Dodë Tahiri (27 November 1918 – 28 May 1988) was 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 international

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

player. He was the

goalkeeper In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting o ...

in Albania's first ever international match against Yugoslavia in 1946.

Club career

Born in Pecaj, Dukagjin highlands, Tahiri came to

Lazarevac Lazarevac ( sr-cyr, Лазаревац, ) is a municipality of the city of Belgrade. , the town has a total population of 25,526 inhabitants, while the municipal area has a total of 58,622 inhabitants. Its name stems from the name of medieval Ser ...

, Serbia, in 1938 to play for Bashan. Named after his place of birth, he played in Serbia as ''Doda Pecović''. He later played for

FK Šumadija Aranđelovac FK Šumadija Aranđelovac () is a football club based in the town of Aranđelovac, Serbia. It was founded in 1929. The club competed in the East Division of the Yugoslav Second League from 1971–72 to 1979–80 season. On two occasions they ha ...

in Serbia during the 1930s and 1950s. At the end of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

he played with Vllaznia Shkodër in Albania winning two league titles. Then he played with

FK Budućnost Titograd FK or fk may refer to: In arts and entertainment: * Flyer Killer, fictional automated robots in the ''Terminator'' film franchise. * Fox Kids, a former American children's television programming block. * Funky Kong, a video game character. Place ...

in the 1946–47 and 1948–49

Yugoslav First League The Yugoslav First Federal Football League ( Serbian: Прва савезна лига у фудбалу / ''Prva savezna liga u fudbalu'', hr, Prva savezna liga u nogometu, sl, Prva zvezna nogometna liga, mk, Прва сојузна лига, ...

International career

He made a total of 3 appearances for the Albania national team in 1946 in

Tirana Tirana ( , ; aln, Tirona) is the capital and largest city of Albania. It is located in the centre of the country, enclosed by mountains and hills with Dajti rising to the east and a slight valley to the northwest overlooking the Adriatic Sea ...

within the

1946 Events January * January 6 - The 1946 North Vietnamese parliamentary election, first general election ever in Vietnam is held. * January 7 – The Allies recognize the Austrian republic with its 1937 borders, and divide the country into f ...

Balkan Cup The Balkan Cup was an international association football competition contested on and off from 1929 to 1980 by countries from the Balkans region. The most successful team was Romania with four titles. Overview The first edition featured Romania, ...

, the first against Yugoslavia (2–3 defeat) and the second against Bulgaria (3–1 win).

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 ...

: 2 ::

1945 1945 marked the end of World War II and the fall of Nazi Germany and the Empire of Japan. It is also the only year in which nuclear weapons have been used in combat. Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. Januar ...

Albania - Championship Winning Teams
- RSSSF

References

1918 births 1988 deaths People from Shkodër Association football goalkeepers Albanian footballers Albania international footballers KF Vllaznia Shkodër players FK Budućnost Podgorica players FK Šumadija Aranđelovac players Yugoslav First League players Albanian expatriate footballers Expatriate footballers in Yugoslavia Albanian expatriate sportspeople in Yugoslavia Albanian football managers {{Albania-footy-goalkeeper-stub