Gigolag in 2016 | |||
Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | Elvir Gigolaj | ||
Date of birth | (1992-06-30) 30 June 1992 (age 32) | ||
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 | ||
2024– | Hamilton City | ||
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 8 February 2019 |
Elvir Gigolaj (born 30 June 1992) is a Bosnian footballer who plays with Hamilton City.
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.
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.
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.
FC Edmonton
In January 2012, after training with the team, Gigolaj officially joined FC Edmonton of the North American Soccer League. 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.
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.
On 30 June 2013, it was announced that Gigolaj was released by FC Edmonton.
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.
FC London
Gigolaj spent the 2016 and 2017 seasons with League1 Ontario club FC London.
CSL
In 2021, he returned to the Canadian Soccer League to play with St. Catharines Hrvat. Gigolaj signed with league rivals Hamilton City in 2024.
Honours
FC London
- League1 Ontario First Team All Star: 2016
- League1 Ontario Third Team All Star: 2017
Career statistics
- As of 1 October 2017
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 | 20 | 23 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 22 | 25 |
2017 | 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
- ^ Sandor, Steve (17 January 2012). "Confident Gigolaj wants to be a starter for FC Edmonton". The 11. Archived from the original on 6 August 2013.
- "Canadian Soccer League". 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) - "St. Mary's men's soccer 2010 stats". AUS. Retrieved 6 October 2017.
- "St. Mary's men's soccer 2011 stats". AUS. Retrieved 6 October 2017.
- "FC EDMONTON VS. ATLANTA SILVERBACKS 1 – 2". Soccerway. Retrieved 5 July 2013.
- "FC EDMONTON VS. FORT LAUDERDALE STRIKERS 2 – 2". Soccerway. Retrieved 5 July 2013.
- Sandor, Steve. "LeRoy, Gigolaj cut loose by FC Edmonton". The 11. Archived from the original on 23 January 2015. Retrieved 22 January 2015.
- Sandor, Steve. "Canadian striker Gigolaj waiting on DFB clearance before he can play with Hertha Berlin's reserves". The 11. Archived from the original on 23 January 2015. Retrieved 22 January 2015.
- "Elvir Gigolaj 2016". League1 Ontario. Retrieved 8 February 2019.
- "Elvir Gigolaj 2017". League1 Ontario. Retrieved 8 February 2019.
- "Canadian Soccer League | Player Stats". cslregistration.ca. Archived from the original on 21 September 2021. Retrieved 12 September 2021.
- Adamson, Stan (12 August 2024). "Unity Hold Scarborough in Rough and Tumble - Wins for Falcons, Serbian White Eagles". Canadian Soccer League. Retrieved 12 August 2024.
- "League1 Ontario Announces 2016 Men's First And Second Team All-Stars". League1 Ontario. 17 November 2016.
- "League1 Ontario Announces 2017 Men's First, Second and Third Team All-Stars". League1 Ontario. 10 November 2017.
- Elvir Gigolaj at Soccerway
- "Elvir Gigolaj 2016 profile".
- "Elvir Gigolaj 2017 profile".
External links
- Elvir Gigolaj at Soccerway
- 1992 births
- Living people
- Men's association football forwards
- Canadian men's soccer players
- Canadian people of Albanian descent
- Canadian people of Bosnia and Herzegovina descent
- Canadian people of Kosovan descent
- Soccer players from London, Ontario
- Croatian emigrants to Canada
- Naturalized citizens of Canada
- Croatian people of Albanian descent
- Croatian people of Kosovan descent
- Croatian people of Bosniak descent
- London City Soccer Club players
- FC Edmonton players
- Canadian Soccer League (1998–present) players
- North American Soccer League (2011–2017) players
- League1 Ontario players
- FC London players
- Hamilton City SC players
- 21st-century Canadian sportsmen