Vahid Hambo (born 3 February 1995) is a Finnish footballer of Bosnian descent who plays as a striker.[1] He has been described as a tall, powerful player.[2]

Vahid Hambo
Hambo with SJK in 2018.
Personal information
Date of birth (1995-02-03) 3 February 1995 (age 29)
Place of birth Helsinki, Finland
Height 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in)
Position(s) Striker
Youth career
HJK
2012–2014 Sampdoria
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2014 Ilves 5 (1)
2015 Inter Turku 6 (4)
2015–2017 Brighton & Hove Albion 0 (0)
2017–2018 SJK 22 (3)
2018SJK Akatemia 1 (0)
2018 RoPS 11 (3)
2019 Astra Giurgiu 6 (0)
2019 Sūduva 4 (0)
2020 Lahti 17 (3)
2021–2022 IFK Mariehamn 39 (7)
2023– VJS 5 (7)
International career
2011–2012 Finland U17 3 (0)
2013–2014 Finland U19 3 (3)
2015–2016 Finland U21 1 (2)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 21 December 2023

Club career

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Early years

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Born in Helsinki to Bosnian parents, he played with his local team, HJK's youth sides before switching to Sampdoria's Primavera team. His time in Italy was blighted by injuries, and after two years his contract was terminated by mutual consent, after scoring only once in 23 games.[3]

Ilves and Inter Turku

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After his departure from Sampdoria, Hambo signed for Ilves in the Finnish second division, Ykkönen. He impressed and was quickly grabbed by Inter Turku in the top-flight Veikkausliiga. His good form continued, but injuries limited his playing time, making only 6 appearances in the league. Despite this, he was hailed as one of Inter's best players.[4]

Brighton

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Still recovering from a knee injury, Hambo signed for Brighton & Hove Albion in the English Championship, joining fellow Finn Niki Mäenpää. The club's officials stated that Hambo would start playing for the reserve team firstly, to get him known to English football better and help recover from his injury.[5]

On 19 July 2017, Hambo returned to Finland, signing for Veikkausliiga club SJK until the end of the 2018 season.[6]

RoPS

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Hambo signed with RoPS in August 2018, but left the club again after the season.[7]

Astra Giurgiu

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On 7 February 2019, Vahid Hambo signed a contract, valid for two years and a half, with Romanian side FC Astra Giurgiu.[8]

Sūduva

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On 12 September 2019, he became a member of Lithuanian FK Sūduva Marijampolė.[9][10]

International career

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Hambo has appeared for Finnish under 21-side. He was also selected for a match for the senior side in the 2016 Euro's qualifying, but had to withdraw due to his injury.

Career statistics

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As of 23 May 2024[11]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League Domestic Cups[a] Europe Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Ilves 2014 Ykkönen 5 1 5 1
Inter Turku 2015 Veikkausliiga 6 4 7 9 13 13
Brighton & Hove Albion 2015–16 Championship 0 0 0 0 0 0
2016–17 Championship 0 0 0 0 0 0
Total 0 0 0 0 0 0
SJK 2017 Veikkausliiga 7 1 0 0 7 1
2018 Veikkausliiga 15 2 5 3 20 5
Total 22 3 5 3 27 6
SJK Akatemia 2018 Kakkonen 1 2 1 2
RoPS 2018 Veikkausliiga 11 3 11 3
Astra Giurgiu 2018–19 Liga I 5 0 2 2 7 2
2019–20 Liga I 1 0 0 0 1 0
Total 6 0 2 2 8 2
Sūduva 2019 A Lyga 4 0 1 0 5 0
Lahti 2020 Veikkausliiga 17 3 6 4 23 7
IFK Mariehamn 2021 Veikkausliiga 18 5 3 0 21 5
2022 Veikkausliiga 22 2 6 1 28 3
Total 40 7 9 1 49 8
VJS 2023 Kolmonen 5 7 5 7
Career total 117 30 30 19 147 49

Honours

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Astra Giurgiu

Individual

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References

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  1. ^ "NY anfallare till IFK".
  2. ^ "Brighton sign Finland U-21 striker". 22 July 2015. Retrieved 23 July 2015.
  3. ^ "Hambo rescinde il contratto" [Hambo rescinds contract] (in Italian). 21 June 2014. Retrieved 23 July 2015.[permanent dead link]
  4. ^ "Hambo joins Mäenpää in Brighton" (in Finnish). 21 July 2015. Archived from the original on 24 July 2015. Retrieved 23 July 2015.
  5. ^ "Brighton sign U21 star Vahid Hambo". 21 July 2015.[permanent dead link]
  6. ^ "Hambo, Sundman and Sheppard SJK". sjk2007.fi. SJK. 19 July 2017. Retrieved 25 July 2017.
  7. ^ Veikkausliigan siirrot talvella 2018-2019, veikkausliiga.com, 23 December 2018
  8. ^ Internaționalul finlandez Vahid Hambo – cel mai nou ”astrist”. afcastragiurgiu.ro (in Romanian)
  9. ^ ""Sūduvą" papildė puolėjas V. Hambo – FK Sūduva".
  10. ^ "Čempionai greitai rado pamainą išvykusiam S. Gotalui | A Lyga | Aukščiausia Lietuvos futbolo lyga".
  11. ^ Vahid Hambo, Football Association of Finland
  12. ^ Vahid Hambo huhtikuun kuukauden pelaaja (in Finnish)