Ervin Bulku (, born 3 March 1981) is an Albanian former professional
footballer
A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...
and current caretaker manager of the
Albania national team.
He was a
utility player
In sports, a utility player is one who can play several positions competently. Sports in which the term is often used include association football, American football, baseball, rugby union, rugby league, softball, ice hockey, and water polo.
The ...
and played in many positions such as
central midfielder
A midfielder is an outfield position in association football.
Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...
,
defensive midfielder,
right midfielder
A midfielder is an outfield position in association football.
Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...
and even
right back
In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring.
Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...
for the
Albania national team between 2002 and 2015 and in the club level with
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 ...
where he started and ended his career after playing for various club outside such as
Kryvbas
:''Kryvbas'' ''may also refer to the FC Kryvbas Kryvyi Rih, the football team in Kryvyi Rih. See also Kryvbas (disambiguation)''
Kryvbas (, full name Kryvorizkyi Iron Ore Basin, ) is an important economic and historical region in central Ukraine ...
in
Ukraine
Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...
,
Hajduk Split
Hrvatski nogometni klub Hajduk Split, commonly referred to as Hajduk Split () or simply Hajduk, is a Croatian professional football club based in Split, that competes in the Croatian First League, the top tier in Croatian football. Since 1979, t ...
in
Croatia
, image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg
, image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg
, anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, capit ...
,
AZAL Baku in
Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is a part of th ...
and
Sepahan in
Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
.
Early life
Bulku was born 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 ...
, Albania. He was the second son of the family after
Sokol Bulku also a former
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 ...
's footballer with whom he played there between 1998–2004 and the later is current manager of
KF Tirana under 19s Squad.
Club career
KF Tirana
![Ervin Bulku Tirana](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/ba/Ervin_Bulku_Tirana.jpg)
Bulku started his career as a youngster in the
KF Tirana youth teams. At the age of 18 he was put into the first team by coach
Sulejman Mema and was given a chance to compete with the likes of Sokol Prenga and
Ardian Mema
Ardian Mema (born 16 November 1971 in Tirana) is a former Albanian football player and current coach of Kastrioti in the Kategoria Superiore. He played for KF Tirana 1989 and 2003 and has managed both the senior team and the reserves in 2007 and ...
for a spot there. In his first season with the club in professional football he managed to feature in 13 games during the season. During the 1999–2000 season with Tirana, Bulku found it easier to make an impact in the first team with the club's new manager
Shkëlqim Muça
Shkëlqim Muça (born 19 March 1960) is an Albanian football coach and former player.
Playing career Club
He created the attacking trio Muça- Minga-Kola at Nëntori Tirana that was probably the best and most prolific attacking trio in the Al ...
having faith in the promising youngster after fellow midfielders
Eldorado Merkoçi,
Devis Mukaj
Devi Muka (born 21 December 1976 in Vlorë) is an Albanian retired footballer who has spent the majority of his career playing for KF Tirana in the Albanian Superliga as a midfielder.
Club career Early career and Croatia
Muka started his caree ...
,
Klodian Duro
Klodian Duro (; born 21 December 1977) is an Albanian retired professional football and current coach of Lushnja of the Kategoria e parë.
He was a versatile midfielder who usually played in an attacking role. His brother Albert Duro was also ...
and Sokol Prenga all leaving the club. These departures meant that Bulku would feature more frequently in the first team and he did so making an impressive 21 appearances in his second season in which he won his first trophy of his career, 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 ...
title. After a very good season he tried to repeat it for the 2000–2001 season, but this did not happen as both injury and some mediocre displays meant that Bulku spent most of the season on the side lines. He did however manage to win the
Albanian Supercup at the start of the season but his side Tirana narrowly lost the race for the title to
Vllaznia Shkodër. During the next few seasons of his career Bulku managed to make a name for himself in the squad and in the league, he was receiving a lot of attention from the media and the fans because he was destined for a successful career. He began to feature in almost every game when fit and became a key member in the squad and a key figure in all the trophy winning sides that the club produced over the next few years. In the 2001–02 season he was a regular member of the team in the
2001–02 Albanian Cup
2001–02 Albanian Cup () was the 50th season of Albania's annual cup competition. It began on August 18, 2001 with the First Round and ended on June 1, 2002 with the Final match. The winners of the competition qualified for the 2002-03 first roun ...
scoring two goals throughout the route to the final where Tirana won the trophy beating
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 ...
1–0.
Bulku was also a key player in Tirana's European games and featured against teams such as
Dinamo Tbilisi
Dinamo Tbilisi is a sports club from Tbilisi, Georgia. It was founded in 1925.
Among its highest honors, is the European trophy earned by its football team which won the Cup Winners' Cup in 1981, beating FC Carl Zeiss Jena of East Germany 2–1 i ...
,
Ferencváros,
CSKA Sofia and
Kayserispor. He also played in 6
Albanian Supercup finals during his time with Tirana, winning 5 of them, including the famous 6–0 win over city rivals
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 ...
in which Bulku managed to score in. In his final season with Tirana, Bulku was once again a key member in the team that won the league, the cup and the supercup. He played 30 games and scored one goal in the league, played in the 2–0 supercup win over
KS Elbasani
Klubi i Futbollit Elbasani is an Albanian professional football club based in the city of Elbasan, that last competed in the Kategoria e Dytë, the third tier of football in the country.
History
The club was formed in 1913 as Klubi Futbollit ...
and he also played in 1–0 win over
Vllaznia in the final of 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 ...
.
Kryvbas
In the 2007 Summer transfer window, Bulku signed with
Kryvbas Kryvyi Rih
Football Club Kryvbas Kryvyi Rih () was a professional Ukrainian football club based in Kryvyi Rih.
Until 2013 the club participated in professional competitions. In June 2013 the club went bankrupt and was expelled from the Ukrainian Premier ...
in the
Ukrainian Premier League. He played among fellow
Albanian internationals Dorian Bylykbashi,
Isli Hidi and also
Ansi Agolli who eventually joined the club two years later.
He made his debut on 28 July 2007 in the matchday 3 against
Karpaty Lviv
Football Club Karpaty Lviv ( ) is a Ukrainian professional football club based in Lviv.
History Early years (1963–68)
The team of Karpaty was founded on 18 January, 1963. In 1961 Silmash Lviv won the championship of Lviv Oblast but lost its p ...
playing the full 90-minutes in a 3–0 loss. During the 2007–08 route he was often as a starter under coach
Oleh Taran
Oleh Anatolyevich Taran ( uk, Олег Анатолійович Таран; born 11 January 1960) is a Ukrainian association football, footballer coach and former player. He was a prolific forward (association football), forward who possessed a ...
forming partnerships in the midfield with fellow Albanian Dorian Bylykbashi,
Ruslan Kostyshyn and
Anatoliy Oprya.
He made 14 league appearances in the starting line up and 5 as a substitute to help his side to collect 30 points enough to end in the 13th place to avoid the relegation.
In his second season 2008–09 under same coach Taran, Bulku was more often in the starting line up. He started the season on 19 July 2008, playing full 90-minutes against
Metalurh Zaporizhya
MFC Metalurh Zaporizhzhia ( uk, Футбо́льний клуб «Металу́рг» Запорі́жжя ) is a Ukrainian professional football club based in Zaporizhzhia. Reestablished in 2017, it is a " phoenix club" of the original Soviet ...
and provided the assist for the 1–0 winning goal. Bulku scored his first goal for Kryvbas on 22 March 2009 in the matchday 21 against
Kharkiv
Kharkiv ( uk, wikt:Харків, Ха́рків, ), also known as Kharkov (russian: Харькoв, ), is the second-largest List of cities in Ukraine, city and List of hromadas of Ukraine, municipality in Ukraine.[Zorya Luhansk
FC Zorya Luhansk ( uk, ФК «Зоря» Луганськ ) is a Ukrainian football team. Zorya Luhansk is based in the city of Luhansk, Ukraine. However, because of the Russo-Ukrainian War, the team play their games at Slavutych-Arena in Zapori ...]
on 4 April 2009 as the match eventually finished in the 2–1 victory. Bulku finished the 2008–09 season with a total of 25 appearances, where he was 21 times as a starter as Kryvbas ended up a bit better than last season collecting 32 points to secure the 12th place.
Bulku was part of the team for the first half of the 2009–10 season. He retained his starting place playing 13 out 14 games as a starter but Kryvbas suffered a worst progress taking only two wins and 1 draw and conceding 14 losses. Following the end of the first-half campaign, he interrupted his contract with Kryvbas.
Hajduk Split
After 6 months as a
free agent
In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...
, in August 2010 he signed for
Croatia
, image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg
, image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg
, anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, capit ...
n side
Hajduk Split
Hrvatski nogometni klub Hajduk Split, commonly referred to as Hajduk Split () or simply Hajduk, is a Croatian professional football club based in Split, that competes in the Croatian First League, the top tier in Croatian football. Since 1979, t ...
in the
Prva HNL
The Hrvatska nogometna liga () ( en, Croatian football league), also known as HNL or for sponsorship reasons the SuperSport HNL, is the top Croatian professional football league competition, established in 1992. Previously, it was called Prva H ...
. He made his debut with the team on 16 September 2010 in a match valid for
2010–11 UEFA Europa League group stage
This article details the 2010–11 UEFA Europa League group stage.
The group stage featured 48 teams: the title holders, Atlético Madrid, the 37 winners of the play-off round, and the 10 losing teams from the Champions League play-off round
Th ...
against
AEK Athens, where Bulku played in the starting line up and substituted off after 81 minutes for
Dinko Trebotić, as the match finished in the 3–1 loss.
He made it his league debut on 19 September 2010 against
Rijeka
Rijeka ( , , ; also known as Fiume hu, Fiume, it, Fiume ; local Chakavian: ''Reka''; german: Sankt Veit am Flaum; sl, Reka) is the principal seaport and the third-largest city in Croatia (after Zagreb and Split). It is located in Primor ...
, where the match finished in the 0–1 away victory and Bulku played 83 minutes, as he got substituted off for
Mirko Oremuš in the 83rd minute. He played second match in the UEFA Europa League 2010–11 group stage on 30 September 2010, in the 1–0 victory over
Anderlecht
Anderlecht (, ) is one of the 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. Located in the south-western part of the region, it is bordered by the City of Brussels, Forest, Molenbeek-Saint-Jean, and Saint-Gilles, as well as the ...
.
Bulku played the full 90 minutes on 4 November 2010 in the 2–3 home defeat against
Zenit St. Petersburg in the UEFA Europa League 2010–11 group stage. At the club he was important part of the starting line up in the league matches, as he played in total of 15 matches where 12 as a starter, where he got substituted off 6 times, and only 3 as a substitute.
In the UEFA Europa League he made in total 4 appearances. In the end of the 2010–11 season, Hajduk finished as runners-up.
AZAL
At the end of June 2011 Bulku signed with
AZAL of the
Azerbaijan Premier League
The Azerbaijan Premier League ( az, Azərbaycan Premyer Liqası) is a professional league for men's association football clubs. At the top of the Azerbaijan football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. It is conteste ...
. Bulku made his debut for AZAL on 7 August 2011 against
Simurq, going on to score his first goal for the club 3 games later against
Neftchi Baku on 27 August 2011. In total Bulku made 22 league appearances for the club scoring three goals.
Sepahan
On 21 July 2012, Bulku signed a one-year contract with Iranian champions
Sepahan F.C.
Foolad Mobarakeh Sepahan Sport Club ( fa, باشگاه فرهنگی ورزشی فولاد مبارکه سپاهان اصفهان, ''Bâšgâh-è Varzeši-ye Fulâd-è Mobârake-ye Sepâhân''), commonly known as Sepahan S.C., are an Iranian spor ...
, joining there another fellow Albanian player
Xhevahir Sukaj, who had come in the team early on January.
He made it his debut on 29 August 2012, playing the full 90-minutes in the home victory 1–0 against
Fajr Sepasi
Fajr Shahid Sepasi Shiraz Football Club ( fa, باشگاه فرهنگى ورزشى فجر شهید سپاسی شیراز, ''Bashgah-e Futbal-e Fajr-e Sepasi-ye Shiraz''), commonly known as Fajr Sepasi Shiraz, or Fajr Sepasi, is an Iranian football ...
. Bulku scored his first goal for Sepahan on 6 April 2013 against
Naft Tehran
Naft Tehran Football Club ( fa, باشگاه فوتبال نفت تهران, ''Bashgah-e Futbal-e Nuft Teheran'') is an Iranian football club based in Tehran, Iran. They competed in the Persian Gulf Pro League. They were owned by the National Ira ...
winning the match within the 3–1 result, were his goal was the opening of the match, scored in the 12th minute, also Bulku was sent off in the 41st minute after receiving his second yellow card as the first was received in the 12th minute for taking his shirt off after scored the goal.
In his first season with Sepahan, he made twenty-one league appearances, scoring once. He also appeared five
AFC Champions League
The AFC Champions League (abbreviated as ACL) is an annual continental club football competition organised by the Asian Football Confederation, and contested by Asia's top-division football clubs. It is the most prestigious club competition ...
matches.
In his second season with Sepahan, he made twenty six league appearances, failing to score. He did score once in the
AFC Champions League
The AFC Champions League (abbreviated as ACL) is an annual continental club football competition organised by the Asian Football Confederation, and contested by Asia's top-division football clubs. It is the most prestigious club competition ...
, but Sepahan failed to get out of the group stage phase. In the
2012–13 Hazfi Cup
The 2012–13 Hazfi Cup was the 26th season of the Iranian football knockout competition. Esteghlal was the defending champion, but was eliminated by Sepahan in semi-final. The competition started on 13 December 2012 and was ended on 5 May 2013. ...
Bulku scored once in the 1/4-finals on 9 January 2013 against
Sanat Naft to open the way towards qualifying for the semifinals as the match finished in the 2–0 victory.
In May 2014, Bulku declared that he left the club after the end of the 2-year contract.
Return to Tirana
On 5 June 2014,
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 ...
announced to have acquired Bulku as a free agent, with the veteran marking his return to the club after seven years. Nine days later, the transfer was made official and Bulku signed a two-year contract.
However, he joined the team managed by
Gugash Magani
Gugash Magani (born 14 March 1965) is an Albanian retired football player and current coach.
Club career
Magani played the majority of his 22-year professional career with Shkumbini Peqin, while also having stints at other Albanian clubs Besa K ...
on 1 July when the summer transfer window officially begun.
In August, team captain
Erando Karabeci handed his captaincy to Bulku as a sign of respect of the veteran, and became the vice-captain instead.
Bulku made his first appearance of the season on 24 August, playing full-90 minutes in the opening championship match against
Apolonia Fier
KF Apolonia is an Albanian football club based in Fier. The club was founded on 17 June 1925 and took its name from the nearby ruins of the ancient city of Apollonia. The club currently compete in the Kategoria e Parë and they play their home ...
, which ended in a 3–0 win at Qemal Stafa Stadium. He scored his first goal of the season on day three, netting a last-minute equalizer in a 1–1 away draw against
Vllaznia Shkodër which was infamously marred by crowd trouble which saw 13 people arrested and both clubs' fans receiving lengthy stadium bans.
He concluded his first season back in Albania by making 32 appearances between league and cup, also scoring once.
Bulku played as a starter in Tirana's first three matches of
2015–16 season, but was injured and subsequently lost his place in the starting lineup, finishing his second season with only four league appearances.
International career
Albania U18
Bulku made it his first international debut, with
Albania national under-18 football team
The Albania national under-18 football team represents Albania in international football at this age level and is controlled by Albanian Football Association, the governing body for football in Albania.
The Albania U18 football team is a feeder ...
in the
1999 UEFA European Under-18 Championship qualifying This article features the 1999 UEFA European Under-18 Championship qualifying stage. Matches were played 1998 through 1999. Two qualifying rounds were organised and seven teams qualified for the main tournament, joining host Sweden.
Round 1
Group ...
, playing in the opening match on 24 November 1998 against
Liechtenstein
Liechtenstein (), officially the Principality of Liechtenstein (german: link=no, Fürstentum Liechtenstein), is a German-speaking microstate located in the Alps between Austria and Switzerland. Liechtenstein is a semi-constitutional monarchy ...
, match finished as a 0–1 loss.
Albania U21
Bulku played for
Albania national under-21 football team
The Albania national under-21 football team is the national under-21 football team of Albania and is controlled by the Football Association of Albania. The team competes in the European Under-21 Football Championship, which is held every two ye ...
15 matches and scored 1 goal in the
2000
File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...
&
2002 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification The 2002 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification began in 2000. The final tournament was held in 2002. The 47 national teams were divided into nine groups (one group of four, five groups of 5, and three groups of 6). The records of the nin ...
between years from 1999 to 2002.
Albania senior team
![ErvinBulkuu](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/55/ErvinBulkuu.jpg)
Bulku was part of
Albania national football team since 2002 when he made his debut under coach
Sulejman Demollari
Sulejman Demollari (born 15 May 1964 in Tirana) also known as Sul Demollari is an Albanian former football player and coach.
Playing career Early life
Demollari was born in Albania's capital Tirana, where he was raised as a child and where he ...
on 17 April 2002 against
Andorra
, image_flag = Flag of Andorra.svg
, image_coat = Coat of arms of Andorra.svg
, symbol_type = Coat of arms
, national_motto = la, Virtus Unita Fortior, label=none (Latin)"United virtue is stro ...
, coming on as a substitute in place of
Altin Rraklli
Altin Rraklli (born 17 July 1970) is an Albanian football coach and former player who played as a forward.
Most of his professional career was spent in Germany, where he played for five clubs in both major levels of football, mainly SC Freibur ...
in the 54th minute in a 2–0 loss. He made another 2 appearances in the same year.
UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying
He wasn't included in national team until 2006 when he was called up by coach
Otto Barić
Otto Barić (; 19 June 1933 – 13 December 2020) was a Croatian professional football player and manager.
Coaching career
1970s to 1980s
Born in Eisenkappel, near Klagenfurt, Barić started his coaching career in 1969 at West German club Germa ...
for the
UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying match against
Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
on 11 October.
His next appearance for Albania came in 2007 playing on 7 February in a friendly against
Macedonia, finished in the loss 0–1.
2010 FIFA World Cup qualification
UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying
He scored first goal on 9 February 2011 in the friendly match against
Slovenia
Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, an ...
finished in the loss 1–2, where Bulku scored the equalising goal for 1–1 in the 62nd minute.
2014 FIFA World Cup qualification
Bulku retained his starting place for the
2014 FIFA World Cup qualifiers under coach
Gianni De Biasi
Giovanni "Gianni" De Biasi (, sq, Xhovani "Xhani" De Biazi), born 16 June 1956 is an Italian football coach and former player. He holds dual Italian and Albanian citizenship. De Biasi was the first coach of the Albania national team to lead th ...
playing 9 out 10 matches as a starter. In the 2012s matches he formed a duo defensive-midfielders partnership with
Burim Kukeli playing all 4 matches as the full 90-minutes with Albania taking 2 wins and 2 losses. Then he played two full 90-minutes matches against
Norway
Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...
away on 22 March 2013 and home on 7 June 2013 with a new partner
Migjen Basha
Migjen Xhevat Basha (born 5 January 1987) is a former professional footballer who played as a defensive midfielder. Born in Switzerland, he represented that nation at youth international levels but played for Albania at senior level.
Early life ...
and provided 1 assist in both cases for
Hamdi Salihi
Hamdi Abdullah Salihi (born 19 January 1984) is an Albanian retired professional footballer who played as a forward. He is the assistant manager of Albania.
Nicknamed 'The Bomber' by his former international coach Otto Barić who would compare ...
's goal away which was decisive for Albania taking the 0–1 glorious victory and for
Valdet Rama
Valdet Skënder Rama (born 20 November 1987) is an Albanian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for German club Wuppertaler SV. He also holds German citizenship.
Early life
Rama is a Kosovo Albanian and fled to Germany at the age ...
's goal in home in the 1–1 draw. In remaining matches Bulku played one full 90-minutes match, 2 as a starter until second half and 1 as a substitute against
Iceland
Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...
as coach De Biasi played with Basha and new
Ergys Kaçe
Ergys Kaçe (born 8 July 1993) is an Albanian professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for Super League Greece club Volos. He has been described by the media as "a classic agile defensive midfielder".
Club career Early career
...
as a starter and Bulku replaced Basha in the 64th minute with Albania 2–1 behind but unable to change the score.
For his performances during the qualifiers, Bulku among
Mërgim Mavraj
Mërgim Mustafë Mavraj (born 9 June 1986) is a former professional footballer who played as a centre-back. Born in Germany, he represented the Albania national team from 2012 until 2020. Mavraj previously played for Germany U21 team, as well ...
were rated as impenetrable and very actives on the field.
Euro 2016 qualifiers
During the
UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying under same coach De Biasi, Bulku was regularly called up into the national side, except for the two closing matches in October 2015 but however he participated in just one match vs
Armenia
Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ''Ox ...
on 29 March 2015, this due to upcomings of fellow defensive midfielders from
Switzerland national under-21 football team such as
Taulant Xhaka,
Amir Abrashi
Amir Malush Abrashi (born 27 March 1990) is an Albanian professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for Swiss club Grasshoppers and the Albania national team.
Club career
Early career
Abrashi was born in Bischofszell, Switzerl ...
,
Migjen Basha
Migjen Xhevat Basha (born 5 January 1987) is a former professional footballer who played as a defensive midfielder. Born in Switzerland, he represented that nation at youth international levels but played for Albania at senior level.
Early life ...
and also the presence of experienced and younger players
Burim Kukeli,
Ledian Memushaj
Ledian Memushaj (born 7 December 1986) is an Albanian professional football coach and a former central midfielder. He is the head coach of the Under-19 squad of the Italian club Pescara.
Club career
Early career
Memushaj joined A.S.D. Sarzane ...
and
Ergys Kaçe
Ergys Kaçe (born 8 July 1993) is an Albanian professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for Super League Greece club Volos. He has been described by the media as "a classic agile defensive midfielder".
Club career Early career
...
.
Managerial career
In November 2015 Bulku was appointed as assistant manager of
Gianni De Biasi
Giovanni "Gianni" De Biasi (, sq, Xhovani "Xhani" De Biazi), born 16 June 1956 is an Italian football coach and former player. He holds dual Italian and Albanian citizenship. De Biasi was the first coach of the Albania national team to lead th ...
at the
Albania national football team becoming the third one after
Paolo Tramezzani
Paolo Tramezzani (born 30 July 1970) is an Italian football manager and former player, who played as a defender. He was most recently the manager of FC Sion.
Playing career
Tramezzani was born at Castelnovo ne' Monti in Emilia. At the age of n ...
and
Erjon Bogdani
Erjon Bogdani (born 14 April 1977) is an Albanian professional football coach and former player. He is nicknamed "Bogu" or "Er-Bomber".
Regarded as one of the most successful Albanian players of all time, Bogdani began his career at Partizani T ...
. He debuted in his assistant manager role on 17 November 2015 against
Georgia. He participated with Albania in their first major competition the
UEFA Euro 2016
The 2016 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2016 (stylised as UEFA EURO 2016) or simply Euro 2016, was the 15th UEFA European Championship, the quadrennial international men's football championship of Europe o ...
.
On 23 March 2019, following the sacking of Albania national team head coach
Christian Panucci
Christian Panucci (; born 12 April 1973) is an Italian former association football, footballer and Manager (association football), manager. In his playing career he played as a Defender (association football), defender. A versatile footballer, he ...
after the 2–0 home defeat to
Turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...
in the opening day of
UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying
The UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying tournament was a football competition that was played from March 2019 to November 2020 to determine the 24 UEFA member men's national teams that advanced to the UEFA Euro 2020 final tournament, played across Europe ...
campaign, Bulku was announced as the
caretaker manager
In association footballing terms, a caretaker manager or interim manager is somebody who takes temporary charge of the management of a football team, usually when the regular Manager (association football), manager is dismissed or leaves for a ...
with
Sulejman Mema as his assistant for the second match against
Andorra
, image_flag = Flag of Andorra.svg
, image_coat = Coat of arms of Andorra.svg
, symbol_type = Coat of arms
, national_motto = la, Virtus Unita Fortior, label=none (Latin)"United virtue is stro ...
two days later. In the match played at
Estadi Nacional
The Estadi Nacional is a stadium located in Andorra la Vella. It is the national stadium of Andorra, and is used for association football and rugby union.
It has a capacity of 3,306, and the pitch is made of artificial turf.
History
The stadium ...
, Albania won comfortably 3–0; two of the goals were scored by
Bekim Balaj and
Amir Abrashi
Amir Malush Abrashi (born 27 March 1990) is an Albanian professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for Swiss club Grasshoppers and the Albania national team.
Club career
Early career
Abrashi was born in Bischofszell, Switzerl ...
, who were brought on by Bulku as substitutions.
Career statistics
Club
International
International goals
:. ''Albania U18 score listed first, score column indicates score after each Bulku's goal.''
:. ''Albania U21 score listed first, score column indicates score after each Bulku's goal.''
:. ''Albania score listed first, score column indicates score after each Bulku's goal.''
Honours
Club
;Tirana
*
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 ...
:
1998–1999,
1999–2000,
2002–2003,
2003–2004,
2004–2005,
2006–2007
*
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 ...
:
1998–99,
2000–01,
2001–02,
2005–06
*
Albanian Supercup:
2000
File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...
,
2002
File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...
,
2003
File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A des ...
,
2005
File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...
,
2006
File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...
,
2007
File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...
;Hajduk Split
*
Prva HNL
The Hrvatska nogometna liga () ( en, Croatian football league), also known as HNL or for sponsorship reasons the SuperSport HNL, is the top Croatian professional football league competition, established in 1992. Previously, it was called Prva H ...
runner-up:
2010–11
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 ...
;Sepahan
*
Hazfi Cup:
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:Bulku, Ervin
1981 births
Living people
Footballers from Tirana
Albanian footballers
Association football midfielders
Association football defenders
Albania international footballers
Albania under-21 international footballers
Albania youth international footballers
KF Tirana players
FC Kryvbas Kryvyi Rih players
HNK Hajduk Split players
AZAL PFK players
Sepahan S.C. footballers
Ukrainian Premier League players
Croatian Football League players
Azerbaijan Premier League players
Persian Gulf Pro League players
Kategoria Superiore players
Albanian expatriate footballers
Expatriate footballers in Ukraine
Albanian expatriate sportspeople in Ukraine
Expatriate footballers in Croatia
Albanian expatriate sportspeople in Croatia
Expatriate footballers in Azerbaijan
Albanian expatriate sportspeople in Azerbaijan
Expatriate footballers in Iran
Albanian expatriate sportspeople in Iran