Ilir Kepa (born 21 April 1966 in

Shkodër Shkodër ( , ; sq-definite, Shkodra) is the fifth-most-populous city of the Republic of Albania and the seat of Shkodër County and Shkodër Municipality. The city sprawls across the Plain of Mbishkodra between the southern part of Lake Shkod ...

) is 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 retired

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 ...

striker who played for the Albania national team.

Playing career

Club

Kepa played for Vllaznia Shkodër but fled communist Albania on 30 March 1991 alongside six other internationals (among them

Rudi Vata Rudi Vata (born 13 February 1969) is an Albanian former professional footballer who played as a defender, and had also a short stint as a manager of Albanian team KF Vllaznia Shkodër. Club career Early life Vata was born in the northern city ...

), when the left the national team's hotel in Paris right after the European Championship qualification match against

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. He ended up in Belgium and joined Hugo Broos' RWDM and stayed for three years. He then had a couple of seasons at French third tier with Louhans-Cuiseaux, before returning to Belgium and finish his career at

Olympic Charleroi Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece bet ...

, for whom he played 51 matches.

International

He made his debut for

in a September 1988

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 ...

away to

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

and earned a total of 7 caps, scoring 1 goal. His final international was a September 1993

FIFA World Cup qualification The FIFA World Cup qualification is a competitive match that a national association football team takes in order to qualify for one of the available berths at the final tournament of the (men's) FIFA World Cup. Qualifying tournaments are hel ...

match against

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

Managerial career

Kepa was appointed coach of reformed

RWDM47 Racing White Daring de Molenbeek 47, also known as RWD Molenbeek and often referred to as RWDM, is a Belgian professional football club founded in 1951 as Standaard Wetteren. In 2015, Wetteren folded and merged with another club, liberating the ...

in 2007. In 2009 he took charge of the Ganshoren reserves team.Ilir Kepa à Ganshoren
- DH

References

External links

* 1966 births Living people Footballers from Shkodër Albanian men's footballers Men's association football forwards Albania men's international footballers KF Vllaznia Shkodër players R.W.D. Molenbeek (1909) players Louhans-Cuiseaux FC players R. Olympic Charleroi Châtelet Farciennes players Kategoria Superiore players Belgian Pro League players Championnat National players Challenger Pro League players Belgian Third Division players Albanian expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Belgium Expatriate men's footballers in France Albanian expatriate sportspeople in Belgium Albanian expatriate sportspeople in France Albanian defectors {{albania-footy-forward-stub