Shyqyri Ballgjini (born 14 March 1954) is a former Albanian footballer, who spent the most of his career, except one season, playing with

Dinamo Tirana Futboll Club Dinamo Tirana is an Albanian professional football club based in the country's capital Tirana. They play in the Kategoria e Parë, the second tier of Albanian football, in the 2022–23 season. Founded in 1950 during the communist r ...

, as well as

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 ...

. During his career, Ballgjini has scored more than 100 league goals and more than 50 Republic cup goals.

Club career

He was part of the 'Golden Age' of Dinamo, forming a successful offensive partnership

Vasillaq Zëri Vasillaq Zëri (4 August 1952 – 25 January 2019) was an Albanian footballer of Greek origin, who played as a striker. Club career Born in Tirana, Zëri started his career with hometown club Shkëndija and was part of the 'Golden Age' of ...

and

Ilir Përnaska Ilir Jonuz Përnaska (born 7 May 1951) is an Albanian former footballer who played as a striker for Dinamo Tirana between 1967 and 1981, as well as the Albania national team. He is one of Dinamo's most famous players who is known for being one ...

which is considered to be the best offensive trio in Dinamo's history. During 1978–79, he played for Vllaznia Shkodër. He returned to Dinamo in 1979 where he stayed until 1984, the year he decided to end his football career. Ballgjini was honored with the title "Legend of Albanian football", a title which is received by a total of 5–6 players. He is on the list of the 100 best Albanian players of all time.

International career

He made his debut for

in an April 1981

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

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

and earned a total of 2 caps, scoring no goals. His second and final international was a September 1981

match against

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

Personal life

His younger brother

Haxhi Ballgjini Haxhi Ballgjini (born 15 June 1958) is a former Albanian footballer who played for Dinamo Tirana, Partizani Tirana, Vllaznia Shkodër and Partizani Tirana and Lokomotiva Durrës, as well as the Albania national team. International career He ...

also played for Albania and they were the first brothers to play for the national side together in 1981 against

.Vëllezërit e Kombëtares, nga Ballgjinët te Bashat
- Telegraf

Honours

Clubs

;Dinamo Tirana *

Albanian Superliga The Kategoria Superiore, officially known as Abissnet Superiore for sponsorship reasons, is a professional league for men's association football clubs. At the top of the Albanian football league system, it is the country's primary football compet ...

(5): 1972–73, 1974–75, 1975–76, 1976–77, 1979–80 *

Albanian Cup The Albanian Cup ( sq, Kupa e Shqipërisë) is the main "knockout" competition in Albanian football. The competition started in 1939 as Kupa e Mbretit (English:"The King's Cup"). Just after a year the cup was suspended as the Second World War st ...

(2): 1973–74, 1977–78 *Spartakiada Kombëtare (1): 1974 *Kupa e Ushtrisë Popullore (2): 1973, 1978

Individual

*Legend of Albanian Football.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ballgjini, Shyqyri 1954 births Living people Footballers from Durrës Albanian footballers Association football forwards Albania international footballers FK Dinamo Tirana players KF Vllaznia Shkodër players Kategoria Superiore players