As Liverpool prepare to face LASK in the Champions League on Wednesday, some fans' attention will turn towards Besian Idrizaj. The Austrian youth international joined the Reds from their upcoming opponents, leaving his homeland as a teenager, and went on to play for Swansea City in the Championship. His brief football career ended in tragedy when he died aged just 22.
Swansea's tribute after play-off triumph
After winning the Championship play-off final at Wembley in 2011, Swansea's players lifted the trophy wearing T-shirts bearing Idrizaj's name and photo, while the club have since retired his squad number of 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," manager Brendan Rodgers said at the time.
Only a few years earlier, the striker was turning heads as a youth international for Austria and playing league football aged just 16. When his former clubs face off this week, his all-too-short career is remembered.
Rise through the ranks at Liverpool
Idrizaj shot to prominence at the European Under-17 Championships in 2004. Cesc Fabregas won player of the tournament, Hatem Ben Arfa was among the top scorers, and Samir Nasri scored the winner in the final. Idrizaj was one of the standouts in an Austrian side that missed out on a semi-final spot on goal difference, and Liverpool liked what they saw.
"I have always been a Liverpool fan and it is a dream come true to play for them," the young forward said after accepting a trial with the Reds in 2005. "If you get a chance to go to Liverpool on trial then you have to take it," he added. "You cannot ignore a trial with the reigning Champions League winners. I would even have swum across the channel just to take part."
In his first year with Liverpool's youngsters, he rubbed shoulders with FA Youth Cup winners including Jay Spearing and Jack Hobbs, both of whom would turn out for the Reds' senior side. The next two summers saw Idrizaj brought into the first-team fold by Rafa Benitez in pre-season, and he took his chance.
Loan spells and a hat-trick to remember
After catching the eye alongside Craig Bellamy in a victory over Wrexham in 2006, the young striker spent time out on loan at Luton Town, scoring his first senior competitive goal in English football. Returning to Merseyside the following summer, he was handed a start in another Wrexham friendly and within half an hour he had a hat-trick to his name.
"I still remember the day. At the time, the internet was not like now and if we called Besian we had to have a prepaid card," his brother Qerim told The Athletic in 2020. "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 bring Idrizaj straight into the Liverpool first team, Benitez allowed him to leave on loan again - first to Crystal Palace and then to Wacker Innsbruck in the player's homeland. During that spell, he collapsed on the pitch in a worrying incident, at the time thought to be down to a virus.
Final years and lasting legacy
Idrizaj's contract at Anfield ended in 2008, and Wacker opted against picking him up on a free. After returning to LASK to train and keep his fitness levels up, he had another health scare and took a few months out of the game. He did eventually return to the pitch, enduring a brief and difficult few months at German side Eilenburg before being handed an opportunity by the Swans - at the time managed by Paulo Sousa. He played four times in the 2009/10 Championship season, but then, just weeks after the end of the campaign, he suffered a suspected heart attack in his sleep and never woke up. He was 22 years old.
Idrizaj left his mark on his Swansea team-mates in his short time in south Wales. "A lot of us still talk about him," goalkeeper Dorus de Vries said during the run to promotion under 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."
When Liverpool and LASK met in the Europa League in 2023, Idrizaj was no doubt on the minds of many at both Anfield and the Raiffeisen Arena. As the teams prepare to face off again in Austria this week, thoughts remain with a talent taken from the football world far too early.
