Arijan Ademi (pronounced [arian ad??mi]; born 29 May 1991) is a Croatian born Macedonian professional footballer who currently plays for GNK Dinamo Zagreb and Macedonian national team. Ademi started his professional career at Šibenik, debuting for the senior squad on 22 March 2008 aged just 16 years. On 16 June 2010 he was transferred to reigning Croatian champions Dinamo Zagreb.
At international level, Ademi was capped 17 times for the under-19 team and scored two goals. He took part at the 2010 UEFA European Under-19 Football Championship where he made four appearances for Croatian side which reached the semi-finals and scored a goal. He also made four appearances in the friendly matches for the under-18 team. Although appearing in three friendly matches for the Croatian senior national team, on 9 October 2014 he debuted for the Macedonia national team in an official match.
![]()
Club career
Šibenik
Ademi began his career at Šibenik where he was promoted to the first team on 15 September 2007. He made his first senior appearance for the club on 22 March 2008 in a match against Dinamo Zagreb.[1] He featured as a 63rd minute substitute for Gabriel in a match Šibenik lost 5–1.[citation needed] The following season Ademi made 28 appearance for the senior squad, 16 of which he started in the first eleven. The 2009–10 Prva HNL was the most successful for Ademi as he made 27 appearances in the first eleven and scored two goals.
He scored his first league goal on 25 July 2009 in an away match against Croatia Sesvete which Šibenik won 2–1. He was also the youngest player that captained any Prva HNL club that season.
Dinamo Zagreb
On 16 June 2009 he was transferred to Dinamo Zagreb for a fee of €400.000.[citation needed] He made his first appearance for his new club on 31 July 2010 in a league match against Rijeka in a match Dinamo Zagreb lost 2–1.[citation needed] He also made his debut in European competitions on 4 August in the 2010–11 UEFA Champions League third qualifying round match against Sheriff Tiraspol which finished with a draw 1–1.[citation needed] Upon arrival of the coach Vahid Halilhodži? he established himself as a first team regular in the position of defensive midfielder, and appeared as a starter in their 2010–11 UEFA Europa League group matches, as Dinamo finished third with 7 points, behind Villarreal CF and PAOK. By the end of the season he has won his first trophies with Dinamo, Prva HNL and Croatian Cup.
After losing his first team spot, in the second part of the 2011–2012 season he was sent on loan to Lokomotiva Zagreb, where he made only appearances due to injury.
He came back from loan in the beginning of the 2012–2013 season, and was a part of the squad that qualified for the 2012–13 UEFA Champions League. In the CL group stage, Ademi made 5 appearances, as Dinamo finished bottom of their group with one point.
International career
Ademi made his first international appearance for Croatia playing for the under-19 football team. His debut international cap came in a friendly match against Slovenia under-19 selection in Bistra, Croatia, on 12 August 2008. Croatia won the match 3–1 and Ademi played until 69th minute when he was substituted by Renato Keli?. He made another appearance the next day when two selections faced each other in Brežice. The match finished with another win by Croatian under-19 team and Ademi played full 90 minutes in that match. He scored his first international goal on 17 September in a friendly match against Bosnia and Herzegovina under-19 team in Županja. The match finished with a 2–2 draw.
His first official match for under-19 team came on 5 October 2008 when the team faced Estonia in Tallinn in their 2009 UEFA under-19 football championship. Estonia won the match 4–1 with Ademi playing the full match for Croatian side. He made another appearance on against Kazakhstan on 7 October 2008 in a match Croatia won 4–0.[3]
After that, Ademi was capped four times in friendly matches for the under-18 team between 10 March and 2 April 2009. He also scored a goal against Bosnia and Herzegovina under-18 team on 31 March in a home match Croatia won 3–0. Ademi returned to under-19 team on 15 September 2009 featuring in the friendly match against Slovenia. After that, he made four more official appearances for the under-19 team in their 2010 UEFA under-19 football championship qualifying campaign.
On 22 January 2013 national team head coach Igor Štimac called up Ademi for a friendly match against South Korea in London on 6 February 2013. Earlier, on February 2013, Ademi had complained to the Albanian media that Albania never extended him an invitation.
After Ademi was not picked for the 2014 FIFA World Cup squad in Brazil by coach Niko Kova?, he decided to play for Macedonia.On 9 October 2014 he made his official debut in a UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying match against Luxembourg.
Personal life
Ademi is of Macedonian Albanian descent and is a cousin of the Macedonian professional football player Agim Ibraimi.
![]()
![]()
![]()
![]()
![]()
