Haris Seferovic

Haris Seferovic (Seferović, ; born 22 February 1992) is a Swiss professional footballer who plays as a striker for Emirati club Al Wasl and the Switzerland national team.

Seferovic began his career in 1999 on FC Sursee's youth team and after five years signed in the summer of 2004 for Luzern.

He arrived with comparisons to Darko Kovačević, a league runner-up with Real Sociedad in 2003, but did not capitalise on his early goals to cement a spot in the team.

Seferovic made his professional debut at Grasshopper in April 2009.

After three years in their youth teams, he was scouted by Grasshopper, and on 26 April 2009, he made his debut in the Swiss Super League against Neuchâtel Xamax.

Shortly afterwards, in January 2010, he was signed by Italian club Fiorentina.

In January 2010, he was named as the Youth Player of the Year in the canton Lucerne.

On 29 January 2010, Italian Serie A club Fiorentina signed Seferovic from Grasshopper for a €2.1 million transfer fee.

One day later, La Viola announced the deal was completed.

The youngster was assigned to Fiorentina's primavera team.

On 4 August 2011, Seferovic was loaned to Swiss Super League club Neuchâtel Xamax.

On 27 January 2012, Seferovic was loaned to Serie A club Lecce during the January transfer window.

He spent the second half of the 2012–13 season with Novara of Serie B, scoring 10 goals in 18 matches, all as a starter.

He scored a hat-trick in a 3–1 win over Livorno on 17 April as Novara eventually finished in the play-offs.

Much of his time at the latter club was spent out on loan, with a successful spell at Novara in Serie B, followed by a transfer to Real Sociedad of Spain in 2013.

A year later, he joined German club Eintracht Frankfurt, with whom he spent three seasons before a transfer to Benfica in Portugal.

A full international since 2013, Seferovic represented Switzerland at the FIFA World Cup in 2014, 2018 and 2022, and the UEFA European Championship in 2016 and 2020, earning over 90 caps.

On 11 July 2013, Seferovic completed a move to Spanish La Liga club Real Sociedad on a four-year contract for a €2 million transfer fee.

He made his La Liga debut on 16 August 2013, and scored with a chip against Getafe, securing a 2–0 home victory.

Four days later, he scored a volley as Real Sociedad beat Lyon 2–0 away from home in the play-off qualification round for the 2013–14 UEFA Champions League.

He played in 24 league matches in his first season, only nine as a starter, and scored his only other league goal as a substitute for Carlos Vela, wrapping up a 5–0 win over Osasuna on 2 November.

On 18 December, he scored Sociedad's third goal as the club defeated third-tier Algeciras 4–0 in the Copa del Rey's round of 32.

Seferovic was signed to partner Vela and Antoine Griezmann in Real Sociedad's attacking line.

He had a difficult relationship with the fans, for posing with a whisky bottle after a draw with FC Barcelona in September, and for celebrating a goal by telling his team's fans to be quiet in November 2013.

He spent the night of his 22nd birthday in February 2014 in a police cell after a late-night argument with his girlfriend, with both being released without charges.

On 1 August 2014, Seferovic completed a move to German Bundesliga club Eintracht Frankfurt, signing a three-year contract.

The club said, "We intentionally chose a young player who already has a relatively high degree of experience, but who still has plenty of room for improvement."

He made his debut on 16 August, scoring the opening goal in the ninth minute as Frankfurt defeated fourth-tier Viktoria Berlin 2–0 away in the first round of the DFB-Pokal.

One week later, he made his first Bundesliga debut and scored the only goal from Frankfurt's first attack of the game to defeat SC Freiburg at the Waldstadion.

In Frankfurt's 4–5 home defeat to VfB Stuttgart on 25 October, Seferovic was sent off for a second yellow card.

In the 2015–16 Bundesliga, Seferovic scored only three times in 29 games as Frankfurt came 16th and were confined to a play-off against 1. FC Nürnberg to maintain their spot in the top flight.

After a 1–1 draw in the first leg at home, he scored the only goal in the second to maintain his club's place.

Seferovic received a three-match ban in February 2017 for striking Hertha BSC's Niklas Stark during a 2–0 loss in Berlin.

It was Frankfurt's sixth dismissal of the season and he was also fined an undisclosed amount which was donated to charity.

He played four matches in the team's runner-up DFB-Pokal campaign, and scored the winning goal at Hannover 96 in the round of 16.

On 2 June 2017, Seferovic signed a five-year contract with Portuguese champions Benfica.

He debuted on 5 August in the 2017 Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira, starting alongside Jonas and scoring the second goal in a 3–1 win over Vitória de Guimarães.

Four days later, he made his Primeira Liga debut in a 3–1 home win over Braga.

In October that year, he was praised by former Benfica footballer Nuno Gomes as a valuable player for the team.

He made over 180 appearances and scored over 70 goals for the club, winning the Bola de Prata for top scorer as the team won the Primeira Liga in 2018–19.