Bekim Kuli (born 19 September 1982 in

Kavajë Kavajë ( , sq-definite, Kavaja) is a municipality centrally located in the Western Lowlands region of Albania, in Tirana County. It borders Durrës to the north , Tiranë to the east and Rrogozhinë to the south . To the west lies the Adriati ...

) 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 who has played for several teams in 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 ...

Club career

Early career

Kuli began his career with the Tropikal Durrës youth team, where he played for two years before joining his hometown club

Besa Kavajë Besa or BESA may refer to: Arts & entertainment * ''Besa'' (newspaper), a newspaper published in Albania * ''Besa'' (TV series), a Serbian-British television series produced by Adrenalin and Red Planet Pictures * ''The Besa'', a novel by Albanian ...

in 1998. He was with the club for only a year before moving to Turkey to join Gençlerbirliği in the summer of 1999 along with fellow Albanian Bledar Mançaku. The pair both joined the club's youth team, and Kuli featured in two under-21

A2 Ligi The U21 Ligi is the reserve team league for the top Turkish association football teams in the Süper Lig The Süper Lig (, ''Super League''), officially known as Spor Toto Süper Lig for sponsorship reasons, is a Turkish professional league for ...

games in his first season in Turkey, and he was part of the team that finished as runners-up in the 1999–2000 A2 Ligi. He was then transferred to

Samsunspor Samsunspor is a Turkish professional Association football, football club located in the city of Samsun. The club was formed through a merger of five clubs: 19 Mayıs, Akınspor, Fener Gençlik, Samsunspor, and Samsunspor Galatasaray.

in 2000 and again joined the club's under-21 side where he became an important player, scoring 11 goals in 22 games to once again finish as a runner-up in the A2 Ligi. He made his professional debut as a 19-year-old with

on 12 December 2001 in a

Turkish Cup The Turkish Cup ( Turkish: ''Türkiye Kupası'') is a football cup competition in Turkish football, run by the Turkish Football Federation since 1962. During a brief sponsorship period with Fortis, its sponsored name was ''Fortis Türkiye Kupası ...

game against

Trabzonspor Trabzonspor Kulübü is a Turkish sports club located in the city of Trabzon. Formed in 1967 through a merger of several local clubs, the men's football team has won seven Süper Lig championships. Trabzonspor also have a women's football team, ...

, where he came on as an 80th-minute substitute for Alfred Phiri in the 3–0 away loss. He returned to Albania in January 2002 where he loaned out to

side

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 ...

for the remainder of the 2001–2002 campaign in order to gain first team experience. He played 11 league games while he was on loan and he scored on goal which came on 30 March in a 2–1 loss to

Shkumbini Peqin KF Shkumbini is an Albanian football club based in the city of Peqin. The club's home ground is the Shkumbini Stadium and they compete in the Kategoria e Dytë. History Football was first introduced to the city of Peqin in the early 1920s after ...

. Upon his return to Samsunspor, he went back to the under-21 side, and scored 7 goals in 11 games in the first half of the season before being sent out once again on loan to

where he didn't score in 8 league appearances, but he did manage to find the net in the

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 ...

against

Bylis Ballsh KF Bylis, also known as Bylis Ballsh, is an Albanian football club based in Ballsh, Mallakastër District. The club's home ground is the Adush Muça Stadium and they currently compete in the Kategoria Superiore. History Early history The club ...

. He remained in the Albanian Superliga the following season as he joined his hometown club

on a season long loan, where he scored 8 league goals in 25 league games, as well as a further 4

goals to take his tally to 12 for the season. However, his goals could not save his side from being relegated after a disappointing season that saw them second to bottom and 12 points away from safety. They were also knocked out of the

KF Tirana 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 quarter-finals. On 31 August 2014, Kuli returned to

for the third time in his career. He made his debut in

Albanian First Division 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 count ...

for 2014–15 season on 27 September 2014, playing full 90 minutes in a 1–1 draw against Tërbuni Pukë. Later, on 22 October, he scored first goals of the season, helping the team to get a 2–2 draw against Veleçiku Koplik. He scored another twice, his time in a 3–2 win against

Ada Velipojë KF Ada is an Albanian football club based in the city of Velipojë which is situated in Shkodër County. The club's home ground is the Reshit Rusi Stadium and they currently compete in the Kategoria e Dytë. History The club was founded on ...

on 29 November. He left Besa Kavajë on 5 January 2015 as he had agreed terms to rejoin

Teuta Durrës Teuta ( Illyrian: *''Teutana'', 'mistress of the people, queen'; grc, Τεύτα; lat, Teuta) was the queen regent of the Ardiaei tribe in Illyria, who reigned approximately from 231 BC to 228/227 BC. Following the death of her spouse Agro ...

in the

. He made his second debut for the club on 24 January 2015 in a league game against

Flamurtari Vlorë 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 one ...

, playing the first 63 minutes of the game before being substituted off for Ardit Peposhi in the 2–1 away loss. During the summer of 2015, Kuli was repurchased from

of Albanian Superliga, signing a one-year deal and taking the vacant number 18 for 2015–16 season.

Honours

;Dinamo Tirana *

(1): 2009–10 ;Skënderbeu *

(1):

2012–13 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kuli, Bekim 1982 births Living people Footballers from Kavajë Albanian footballers Association football midfielders Albania under-21 international footballers Albania youth international footballers Besa Kavajë players Gençlerbirliği S.K. footballers Samsunspor footballers FK Partizani Tirana players KS Egnatia Rrogozhinë players KS Lushnja players KF Vllaznia Shkodër players KF Teuta Durrës players FK Dinamo Tirana players KS Shkumbini Peqin players KF Skënderbeu Korçë players KF Bylis Ballsh players Süper Lig players Kategoria Superiore players Kategoria e Parë players Albanian expatriate footballers Expatriate footballers in Turkey Albanian expatriate sportspeople in Turkey Albanian football managers Besa Kavajë managers