Lum Afrim Rexhepi (born 3 August 1992) is a professional footballer who most recently played as a defender for Albanian club Partizani Tirana and the Kosovo national team.
Born in Finland, he represented his place of birth at international level before switching to represent Kosovo in 2014.
On 27 January 2015, Rexhepi joined Tippeligaen side Lillestrøm, on a one-year contract,[1] but ended up spending almost the whole season injured and his contract was not renewed after the season.
On 15 January 2016, Rexhepi returned to Veikkausliiga side HJK Helsinki, on a one-year contract.[2] On 31 January 2016, he made his debut with HJK Helsinki in a Finnish League Cup match against IFK Mariehamn after being named in the starting line-up.
On 9 February 2017, Rexhepi joined Eredivisie side Go Ahead Eagles, on a one-and-a-half-year contract.[3][4] On 2 April 2017, he made his debut in a 1–2 away win against Twente after coming on as a substitute at 86th minute in place of Sam Hendriks.
On 29 March 2018, Rexhepi joined Veikkausliiga side KuPS, on a five-month contract.[5] On 18 April 2018, he made his debut in a 1–0 away defeat against RoPS after being named in the starting line-up.
On 14 January 2019, Rexhepi joined Albanian Superliga side Partizani Tirana for the remaining part of 2018–19 season with the right of renewal for another year.[6] On 22 January 2019, he made his debut with Partizani Tirana in the second round of 2018–19 Albanian Cup against Kastrioti after being named in the starting line-up.[7][8] He made his first Albanian Superliga appearance on 25 January after being named in the starting line-up in a 0–1 minimal away win against Skënderbeu Korçë.[9]
In February 2020, Rexhepi joined Finnish club JäPS.[10] He left the club again at the end of the year.
From 2008, until 2014, Rexhepi has been part of Finland at youth international level, respectively has been part of the U16, U18, U19, U20 and U21 teams and he with these teams played 22 matches and scored 2 goals.
On 14 January 2013, Rexhepi was named as part of the Finland's 22-man squad for the 2013 King's Cup in Thailand.[11] His debut with Finland came on 26 January in the 2013 King's Cup final against Sweden after coming on as a substitute at 77th minute in place of Markus Halsti.[12]
On 2 March 2014, Rexhepi received a call-up from Kosovo for the first permitted by FIFA match against Haiti[13] and made his debut after coming on as a substitute at 65th minute in place of Loret Sadiku.
| Club | Season | League | National Cup | League Cup | Continental[a] | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Honka | 2011 | Veikkausliiga | 15 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 17 | 1 | |||
| 2012 | 18 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 2 | — | 25 | 3 | |||||
| 2013 | 8 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 0 | — | 16 | 0 | |||||
| 2014 | 20 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 21 | 0 | |||||
| Total | 61 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 13 | 2 | — | 79 | 4 | |||||
| Pallohonka (loan) | 2012 | Kakkonen | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | |||||
| Total | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | |||||||
| Lillestrøm | 2015 | Tippeligaen | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | |||||
| Total | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | |||||||
| HJK Helsinki | 2016 | Veikkausliiga | 22 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 5 | 0 | — | 33 | 0 | |
| Total | 22 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 5 | 0 | — | 33 | 0 | |||
| Go Ahead Eagles | 2016–17 | Eredivisie | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 2 | 0 | |||||
| 2017–18 | Eerste Divisie | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | ||||||
| Total | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 2 | 0 | |||||||
| KuPS | 2018 | Veikkausliiga | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 2 | 0 | — | 18 | 0 | ||
| Total | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 2 | 0 | — | 18 | 0 | ||||
| Partizani Tirana | 2018–19 | Albanian Superliga | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | |
| Total | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | |||
| Career total | 103 | 2 | 8 | 0 | 17 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 135 | 4 | ||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Finland | |||
| 2013 | 1 | 0 | |
| Total | 1 | 0 | |
| Kosovo | |||
| 2014 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2015 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2016 | 1 | 0 | |
| Total | 3 | 0 | |
Formacioni: A. Hoxha (kap), Belica, Rexhepi, Kalari, Ibrahimi, Atanda, Hila, Kote, Mensah, Çinari, Hebaj
PARTIZANI: Hoxha, Belica, Ibrahimi, Atanda, Rexhepi, Kalari, Kote, Hila, Çinari, Mensah, Hebaj
PARTIZANI: Hoxha, Ibrahimi, Belica, Rexhepi, Trashi, Atanda, Telushi, Asani, Kardozo, Mala, Bardhi
