Mikel Canka (born 18 February 1987) 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 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

striker Striker or The Strikers may refer to: People *A participant in a strike action *A participant in a hunger strike *Blacksmith's striker, a type of blacksmith's assistant *Striker's Independent Society, the oldest mystic krewe in America People wi ...

for Lushnja in the

Kategoria e Parë Kategoria e Parë is the second level of professional football in Albania, behind the Kategoria Superiore and above the Kategoria e Dytë. Format Kategoria e Parë was founded in 1930. It is made up of 14 teams. The 2 best ranked teams gain prom ...

Club career

Canka left his hometown club Lushnja following their relegation from the Kategoria Superiore and signed a three-year contract with newly promoted side Apolonia on 10 June 2014. In 2015, during the winter transfer window, Canka left Apolonia after only half season to rejoin Lushnja until the end of 2014–15 season. In July 2015, Canka left Lushnja and signed a one-year contract with fellow

side Luftëtari. During the 2015–16 season, Canka played 25 league matches, scoring 15 goals, as Luftëtari won the Group B and achieved the promotion to Kategoria Superiore. In August 2016, Canka returned to Lushnja for a third time, and made his first appearance of the 2016–17 season on 26 September in the opening day against Tomori. On 18 October he scored a hat-trick, including first goals of the season in Lushnja's 1–4 win at

Elbasani Elbasan ( ; sq-definite, Elbasani ) is the fourth most populous city of Albania and seat of Elbasan County and Elbasan Municipality. It lies to the north of the river Shkumbin between the Skanderbeg Mountains and the Myzeqe Plain in central A ...

. This was followed by a brace in the 2–0 home win against

Shkumbini The Shkumbin (; ; la, Genusus, also la, Genessus, label=none or la, Scampis, label=none), also commonly Shkembi, is a river in Southern Europe. It is long and its drainage basin is . Its average discharge is . Etymology It derives from La ...

four days later, scoring in the last minutes of the match, taking his tally up to 5 league goals. On 25 February of the following year, Canka scored a cruel goal against Apolonia in an eventual 2–0 away win in the matchday 17, helping Lushnja to win in Fier for the first time in 44 years. After helping the club to return to

top flight Top Flight (April 15, 1929 – 1949) was an American U.S. Hall of Fame Thoroughbred racehorse. She was the leading American filly of her generation at two and three years of age. Background Bred in Kentucky by the very prominent horseman Harry ...

after three years, Canka confirmed that he would remain in Lushnja for the next season. On 24 July, he extended his contract for another season. Canka scored his first top flight goal in three years on 26 November 2017 in the 2–1 away defeat to Kamza valid for week 12. Later on 16 December in the league match versus

Skënderbeu , reign = 28 November 1443 – 17 January 1468 , predecessor = Gjon Kastrioti , successor = Gjon Kastrioti II , spouse = Donika Arianiti , issue = Gjon Kastrioti II , royal house = Kastrioti , father ...

, after the dismissal of goalkeeper

Mikel Spaho Mikel Spaho (born 30 August 1982 in Lushnjë) is an Albanian footballer who most recently played as a goalkeeper for Lushnja in the Albanian First Division Albanian may refer to: *Pertaining to Albania in Southeast Europe; in particular: **Al ...

and after all three of the club's substitutions were exhausted, Canka was put into goal for the final 7 minutes of the match, conceding a goal when he dropped a free-kick from

Marko Radaš Marko Radaš (born 26 October 1983) is a Croatian retired footballer who last played as a defender for NK Rudeš. Club career Skënderbeu Korçë 2011–14 season In July 2011, Radaš completed a transfer to Albanian Superliga club Skënderbeu ...

Career Statistics

Honours

Club

;Lushnja *

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 ...

;Luftëtari *

: 2015–16

Individual

*Kategoria e Parë Top Goalscorer:

Notes

References

External links

* * 1987 births Living people Sportspeople from Lushnjë Men's association football forwards Albanian men's footballers KF Lushnja players FK Apolonia Fier players KF Luftëtari players KF Egnatia players KF Tomori players KF Besa Kavajë players Kategoria Superiore players Kategoria e Parë players {{Albania-footy-forward-stub