Aleksandar Trajkovski (Macedonian: Александар Трајковски; born 5 September 1992) is a Macedonian professional footballer who plays for Hajduk Split and the North Macedonia national team. Mainly a forward, he can also play as a winger or an attacking midfielder.
 2017 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 5 September 1992 | ||
| Place of birth | Skopje, Macedonia | ||
| Height | 1.79 m (5 ft 10 in)[1] | ||
| Position(s) | Forward, winger | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Hajduk Split | ||
| Number | 9 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2008–2009 | Cementarnica 55 | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2009–2010 | Cementarnica 55 | 11 | (2) |
| 2010–2011 | Inter Zaprešić | 15 | (4) |
| 2011–2015 | Zulte Waregem | 65 | (8) |
| 2013–2014 | → Mechelen (loan) | 16 | (1) |
| 2015–2019 | Palermo | 104 | (16) |
| 2019–2022 | Mallorca | 23 | (0) |
| 2021–2022 | → AaB (loan) | 7 | (1) |
| 2022–2023 | Al-Fayha | 33 | (5) |
| 2023– | Hajduk Split | 17 | (7) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2011–2014 | Macedonia U21 | 15 | (3) |
| 2011– | North Macedonia | 89 | (21) |
|
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 26 May 2024 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 10 October 2024 | |||
Club career
editTrajkovski began his career with FK Cementarnica 55. In May 2010, he joined Chelsea in a trial, scoring the winning goal against Botafogo at the U-19 Copa Amsterdam tournament which guaranteed Chelsea a place in the semi-finals.[2]
After a few years with Cementarnica Skopje, he signed for Inter Zaprešić in the summer of 2010.[3] Good performances in the second half of the season attracted the interest of Dinamo Zagreb,[4][5] but Trajkovski said that he was not interested in a possible move. At the end of the season, R.S.C. Anderlecht was interested in buying Trajkovski, but their offer of a €500,000 transfer fee was rejected.[5] He joined the Belgian club Zulte Waregem for the new 2011–12 season after their offer of €1.1m was accepted by Inter Zaprešić.[5][6]
In the summer of 2015, he moved to Italian Serie A club Palermo, signing a five-year contract.[7] In the same year, he was named "Macedonian footballer of the year".[8] Following Palermo's exclusion from the Serie B, he was released together with all other players in July 2019.
On 7 August 2019, Trajkovski agreed to a four-year contract with La Liga newcomers RCD Mallorca.[9] After two seasons at Mallorca, Trajkovski was loaned out to Danish Superliga club AaB on 31 August 2021, for the rest of the season.[10]
On 30 January 2022, Trajkovski joined Saudi club Al-Fayha on an 18-month contract.[11] On 19 May 2022, he won the 2022 King Cup Final with Al-Fayha against Al Hilal.[12]
International career
editOn 22 May 2012, the Macedonia U21 national team defeated the Netherlands 1–0 in a friendly match, with the sole goal scored by Trajkovski.[13][14]
Trajkovski debuted for the Macedonian senior squad on 10 August 2011 in a 1–0 away friendly victory against Azerbaijan.[15] He scored his first goal on 14 August 2013 in a 2–0 home friendly victory against Bulgaria.[16] Trajkovski scored a hat-trick on 12 November 2015 in a 4–1 victory over Montenegro at the Philip II Stadium in Skopje.[17]
Trajkovski was selected for the UEFA Euro 2020 as North Macedonia gained its first major tournament.[18] On 24 March 2022, he scored a last-minute long-range goal in the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifying playoff semi-finals to beat Italy 1–0 at his former club ground in Palermo, eliminating Italy from the FIFA World Cup for a second consecutive time.[19]
Career statistics
editClub
edit- As of match played 23 May 2021[20]
| Club | Season | League | National cup | Continental | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Cementarnica 55 | 2009–10[21] | 2. MFL | 11 | 2 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 11 | 2 | ||
| Inter Zaprešić | 2010–11 | 1. HNL | 15 | 4 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 15 | 4 | ||
| Zulte Waregem | 2011–12 | Belgian Pro League | 17 | 2 | 1 | 1 | — | 6[a] | 1 | 24 | 4 | |
| 2012–13 | 19 | 3 | 3 | 0 | — | 5[a] | 0 | 27 | 3 | |||
| 2013–14 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3[b] | 0 | — | 5 | 0 | |||
| 2014–15 | 27 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 3[c] | 0 | 6[a] | 2 | 40 | 6 | ||
| Total | 65 | 8 | 8 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 17 | 3 | 96 | 13 | ||
| Mechelen (loan) | 2013–14 | Belgian Pro League | 16 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | 6[a] | 2 | 23 | 3 | |
| Palermo | 2015–16 | Serie A | 32 | 3 | 1 | 1 | — | — | 33 | 4 | ||
| 2016–17 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 11 | 1 | ||||
| 2017–18 | Serie B | 27 | 4 | 2 | 3 | — | 4[d] | 0 | 33 | 7 | ||
| 2018–19 | 34 | 8 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 36 | 8 | ||||
| Total | 104 | 16 | 5 | 4 | — | 4 | 0 | 113 | 20 | |||
| Mallorca | 2019–20 | La Liga | 14 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | — | 17 | 0 | ||
| 2020–21 | Segunda División | 9 | 0 | 2 | 1 | — | — | 11 | 1 | |||
| Total | 23 | 0 | 5 | 1 | — | — | 28 | 1 | ||||
| Career total | 234 | 31 | 19 | 7 | 6 | 0 | 27 | 5 | 286 | 43 | ||
- ^ a b c d Appearance(s) in Belgian Pro League Playoffs
- ^ One appearance in UEFA Champions League, two appearances in UEFA Europa League
- ^ Appearance(s) in UEFA Europa League
- ^ Appearance(s) in Serie B Playoffs
International
edit- As of match played 20 October 2023[22]
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| North Macedonia | 2011 | 4 | 0 |
| 2012 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2013 | 9 | 2 | |
| 2014 | 6 | 1 | |
| 2015 | 8 | 4 | |
| 2016 | 3 | 1 | |
| 2017 | 8 | 3 | |
| 2018 | 8 | 4 | |
| 2019 | 7 | 0 | |
| 2020 | 6 | 0 | |
| 2021 | 14 | 4 | |
| 2022 | 7 | 1 | |
| 2023 | 5 | 1 | |
| Total | 86 | 21 | |
- Scores and results list North Macedonia's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Trajkovski goal.
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 14 August 2013 | Philip II Arena, Skopje, Macedonia |  Bulgaria |
2–0 | 2–0 | Friendly |
| 2 | 6 September 2013 |  Wales |
2–1 | 2–1 | 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification | |
| 3 | 9 October 2014 |  Luxembourg |
1–0 | 3–2 | UEFA Euro 2016 qualification | |
| 4 | 27 March 2015 |  Belarus |
1–0 | 1–2 | ||
| 5 | 12 November 2015 |  Montenegro |
2–0 | 4–1 | Friendly | |
| 6 | 3–0 | |||||
| 7 | 4–0 | |||||
| 8 | 2 June 2016 |  Iran |
1–1 | 1–3 | ||
| 9 | 5 September 2017 | Stadion Mladost, Strumica, Macedonia |  Albania |
1–1 | 1–1 | 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 10 | 6 October 2017 | Stadio Olimpico Grande Torino, Turin, Italy |  Italy |
1–1 | 1–1 | |
| 11 | 9 October 2017 | Stadion Mladost, Strumica, Macedonia |  Liechtenstein |
2–0 | 4–0 | |
| 12 | 27 March 2018 | Mardan Sports Complex, Antalya, Turkey |  Azerbaijan |
1–1 | 1–1 | Friendly |
| 13 | 13 October 2018 | Philip II Arena, Skopje, North Macedonia | Liechtenstein |
1–0 | 4–1 | 2018–19 UEFA Nations League D |
| 14 | 2–0 | |||||
| 15 | 19 November 2018 |  Gibraltar |
4–0 | 4–0 | ||
| 16 | 25 March 2021 | Arena Națională, Bucharest, Romania |  Romania |
2–2 | 2–3 | 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 17 | 28 March 2021 | Toše Proeski Arena, Skopje, North Macedonia | Liechtenstein |
2–0 | 5–0 | |
| 18 | 3–0 | |||||
| 19 | 11 November 2021 | Vazgen Sargsyan Republican Stadium, Yerevan, Armenia |  Armenia |
1–0 | 5–0 | |
| 20 | 24 March 2022 | Stadio Renzo Barbera, Palermo, Italy | Italy |
1–0 | 1–0 | |
| 21 | 17 October 2023 | Stadion Blagoj Istatov, Strumica, North Macedonia | Armenia |
1–0 | 3–1 | Friendly |
Honours
editAl-Fayha
Notes
edit- ^ "Aleksandar Trajkovski – Prima squadra 2016/2017 – U.S. Città di Palermo". U.S. Città di Palermo (in Italian). Archived from the original on 11 August 2016. Retrieved 8 May 2017.
- ^ "Aleksandar Trajkovski guest player for Chelsea". Macedonian Football. 26 May 2010. Retrieved 13 December 2015.
- ^ "Trajkovski Aleksandar". Archived from the original on 1 April 2012. Retrieved 13 December 2015.
- ^ "Trajkovski na meti Dinama". Sportske novosti (in Croatian). Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 17 April 2011.
- ^ a b c Vande Velde, Stephane (23 June 2011). "Anderlecht se fait doubler pour Trajkovski". Sport/Foot Magazine (in French). Retrieved 13 December 2015.
- ^ "Aleksandar Trajkovski joins Zulte Waregem". macedonianfootball.com. Retrieved 30 June 2011.
- ^ "TRAJKOVSKI E' ROSANERO". palermocalcio.it. Archived from the original on 10 July 2015. Retrieved 8 June 2015.
- ^ "Trajkovski nominato miglior calciatore dell'anno". mediagol.it. 16 November 2015. Retrieved 16 November 2015.
- ^ "Acuerdo con Aleksandar Trajkovski" [Agreement with Aleksandar Trajkovski] (in Spanish). RCD Mallorca. 7 August 2019. Retrieved 7 August 2019.
- ^ AaB lejer offensiv profil, aabsport.dk, 31 August 2021
- ^ "المقدوني ألكسندر ترايكوفسكي ينتقل للفيحاء". dawriplus.com (in Arabic). 31 January 2022.
- ^ "Al-Fayha shock Al-Hilal in King's Cup final to claim first-ever major trophy". Arab News. 20 May 2022.
- ^ "U21 friendly: Netherlands – Macedonia 0:1". MacedonianFootball.com. Retrieved 22 May 2012.
- ^ "У-21: Трајковски ги урна Холанѓаните". Ekipa Macedonia (in Macedonian). Retrieved 22 May 2012.
- ^ "Аце Трајковски трет на вечната листа со најголем број настапи за репрезентацијата (ФОТО)" [Ace Trajkovski third on the all-time list with the most appearances for the national team (Photo)]. Ekipa Macedonia (in Macedonian). 15 October 2023.
- ^ Kovalev, Aleksandar. "Македонија-Бугарија на 29 март на "Филип Втори"". gol.mk (in Macedonian). Retrieved 10 May 2024.
- ^ "Три гола на Трајковски, Македонија ја декласира Црна Гора" [Three goals by Trajkovski, Macedonia outclassed Montenegro]. Denar (in Macedonian). 13 November 2015.
- ^ "North Macedonia's full 26-man Euro 2020 squad". The Athletic. 23 June 2021. Retrieved 24 March 2022.
- ^ "Italy 0–1 North Macedonia". BBC Sport. 24 March 2022.
- ^ "A. Trajkovski". Soccerway. Retrieved 28 June 2018.
- ^ Aleksandar Trajkovski at National-Football-Teams.com
- ^ a b "Aleksandar Trajkovski Profile". EU-Football.info. Retrieved 6 October 2017.
External links
edit
- Aleksandar Trajkovski at National-Football-Teams.com
- Profile at Macedonian Football (in English)
- Aleksandar Trajkovski at Soccerway
- LaLiga Profile
