Kamberi may quit Hibs as he chases his dream of international football
● Striker eligible for three countries but he is frustrated by lack of game time
Florian Kamberi fears a lack of game time could lead to him quitting Hibs in pursuit of his dream of international football. Although born in Zurich, Switzerland, the Easter Road striker is also eligible to play for his parents’ homeland of Kosovo and also Albania. At the age of 24, he is anxious to achieve that goal.
As yet, however, none of those countries has come calling and, having found himself playing second fiddle to £350,000 summer signing Christian Doidge in recent weeks, he realises that unless he is playing regularly, they are unlikely to do so.
A Swiss Under-21 cap, Kamberi said: “My big goal is to play international football, 100 per cent. I have the possibility to play for three nations and any of those nations would be a privilege for me, especially if it was at a tournament like the Euros or the World Cup.
“I grew up in Switzerland and I have family there, but both of my parents are from Kosovo and I have been there many times for holidays. Albania is like a brother country to Kosovo, so it’s the same for me at the end of the day.
“I don’t have a preference. I would never say one of them was my first choice ahead of the others. It’s not like that. It would be a privilege to represent any of them. I haven’t had a call-up from any of them yet, so I am just waiting.”
Admitting he once believed having played for Switzerland’s Under-21s the natural progression would have been to step up to the full squad, the former Grasshopper Zurich player said: “I went to Karlsruhe and had a hard season.
“I then went back to Grasshoppers and didn’t play for six months. So it made sense to me that the Swiss national coach didn’t call me up for the team. It’s the same with Kosovo and Albania. If you want to play for a national team, especially at a tournament, you have to be a starting XI player, playing a lot of games and, as a striker, scoring goals. And if you don’t get the game-time you want then, yeah, maybe you have to move on.”
Kamberi believes there is still a possibility of playing in next summer’s European Championship finals – both Switzerland and Kosovo are already assured of a play-off place but also have a chance to qualify directly – but added: “If I am playing every weekend, scoring goals and playing consistently there would be a chance.
“But first of all, of course, I need to play, and if not I have to maybe consider moving on.”
He also revealed how he felt for fellow striker Doidge as he missed chance after chance to earn Hibs a first win at Pittodrie in seven years.
Kamberi had to look on as the summer arrival from Forest Green Rovers was left oneone-one with Aberdeen goalkeeper Joe Lewis four times, but failed to beat him on each occasion.
Doidge has yet to claim a league goal but has been given the nod ahead of Kamberi in each of their last three matches, Heckingbottom adamant the Welshman has been in the side for “other reasons than goals”, highlighting the different job he is being asked to do, playing to his strengths and getting his team up the pitch.
Kamberi admitted that approach didn’t suit his style of play, but he respects his head coach’s decision.
The 24-year-old said: “It’s the manager’s decision and he takes the responsibility. He knows my style of play and if he decides to change our style because of our opponent, then I respect that and I will not do anything stupid.
“But if you ask me what style of play suits me, it’s into my feet or chest, not into my head or playing the channels. It’s putting me in one-on-one situations with a chance to score a goal. These are my strengths.”
However, Kamberi emphatically rejected the notion that he might have taken perverse delight in seeing his rival struggle to find the net. “No,” he said. “I am not the type who is happy on the bench that he missed those chances, that’s not me.
“I know how he is feeling; you feel bad when you miss one of those chances, never mind four of them. I know Doidger really well now and I know it will make him stronger in his head and I hope he scores the next chance he gets.”