Vahid Hambo (born 3 February 1995) is a Finnish footballer of Bosnian descent who plays as a striker.[1] He has been described as a tall, powerful player.[2]

Vahid Hambo
Hambo with SJK in 2018.
Personal information
Date of birth (1995-02-03) 3 February 1995 (age 29)
Place of birth Helsinki, Finland
Height 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in)
Position(s) Striker
Youth career
HJK
2012–2014 Sampdoria
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2014 Ilves 5 (1)
2015 Inter Turku 6 (4)
2015–2017 Brighton & Hove Albion 0 (0)
2017–2018 SJK 22 (3)
2018 SJK Akatemia 1 (0)
2018 RoPS 11 (3)
2019 Astra Giurgiu 5 (0)
2019 Sūduva 4 (0)
2019 Astra Giurgiu 1 (0)
2020 FC Lahti 17 (3)
2021–2022 IFK Mariehamn 39 (7)
2023– VJS 5 (7)
International career
2011–2012 Finland U17 3 (0)
2013–2014 Finland U19 3 (3)
2015–2016 Finland U21 1 (2)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 21 December 2023

Club career edit

Early years edit

Born in Helsinki to Bosnian parents, he played with his local team, HJK's youth sides before switching to Sampdoria's Primavera team. His time in Italy was blighted by injuries, and after two years his contract was terminated by mutual consent, after scoring only once in 23 games.[3]

Ilves and Inter Turku edit

After his departure from Sampdoria, Hambo signed for Ilves in the Finnish second division, Ykkönen. He impressed and was quickly grabbed by Inter Turku in the top-flight Veikkausliiga. His good form continued, but injuries limited his playing time, making only 6 appearances in the league. Despite this, he was hailed as one of Inter's best players.[4]

Brighton edit

Still recovering from a knee injury, Hambo signed for Brighton & Hove Albion in the English Championship, joining fellow Finn Niki Mäenpää. The club's officials stated that Hambo would start playing for the reserve team firstly, to get him known to English football better and help recover from his injury.[5]

SJK edit

On 19 July 2017, Hambo returned to Finland, signing for Veikkausliiga club SJK until the end of the 2018 season.[6]

RoPS edit

Hambo signed with RoPS in August 2018, but left the club again after the season.[7]

Astra Giurgiu edit

On 7 February 2019 Vahid Hambo signed a contract, valid for two years and a half, with Romanian side FC Astra Giurgiu.[8]

Sūduva edit

On 12 September 2019 he became a member of Lithuanian FK Sūduva Marijampolė.[9][10]

International career edit

Hambo has appeared for Finnish under 21-side. He was also selected for a match for the senior side in the 2016 Euro's qualifying, but had to withdraw due to his injury.

Honours edit

Astra Giurgiu

Individual

External links edit

References edit

  1. ^ "NY anfallare till IFK".
  2. ^ "Brighton sign Finland U-21 striker". 22 July 2015. Retrieved 23 July 2015.
  3. ^ "Hambo rescinde il contratto" [Hambo rescinds contract] (in Italian). 21 June 2014. Retrieved 23 July 2015.[permanent dead link]
  4. ^ "Hambo joins Mäenpää in Brighton" (in Finnish). 21 July 2015. Archived from the original on 24 July 2015. Retrieved 23 July 2015.
  5. ^ "Brighton sign U21 star Vahid Hambo". 21 July 2015.[permanent dead link]
  6. ^ "Hambo, Sundman and Sheppard SJK". sjk2007.fi. SJK. 19 July 2017. Retrieved 25 July 2017.
  7. ^ Veikkausliigan siirrot talvella 2018-2019, veikkausliiga.com, 23 December 2018
  8. ^ Internaționalul finlandez Vahid Hambo – cel mai nou ”astrist”. afcastragiurgiu.ro (in Romanian)
  9. ^ ""Sūduvą" papildė puolėjas V. Hambo – FK Sūduva".
  10. ^ "Čempionai greitai rado pamainą išvykusiam S. Gotalui | A Lyga | Aukščiausia Lietuvos futbolo lyga".
  11. ^ Vahid Hambo huhtikuun kuukauden pelaaja (in Finnish)