Artur Lekbello (born 25 January 1958) is an Albanian retired footballer, who played as a goalkeeper.

Club career

Lekbello came into football during his school years in Durrës and when he joined the army's tank brigade in 1975 he became reserve goalkeeper at army team

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 ...

alongside

Perlat Musta Perlat Musta (born 15 October 1958) is an Albanian former football goalkeeper. He has been considered by many pundits in Albania as one of the greatest goalkeepers in Albania. In December 2018 he was honoured for his services to Albanian footbal ...

. During the communist era it was not common for players to change clubs but Lekbello returned to his hometown to play for Lokomotiva Durrës in 1985, only to be ordered by the football federation to join

Flamurtari Flamurtari FC is a professional football club based in Vlorë, Albania. The club plays in the Kategoria e Parë, which is the second tier of football in the country. Founded in 1923, the club is one of the oldest in Albania, and it is also on ...

to play in the 1986 UEFA Cup against FC Barcelona after their first goalkeeper

Luan Birçe Luan may refer to: Places * Lu'an, a city in Anhui, China * Luan County, Hebei, China * Luan River, Hebei, China Other uses * Luan (surname), a Chinese surname * Luan (mythology), a legendary bird in Chinese mythology * Trees in the genus '' ...

was not allowed to travel and young reserve

Anesti Arapi Anesti Arapi (born 6 July 1963) is an Albanian retired footballer, who played the majority of his career as a goalkeeper for Flamurtari Vlorë. He also played for the Albania national team. Club career A soon as Albanians were free to leave the ...

was deemed too inexperienced.Artur Lekbello, oficeri i Brigadës së Tankeve që ndali Barcelonën
- Panorama Lekbello became an instant hero as Flamurtari was only beaten on away goals by the Spanish giants. He returned to Lokomotiva and was suddenly lured back, somewhat overweight, to join Partizani when Musta left for Romania in 1991.

Cult hero status

He became something of a cult hero again at Feyenoord when he kept the Rotterdam club at bay for a long period in a

1991–92 European Cup Winners' Cup The 1991–92 season of the European Cup Winners' Cup was won by Werder Bremen in the final against Monaco. Both were first-time finalists in the competition. Defending champions Manchester United were eliminated by Atlético Madrid in the second ...

game, only to concede a late goal to lose and for Partizani to go out 0–1 on aggregate.

International career

He made his debut for Albania in an October 1987 European Championship qualification match against Romania and earned his second and final cap against Spain in the same year.

Personal life

Lekbello has two daughters and has been working for the Civil Emergency Office in Durrës County after his football career. He had also coached youth teams at Teuta. In 2016 he was goalkeeper coach with the Albania U19s.

Honours

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 ...

: 4 ::

1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 10 – Salvadoran Civil War: The FMLN launches its first major offensiv ...

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...

1989 File:1989 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Cypress Street Viaduct, Cypress structure collapses as a result of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, killing motorists below; The proposal document for the World Wide Web is submitted; The Exxo ...

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 ...

: 2 ::

1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning System time epoch begins at 00:00 UTC. * January 9 – ...

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. **Spain and Portugal ente ...

Artur Lekbello: Për luftën sportive, ky është Kampionati më i bukur
- Telegraf

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lekbello, Artur 1958 births Living people Sportspeople from Lezhë Men's association football goalkeepers Albanian men's footballers Albania men's international footballers FK Partizani Tirana players KF Teuta Durrës players KF Tirana players Flamurtari FC players Kategoria Superiore players