# Artim Šakiri

Artim Šakiri (Macedonian: Артим Шаќири, Albanian: Artim Shaqiri; born 23 September 1973) is a Macedonian football manager and a former midfielder from North Macedonia. He is considered to be one of the best players in the history of the Macedonian national team. While managing Kukësi in 2014, Šakiri was ranked as the best manager of the Kategoria Superiore and the second best manager of Albanian origin in the world.

## Biography

Šakiri was born to an Albanian family in Livada (Macedonian: Ливада), a village near Struga. In his youth, he played football for his village squad (FK Dinamo Livada).

## Club career

In 1997, he moved from Vardar to Swedish side Halmstads BK, a team that won the Swedish premier league Allsvenskan the same year. He played alongside developing star Freddie Ljungberg.
In 2003, he moved from Bulgarian club CSKA Sofia to West Bromwich Albion in England. He made his debut in a 4–1 defeat away at local rivals Walsall. In his first home league match for Albion, Šakiri scored a spectacular long-range goal, helping his team to a 4–1 win over Burnley. It was, however, his only goal for the club. He made 30 appearances during 2003–04, but the next season he only played three games and left the club. He was set to move to Burnley, but the move fell through as his work permit wasn't renewed. Instead, Šakiri went to AaB in Denmark. He was released by AaB in 2006. In Autumn 2006, Šakiri signed for Finnish club FC Inter. He made five Veikkausliiga appearances and scored three times, but his contract was not renewed. In 2007, he signed for FC Vaduz. At the beginning of the season 2008 he has signed for Azerbaijani side Qarabağ FK.

### Career statistics

| Club performance | Club performance | Club performance | League | League | Cup | Cup | League Cup | League Cup | Continental | Continental | Total | Total |
| Season | Club | League | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| 1992–93 | FK Karaorman | 2. MFL | | | | | - | - | - | - | | |
| 1993–94 | FK Karaorman | 1. MFL | | | | | - | - | - | - | | |
| 1994–95 | FK Vardar | 1. MFL | 23 | 3 | | | - | - | 0 | 0 | | |
| 1995–96 | FK Vardar | 1. MFL | 26 | 10 | | | - | - | 4 | 0 | | |
| 1996–97 | FK Vardar | 1. MFL | 13 | 2 | | | - | - | 4 | 0 | | |
| 1997 | Halmstad (loan) | Allsvenskan | 19 | 4 | | | - | - | | | 19 | 4 |
| 1998 | Halmstad (loan) | Allsvenskan | 24 | 4 | | | - | - | 2 | 1 | 26 | 5 |
| 1998–99 | FK Vardar | 1. MFL | 7 | 2 | | | - | - | - | - | | |
| 1999–2000 | FK Vardar | 1. MFL | 9 | 2 | | | - | - | 1 | 0 | 10 | 2 |
| 1999–2000 | Tennis Borussia Berlin (loan) | 2. Bundesliga | 14 | 0 | | | - | - | - | - | 14 | 0 |
| 2000–01 | FK Vardar | 1. MFL | 8 | 2 | | | - | - | - | - | | |
| 2000–01 | Gorica | 1. SNL | 14 | 3 | | | - | - | 0 | 0 | 14 | 3 |
| 2001–02 | Gorica | 1. SNL | 5 | 0 | | | - | - | 2 | 0 | 7 | 0 |
| 2001–02 | Korotan Prevalje | 1. SNL | 2 | 2 | | | - | - | - | - | 2 | 2 |
| 2001–02 | Malatyaspor | Süper Lig | 23 | 3 | | | - | - | - | - | 23 | 3 |
| 2002–03 | CSKA Sofia | A PFG | 20 | 5 | | | - | - | 3 | 1 | 23 | 6 |
| 2003–04 | West Bromwich Albion | Championship | 25 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | - | - | 30 | 1 |
| 2004–05 | West Bromwich Albion | Premier League | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | - | 3 | 0 |
| 2005–06 | AaB | Superligaen | 12 | 3 | | | - | - | - | - | 12 | 3 |
| 2006 | Inter Turku | Veikkausliiga | 5 | 3 | | | | | - | - | 5 | 3 |
| 2006–07 | FC Vaduz | Challenge League | 10 | 0 | | | - | - | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 |
| 2007–08 | Shkëndija | 1. MFL | | | | | - | - | - | - | | |
| 2007–08 | Besa Kavajë | Albanian Superliga | 8 | 1 | | | - | - | 0 | 0 | 8 | 1 |
| 2008–09 | Qarabağ | APL | 22 | 7 | | | - | - | - | - | 22 | 7 |
| Career total | Career total | Career total | 223 | 40 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 16 | 2 | 245 | 42 |

## International career

Šakiri made his debut for Macedonia in a May 1996 friendly match against Bulgaria, coming on as a second-half substitute for Sašo Miloševski, and has been capped 73 times, scoring 15 goals. He has been captain of the team for many of those years. In October 2002, during UEFA Euro 2004 qualifying, he scored a goal directly from a corner kick against England.
His final international was a November 2006 European Championship qualification match against Russia.

### International goals

| # | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
| 1 | 11 October 1997 | Gradski Stadium, Skopje, Republic of Macedonia | Lithuania | 1–0 | 1–2 | 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 2 | 6 September 1998 | Gradski Stadium, Skopje, Republic of Macedonia | Malta | 3–0 | 4–0 | UEFA Euro 2000 qualifying |
| 3 | 6 September 1998 | Gradski Stadium, Skopje, Republic of Macedonia | Malta | 4–0 | 4–0 | UEFA Euro 2000 qualifying |
| 4 | 8 September 1998 | Gradski Stadium, Skopje, Republic of Macedonia | FR Yugoslavia | 1–4 | 2–4 | UEFA Euro 2000 qualifying |
| 5 | 7 June 2000 | Azadi Stadium, Teheran, Iran | South Korea | 1–2 | 1–2 | Friendly |
| 6 | 2 June 2001 | Gradski Stadium, Skopje, Republic of Macedonia | Moldova | 1–1 | 2–2 | 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 7 | 6 June 2001 | Bursa Atatürk Stadium, Bursa, Turkey | Turkey | 0–1 | 3–3 | 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 8 | 27 March 2002 | Stadion Grbavica, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina | Bosnia and Herzegovina | 3–1 | 4–4 | Friendly |
| 9 | 27 March 2002 | Stadion Grbavica, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina | Bosnia and Herzegovina | 4–3 | 4–4 | Friendly |
| 10 | 27 March 2002 | Stadion Grbavica, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina | Bosnia and Herzegovina | 4–4 | 4–4 | Friendly |
| 11 | 21 August 2002 | Gradski Stadium, Skopje, Republic of Macedonia | Malta | 2–0 | 5–0 | Friendly |
| 12 | 21 August 2002 | Gradski Stadium, Skopje, Republic of Macedonia | Malta | 4–0 | 5–0 | Friendly |
| 13 | 16 October 2002 | St Mary's Stadium, Southampton, England | England | 0–1 | 2–2 | UEFA Euro 2004 qualifying |
| 14 | 11 June 2003 | BJK İnönü Stadium, Istanbul, Turkey | Turkey | 0–2 | 3–2 | UEFA Euro 2004 qualifying |
| 15 | 18 August 2004 | Gradski Stadium, Skopje, Republic of Macedonia | Armenia | 2–0 | 3–0 | 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification |

## Coaching career

He was hired as a manager of Swiss Challenge League club FC Schaffhausen on 1 September 2021. He was not able to obtain the Swiss work permit in a prompt manner, and on 17 September the club hired a different manager.

## Honours

FK Vardar
* First League: 1994–95
* Macedonian Cup: 1994–95, 1998–99
Halmstad
* Allsvenskan: 1997
CSKA Sofia
* A Group: 2002–03
Qarabağ
* Azerbaijan Cup: 2008–09