Medin Zhega (31 January 1946 – 12 June 2012) was an Albanian professional football

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities ...

and

player Player may refer to: Role or adjective * Player (game), a participant in a game or sport ** Gamer, a player in video and tabletop games ** Athlete, a player in sports ** Player character, a character in a video game or role playing game who ...

, who played as a forward.

Playing career

Club

Firstly he played for Vllaznia the football team of Shkodra, then he went to

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 ...

and he concluded his career at the team of Vllaznia. During his career he won several championships in Albania. Medin Zhega quit playing at the age of 32 on 9 September 1979.

International

He made his debut for

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 ...

at age 19 years and 3 months in a May 1965 FIFA World Cup qualification match away against Switzerland and earned a total of 11 caps, scoring 3 goals. His final international was a June 1971 European Championship qualification 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 ...

Managerial career

Following his playing career, Zhega became a manager and led the Albania during the 1999–2001 period. He won with

2000 Rothmans International Tournament. Zhega became a coach, starting his career with his former club of Vllaznia. Later Albanet Tirana in Albania, Prishtina in Kosovo and Shkëndija in Macedonia. He also coached an amateur club in Germany named SV Bad Tölz 1925. He got the honor award "Master of Work" given by the president of Albania.

Personal life

He was born in Shkodra,

31 January 1946. In May 2011, Zhega had an accident in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

, Canada, which made him paraplegic and he remained in a coma for a year until he died 12 June 2012 in

Tirana Tirana ( , ; aln, Tirona) is the capital and largest city of Albania. It is located in the centre of the country, enclosed by mountains and hills with Dajti rising to the east and a slight valley to the northwest overlooking the Adriatic Sea ...

. He was survived by 2 sons. One of them, Kreshnik, has also played football for Besëlidhja and

Teuta Teuta ( Illyrian: *''Teutana'', 'mistress of the people, queen'; grc, Τεύτα; lat, Teuta) was the queen regent of the Ardiaei tribe in Illyria, who reigned approximately from 231 BC to 228/227 BC. Following the death of her spouse Agr ...

and was named assistant to coach Peter Pacult at

FK Kukësi Futboll Klub Kukësi is an Albanian professional football club based in the city of Kukës. The club plays its home games at the Zeqir Ymeri Stadium and they currently compete in the Kategoria Superiore, the highest tier of Albanian football. Th ...

in 2018.Kukësi gjen ndihmësin e trajnerit Pakult, prezantohet djali i të ndjerit Medin Zhega
– Panorama

Honours

Player

;Vllaznia Shkodër * Albanian Superliga: 1971–72, 1973–74, 1977–78 * Albanian Cup: 1972, 1979 ;Dinamo Tirana * Albanian Superliga: 1966–67 * Albanian Cup: 1965

Manager

;Vllaznia Shkodër * Albanian Cup:1981 ;Albania * 2000 Rothmans International Tournament: 2000

Individual

* Albanian Superliga top scorer: 1966–67 (19 goals) *

Albanian Footballer of the Year Albanian Footballer of the Year is an annual award given to the best professional Albanian footballer elected by Football Association of Albania members, coaches and captains of the Kategoria Superiore clubs. The award can also be given to a forei ...

1967

References

External links

* 1946 births 2012 deaths Footballers from Shkodër Albanian footballers Association football forwards Albania international footballers KF Vllaznia Shkodër players FK Dinamo Tirana players Albanian football managers KF Vllaznia Shkodër managers Albania national football team managers FC Prishtina managers FK Shkëndija managers Besëlidhja Lezhë managers Kategoria Superiore players Kategoria Superiore managers Albanian expatriate football managers Expatriate football managers in North Macedonia Albanian expatriate sportspeople in North Macedonia Expatriate football managers in Kosovo Albanian expatriate sportspeople in Kosovo {{Albania-footy-forward-stub