We have made an exclusive interview with Ahmed Iljazovski, one of the very few players from the Macedonian diaspora in Denmark who have chosen to represent Macedonia at senior level.

photo by FFM: Ahmed Iljazovski

As we have written in the opening line, in the past 30 years very few players with Macedonian origin from Denmark have chosen to represent Macedonia internationally. To be specific, only Bajram Fetai has appearances for the A national team, and we can also mention Hakan Redžep, who was briefly part of the U21 national team that qualified for the European Championship in Poland in 2017. In the last two matches of the 2024 EURO qualifiers, a player who was completely unknown to the wider Macedonian audience, the defender of the Danish Superliga club Hvidovre – Ahmed Iljazovski, got a call to play for Macedonia. It was an opportunity for MacedonianFootball to do an interview with Iljazovski.

MF: Welcome to the Macedonian national team, Ahmed, and congratulations on your debut. What is your connection to Macedonia?
Thank you very much, it was an unforgettable experience and achievement both personally but also the result that we got in the two matches! My parents were born in Macedonia, in the Prespa region. My father was born in the village of Drmeni and he moved to Denmark when he was 22, while my mother was born in the village of Gorna Bela Crkva and she was 5 years old when she moved to Denmark. I still have a lot of family in Macedonia, mostly in Drmeni, Resen, Ohrid and Bitola. My parents have always taken us (me, my sister and my brother) to Macedonia so that we can see where we originally came from.

MF: Did the call from Macedonia surprise you considering that you were born and raised in Denmark? Was it difficult for you to accept the invitation to play for Macedonia and what were the reactions from your club and your family when you announced the decision?
To be honest I have always thought about this possibility. For me this has been a dream I was hoping to achieve one day. So, when the coach called me and told me that I was selected to be a part of this fantastic team I didn’t think twice. Having the opportunity to represent our country has been a huge honor!
The reaction from my family was exceptional, they were full of joy and happiness. More than 20 of them were at the stadium in Skopje and many also came to Malta.
My club supported my decision and were very happy for me. This is a huge thing for my club as well since I am the only player to represent a national team.

MF: You made your debut in the last minutes of the match against multiple World and European Champions, Italy. How does it feel to be a member of the national team and what are your impressions of your teammates and your debut in Skopje?
As mentioned before this was an unforgettable experience. I have been playing football for more than 20 years and finally with hard work and dedication I have achieved to play for our country. Getting my debut against Italy was exceptional and I was more than ready to fight to secure the fantastic result. My motivation is higher than ever to help our national team achieve even better results. We have a really strong squad, all the players have great qualities. One of the most important thing is also outside the pitch and how the atmosphere is around the players. From the moment I joined the squad on the first day, all the players were full of positive energy. We took that positive energy into our two matches and got 4 important points.

Debutantes Ilijazovski and Isnik Alimi after the Italy match; photo: FFM

MF: Were you familiar with the Macedonian football in the past and did you know any Macedonian footballers before you came to the national team’s training camp?
Yes of course, even though this was my first call up for the national team, I have always supported the team from Denmark. So yes, I knew almost all the players before I arrived.

MF: You are currently part of Hvidovre’s defense. In which position do you usually play and in your opinion, in which position could you contribute the most to the team?
The last 3-4 years I have been playing as a right back, but I have also played in the central defense for many years before I started playing as a right back. Despite that I am more than ready to play on any position where the coach tells me to play. Like the game against Italy where I played as a defensive midfielder.

MF: Are you satisfied with the development of your career so far and what are your future plans?
Well I would say, what I have achieved this year with my football career is every player’s boyhood dream. Playing in the best league in Denmark where I have been growing up and having my debut for the Macedonian national team is a dream that came true. But I am not satisfied yet, I want to achieve even more, especially with the national team. We have some important upcoming matches where we need to show the same spirit and energy.

Iljazovski in action for Hvidovre; photo: Hvidovre IF

MacedonianFootball.com would like to extend our gratitude to Ahmed Iljazovski for this interview and wishes him a lot of luck in his further career and many great matches for the national team.