Bekim Balaj
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Bekim Balaj
Bekim Balaj (born 11 January 1991) is an Albanian professional footballer who plays as a striker for Albanian club Vllaznia Shkodër and the Albania national team. Balaj started his football career with his hometown club Vllaznia and made his professional debut at the age of 17 before going on to score 17 goals in 38 games for the club before moving to Turkey to join Gençlerbirliği. After little success in Turkey he returned to Albania and played for Tirana where he scored 15 league goals in 37 games before joining Sparta Prague in the Czech Republic in January 2013. During his time at Sparta Prague he was loaned out to Polish side Jagiellonia Białystok for the entire 2013–14 campaign where he scored 9 goals in 36 games in all competition before return to his parent club for the first half of the following season. He joined Croatian club HNK Rijeka in January 2015 for a fee of €600,000. Balaj begun his international career with under-19 squad in 2008, and two years ...
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Shkodër
Shkodër ( , ; sq-definite, Shkodra) is the fifth-most-populous city of the Republic of Albania and the seat of Shkodër County and Shkodër Municipality. The city sprawls across the Plain of Mbishkodra between the southern part of Lake Shkodër and the foothills of the Albanian Alps on the banks of Buna, Drin and Kir. Due to its proximity to the Adriatic Sea, Shkodër is affected by a seasonal Mediterranean climate with continental influences. One of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the Balkans, Shkodër was founded under the name ''Scodra'' upon the traditional lands of the Illyrian tribes of the Ardiaei and Labeates in the 4th century BCE. It has historically developed on a hill strategically located in the outflow of Lake Shkodër into the Buna River. The Romans annexed the city after the third Illyrian War in 168 BCE, when Gentius was defeated by the Roman force of Anicius Gallus. In the 3rd century CE, Shkodër became the capital of Praevalitana, due to ...
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Albania National Football Team
The Albania national football team ( sq, Kombëtarja e futbollit të Shqipërisë) represents Albania in men's international football, and is governed by the Albanian Football Association, the governing body for football in Albania. Albania competes in the three major international football tournaments; the FIFA World Cup, UEFA European Championship and UEFA Nations League. Albania was the winner of the 1946 Balkan Cup and the 2000 Malta Rothmans International Tournament. At Euro 2016, Albania made its second appearance at a major men's football tournament after 50 years. Since its completion in 2019, Arena Kombëtare ( en, National Arena), known as Air Albania Stadium for sponsorship reasons, has been the team's home ground. Albania's highest FIFA World Ranking was 22nd in August 2015. The colours of the team are red, white and black, and the double headed eagle its symbol. Its supporters are collectively known as the '' Tifozët Kuq e Zi'' and display as well as the count ...
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Kategoria Superiore
The Kategoria Superiore, officially known as Abissnet Superiore for sponsorship reasons, is a professional league for men's association football clubs. At the top of the Albanian football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. It is contested by 10 clubs, and operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the Kategoria e Parë. Seasons run from August to May, with teams playing 36 matches each (playing each team in the league four times, twice at home and twice away). The competition was founded in 1930 as the Albanian National Championship during the reign of King Zog, shortly after the creation of the Albanian Football Association. Since 1930, 45 clubs have competed in recognised competitions, while only nine clubs have won the title: KF Tirana, Tirana (26), FK Dinamo Tirana, Dinamo Tirana (18), FK Partizani Tirana, Partizani (16), KF Vllaznia Shkodër, Vllaznia (9), KF Skënderbeu Korçë, Skënderbeu (8), KF Elbasani, Elbasani (2), KF Teuta Dur ...
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Sopoti Librazhd
KF Sopoti is an Albanian sports club based in Librazhd. The club currently competes in the Kategoria e Dytë, the third tier of football in Albania. History They were founded in 1948 under the name ''KS Albania Tabak Librazhd'', and they play their home games at the Sopoti Stadium. The club is named after the nearby Sopot Mountain. They spent the 1992/93, 1993/94, 1995/96 and 1996/97 seasons in the ''Kategoria Superiore''. Before the 1996/97 season, they changed their name back to Albania Tabak Librazhd, only to change it to Sopoti Librazhd once more the next year. Stadium The club's home ground is the multi-use Sopoti Stadium which is situated in the centre of the town next to the municipality building. The stadium which has a capacity of 3,000 spectators was built in 1964 and has been the club's home ever since. The stadium is not currently fit for use but the Albanian Football Association along with the Librazhd Municipality have drawn up initial plans to reconstruct th ...
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Albanian Cup
The Albanian Cup ( sq, Kupa e Shqipërisë) is the main "knockout" competition in Albanian football. The competition started in 1939 as Kupa e Mbretit (English:"The King's Cup"). Just after a year the cup was suspended as the Second World War started. It started again in 1948 as "Kupa e Republikes" (English: "Republic Cup") and from 1991 as "Kupa e Shqipërisë" (Albanian Cup). Today it is the second most important competition in Albania after the Kategoria Superiore. The winners of the Cup automatically earn the right to participate in the 1st qualifying round of the Europa Conference League. Finals results Performances by club Appearances ''At least 20 Cup appearances.'' See also * Superkupa e Shqipërisë ReferencesRSSSFbr/ External links nbsp;– National cup results. * http://www.calciomondialeweb.it/EUR/ALB/AlbaniaCoppa.htm SOCCERWAY€“ Albanian Cup summary. {{National football Cups (UEFA region) 1 Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also ...
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Albert Kaçi
Albert Kaçi (born 11 June 1981) is an Albanian retired football player who last played in midfield for Ada Velipojë in the Albanian First Division. Club career He played in UEFA Cup 2005-06, UEFA Champions League 2006-07 qualify rounds for Elbasani. He then played in UEFA Intertoto Cup 2007 The 2007 UEFA Intertoto Cup was the 19th and penultimate edition of the competition and took 50 entries. Three rounds were held, and 11 teams qualified for the second qualifying round of the UEFA Cup. The draw took place at UEFA headquarters in ... and UEFA Cup 2008-09 qualify round for Vllaznia Shkodër . External links * 1981 births Living people Footballers from Shkodër Albanian men's footballers Men's association football midfielders KF Vllaznia Shkodër players KF Elbasani players FC Luzern players KF Teuta Durrës players FK Apolonia Fier players KF Ada players KF Besëlidhja Lezhë players Kategoria Superiore players Kategoria e Parë players {{Albania-fo ...
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Mirel Josa
Mirel Josa (born 1 June 1963) is an Albanian former football player and current coach of Vllaznia in the Kategoria Superiore. As a player, he played in the Greek Alpha Ethniki for Nea Kavala and Aris, as well as making 27 international appearances for the Albania national football team between 1984 and 1992. Playing career Club Josa started his club career with his boyhood club 17 Nëntori where he would play for ten years, winning three league titles alongside fellow internationals and Albanian legends Arbën Minga, Shkëlqim Muça and Agustin Kola. He will be long remembered by the fans for his last-minute goal against the Romanian side Dinamo București in the 1986–87 edition of European Cup Winners' Cup, which brought his team in the best 16 of the competition, where they got eliminated by Malmö. Later, Josa left the country for the first time and moved abroad, signing a one-year contract with Greek side Aris. He played only one season with the club, then moved to AO ...
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Romania National Football Team
The Romania national football team ( ro, Echipa națională de fotbal a României) represents Romania in international men's football competition and is administered by the Romanian Football Federation ( ro, Federația Română de Fotbal), also known as FRF. They are colloquially known as ''Tricolorii'' (The Tricolours). Romania is one of only four national teams from Europe—the other three being Belgium, France, and Yugoslavia—that took part in the inaugural FIFA World Cup in 1930. Including that participation, Romania have qualified for seven World Cup editions, the latest in 1998. The national team's finest hour came in 1994, when led by playmaker Gheorghe Hagi it defeated Argentina 3–2 in round of 16. This moved them on to the quarter-finals of the competition, where they were eliminated by Sweden on a penalty shoot-out. At the European Championships, Romania's best performance was in 2000 when they advanced to the quarter-finals from a group with Germany, Por ...
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UEFA Euro 2016
The 2016 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2016 (stylised as UEFA EURO 2016) or simply Euro 2016, was the 15th UEFA European Championship, the quadrennial international men's football championship of Europe organised by UEFA. It was held in France from 10 June to 10 July 2016. Spain were the two-time defending champions, having won the 2008 and 2012 tournaments, but were eliminated in the round of 16 by Italy. Portugal won the tournament for the first time, following a 1–0 victory after extra time over the host team, France, in the final played at the Stade de France. For the first time, the European Championship final tournament was contested by 24 teams, having been expanded from the 16-team format used since 1996. Under the new format, the finalists contested a group stage consisting of six groups of four teams, followed by a knockout phase including three rounds and the final. Nineteen teams – the top two from each of the nine qualif ...
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UEFA Euro 2016 Qualifying
The UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying tournament was a football competition that was played from September 2014 to November 2015 to determine the 23 UEFA member men's national teams joining the automatically qualified host team France in the UEFA Euro 2016 final tournament. A total of 53 national teams participated in this qualifying process, with Gibraltar taking part for the first time. The draw took place at the Palais des Congrès Acropolis, Nice, on 23 February 2014. Qualified teams Format All UEFA member associations were eligible to compete in the qualifying competition, with the host team France qualifying directly to the finals tournament. The other 53 teams were drawn into eight groups of six teams (Groups A–H) and one group of five teams (Group I). The group winners, runners-up, and the best third-placed team (with the results against the sixth-placed team discarded) directly qualified to the finals. The eight remaining third-placed teams contested two-legged play-offs ...
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