Jahmir Hyka

Jahmir Hyka (born 8 March 1988) is an Albanian professional footballer who last played as a left midfielder for KF Teuta Durrës.

A Dinamo Tirana product, Hyka started his professional career in Norway at Rosenborg where did not make a league appearance.

Hyka joined local side Dinamo Tirana at the age of 12, where he played for the youth teams for four years, until he made it to the first team at 2004.

He was being tracked by a number of European clubs despite never having made a competitive appearance for Dinamo Tirana before joining Norwegian side Rosenborg BK in 2005 on loan.

At Rosenborg, Hyka did not manage to break through into the first team, failing to make a single league appearance, only featuring twice as an unused substitute in August and September 2006.

At Olympiakos, he found opportunities in the first team limited and so he moved on loan to KF Tirana, the then champions of the 2006–07 Albanian Superliga in time for the 2007–08 season.

Back in Tirana, Hyka played 32 games, scoring two goals and his good form did not go unnoticed.

Croatian side Dinamo Zagreb showed interest and Hyka was close to a move.

He moved to Greek club Olympiacos in 2007, again failing to make a league appearance and who then sent him on loan to Tirana.

He made his senior debut in 2007 and one year later scored Albania's fastest goal in history.

In 2007, Hyka left Dinamo Tirana to sign with Greek club Olympiacos for a fee of €600,000.

Hyka's performances at Tirana earned him a move to 1. FSV Mainz 05 of the 2. Bundesliga in 2008 where he made his German top flight debut in 2009.

In June 2008, Hyka signed a three-year deal with German side 1. FSV Mainz 05.

He played for Panionios in the first half of 2010–11 before returning to Tirana in January 2011 and helping KF Tirana to clinch the Albanian Cup.

In 2010, after just 13 appearances with the German team, most of them as a substitute, Hyka was once again on the move, this time back to Greece, transferring to Greek team, Panionios, for a €120,000 fee.

After a difficult time in Greece, Hyka returned to Albania, re-signing with former side Tirana where he had previously had a loan spell.

In the summer of 2011, he left Albania again to join Luzern in Switzerland, where he made more than 150 appearances in six years.

The deal was completed on 29 January 2011, while he was still in Greece.

Tirana president Refik Halili had previously expressed his desire to sign the young national team winger at the unveiling of new signing Bekim Balaj.

Hyka made his return debut on 20 February 2011 in team's goalless draw against Shkumbini Peqin at home.

One month later, in a match against the same opponent, he netted his first season goal via a free-kick from 25 metres, giving his team a minimal 1–0 win.

He continued with his solid appearances by scoring twice in Tirana's 4–0 defeat of Laçi in April.

Only four days later, he scored his fourth goal of the season in the 6–1 defeat of Elbasani at Selman Stërmasi Stadium.

Tirana finished the season in the fifth position with 44 points, failing to secure a spot in European competitions, bringing the departure of Hyka.

In the summer of 2011, Hyka was transferred to FC Luzern in the Swiss Super League.

He scored his first goal with Luzern on 6 August 2011 in a 1–1 draw against Young Boys after coming on as a substitute in the 62nd minute to score in the 86th minute for the equaliser.

Luzern fans named him "the Messi of Albania."

Hyka scored a goal from 20 meters in a 4–1 loss against St. Gallen on 1 September 2013.

He scored a goal and provided several assist for Luzern in a 2–4 win against Terre Sainte in the Swiss Cup on 15 September 2013.

In February 2017, he signed with San Jose Earthquakes in Major League Soccer.

Since then, he has collected 44 caps as of June 2017.

On 3 February 2017, Hyka signed with San Jose Earthquakes of Major League Soccer.

He first appeared for the club on 25 February 2017 in the last San Jose Earthquakes preseason friendly against Sacramento Republic, substituting on at halftime and scoring also a goal in the 79th minute.

Hyka made his first MLS appearance as a 70th-minute substitute in the season home opener against Montreal Impact on 4 March 2017, finished in the 1–0 victory.

His first score-sheet contributions came in his second ever appearance for the club on 11 March 2017, substituting on at halftime and recording two assists to help the Earthquakes make a 3–2 comeback victory over the Vancouver Whitecaps.

On 18 March 2017, Hyka made his first MLS start in a 2–1 loss at Sporting Kansas City.

His first goal was scored on 14 April 2017 with ten seconds remaining in stoppage time in what would be a 1–1 home draw against FC Dallas.

Hyka opened the scoring against the Portland Timbers in the 3–0 rout on 7 May in the 8th minute of the match.

In January 2019 Jahmir Hyka signed with Maccabi Netanya a contract for 1.5 years.

Hyka represented Albania at youth levels, playing for the under-17, under-19 and under-21 levels.