Palma, Apr 10 (EFE).- The Kosovar Vedat Muriqi has been the author of 12 of the 25 goals Mallorca has scored in the 28 league games played so far, the last 2 in the draw against Real Valladolid in the José Zorrilla stadium, in his first double in the Spanish championship.
The “Pirate”, as he is known since he celebrates his goals by covering one eye, is the great reference of the Balearic attack: his goals represent practically fifty percent of the offensive production of the Mexican Javier Aguirre’s team.
“Hopefully I can score more goals and thus be able to continue helping the team; now we will have a bit of peace of mind in qualifying”, declared Muriqi after the tie in Valladolid
“We should have won this match easily. We could win, but in the end we were left with one point, which is not bad, but when we look at the chances we’ve had, it’s a pity”, he added.
The Balkan footballer is, together with the Mallorcan Abdón Prats, the great idol of the Mallorcan fans, who have chanted his name since last season he contributed decisively to securing their permanence after reinforcing the team in the winter transfer window on loan from the Italian Lazio .
The undisputed starter in Aguirre’s 5-4-1 system, he has left his mark as a goal hunter in key matches, and is the quintessential striker in football played by his team.
He fights alone with the defenders, opens gaps helped by his physical strength (he measures 1.94 meters) and is always attentive to the help he receives in the inside game and in the centers from the wings.
With the energy and dedication that he transmits in each game, the Balkan goalscorer is more than justifying the financial efforts that the club made to sign him when last summer it seemed that his destiny was at Bruges in the Belgian First Division.
Muriqi wrote a farewell letter to the Balearic fans, but the board of directors moved quickly to extend his contract until 2026 and pay Lazio almost 10 million euros in the most expensive operation in history for the coffers of the Vermilion entity .
Muriqi is on the path to follow the path of other great Mallorcan scorers, a list headed by the Cameroonian Samuel E’too, 54 goals with the vermilion shirt, followed by the Venezuelan Juan Arango (45), the Spanish Víctor Casadesús (37) and Dani Güiza (28), the Cameroonian Pierre Webó (27) and the Argentine Ariel Ibagaza (25).