Igli Tare (; born 25 July 1973) is an Albanian retired 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 played as a
forward
Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward.
Forward may also refer to:
People
* Forward (surname)
Sports
* Forward (association football)
* Forward (basketball), including:
** Point forward
** Power forward (basketball)
** Sm ...
. He is the
sporting director
A sporting director, or director of sport, is an executive management position in a sports club. The role is well known as a manager role for European football clubs, which are sometime also "sports clubs", offering many types of sports. The sport ...
at
Serie A
The Serie A (), also called Serie A TIM for national sponsorship with TIM, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and the winner is awarded the Scudetto and the Coppa ...
club
Lazio
it, Laziale
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.
Tare joined
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 ...
as a 9-year-old in 1982, and would later go on to make his debut as a 15-year-old in 1988 before leaving Albania in 1992 to emigrate to Germany. He played in the lower leagues of Germany for
Südwest Ludwigshafen and
VfR Mannheim
VfR Mannheim is a Football in Germany, German association football club based in Mannheim, Baden-Württemberg formed in 1911 out of the fusion of Mannheimer FG 1896, Mannheimer FG 1897 Union, and FC Viktoria 1897 Mannheim. The club captured the n ...
before joining
Bundesliga
The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany. At the top of the German football league system, the Bundesliga is Germany's primary footba ...
side
Karlsruher SC
Karlsruher SC is a German association football club, based in Karlsruhe, Baden-Württemberg that currently plays in the 2. Bundesliga, the second tier of German football. Domestically, the club was crowned German champion in 1909, and won the D ...
in 1996, initially playing for their reserve side before making his Bundesliga debut in 1996. He then joined
Fortuna Düsseldorf
Düsseldorfer Turn- und Sportverein Fortuna 1895 e.V., commonly known as Fortuna Düsseldorf (), is a German football club in Düsseldorf, North Rhine-Westphalia, which competes in the 2. Bundesliga.
Founded in 1895, Fortuna entered the league ...
in the
2. Bundesliga, where he scored 24 league goals in 63 games in two seasons before returning to the Bundesliga with
1. FC Kaiserslautern in 1999, where he netted four league goals in 26 appearances in one year and a half at the club.
After falling out of favour at 1. FC Kaiserslautern he joined
Serie A
The Serie A (), also called Serie A TIM for national sponsorship with TIM, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and the winner is awarded the Scudetto and the Coppa ...
side
Brescia
Brescia (, locally ; lmo, link=no, label= Lombard, Brèsa ; lat, Brixia; vec, Bressa) is a city and ''comune'' in the region of Lombardy, Northern Italy. It is situated at the foot of the Alps, a few kilometers from the lakes Garda and Iseo. ...
in January 2001, where he helped the side finish in a respectable 8th place. He remained at Brescia for a further two seasons, and he scored a total of 15 league goals in 75 games before joining fellow Serie A side
Bologna
Bologna (, , ; egl, label= Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nat ...
in 2003. He spent two years at the club and scored 11 league goals in 55 games, before joining
Lazio
it, Laziale
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in a surprise move in 2005 following Brescia's relegation to Serie B. He was primarily used as a backup player at Lazio and he only scored four goals in 54 league games before retiring as a player at the age of 34 in 2008.
Early life
Igli Tare studied at the
Qemal Stafa High School
The Qemal Stafa High School is a high school, located in Tirana, Albania.
Founded in 1925 by Prime Minister Ahmet Zogu, as the ''Lyceum of Tirana'', it has many notable alumni, of whom 75 died in World War II and 14 were awarded the title People ...
, 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.
Club career
Tare began his professional career in 1996 with
Karlsruher SC
Karlsruher SC is a German association football club, based in Karlsruhe, Baden-Württemberg that currently plays in the 2. Bundesliga, the second tier of German football. Domestically, the club was crowned German champion in 1909, and won the D ...
in Germany where he remained until 1997 before moving to
Fortuna Düsseldorf
Düsseldorfer Turn- und Sportverein Fortuna 1895 e.V., commonly known as Fortuna Düsseldorf (), is a German football club in Düsseldorf, North Rhine-Westphalia, which competes in the 2. Bundesliga.
Founded in 1895, Fortuna entered the league ...
in the
2. Bundesliga.
In 1999, Tare moved to
1. FC Kaiserslautern, where he played for a season before being signed by veteran Italian manager
Carlo Mazzone
Carlo "Carletto" Mazzone (born 19 March 1937 in Rome) is an Italian retired professional association footballer and manager, who played as a centre-back.
Playing career
Mazzone played several seasons for A.S. Roma, as well as for SPAL and Ascoli ...
. For five seasons, Tare played with Mazzone's
Brescia
Brescia (, locally ; lmo, link=no, label= Lombard, Brèsa ; lat, Brixia; vec, Bressa) is a city and ''comune'' in the region of Lombardy, Northern Italy. It is situated at the foot of the Alps, a few kilometers from the lakes Garda and Iseo. ...
, where he was able to play alongside
Roberto Baggio
Roberto Baggio (; born 18 February 1967) is an Italian former professional footballer who mainly played as a second striker, or as an attacking midfielder, although he was capable of playing in several offensive positions. He is the former pre ...
, before again transferring, this time to
Bologna
Bologna (, , ; egl, label= Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nat ...
where he was reunited with Mazzone once again.
At Bologna, Tare was popular amongst the fans and scored an important goal in the relegation play-off against fierce rivals
Parma
Parma (; egl, Pärma, ) is a city in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna known for its architecture, Giuseppe Verdi, music, art, prosciutto (ham), Parmigiano-Reggiano, cheese and surrounding countryside. With a population of 198,292 ...
, however Tare's goal was not enough and they lost the return leg at home, being relegated to
Serie B
The Serie B (), currently named Serie Balkrishna Industries, BKT for sponsorship reasons, is the second-highest division in the Italian football league system after the Serie A. It has been operating for over ninety years since the 1929–30 ...
.
Following Bologna's relegation, Tare was loaned out to capital club
Lazio
it, Laziale
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scoring just three goals in his first season. Following this loan period, Tare joined the club on a permanent basis.
Tare was not a regular starter under
Delio Rossi
Delio Rossi (born 26 January 1960) is an Italian football manager and former footballer who played as a midfielder. He was most recently in charge as head coach of Serie B club Ascoli.
Playing career
Rossi was born in Rimini. His playing career ...
, but was able to play and score vital goals when others were out with injuries. In late 2007 away to
Palermo
Palermo ( , ; scn, Palermu , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital (political), capital of both the autonomous area, autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan ...
, Tare scored off a
Lorenzo De Silvestri
Lorenzo De Silvestri (; born 23 May 1988) is an Italian professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Defender (association football), defender for Bologna F.C. 1909, Bologna. He is an offensive Defender (association football)#Ful ...
cross, ending a scoring drought which stretched back for almost two years. He backed this goal up with another vital goal in the
Coppa Italia
The ("Italy Cup") is an annual knockout cup competition in Italian football organized by the FIGC until the 2009–10 season and the Lega Serie A ever since.
History
The beginning of the tournament was turbulent, due to the complexity of ...
against
Napoli
Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...
, which proved to be the winner.
International career
Tare was capped 68 times by the
Albania national team and scored ten goals. As one of the most experienced members of the side, Tare was long time captain of the national team.
Tare's most impressive performance for his national side came during his nation's match against
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...
in the
UEFA Euro 2004 qualifiers, when he helped Albania to a 3–1 victory, scoring his team's third goal.
In 2007, Tare's international career was effectively ended, after being dropped by manager
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 Germ ...
.
Style of play
A tall, physical, and combative
forward
Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward.
Forward may also refer to:
People
* Forward (surname)
Sports
* Forward (association football)
* Forward (basketball), including:
** Point forward
** Power forward (basketball)
** Sm ...
, Tare usually played as a
centre-forward
Forwards (also known as attackers) are outfield positions in an association football team who play the furthest up the pitch and are therefore most responsible for scoring goals as well as assisting them. As with any attacking player, the role ...
or as a
striker, and was mainly known for his ability in the air, as well his work-rate, professionalism, solid technique, and capacity to link-up with teammates, despite not being a significantly elegant or prolific player.
Post-playing career
Tare's Lazio contract expired at the end of the
2007–08 season. He then accepted a non-playing role at
Lazio
it, Laziale
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, becoming the club's team manager. In April 2009 he completed a course in order to receive his qualification to be sporting director, which is his current role at Lazio.
Personal life
Igli Tare is a well known supporter of Albanian related issues. He was a supporter of the Albanian cause and the
Kosovo Liberation Army
The Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA; , UÇK) was an ethnic Albanian separatist militia that sought the separation of Kosovo, the vast majority of which is inhabited by Albanians, from the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY) and Serbia during the ...
during the
Kosovo war
The Kosovo War was an armed conflict in Kosovo that started 28 February 1998 and lasted until 11 June 1999. It was fought by the forces of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (i.e. Serbia and Montenegro), which controlled Kosovo before the war ...
. He helped the Albanian refugees who had been expelled during the
Kosovo war
The Kosovo War was an armed conflict in Kosovo that started 28 February 1998 and lasted until 11 June 1999. It was fought by the forces of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (i.e. Serbia and Montenegro), which controlled Kosovo before the war ...
with money and accommodation in Albania.
In the
2005–06 Serie A
The Serie A (), also called Serie A TIM for national sponsorship with TIM, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and the winner is awarded the Scudetto and the Coppa ...
season in the game
Inter
Inter may refer to:
Association football clubs
* Inter Milan, an Italian club
* SC Internacional, a Brazilian club
* Inter Miami CF, an American club
* FC Inter Sibiu, a Romanian club
* FC Inter Turku, a Finnish club
* FK Inter Bratislava, a form ...
against
Lazio
it, Laziale
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, there were numerous provocations between Igli Tare and
Siniša Mihajlović
Siniša Mihajlović ( sr-Cyrl, Синиша Михајловић, ; 20 February 1969 – 16 December 2022) was a Serbian professional Footballer, football player and Football coach (association football), manager.
During his career as a football ...
. In the half-time break, Tare slapped Mihajlović with two fists. Tare said Mihajlović had provoked him the entire First Half and then he had responded accordingly. Igli Tare later told the Albanian media that he did not regret anything.
The rivalry between Tare and Mihajlović took another level in 2016. During
2015–16 Serie A
The Serie A (), also called Serie A TIM for national sponsorship with TIM, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and the winner is awarded the Scudetto and the Coppa ...
season, Lazio's President
Claudio Lotito wanted
Mihajlović Mihajlović ( sr-cyr, Михајловић, ) is a common Serbian surname, a patronymic derived from the masculine given name ''Mihajlo'' (Michael). It is found throughout former Yugoslavia. It may refer to:
People
*Dragomir Mihajlović (b. 1960), ...
as a coach for Lazio. Lazio's president had been working for weeks to get Mihajlovic. There is a good friendship between Lotito and Mihajlović and his return to Formello has been on the agenda for years. However Tare refused to accept Siniša Mihajlović as the new coach for Lazio and at the end prevented the move.
His brother Auron Tare, is a famous Albanian journalist and his brother Agron Tare is director at the Port of
Durrës
Durrës ( , ; sq-definite, Durrësi) is the second most populous city of the Republic of Albania and seat of Durrës County and Durrës Municipality. It is located on a flat plain along the Albanian Adriatic Sea Coast between the mouths of ...
.
His son Etienne (born 2003) followed on his footsteps, becoming a striker too and now being part of the Lazio Primavera (Under-19 team) squad.
Career statistics
Club
International
:''Scores and results list Albania's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Tare goal.''
Honours
;Individual
*Career Award: 2018
References
External links
Official Lazio profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tare, Igli
1973 births
Living people
Footballers from Vlorë
Albanian footballers
Association football forwards
Albania international footballers
Albania under-21 international footballers
FK Partizani Tirana players
VfR Mannheim players
Karlsruher SC II players
Karlsruher SC players
Fortuna Düsseldorf players
1. FC Kaiserslautern players
Brescia Calcio players
Bologna F.C. 1909 players
S.S. Lazio players
Kategoria Superiore players
Bundesliga players
2. Bundesliga players
Serie A players
Albanian expatriate footballers
Expatriate footballers in Germany
Albanian expatriate sportspeople in Germany
Expatriate footballers in Italy
Albanian expatriate sportspeople in Italy
Qemal Stafa High School alumni
Albanian nationalists