Ilir Kukleci

Ilir Kukleci
Personal information
Date of birth (1998-10-27) 27 October 1998
Place of birth Oslo, Norway
Height 1.94 m (6 ft 4 in)
Position Centre-back
Team information
Current team
 Teuta
Number 5
Youth career
–2014 Frigg
2015 Oppsal
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2014 Frigg 2 (0)
2016 Rilindja 22 (3)
2017–2018 Frigg 29 (6)
2019–2020 Arendal 12 (0)
2021–2022 Frigg 27 (3)
2023–2024 Moss 49 (1)
2025 Haugesund 7 (1)
2026 Hamkam 7 (0)
2026– Teuta 0 (0)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 25 August 2026

Ilir Kukleci (born 27 October 1998) is a Norwegian professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Teuta.

Career

Kukleci was born in Oslo[1] the son of an Albanian father and a Croatian mother.[2] He played youth football for Frigg, and made his senior debut in the 2014 3. divisjon. Following one year of youth football in Oppsal and one year in the Oslo-based Albanian diaspora club Rilindja, he rejoined Frigg in 2017.[3]

After Frigg ended the 2018 3. divisjon campaign "one goal shy of promotion", Kukleci left Oslo and signed for 2. divisjon club Arendal.[4] In June 2019 he was sidelined by a groin injury, which took over a year to heal. He returned in July 2020 following a visit to a private clinic in Croatia.[5] In 2021 he returned to Frigg for his third spell.[3]

Kukleci was then picked up by Moss FK, and in their 2024 1. divisjon season which ended in playoff to the Eliteserien, he led the performance points chart crafted by the local newspaper.[6] In 2025 he was signed by his first Eliteserien club, FK Haugesund. He was thought of as a replacement for Ulrik Fredriksen,[2][7] but when the season started in April, Kukleci was out with another groin injury.[8] He made his Eliteserien debut in July,[3] as FK Haugesund was already on a path to certain relegation.[9] He was released by Haugesund after their relegation, and picked up by Hamkam where he was reunited with his former Moss manager, Thomas Myhre.[10]

References

  1. ↑ Ilir Kukleci at WorldFootball.net
  2. 1 2 Flateby, Terje (31 January 2025). "Fredriksen bekrefter bud – erstatteren allerede klar". Haugesunds Avis (in Norwegian). pp. 20–21.
  3. 1 2 3 Ilir Kukleci at the Norwegian Football Federation (in Norwegian)
  4. ↑ "Midtstopperkjempe til Arendal". Fædrelandsvennen (Press release) (in Norwegian). 11 December 2018. p. 29.
  5. ↑ Thorsen, Thomas S. (26 June 2020). "Talentet fant skadeløsning i Kroatia". Agderposten (in Norwegian). pp. 20–21.
  6. ↑ Kjøniksen, Helge (17 October 2024). "Midtstopperbauta topper børsen". Moss Avis (in Norwegian). pp. 18–19.
  7. ↑ Kristiansen, Geir-Åsmund (17 February 2025). "– Han har levert over tid". Haugesunds Avis (in Norwegian). pp. 14–15.
  8. ↑ Flateby, Terje (12 April 2025). "Kukleci ute på ubestemt tid". Haugesunds Avis (in Norwegian). p. 15.
  9. ↑ Ringheim, Helena (21 July 2025). "Ingen har vært dårligere: –⁠ Trengs en opprydding". VG (in Norwegian). Retrieved 13 April 2026.
  10. ↑ Nygaard, Jacob Sundblom (6 January 2026). "Signert for HamKam: – Hadde to veldig fine år". Hamar Arbeiderblad.
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