Zamir Shpuza (26 June 1968 – 10 January 2014) was an Albanian international

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 ...

player and coach.

Club career

Born and raised in a traditional family from

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 ...

, Shpuza was noticed on the U19 team of KF Vllaznia Shkodër, debuting for the senior squad in the season 1988–89.Nderroi Jetë Në Speyer Të Gjermanisë Zamir Shpuza
at zemrashqiptare.net, 13 January 2014, Retrieved 7 February 2018 At that time Albania was still ruled by a communist regime, and in a secret meeting of the local communist party committee, Zamir was playing for Vllaznia U17 team, were expelled from the team as party enemies because their uncles were considered undesired by the party. Their uncle was caught illegally crossing the border and then labeled as "traitor". Nicknamed ''Tutoja'', Zamir and his brother didn't give up football, and joined Veleçiku from Koplik. Soon after, democratic transition began in Albania, and Zamir and Luan joined democratic and anti-communist moviments in Shkodër. They joined the Democratic Party. Coaches

Astrit Hafizi Astrit Hafizi (born 15 September 1953) is a former Albanian footballer and coach of Vllaznia, as well as coach of Albania for a two years span (1997–1999). Playing career Club Born in Shkodër, Hafizi was brought to Shkëndija Tiranë by Z ...

and

Neptun Bajko Neptun Bajko (born 8 September 1948) is a former Albanian footballer and coach for Partizani Tirana and Albania. Playing career Bajko scored for Partizani in a controversial 1968–69 European Cup Winners' Cup first round loss away against Torin ...

took Zamir to the capital to join Albanian giants FK Partizani Tirana. He had the opportunity to show his exceptional talent there, and was rewarded with first calls to Albanian national U21 and

Olympic 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 b ...

teams. In 1991 he moved to the Yugoslav side

Budućnost Titograd Budućnost means "the future" in many Slavic languages, and it may also refer to: *SD Budućnost Podgorica, a sports society from Podgorica, Montenegro ** KK Budućnost Podgorica, a professional basketball club FK Budućnost may refer to: * FK Bud ...

along his compatriot Ramiz Bisha. He played in the

1991–92 Yugoslav First League The First League of Yugoslavia's 1991/1992 season was the 64th edition of the Yugoslav First League, the premier football club competition of SFR Yugoslavia. It was the last edition in which professional football teams from SR Bosnia and Herzegovi ...

. and became known as "Albanian Belodedici". In 1992 he returned to Albania, joining KF Vllaznia Shkodër and winning the Albanian championship in 1992.Ndërron jetë në Gjermani Zamir Shpuza
at squiptarja.com, 10 January 2014, Retrieved 7 February 2018 In 1994, he moved to Speyer, Germany, asking for asylum, where is a large Albanian community. There he joined local side FV Speyer. In the 1995–96 season he played with

2. Bundesliga The 2. Bundesliga ( ) is the second division of professional football in Germany. It was implemented 11 years after the founding of the Fußball-Bundesliga as the new second division for professional football. The 2. Bundesliga is ranked below ...

side Waldhof Mannheim but failed to make any league appearance. In 1996 he joined Viktoria Griesheim. Between 2000 and 2007 he was a player-coach of FV Speyer.

International career

He played for Albanian national U21 and

teams before debuting for the main team in 1991. He made his senior debut for Albania in a May 1991 European Championship qualification match against Czechoslovakia and earned a total of 5 caps, scoring no goals. His final international was a June 1997

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 Portugal.

Personal life

Shpuza died in Germany in January 2014 from sudden

brain hemorrhage Intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH), also known as cerebral bleed, intraparenchymal bleed, and hemorrhagic stroke, or haemorrhagic stroke, is a sudden bleeding into the tissues of the brain, into its ventricles, or into both. It is one kind of bleed ...

. He had a wife and two children.

Honours

Vllaznia *

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 ...

1992 File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: 1992 Los Angeles riots, Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the Police brutality, police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment buildi ...

Albania - Championship Winning Teams
- RSSSF

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Shpuza, Zamir 1968 births 2014 deaths Footballers from Shkodër Albanian men's footballers Albania men's international footballers Albania men's under-21 international footballers Men's association football defenders KF Vllaznia Shkodër players FK Veleçiku Koplik players FK Partizani Tirana players FK Budućnost Podgorica players FV Speyer players SV Waldhof Mannheim players Kategoria Superiore players Kategoria e Parë players Yugoslav First League players Albanian expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Yugoslavia Albanian expatriate sportspeople in Yugoslavia Expatriate men's footballers in Germany Albanian expatriate sportspeople in Germany Albanian football managers Albanian expatriate football managers Expatriate football managers in Germany