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Zufer Avdija

Zufer Avdija is a Serbian-Israeli former basketball player and coach who played for Yugoslavia's national team and later became an executive at Bnei Herzliya.

born 1959Playing for Yugoslavia's national teamCaptaining Crvena zvezdaManaging Bnei HerzliyaFather of Deni Avdija

Born: 1 October 1959, Pristina
Occupation: basketball player, basketball coach

Zufer Avdija was born in 1959 in Pristina

Avdija was born in Pristina, Kosovo, then part of Serbia in Yugoslavia, to a Gorani Muslim family. At 15 he briefly played football as a goalkeeper for a youth team in Pristina.

A forward, he began his basketball career in his hometown and joined Crvena zvezda of Belgrade, where he played through the 1980s and served as captain. With Yugoslavia he won bronze at the 1982 World Championship in Colombia and gold at the 1983 Mediterranean Games in Morocco.

In 1990 he moved to Israel and joined Ramat HaSharon as a foreign player. He later played for Rishon LeZion, Hapoel Tel Aviv and Elitzur Bat Yam, and became an Israeli citizen after his marriage.

After his playing career he coached youth teams at Bnei Herzliya and became an assistant coach in 2011. In June 2021 he was named the club's general manager.

He has two children from his first marriage. With his second wife, Sharon Artzi of kibbutz Beit Zera, he has a son, NBA player Deni Avdija.