Astrit Hafizi (born 15 September 1953) 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 ...

footballer and coach of Vllaznia, as well as coach of

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 ...

for a two years span (1997–1999).

Playing career

Club

Born in

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 Shkod ...

, Hafizi was brought to Shkëndija Tiranë by Zyber Konçi,Astrit Hafizi, pianisti rekordmen i Kombëtares që “shkundi” Gjermaninë (Bio)
- Panorama but was ordered back to Shkodër and played the remainder of his career with hometown club Vllaznia with whom he won two league titles in a team also featuring international player Luan Vukatana. In 1976 however, he was temporarily "loaned" to

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 ...

to play for them in the

Balkans Cup The Balkans Cup was an international football competition for clubs from Albania, Bulgaria, Greece, Romania, Turkey, and Yugoslavia. It was introduced in 1961 and was very popular in the 1960s (the 1967 final attracted 42,000 spectators), being t ...

. He played both home games against

Dinamo Zagreb Građanski nogometni klub Dinamo Zagreb ( en, Dinamo Zagreb Citizens' Football Club, link=yes, italics=yes), commonly referred to as GNK Dinamo Zagreb or simply Dinamo Zagreb (), is a Croatian professional football club based in Zagreb. Dinamo ...

and Ethnikos but was unexpectedly expelled from the team for the away matches and subsequently returned to Vllaznia. He later also played with Vukatana for

17 Nëntori Klubi i Futbollit Tirana (KF Tirana) is an Albanian football club based in the country's capital city, Tirana. The men's football club is part of the multi-disciplinary sports club SK Tirana, and is the most successful in Albania, having won 54 ...

in the Balkans Cup against

Larissa Larissa (; el, Λάρισα, , ) is the capital and largest city of the Thessaly region in Greece. It is the fifth-most populous city in Greece with a population of 144,651 according to the 2011 census. It is also capital of the Larissa regiona ...

Managerial career

When Vllaznia released him at only 31 years of age, because they wanted a new and younger team, the club persuaded him to become a coach and he became manager of the club a year later, replacing Ramazan Rragami. In November 1987, Hafizi was suspended for two years by the

communist regime A communist state, also known as a Marxist–Leninist state, is a one-party state that is administered and governed by a communist party guided by Marxism–Leninism. Marxism–Leninism was the state ideology of the Soviet Union, the Cominte ...

for his role in a

defection In politics, a defector is a person who gives up allegiance to one state in exchange for allegiance to another, changing sides in a way which is considered illegitimate by the first state. More broadly, defection involves abandoning a person, ca ...

of Vllaznia players Lulëzim Bërshemi and Arvid Hoxha in

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

after a

1987–88 European Cup Winners' Cup The 1987–88 season of the European Cup Winners' Cup finished with a shock victory by Mechelen in the final against defending champions Ajax. This led to their 1988 European Super Cup title in the club's first ever European campaign (1987–89). ...

match away against

RoPS Rops may refer to: People * Daniel-Rops (1901–1965), French writer and historian * Félicien Rops (1833–1898), Belgian artist Places * Rops (peak), a mountain in Kosovo Sports * Rovaniemen Palloseura (RoPS), a Finnish football club Tech ...

. He was, alongside club captain

Ferid Rragami Ferid Rragami (born 1 June 1957), is an Albanian retired footballer. Club career Rragami played for Shkëndija Tiranë, Vllaznia Shkodër and Partizani Tirana between 1972 and 1988, winning three league titles and 2 domestic cups. Suspension ...

and two staff members, set to work in

Pult Pult or Pulat ( sq-definite, Pulti or Pulati), is a region in northern Albania. It is bordered by the Malësia Region to its north and by the Dukagjin Highlands to its east and its south. The region has traditionally been inhabited by the Plani ...

as a school teacher and brought back to Shkodër 6 months later after the communist party leaders said he had "learned from his mistake". He was suspended by the authorities once more in 1991 for an incident in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

with the Albania U-21 team.

Personal life

His brother-in-law is Hysen Dedja, who also played for and managed Vllaznia.

Honours

; as a player *

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 ...

: 2 ::

1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd go ...

1983 The year 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to Internet protocol suite, TCP/IP is officially completed (this is consid ...

; as a manager *

: 1 ::

1992 File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: 1992 Los Angeles riots, Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the Police brutality, police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment buildi ...

Albania - Championship Winning Teams
- RSSSF

References

1953 births Living people Footballers from Shkodër Albanian footballers Association football midfielders KF Shkëndija Tiranë players FK Dinamo Tirana players KF Vllaznia Shkodër players Albanian football managers KF Vllaznia Shkodër managers Albania national football team managers FK Dinamo Tirana managers KF Tirana managers Kategoria Superiore managers {{Albania-footy-midfielder-stub