Esat Reshat Mala (born 18 October 1998) is an Albanian 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 ...

who plays as a

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 ...

for Albanian club Vllaznia Shkodër.

Club career

Ballkani

Mala spent the first part of the 2017–18 season in the

First Football League of Kosovo The First Football League of Kosovo ( sq, Liga e Parë e Futbollit të Kosovës) is the second level of the Kosovar football league system. The First League is organized by the Football Federation of Kosovo and the division currently has 2 group ...

representing Ballkani. In the meantime, he also trained with Partizani B squad. He made 12 appearances and scored 8 goals, also giving 10 assists during his spell at the club K.F.C Ballkani.

Partizani Tirana

On 27 December 2017,

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 ...

announced the acquisition of Mala, on a two-and-a-half years contract. He made his competitive debut on 4 February 2018 by playing in the second half of a 2–1 home win over Kamza. He quickly won his place in the starting lineup under

Sulejman Starova Sulejman Starova (born 12 December 1955) is an Albanian football coach and retired player. Managerial career As a manager, he has been in charge of his previous club Partizani Tirana as well as KF Tirana, Besa Kavajë and Teuta Durrës. He has al ...

, winning the league's player of the month award in March. Mala finished the season with 17 league appearances, including one cup appearance, as Partizani finished 5th in the league. Following the end of the season, he was named as one of the talents of the season by the association Sporti na bashkon.

International career

On 28 May 2018. Mala made his debut with Albania U21 in a

friendly match An exhibition game (also known as a friendly, a scrimmage, a demonstration, a preseason game, a warmup match, or a preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sporting event whose prize money and impact on the player's or ...

against Bosnia and Herzegovina U21 after being named in the starting line-up.

Career statistics

Honours

Individual

Albanian Superliga Player of the Month The Player of the Month is an association football award that recognises the best Kategoria Superiore player each month of the season. It is presented by association "Sporti Na Bashkon". This award was established in the 2010–11 season. Winne ...

: March 2018 *Albanian Superliga Talent of the Season: second place 2017–18

References

External links

*
Esat Mala
at the

Albanian Football Association The Albanian Football Association ( sq, Federata Shqiptare e Futbollit; FSHF) is the governing body of football in Albania. The association is based in Tirana, Albania. It organises the national football leagues of the Albanian Superliga, the F ...

1998 births Living people People from Prizren Albanian footballers Albania under-21 international footballers Albania international footballers Albanian expatriate footballers Albanian expatriate sportspeople in Turkey Kosovan footballers Kosovan expatriate footballers Kosovan expatriate sportspeople in Albania Kosovan expatriate sportspeople in Turkey Association football midfielders KF Ballkani players Kategoria Superiore players FK Partizani Tirana players {{Albania-footy-midfielder-stub