Edmond Rugova (born 20 July 1957) is a

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...

n football coach and former football player. Rugova formerly coached the

Kosovo national football team The Kosovo national football team ( sq, Kombëtarja e futbollit të Kosovës; sr, Фудбалска репрезентација Косова, Fudbalska reprezentacija Kosova) represents Kosovo in men's international football. The team is con ...

, a post he held since his appointment by the

Football Federation of Kosovo The Football Federation of Kosovo ( sq, Federata e Futbollit e Kosovës; FFK) is the governing body of football in Kosovo, with headquarters in Pristina. The Football Federation of Kosovo was established in 1946 as a branch of the Football Associ ...

in the summer of 2006 until his departure in July 2009.

Playing career

Club

Before he became the coach of the Kosovo national football team, Edmond Rugova was a famous football player in

Kosovo Kosovo ( sq, Kosova or ; sr-Cyrl, Косово ), officially the Republic of Kosovo ( sq, Republika e Kosovës, links=no; sr, Република Косово, Republika Kosovo, links=no), is a partially recognised state in Southeast Euro ...

playing for

FC Prishtina Football Club Prishtina ( sq, Klubi Futbollistik Prishtina, ; sr, Фудбалски клуб Приштина, Fudbalski klub Priština), commonly known as Prishtina, is a professional football club based in Prishtina, Kosovo. The club play i ...

during the 1980s as part of the so-called "Golden Generation" of Kosovar football players that included

Fadil Vokrri Fadil Avdullah Vokrri ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Fadilj Avdulah Vokri, Фадиљ Авдулах Вокри; 23 July 1960 – 9 June 2018) was a yugoslavian football player and administrator of albanian origin. Arguably one of the greate ...

, Agim Cana,

Fadil Muriqi Fadil Muriqi (Serbo-Croatian: Fadil Murići / Фадил Мурићи; born 17 November 1959) is a former Kosovar Albanian footballer who is best known for his time with FC Prishtina during the 1980s as part of the "Golden Generation". Career ...

and others. In his early career he also represented RHMK Kosovo (1977, loan) and KF Liria Prizren (1975–1979). For FC Prishtina (1979–1985), he played 98 league matches and scored 29 goals. He left tension-filled Kosovo for the US and joined

New York Cosmos New York Cosmos may refer to * New York Cosmos (1970–1985), a team in the North American Soccer League (then the top-tier soccer league in the United States and Canada) * New York Cosmos (2010), a team playing since 2020 in the National Independ ...

in 1985, then also had a spell with MISL outfit Kansas City Comets.

International

Ruguvoa played for the

Yugoslavia national under-20 football team The Yugoslavia national under-20 football team ( sh, Omladinska reprezentacija Jugoslavije) represented the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia at the FIFA World Youth Championship and various friendly youth tournaments in the period between t ...

Managerial career

Edmond Rugova's first international match as coach of the

was the international friendly against

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...

to be played on 15 June 2007, in

Ankara Ankara ( , ; ), historically known as Ancyra and Angora, is the capital of Turkey. Located in the central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5.1 million in its urban center and over 5.7 million in Ankara Province, maki ...

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...

. While Kosovo was not allowed to UEFA nor FIFA, it was hard to play regular games in the early years. Edmond Rugova is currently a coach for the Sporting Kansas City Juniors.

Personal life

His son MaxRugova working his way up the ladder
- Top drawer soccer was born in Kansas City and plays for FC Pristina.

References

External links

Kosovo national football team info
by the Football Federation of Kosovo 1957 births Living people Kosovo Albanians Men's association football forwards Yugoslav men's footballers Kosovan men's footballers KF Liria Prizren players FC Prishtina players New York Cosmos (1970–1985) players Kansas City Comets (original MISL) players Major Indoor Soccer League (1978–1992) players Yugoslav expatriate men's footballers Kosovan expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States Yugoslav expatriate sportspeople in the United States Kosovan expatriate sportspeople in the United States Kosovan football managers Kosovo national football team managers Place of birth missing (living people) {{Kosovo-footy-bio-stub