Etrit Berisha was born in Pristina, on March 10, 1989. He is Albanian but also has Kosovarian citizenship.
He started his football in Kosovo for 2 Korriku Pristina between 1998 and 2008.
In 2008 he moved to Sweden and joinec Kalmar in the Swedish top division. He did not play in the first two seasons but played for the U19's. The Kalmar first team won the league in 2008 and the Super Cup in 2009. In the third (2010) he played 14 league games and 1 in the domestic cup. He stayed another three seasons, playing 77 league games, 7 in the Swedish Cup and 6 in the Europa League. In total he played 105 games for the Götalanders and even scored 4 goals (all penalties).
In 2013 he signed for Lazio in Serie A where Albanian Igli Tare was sports director. Lazio had just triumphed in the Coppa Italia beating historic rivals Roma in the final. The manager was first Vladimir Petkovic until end of December and then Edy Reja. Federico Marchetti was the number one keeper to start but Berisha from Reja's arrival onwards played regularly, making 17 league appearances, 2 in Coppa Italia and 4 in the Europa League. Lazio finished 9th.
In 2014-15 Stefano Pioli arrived as manager and Marchetti reconquered the first-choice keeper position. Berisha played 10 league games and 7 in Coppa Italia. Lazio had an excellent season finishing 3rd (CL qualifier). The Biancocelesti also reached the Coppa Italia final but lost 1-2 to Juventus after extra-time.
In 2015-16 Lazio started off with Pioli but ended with Simone Inzaghi (game 32-38). Lazio failed to get into the Champions League proper (Bayer Leverkusen 1-3 on aggregate) and lost the Italian Supercoppa to Juventus 0-2. In the league Lazio finished 8th. Berisha played 11 league games, 2 In Coppa Italia and 7 in Europe (2 in CL+ 5 in EL).
In 2016 Berisha left Lazio and joined Atalanta. He stayed three seasons under Gian Piero Gasperini. The "Dea" finished 4th (EL), 7th and 3rd (CL). In 2019 the Nerazzurri also reached the final of Coppa Italia but lost 0-2 to Lazio. Berisha played 91 games for the Bergamaschi (75 in A, 6 in Coppa Italia and 10 in Europa League).
In 2019 he signed for SPAL in Serie A. The manager was Leonardo Semplici (1-23) and then Luigi Di Biagio (24-38). The Estensi were relegated and Berisha played 26 league games and 3 in Coppa Italia. His teammates included former Lazio, Sergio Floccari and Alessandro Murgia plus future Lazio, Mohamed Fares.
In 2020-21, in Serie B under Pasquale Marino (1-29) and then Massimo Rastelli (30-38), Berisha played 25 league games and 2 in Coppa Italia (SPAL reached quarter finals, 0-4 Juventus). The Biancazzurri finished 15th.
In 2021 Berisha signed for Torino in Serie A. He stayed two seasons. In the first, under Ivan Jurić, he played 10 league games and 1 in Coppa Italia. "Il Toro" finished 10th. In the second he made no appearances (first keeper was Vanja Milinkovic-Savic, Sergej's brother) and in February fell out with the manager. The Granata again finished 10th.
In August 2023 Berisha joined Empoli in Serie A. The manager was Paolo Zanetti, for the first four games, and then Aurelio Andreazzoli. At the end of the season his contract was not renewed.
At international level he has won 80 caps for Albania. He is the 3rd most capped player in the " Shqipojat" (The Eagles) history (top is another Lazio connection, Lorik Cana with 93). Twenty of his caps have been as captain. He played all three games in Albania's first historic participation in a major tournament, Euro 2016.
Berisha is a decent goalkeeper. He is 1.94 and 92 kilos. He has played more than 150 games in Serie A so despite the occasional clumsy error he is a reliable keeper.
At Lazio he played a total of 60 games, 38 in Serie A. Apart from the first year, where he played regularly under Reja, he was usually reserve to Federico Marchetti.
Lazio Career
Season | Total Appearances | Serie A | Coppa Italia | Champions League | Europa League |
2013-14 | 23 | 17 | 2 | - | 4 |
2014-15 | 17 | 10 | 7 | - | - |
2015-16 | 20 | 11 | 2 | 2 | 5 |
Total | 60 | 38 | 11 | 2 | 9 |
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