Agim Hysen Murati (8 March 1953 – 15 September 2005) was an Albanian international

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

striker. During his career, Murati was recognised for "his ability to head the ball in the penalty area".

Playing career

Early years

Agim Hysen Murati was born on 8 March 1953 in

Shijak Shijak ( sq-definite, Shijaku) is a town and a municipality in Durrës County, west-central Albania. The municipality was formed at the 2015 local government reform by the merger of the former municipalities Gjepalaj, Maminas, Shijak and Xhafzotaj ...

, the son of Hysen and Myhrie Murati. He was raised in Shijak and attended the high school. He developed a passion for the sport from an early age, joining Erzeni academy in 1967.

Club

Murati begun his footballing career with his hometown club Erzeni, making his way through ranks before joining

Partizani Tirana Futboll Klub Partizani, or FK Partizani for short, is an Albanian professional football club based in Tirana, that competes in the Kategoria Superiore. Founded in 1946, the club was historically affiliated to the Albanian army. Partizani's curren ...

in 1970 as a 17-year old. This transfer occurred after Murati impressed the manager

Loro Boriçi Lorenco Boriçi (4 August 1922 – 25 April 1984), commonly known as Loro Boriçi was an Albanian association football forward and is regarded as one of Albania's football legends. He played mostly for Partizan Tirana (won the 1949 and 1954 A ...

in a friendly match against Shkëndija Tiranë, in which he scored a header. He is known for having been the best goalscorer of the

Albanian Superliga 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 compet ...

during the 1976–77, 1977–78 and 1978–79 seasons with 12, 14 and 14 goals respectively. Murati is the only Partizani Tirana player to have score a hat-trick in the capital derby versus

Tirana Tirana ( , ; aln, Tirona) is the capital and largest city of Albania. It is located in the centre of the country, enclosed by mountains and hills with Dajti rising to the east and a slight valley to the northwest overlooking the Adriatic Sea ...

; the hat-trick came on 28 December 1980 in a 3–2 win. All the goals were headers scored inside 27 minutes. He is also known for the goal scored against

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language * Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Fo ...

in the

1979–80 European Cup The 1979–80 season of the European Cup football club tournament was won by holders Nottingham Forest in the final against Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_ ...

. His goal scored in the first leg on 19 September gave Partizani the 1–0, but they lost 4–1 in the second leg and were eventually eliminated 4–2 on aggregate.

International

Murati was a member of the

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 co ...

. He earned his first international cap on 10 October 1973 by playing the second half of a 1–0 home win versus

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

Style of play

Murati's most known skill was his heading ability; he is known to have scored more than 75% of his goals with headers.

Managerial career

After ending his career, Murati continued his football career now as a manager; he coached the senior team of Erzeni for a short time and before that has also trained the youngster players in

and Shijak.

Personal life

Murati married Diana Murati in 1978; she gave birth to the couple's first children Donald on 13 October 1979. On 15 September 1983, Murati's wife gave birth to the couple's second children, a daughter named Anjeza. He died on 15 September 2005 due to a heavy illness. His brother, Shkëlqim Murati, is a former player and manager.

Legacy

On 27 December 2009, more than four years after his death, Murati was honoured with "Legend of Albanian Football" award. He was also received the Silver order of Naim Frashëri Title and Meritorious Master of Sport.

International statistics

Source:

Honours

Club

Partizani Tirana *

: 1978–79, 1980–81Albania - Championship Winning Teams
- RSSSF *

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 st ...

: 1979–80

Individual

* Albanian Superliga top goalscorer: 1976–77, 1977–78, 1978–79

References

External links

Football Database
profile {{DEFAULTSORT:Murati, Agim 1953 births 2005 deaths People from Shijak Footballers from Durrës Albanian footballers Association football forwards Albania international footballers KF Erzeni players FK Partizani Tirana players Kategoria Superiore players Albanian football managers