Wednesday's Champions League match between Liverpool and LASK brings together two of Besian Idrizaj's former clubs. The Austrian striker joined the Reds after leaving the Linz club as a teenager, but tragically lost his life aged just 22.
A teenage talent spotted early
Idrizaj made his debut for the LASK first team aged 16 and played more than 30 league games before moving to England. The switch came after he impressed at a European Under-17 Championships tournament featuring plenty of stars who would go on to bigger and better things.
France won that tournament, with the likes of Samir Nasri, Karim Benzema and Hatem Ben Arfa in their side. It was also a chance for Cesc Fabregas and Gerard Pique to impress for Spain, while Mark Noble was part of an England side beaten in the third-place play-off by Portugal.
Austria finished behind England and Portugal in the group stage but Idrizaj caught the eye. He stayed in Linz for the 2004/05 season but wasn't going to pass up the opportunity to try his luck at Anfield.
A dream move to Anfield
“I have always been a Liverpool fan and it is a dream come true to play for them. If you get a chance to go to Liverpool on trial then you have to take it,” the young striker said upon agreeing to a trial with the Reds in 2005. He initially joined the academy after impressing, putting himself within touching distance of sharing a pitch with a group of players he had seen lift the Champions League trophy in Istanbul. “You cannot ignore a trial with the reigning Champions League winners. I would even have swum across the channel just to take part,” he added.
During his debut season with Liverpool's youth set-up, Idrizaj was a team-mate of the likes of Jay Spearing and Jack Hobbs, players who would go on to represent the Reds' first team. Idrizaj was integrated into the senior squad himself by Rafa Benitez during pre-season in 2006 and 2007, bagging an unforgettable hat-trick in a friendly.
Following an impressive display alongside Craig Bellamy in a win over Wrexham in 2006, the young forward headed out on loan to Luton Town, netting his maiden senior competitive goal in English football. Upon his return to Merseyside the subsequent summer, he was given a starting berth in another Wrexham meeting and inside half an hour he had scored all three of Liverpool's goals.
A life cut short
“I still remember the day,” his brother Qerim told The Athletic in 2020. “At the time, the internet was not like now and if we called Besian we had to have a prepaid card.” He called home afterwards and he said, 'Did you check the Liverpool website?' I said, 'No. Why? What happened?' He said, 'Just check it.' He was really proud. “And it was something to be proud of. So I typed in Liverpool FC and went onto the homepage, and the first story was Besian Idrizaj scores a 23-minute hat-trick. I said, 'Wow, man. This is amazing? How did you do that?'”
Rather than promote Idrizaj directly into the Liverpool first team, Benitez permitted him to depart on loan once more - initially to Crystal Palace and subsequently to Wacker Innsbruck in the player's native country. During that period, though, the forward endured a scary moment when he collapsed on the pitch, with medics believing a virus to be responsible.
Idrizaj's contract at Anfield expired in 2008 and Wacker chose not to sign him on a free transfer. After heading back to LASK to train and maintain his fitness, he experienced another health scare and stepped away from football for several months. The youngster did ultimately make it back onto the pitch, first in Germany and then in Swansea. He featured four times in the 2009/10 Championship campaign but then, just weeks after the season concluded, he suffered a suspected heart attack in his sleep and tragically passed away. He was 22 years old.
Remembered by Swansea and beyond
Idrizaj made a lasting impression on his Swansea colleagues during his brief spell in south Wales. “A lot of us still talk about him,” goalkeeper Dorus de Vries said during the push for promotion under Brendan Rodgers the following season. “He is still in our thoughts. He was a great colleague, a great team-mate, but he was also a great friend and you can't just forget that. We said as a group that this year would be for him and hopefully we are doing him proud this season.”
Following their play-off final triumph at Wembley, Swansea's players hoisted the trophy while wearing T-shirts emblazoned with Idrizaj's name and image, with the club subsequently retiring his squad number, 40. “The journey was a great remembrance to him all the way through the season. I felt that he was really in the heart of the players and people,” said Rodgers.
When Liverpool and LASK crossed paths in the Europa League in 2023, Besian Idrizaj was undoubtedly at the forefront of many minds, both at Anfield and the Raiffeisen Arena. As the two sides prepare to lock horns once more in Austria this week, thoughts will surely turn again to a talent cruelly lost far too soon.
