Mallorca’s Vedat Muriqi and Osasuna’s Ante Budimir have scored a combined 31 league goals this season, including three in a dramatic draw on Saturday.
This is the tale of the Pirate and the Swan. Vedat Muriqi, a giant from a young age, couldn’t always find soccer boots that fit. At 6ft 4in with size 15 feet, the young striker from KF Liria in Prizren, Kosovo, received a pair of size 48.5 boots from an aunt in Finland, intended for rugby. Despite their unintended purpose, he wore them since they fit.
Muriqi, described by a coach as “a strange, ugly beast” you’d avoid, humorously agreed with the sentiment. Once nicknamed the Cannibal—though he clarified, “one that doesn’t eat children”—he later embraced the name the Pirate, donning a patch over his left eye when scoring. Yet, he questioned his own identity as a footballer, comparing himself to others like Sergi Darder and Dani Rodríguez, pondering, “If they’re footballers … what am I?” He sometimes felt like he was playing a different sport altogether.
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- Source: SCCGManagement.com