Albert Stroni (born 18 November 1971) is an

Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...

n retired

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who played as a

striker Striker or The Strikers may refer to: People *A participant in a strike action *A participant in a hunger strike *Blacksmith's striker, a type of blacksmith's assistant *Striker's Independent Society, the oldest mystic krewe in America People wi ...

Club career

Born in Fier, Stroni soon showed skills as a prolific striker in his homeland, playing for

Dinamo Tirana Futboll Club Dinamo Tirana is an Albanian professional football club based in the country's capital Tirana. They play in the Kategoria e Parë, the second tier of Albanian football, in the 2022–23 season. Founded in 1950 during the communist r ...

and

Apolonia Fier KF Apolonia is an Albanian football club based in Fier. The club was founded on 17 June 1925 and took its name from the nearby ruins of the ancient city of Apollonia. The club currently compete in the Kategoria e Parë and they play their home ...

and being instrumental in the former side's

double A double is a look-alike or doppelgänger; one person or being that resembles another. Double, The Double or Dubble may also refer to: Film and television * Double (filmmaking), someone who substitutes for the credited actor of a character * Th ...

in the 1989–90 season. In 1992, Stroni moved to

FR Yugoslavia Serbia and Montenegro ( sr, Cрбија и Црна Гора, translit=Srbija i Crna Gora) was a country in Southeast Europe located in the Balkans that existed from 1992 to 2006, following the breakup A relationship breakup, breakup, or ...

to play for

FK Partizan Fudbalski klub Partizan ( sr-Cyrl, Фудбалски клуб Партизан, ; en, Partizan Football Club), sometimes known as Partizan Belgrade in English, is a Serbia, Serbian professional football club (association football), football ...

but, after being vastly overlooked, he returned home to Dinamo Tirana. In the following summer he switched to

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

, where he would spend most of his remaining years as a footballer: he started with

SD Compostela Sociedad Deportiva Compostela is a List of football clubs in Spain, Spanish football team based in Santiago de Compostela, in the autonomous community of Galicia (Spain), Galicia. They play home matches at ''Estadio Multiusos de San Lázaro'', and ...

but, because of bureaucratic reasons, ended not playing a single league match for the club, after which he joined Galician neighbours

CD Ourense Club Deportivo Ourense, S.A.D. was a Spanish football team based in Ourense, in the autonomous community of Galicia. Founded in 1952 after the dissolution of old UD Orensana, it played in Segunda División B – Group 1, holding home games at ...

also in the

second division In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...

, where he also did not manage to appear officially. Subsequently, Stroni signed with amateurs Club Lemos in the same autonomous community, eventually becoming one of the most important players in the club's history, averaging more than one goal every two games and first promoting them to the fourth level. After three seasons, he played one year with another amateur – and Galician – side, Ponte Ourense, and another in

Gimnástica Segoviana CF Gimnástica Segoviana Club de Fútbol is a Spanish football team based in Segovia, the capital of the namesake province, in the autonomous community of Castile and León. Founded in 1928 as ''Sociedad Deportiva Gimnástica Segoviana'', it plays ...

. Stroni would represent three teams in 2000–01, starting in

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

with

F.C. Maia Futebol Clube da Maia is a Portuguese football club based in Maia, Greater Metropolitan Area of Porto. Founded on 4 April 1954, it currently plays in the Porto Regional League, holding home matches at the Estádio Professor Doutor Vieira de Carv ...

then returning to Spain to play for

Mérida UD Mérida Unión Deportiva was a Spanish football club based in Mérida, in the autonomous community of Extremadura. Founded in 1990, they last played in Tercera División – Group 14 when dissolved in 2013, and hosted games at the Estadio Roma ...

and

CD Don Benito Club Deportivo Don Benito is a Spanish football team based in Don Benito, in the autonomous community of Extremadura. Founded in 1928 it plays in Segunda División RFEF – Group 4, holding home matches at ''Estadio Vicente Sanz'', with a capacit ...

. In the following campaign he signed with

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

team Angers SCO but, after a poor year, returned again to Spain and Lemos, for a further four years and another fourth-tier promotion (in his last season he acted as player-coach, and scored a total of 105 competitive goals in his two spells). The 35-year-old retired in 2007, after one season with another team in division four,

CD Lalín Club Deportivo Lalín is a Spanish football team based in Lalín, in the autonomous community of Galicia. Founded in 1974, nowadays it plays in Preferente Autonómica – Group Sur, holding home matches at '' Estadio Manuel Anxo Cortizo'', with ...

. After retiring, Stroni relocated in

Ourense Ourense (; es, Orense ) is a city and capital of the province of Ourense, located in the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Galicia (Spain), Galicia, northwestern Spain. It is on the Camino Sanabrés path of the Way of St ...

, where he opened a car stand. Shortly after, however, he accepted the offer to manage Lemos, who faced the possibility of folding.Desde Albania con balón (From Albania with a football)

El País ''El País'' (; ) is a Spanish-language daily newspaper in Spain. ''El País'' is based in the capital city of Madrid and it is owned by the Spanish media conglomerate PRISA. It is the second most circulated daily newspaper in Spain . ''El Pa ...

, 25 January 2010

International career

Stroni represented the Albania national team on 35 occasions, all categories counted. After appearing for the Albania U21 – during that team's trip to Spain, he fled and requested right of asylum – he went on to gain three caps for the senior side.

Honours

Club

Dinamo Tirana *

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 ...

: 1989–90 *

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 ...

: 1988–89, 1989–90 * Albanian Supercup: 1989 Partizan * First League of FR Yugoslavia: 1992–93

Individual

: MVP 1990–91

References

External links

* *
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Stroni, Albert 1971 births Living people Sportspeople from Fier Albanian footballers Albania under-21 international footballers Association football forwards FK Dinamo Tirana players FK Apolonia Fier players FK Partizan players SD Compostela footballers CD Ourense footballers F.C. Maia players Mérida UD footballers Angers SCO players Kategoria Superiore players Segunda División B players Tercera División players Championnat National players Albanian expatriate footballers Expatriate footballers in Serbia and Montenegro Expatriate footballers in Spain Expatriate footballers in Portugal Expatriate footballers in France Albanian expatriate sportspeople in Serbia Albanian expatriate sportspeople in Spain Albanian expatriate sportspeople in Portugal Albanian expatriate sportspeople in France