Polizoi Arbëri (born 9 September 1988) 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 ...

former footballer who played as a defender or

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

Club career

Vllaznia Shkodër

On 15 August 2015, Arbëri signed a one-year deal with fellow

Albanian Superliga Kategoria Superiore (), also known as Abissnet Superiore for sponsorship reasons with internet service provider, Abissnet, is a professional league for men's association football clubs in Albania. At the top of the Albanian football league syste ...

side Vllaznia Shkodër as a free transfer. He was presented to the media two days later, where he was allocated squad number 13. During his presentation, Arbëri said: "I'm very happy with my choice. I'm glad that i'm going to be with Vllaznia for the upcoming season. I know this squad and naturally signed for this team for its name." He made his Vllaznia Shkodër debut on 9 September 2015 in the league match against

Skënderbeu Korçë Gjergj Kastrioti (17 January 1468), commonly known as Skanderbeg, was an Albanian feudal lord and military commander who led a rebellion against the Ottoman Empire in what is today Albania, North Macedonia, Greece, Kosovo, Montenegro, and Serb ...

, playing full-90 minutes in a losing effort at neutral ground of

Ismail Xhemali Stadium Ismail Xhemali Stadium is a multi-use stadium in Pukë, Albania. The stadium has a seated capacity of 1,950 people and it is mostly used for football matches and it is the home ground of Tërbuni Pukë. Following Tërbuni Pukë's promotion to ...

. On 30 September, in his

Albanian Cup The Albanian Cup () is the main "knockout" competition in Albanian football. The competition started in 1939 as Kupa e Mbretit ( English:"The King's Cup"). The cup was suspended for the next eight years as the Second World War started. It start ...

debut against Pogradeci for the second leg of the first round, Arbëri successfully converted a penalty-kick for his first goal of the season, helping the team to win the match 4–0 and to progress in the next round with the aggregate 5–1. Arbëri scored his first league goal of the season against

Tirana Tirana ( , ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in Albania, 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 ov ...

on 25 October in a 1–1 draw; he scored the goal in the 86th minute with a precise curled free-kick to help his team to earn a point in the bid to escape relegation. He dedicated the goal to the fans. On 16 March 2016, Arbëri suffered an injury in his left knee that would rule him out for the rest of 2015–16 season. At the end of the month, it was reported that he would undergo surgery in his left knee on 12 or 13 April and also extended his contract with the club for another one season. He was eventually operated on 15 April.

Kukësi

On 13 June 2016, Arbëri joined fellow

side Kukësi by signing an initial one-year contract with an option of a further one. His debut occurred on 24 August in the

Albanian Supercup The Albanian Supercup is a single match usually at the beginning of the season between the winners of the Kategoria Superiore and Albanian Cup. Prior to 2000, Supercup final was not played when the champion team won the Double. However, after the ...

match against

, playing full-90 minutes as Kukësi won 3–1 at

Selman Stërmasi Stadium The Selman Stërmasi Stadium () is a multi-purpose stadium in Tirana, Albania. It is currently used mostly for football matches and is the home ground of KF Tirana. The stadium holds 9,500 people (all seated). It is named after Selman Stërma ...

to win its maiden Albanian Supercup title. His league debut came later on 8 September in the opening matchday against his former side Vllaznia Shkodër. He played the entire match which ended in a goalless draw. One week later, Arbëri suffered another major knee injury just before the start of the second matchday against

Teuta Durrës Klubi i Futbollit Teuta, commonly referred to as ''Teuta'', is an Albanian professional football club based in Durrës. The club competes in the Kategoria Superiore, the top tier of Albanian football. Their home ground is the Niko Dovana Stadiu ...

. He torn the ligament of his right leg, which kept him sidelined for the next five months. In April of the following year, Arbëri was released from the club after his constant knee issues.

Retirement

On 14 July 2017, with his knee not getting healed, Arbëri decided to retire from football at the age of 28, thus ending his 10-year career. In an interview, he said that not winning the title with Kukësi was his biggest regret in football, also adding that he felt like home at Vllaznia.

International career

Arbëri was first called up to the Albania U21 side in April 2008 by coach

Artan Bushati Artan Bushati (4 October 1963 – 29 August 2013) was an Albanian football coach who is most noted for leading the Albania U21 national team between 2005 and 2011. Managerial career He has also managed KF Elbasani Klubi i Futbollit Elbasa ...

. He was called up along with players also uncapped at U21 level such as Shpëtim Moçka and Vilfor Hysa. Bushati the players through their paces in

Kamëz Kamëz ( sq-definite, Kamza) is a municipality in Tirana County, Albania. It was formed at the 2015 local government reform by the merger of the former municipalities Kamëz and Paskuqan, that became municipal units. The seat of the municipalit ...

as they were playing for a place in his U21 side. His first U21 goal came in a friendly against

Macedonia Macedonia (, , , ), most commonly refers to: * North Macedonia, a country in southeastern Europe, known until 2019 as the Republic of Macedonia * Macedonia (ancient kingdom), a kingdom in Greek antiquity * Macedonia (Greece), a former administr ...

at the Biljanini Izvori Sports Hall in

Ohrid Ohrid ( ) is a city in North Macedonia and is the seat of the Ohrid Municipality. It is the largest city on Lake Ohrid and the eighth-largest city in the country, with the municipality recording a population of over 42,000 inhabitants as of ...

on 19 November 2008. Arbëri netted the third and final goal for Albania in a 3–0 victory. His goal came in the 80th minute of the game as a result of some excellent play by Enco Malindi who set up the goal for Arbëri.

Personal life

Arbëri is the younger brother of Gersi Arbëri, who is also a professional footballer who plays for

Tomori Berat Futboll Klub Tomori Berat is an Albanian football club based in the city of Berat. The club's home ground is the Tomori Stadium and they currently participate in the Kategoria e Dytë. History The sport of football was introduced to the city of ...

in the

Albanian First Division 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 ...

. He have a son named Noel.

Career statistics

Honours

Flamurtari Vlorë *

: 2013–14 *

runner-up:

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

Kukësi *

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Arberi, Polizoi 1988 births Living people Sportspeople from Berat Footballers from Berat County Albanian men's footballers Albania men's under-21 international footballers Albania men's youth international footballers Men's association football midfielders Men's association football defenders FK Tomori Berat players KS Lushnja players KF Bylis players Flamurtari FC players KF Vllaznia Shkodër players FK Kukësi players Kategoria e Parë players Kategoria Superiore players 21st-century Albanian sportsmen