Arjan Beqaj (born 25 August 1975 in
Prizren
)
, settlement_type = Municipality and city
, image_skyline = Prizren Collage.jpg
, imagesize = 290px
, image_caption = View of Prizren
, image_alt = View of Prizren
, image_flag ...
) is a former
Albanian
Albanian may refer to:
*Pertaining to Albania in Southeast Europe; in particular:
**Albanians, an ethnic group native to the Balkans
**Albanian language
**Albanian culture
**Demographics of Albania, includes other ethnic groups within the country ...
professional
footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He is now the goalkeeping coach at
Anorthosis Famagusta.
In a career spanning 19 years he played for seven clubs in four countries. He is also a former Albanian international, earning 43 caps from 1998 to 2011.
Club career
Early career
Beqaj began his profession career in
Kosovo with local side
Liria Prizren
Klubi Futbollistik Liria Prizren (), commonly known as Liria, is a professional football club based in Prizren, Kosovo. The club plays in the First Football League of Kosovo, which is the second tier of football in the country. The club is one of ...
in 1992. He then moved to
Tirana, Albania at the start of 1995 to attend university, where he was to play for
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 curr ...
. He played in Albania for two and a half years as he left in 1997 to join
OFI Crete after being spotted playing for
Albania U-21s.
Greece
He spent six seasons at
OFI Crete where he played 129 league games for the Greek side and even scoring a goal in the 2000–01 season. Beqaj then signed for
Ionikos where he made 83 league appearances in three seasons before ending his nine-year stint in Greece.
Anorthosis Famagusta
Beqaj was one of the most important players that helped
Anorthosis reach the group stages of the
UEFA Champions League for the first time in history in the
2008–09 season.
The team started their campaign in the
first qualifying round where they faced
Armenia's
Pyunik
Football Club Pyunik Yerevan ( hy, Ֆուտբոլային Ակումբ Փյունիկ Երևան, Futbolayin Akumb P’yunik Yerevan), commonly known as Pyunik ("Phoenix"), is an Armenian professional sports club based in the Kentron neighbourhoo ...
. It was an easy task for Anorthosis who won both matches with Beqaj keeping two clean sheets. In the
next round against
Rapid Wien, Beqaj kept a clean-sheet in the first leg but was beaten three times in the second leg but nevertheless Anorthosis progressed 4–3 on aggregate.
Beqaj was named
man of the match in the second leg of
third qualifying round against
Olympiacos, making several vital saves in a 1–0 narrow loss which was enough to clinch to qualification to group stage after a 3–0 win in the first leg. By doing so, Anorthosis made history by becoming the first
Cypriot
Cypriot (in older sources often "Cypriote") refers to someone or something of, from, or related to the country of Cyprus.
* Cypriot people, or of Cypriot descent; this includes:
** Armenian Cypriots
** Greek Cypriots
** Maronite Cypriots
** Tur ...
team to ever qualify for the Champions League group stages.
International career
Beqaj was born in
Prizren
)
, settlement_type = Municipality and city
, image_skyline = Prizren Collage.jpg
, imagesize = 290px
, image_caption = View of Prizren
, image_alt = View of Prizren
, image_flag ...
,
SFR Yugoslavia
The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, commonly referred to as SFR Yugoslavia or simply as Yugoslavia, was a country in Central and Southeast Europe. It emerged in 1945, following World War II, and lasted until 1992, with the breakup of Yug ...
(in present-day
Kosovo), but is an
Albanian international and has become Albania's first choice goalkeeper since legendary Albanian goalkeeper
Foto Strakosha, who retired from both club and international football in early 2005.
Career statistics
Club
Source:
International
Source:
Honours
Club
;Partizani Tirana
*
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 ...
: 1996-97
;Anorthosis Famagusta
*
Cypriot First Division: 2007-08
*
Cypriot Cup: 2006-07
*
LTV Super Cup: 2007
Individual
*
Albanian Footballer of the Year: 2008
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Beqaj, Arjan
1975 births
Living people
People from Prizren
Kosovo Albanians
Association football goalkeepers
Kosovan footballers
Albanian footballers
Albania international footballers
KF Liria players
FK Partizani Tirana players
OFI Crete F.C. players
Ionikos F.C. players
Anorthosis Famagusta F.C. players
Olympiakos Nicosia players
Ermis Aradippou FC players
Kategoria Superiore players
Super League Greece players
Cypriot First Division players
Albanian expatriate footballers
Expatriate footballers in Greece
Albanian expatriate sportspeople in Greece
Expatriate footballers in Cyprus
Albanian expatriate sportspeople in Cyprus