Ervis Kaja (born 29 July 1987) is an

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 ...

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 ...

who plays as a

centre-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 ...

Club career

On 30 August 2013,

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 the signing of Kaja on a one-year contract. He commenced the season on 1 September by starting the team first match of league, a goalless home draw against Laçi. Tirana struggled for results in the first part of the season, ending it in the last place only 10 points from 13 matches, 7 points away from the safe zone. Kaja lost his place in the starting lineup in the second part of the season as Tirana witnessed alteration, securing another season in top flight after a 2–2 draw versus

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 ...

on 3 May 2014. He left the club following the end of the season, making 15 appearances, including 13 in league. On 7 August 2014, Kaja returned to Laçi after a three-year absence by signing for an undisclosed fee. However, he left the club after only 19 days by terminating his contract for unknown reasons, becoming a free agent in the process. On 1 September 2014, Kaja completed a transfer to

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 ...

by signing a three-year contract. In January 2015, it was rumoured that Kaja was about to leave the club but it was the player himself who denied all the rumours. He explained the situation by saying that he didn't train with the team in the last days due to some school obligations in

Tiranë 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 ...

. On 27 July 2016, Kaja joined newly promoted

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 ...

side

Korabi Peshkopi KS Korabi is an Albanian football club based in Peshkopi, named after the nearby Mount Korab, which is the tallest mountain in Albania and North Macedonia. The club's home ground is the Korabi Stadium. History Early history The club was founded ...

, signing for an undisclosed fee along with eight other players. He was a regular starter during the 2016–17 season, making 30 league appearances as Korabi finished last in the championship, returning in First Division after one season. He left the team following the end of the season. On 29 August 2017, Kaja remained on top flight by joining Lushnja. However, he left the club only 11 days later by terminating his contract, stating that he main reason were financial terms. On 11 September 2017, Kaja joined his first 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 ...

as a free agent. The transfer was made official three days later, with the player signing a one-year contract. He made his first appearance in the opening matchday of 2017–18 Albanian First Division against

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 ...

, helping the team to keep a clean sheet. On 28 October, he received a red card in the 1–5 home defeat to Egnatia. Five days later, he was banned for 2 league matches by Disciplinary Committee of AFA for dangerous play. Kaja left the club in December 2017 due to club's financial and organizational issues. Besa finished the first part of the season far away from their initial goal. In January 2018, Kaja left Albania and joined

Football Superleague of Kosovo The Football Superleague of Kosovo ( sq, Superliga e Futbollit të Kosovës), also known as the ALBI MALL Superleague of Kosovo ( sq, ALBI MALL Superliga e Kosovës) for sponsorship reasons with Albi Mall, is the top level of the Kosovar football ...

outfit Liria Prizren for the remainder of the 2017–18 season. On 19 August 2018, Kaja joined Drita for the 2018–19 campaign. However, after 11 appearances and one goal, scored on his debut against Flamurtari Pristina on 26 August, Kaja terminated his contract with the club by mutual consent with the aim of returning to Albania. At the end of August 2019, Kaja moved to Germany and joined ATSV Erlangen under charge of Kosovan manager Shqipran Skeraj. On 2 February 2020 it was confirmed, that his contract had been terminated after 10 games.ATSV Erlangen: Fürsattel kommt, Kaja geht, Markert bleibt - vorerst
nordbayern.de, 2 February 2020

Style of play

Apart from playing as a

, Kaja can also play as a

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 ...

Career statistics

Honours

;Besa Kavajë *

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 ...

: 2006–07

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kaja, Ervis 1987 births Living people People from Përmet Albanian footballers Albanian expatriate footballers Association football defenders Besa Kavajë players KF Laçi players FK Tomori Berat players FK Dinamo Tirana players KF Tirana players KF Apolonia Fier players KF Korabi Peshkopi players KF Liria players FC Drita players Kategoria Superiore players Kategoria e Parë players Football Superleague of Kosovo players Expatriate footballers in Kosovo Expatriate footballers in Germany Albanian expatriate sportspeople in Kosovo Albanian expatriate sportspeople in Germany