Skender Hyka (6 September 1944 – 5 July 2018) was 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 ...

who spent his entire career at his hometown club 17 Nëntori Tirana (present day

KF Tirana Klubi i Futbollit Tirana (KF Tirana) is an Albanian football club based in the country's capital city, Tirana. The men's football club is part of the multi-disciplinary sports club SK Tirana, and is the most successful in Albania, having won 54 ...

) 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 also represented the Albania national team, although he only earned one senior cap at international level. He worked for Albanian Football Association as an Executive Committee member and he was head of the Competition Commission since 2009.

Career

Early career

Hyka was born and raised in Tirana, where he went attended high school as well as university. He studied at the Institute of Physical Culture and Sport and graduated in 1968, whilst still playing professional football. He joined the 17 Nëntori Tirana youth setup at the age of 13 in 1957, where he played for the different age groups before being promoted to the first team in the early 1960s.

17 Nëntori Tirana

Once turning professional Hyka quickly established himself as a key member of the 17 Nëntori Tirana team, helping them win the Kategoria Superiore four times during his career. He scored 60 league goals with 17 Nëntori which at the time of his retirement in 1974 made him the club's all-time top goalscorer (5th as of 2012). He played in around 400 games.Futbollisti Skënder Hyka, eleganca e dëshpërimit mes mbrojtësve kundërshtarë
- Telegraf

International career

Despite a successful club career with 17 Nëntori, Hyka never managed to break through into the Albania national team. This was due to the high competition for a place in the attacking positions, especially with the likes of

Medin Zhega Medin Zhega (31 January 1946 – 12 June 2012) was an Albanian professional football manager and player, who played as a forward. Playing career Club Firstly he played for Vllaznia the football team of Shkodra, then he went to Dinamo Tirana a ...

and

Panajot Pano Panajot Thoma Pano ( el, Παναγιώτης Θωμάς Πάνου, Panayiotis Thomas Panou; 7 March 1939 – 19 January 2010) was an Albanian football player. He started his career as a goalkeeper in the 17 Nëntori Tirana youth academy, but ...

playing in the same time period as Hyka, limiting his chances of being able to play international football. His only senior appearance came on 8 April 1967 against West Germany in

Dortmund Dortmund (; Westphalian nds, Düörpm ; la, Tremonia) is the third-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia after Cologne and Düsseldorf, and the eighth-largest city of Germany, with a population of 588,250 inhabitants as of 2021. It is the la ...

, a game which Albania lost 6-0 thanks to four goals by

Gerd Müller Gerhard "Gerd" Müller (; 3 November 1945 – 15 August 2021) was a German professional footballer. A striker renowned for his clinical finishing, especially in and around the six-yard box, he is widely regarded as one of the greatest goalsco ...

and a double by

Hannes Löhr Johannes Löhr (5 July 1942 – 29 February 2016) was a German international football player and manager. The striker scored 166 top division goals for 1. FC Köln, more than any other Köln player. He made his debut for the team in August 196 ...

. Hyka would not represent Albania again after this game as this was his only international cap.

Albanian FA

In the years 1992 - 1995, has been Secretary of the Athletic Club Zanzibar. In 1997 has been Secretary General of the Albanian FA. From 1992 onwards, a member of the Executive Committee of the Albanian FA.

Personal life

Hyka's son Endi also won two league titles playing for Tirana in the 1990s and his cousin Renisi did the same in 1989. Skënder Hyka died in July 2018.

Honours

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 ...

: 3 ::

1966 Events January * January 1 – In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa takes over as military ruler of the Central African Republic, ousting President David Dacko. * January 3 – 1966 Upper Voltan coup d'état: President Maurice Yaméogo i ...

1968 The year was highlighted by protests and other unrests that occurred worldwide. Events January–February * January 5 – "Prague Spring": Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia. * Januar ...

1970 Events January * January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC. * January 5 – The 7.1 Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity scale, Mercalli intensity of X (''Extrem ...

Albania - Championship Winning Teams
- RSSSF

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hyka, Skender 1944 births 2018 deaths Footballers from Tirana Albanian men's footballers Men's association football forwards Albania men's international footballers KF Tirana players Kategoria Superiore players