 March 2016.
  22. ^ "Shkodran Mustafi signs for Arsenal". Arsenal F.C. Retrieved 31 August 2016.
  23. ^ "Arsenal sign Shkodran Mustafi for more than £35m and Lucas Perez for £17.1m". BBC Sport. 30 August 2016. Retrieved 30 August 2016.
  24. ^ Ed Malyon (10 September 2016). "Arsenal hand full debuts to Lucas Perez and Shkodran Mustafi for visit of Southampton". Mirror. Retrieved 10 September 2016.
  25. ^ "Shkodran Mustafi is unbeaten in his first 18 games for Arsenal". tribuna.com. Tribuna Digital. Retrieved 21 January 2017.
  26. ^ Skelton, Jack (22 January 2017). "Arsenal 2–1 Burnley". BBC Sport. Retrieved 11 February 2017.
  27. ^ "PMB: FA Cup final – tactics". Chelsea F.C. 27 May 2017. Retrieved 23 September 2017.
  28. ^ Taylor, Daniel (27 May 2017). "Aaron Ramsey fires Arsenal to FA Cup final win over 10-man Chelsea". The Observer. Retrieved 22 September 2017.
  29. ^ "Arsenal 0-3 Manchester City". BBC Sport. Retrieved 10 February 2021.
  30. ^ "Chelsea beat Arsenal to win Europa League". BBC Sport. Retrieved 10 February 2021.
  31. ^ "Arsenal defender Mustafi ruled out of FA Cup final against Chelsea". Hindustan Times. 25 July 2020. Retrieved 10 February 2021.
  32. ^ "Aubameyang double wins FA Cup for Arsenal". BBC Sport. Retrieved 10 February 2021.
  33. ^ "Liverpool - Arsenal: How to watch Community Shield, start time, odds". ProSoccerTalk | NBC Sports. 29 August 2020. Retrieved 10 February 2021.
  34. ^ "Arsenal 1-1 Liverpool (5-4 on pens): Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang secures Community Shield shootout win". Sky Sports. Retrieved 10 February 2021.
  35. ^ "Liverpool sign Ozan Kabak on loan from Schalke". The Independent. Retrieved 2 February 2021.
  36. ^ Williams, Joe (6 July 2020). "Error-prone defender 'in line' for new Arsenal deal". football365.com. Retrieved 30 April 2021.
  37. ^ Watts, Charles (26 January 2020). "Arteta confident he can fix error-prone Mustafi at Arsenal". goal.com. Retrieved 30 April 2021.
  38. ^ "S04 sign Shkodran Mustafi – Ozan Kabak moves to Liverpool". FC Schalke 04. 1 February 2021. Retrieved 1 February 2021.
  39. ^ "Ozan Kabak transfer: Liverpool agree deal for Schalke centre-back as Arsenal defender Shkodran Mustafi set to join Bundesliga club". Sky Sports. 1 February 2021. Retrieved 2 February 2021.
  40. ^ Smith, George (8 February 2021). "Shkodran Mustafi criticised for Schalke debut following Arsenal transfer". Football.London. Retrieved 10 February 2021.
  41. ^ "Andrej Kramaric inspires Hoffenheim to comeback win over Schalke". Bundesliga. 8 May 2021. Retrieved 27 August 2022.
  42. ^ "El Levante UD llega a un acuerdo con Shkodran Mustafi para su incorporación" [Levante UD reach an agreement with Shkodran Mustafi for his signing]. levanteud.com (in Spanish). 2 September 2021. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
  43. ^ Sancho de Rosa, Luis (4 November 2021). "Mustafi también se suma al grupo en una recuperación exprés" [Mustafi also adds himself to the group in an express recovery]. Diario AS (in Spanish). Retrieved 27 August 2022.
  44. ^ Smith, Victor (12 July 2022). "Shkodran Mustafi se reincorpora a los entrenamientos" [Shkodran Mustafi returns to training]. Super Deporte (in Spanish). Retrieved 27 August 2022.
  45. ^ Morán, Miguel Á. (28 November 2021). "Juanmi hunde al Levante con un 'hat-trick' y llama a la puerta de Luis Enrique" [Juanmi sinks Levante with a 'hat-trick' and knocks on Luis Enrique's door]. Marca (in Spanish). Retrieved 27 August 2022.
  46. ^ "Mustafi ends his contractual relationship with Levante UD". Levante UD. 10 July 2023. Retrieved 25 June 2024.
  47. ^ "Weltmeister Mustafi beendet Karriere - und heuert beim DFB an". Kicker (in German). 25 June 2024. Retrieved 25 June 2024.
  48. ^ Arnhold, Matthias (20 August 2024). "Shkodran Mustafi - Matches and Goals in Bundesliga". RSSSF.org. Retrieved 21 August 2024.
  49. ^ ASPORT 6/12/12 Shkodran Mustafi vishet Kuq e Zi? Archived 7 December 2012 at the Wayback Machine
  50. ^ Asport (22 January 2014). "Shkodran Mustafi i thotë "PO" Shqipërisë?". Archived from the original on 25 January 2014. Retrieved 22 January 2014.
  51. ^ "Germany - S. Mustafi - Profile with news, career statistics and history - Soccerway". int.soccerway.com. Retrieved 14 February 2021.
  52. ^ "Löw nominiert Lasogga, Mustafi, Ginter und Hahn" (in German). 28 January 2014. Retrieved 28 January 2014.
  53. ^ a b c "Shkodran Mustafi". EU-Football.info. Retrieved 30 April 2015.
  54. ^ "DFB – Deutscher Fußball-Bund e.V. – WM-Kader". Dfb.de. Archived from the original on 26 June 2014. Retrieved 19 June 2014.
  55. ^ "World Cup 2014: Marco Reus out with ankle injury". BBC Sport. 7 June 2014. Retrieved 7 June 2014.
  56. ^ "Germany 4–0 Portugal". BBC Sport. 16 June 2014. Retrieved 22 June 2014.
  57. ^ "Germany vs Ghana". BBC Sport. 22 June 2014. Retrieved 22 June 2014.
  58. ^ "Germany 2–1 Algeria". BBC Sport. 30 June 2014. Retrieved 1 July 2014.
  59. ^ "Wie viel schöner wär' Ibiza". Süddeutsche Zeitung (in German). 1 July 2014. Retrieved 2 July 2014.
  60. ^ Grohmann, Karolos (14 June 2016). "Soccer-Germany scorer Mustafi offers ice cream to little Shkodran". Reuters. Retrieved 10 February 2021.
  61. ^ Gibson, Owen (12 June 2016). "Germany's Schweinsteiger and Mustafi sink Ukraine in Euro 2016 opener". The Guardian. Retrieved 12 June 2016.
  62. ^ VanOpdorp, Davis (25 August 2017). "17 Confederations Cup players in Germany's squad for World Cup qualifiers". Deutsche Welle. Retrieved 29 October 2019.
  63. ^ Benge, James (15 May 2018). "Shkodran Mustafi pays price for Arsenal woes as he misses out on Germany World Cup squad". London Evening Standard. Retrieved 29 October 2019.
  64. ^ Arnhold, Matthias (20 August 2024). "Shkodran Mustafi - International Appearances". RSSSF.org. Retrieved 21 August 2024.
  65. ^ Lego Group (12 April 2016). "This squad will be playing for the LEGO Minifigure Series "DFB – Die Mannschaft"". Lego.com. Lego. Retrieved 28 March 2022.
  66. ^ Davis, Callum (5 October 2016). "Shkodran Mustafi reveals the importance of his Muslim faith". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 12 January 2022. Retrieved 7 October 2016.
  67. ^ "Mustafi gibt Ja-Wort" [Mustafi says yes]. Hessenschau. 29 July 2016. Archived from the original on 13 August 2016. Retrieved 20 July 2017.
  68. ^ "Shkodran Mustafi wife - Vjosa Kaba". ohmyfootball.com. Retrieved 10 February 2021.
  69. ^ "Hurra! WM-Held Mustafi ist Papa geworden". T-Online (in German). Retrieved 20 July 2017.
  70. ^ Shkodran Mustafi at Soccerway. Retrieved 25 September 2019.
  71. ^ "Arsenal transfer news: Shkodran Mustafi joins Schalke". Sky Sports. 1 February 2021. Retrieved 2 February 2021.
  72. ^ "Mustafi joins Schalke". Arsenal. 1 February 2021. Retrieved 8 March 2021.
  73. ^ McNulty, Phil (25 February 2018). "Arsenal 0–3 Manchester City". BBC Sport. Retrieved 23 April 2019.
  74. ^ Bevan, Chris (29 May 2019). "Chelsea 4–1 Arsenal". BBC Sport. Retrieved 29 May 2019.
  75. ^ "Final: Netherlands 1–2 Germany: Line-ups". UEFA. Retrieved 29 June 2020.
  76. ^ "Match report: Germany – Argentina". FIFA. Archived from the original on 17 August 2019.
  77. ^ "Match report: Chile – Germany". FIFA. Archived from the original on 29 June 2019.
[edit]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Shkodran Mustafi.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Shkodran_Mustafi&oldid=1255700175"