Bledar Kola (born 1 August 1972) 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 retired football player and later manager.

Early life

Kola comes from Mirditë, but grew up in the city of

Lezhë Lezhë (, sq-definite, Lezha) is a city in the Republic of Albania and seat of Lezhë County and Lezhë Municipality. One of the main strongholds of the Labeatai, the earliest of the fortification walls of Lezhë are of typical Illyrian cons ...

. He was an exemplary student. He started his career at Besëlidhja Lezhë, and then moved to

Partizani Tirana Futboll Klub Partizani, or FK Partizani for short, is an Albanian professional football club based in Tirana, that competes in the Kategoria Superiore. Founded in 1946, the club was historically affiliated to the Albanian army. Partizani's curren ...

. Later he moved to

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders ...

where his playing career took off.

Playing career

Club

Kola spent most of his career playing for various clubs in the

Greek Super League The Super League Greece 1 ( el, Ελληνική Σούπερ Λιγκ 1), or Super League 1, is the highest professional association football league in Greece. The league was formed on 16 July 2006 and replaced ''Alpha Ethniki'' at the top of ...

, including Panathinaikos, Apollon Smyrnis, Panargiakos and

AEK Athens A.E.K ( el, AEK , formally Αθλητική Ένωσις Κωνσταντινουπόλεως; Athlitikí Énosis Konstantinoupόleos, ''Athletic Union of Constantinople''), known as A.E.K, is a major Greek multi-sport club based in Nea Filadel ...

. In January 2003, Kola was sacked by

Kallithea Kallithea (Greek: Καλλιθέα, meaning "beautiful view") is a district of Athens and a municipality in south Athens regional unit. It is the eighth largest municipality in Greece (96,118 inhabitants, 2021 census) and the fourth biggest i ...

after failing a doping test.

International

He made his debut for

in a December 1990 European Championship qualification match away against

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

and earned a total of 39 caps, scoring 6 goals. His final international was a March 2001 FIFA World Cup qualification against

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

in Tirana.

National team statistics

International goals

:''Scores and results list Albania's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Kola goal''.

Managerial career

Kola took temporary charge at

in August 2010 and was named full-time manager of

Apollon Smyrni Apollon Smyrnis Football Club ( el, ΠΑΕ Απόλλων Σμύρνης), or in its full name Gymnasticos Syllogos Apollon Smyrnis ( el, links=no, Γυμναστικός Σύλλογος Απόλλων Σμύρνης, ''Gymnastics Club Apollon o ...

in July 2012. He also coached Panargiakos and was assistant at Panathinaikos and later to AEK manager Marinos Ouzounidis until they were both dismissed in 2019.Refuzoi ofertën për Kombëtaren shqiptare, Bledar Kola mbetet “pa punë” në Greqi
– Panorama

Honours

;AEK Athens *

Greek Cup The Greek Football Cup ( el, Κύπελλο Ελλάδος Ποδοσφαίρου), commonly known as the Greek Cup or Kypello Elladas is a Greek football competition, run by the Hellenic Football Federation. The Greek Cup is the second most ...

: 2001–02

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kola, Bledar 1972 births Living people People from Mirditë Albanian emigrants to Greece Association football midfielders Albanian footballers Albania international footballers Besëlidhja Lezhë players FK Partizani Tirana players KF Elbasani players Panargiakos F.C. players Apollon Smyrnis F.C. players Panathinaikos F.C. players AEK Athens F.C. players Kallithea F.C. players Super League Greece players Albanian expatriate footballers Expatriate footballers in Greece Albanian expatriate sportspeople in Greece Albanian football managers Doping cases in association football Albanian sportspeople in doping cases AEK Athens F.C. managers Apollon Smyrnis F.C. managers Panargiakos F.C. managers Panathinaikos F.C. non-playing staff Albanian expatriate football managers Expatriate football managers in Greece Albanian expatriate sportspeople in Cyprus Albanian expatriate sportspeople in Romania