Niko Bespalla (1938 - 28 March 2017), was 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 ...

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

. Famous for his fierce shooting, he played for Lokomotiva Durrës,

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 ...

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 r ...

and Erzeni Shijak in his career.

Club career

He grew up in

Durrës Durrës ( , ; sq-definite, Durrësi) is the second most populous city of the Republic of Albania and seat of Durrës County and Durrës Municipality. It is located on a flat plain along the Albanian Adriatic Sea Coast between the mouths of ...

along with parents and his two sisters, which is where he began playing football with the youth team of Puna Durrës. He captained the Durrës under-19 side to the national championship before being promoted to the senior team by then coach

Adem Karapici Adem Karapici (born 1912) was an Albanian football player and coach who played for Sportklub Tiranë in the 1930s where he won six National Championships. Managerial career As a coach, he was in charge of Albania national team for five games be ...

in 1957 at the age of 19. In 1957 he was summoned to fulfil his military service and subsequently joined army club

with whom he won two league titles.

Personal life

Bespalla was born in

in 1938 into a Russian family who had moved to Albania in the 1920s, first living in

Tiranë 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 ...

before settling in

. His father, Spiridon Bespalov, married his mother Varvara in

Podgorica Podgorica (Cyrillic script, Cyrillic: Подгорица, ; Literal translation, lit. 'under the hill') is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Montenegro, largest city of Montenegro. The city was formerly known as Titograd ...

, and then changed their last name from Bespalov to Bespalla. He was jailed for 7 years by the

Communist regime A communist state, also known as a Marxist–Leninist state, is a one-party state that is administered and governed by a communist party guided by Marxism–Leninism. Marxism–Leninism was the state ideology of the Soviet Union, the Cominte ...

in 1967 after allegedly stealing tin . He was married to Flora and his only surviving child Justin Bespalla was also a footballer who played for Teuta Durrës and Erzeni Shijak amongst others. He died on 28 March 2017, aged 79.

Honours

Kategoria Superiore 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 ...

: 2 ::

1958 Events January * January 1 – The European Economic Community (EEC) comes into being. * January 3 – The West Indies Federation is formed. * January 4 ** Edmund Hillary's Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition completes the third ...

1959 Events January * January 1 - Cuba: Fulgencio Batista flees Havana when the forces of Fidel Castro advance. * January 2 - Lunar probe Luna 1 was the first man-made object to attain escape velocity from Earth. It reached the vicinity of E ...

Albania - Championship Winning Teams
- RSSSF

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bespalla, Niko 1938 births 2017 deaths People from Shijak Footballers from Durrës Albanian footballers Association football forwards KF Teuta Durrës players FK Partizani Tirana players FK Dinamo Tirana players KF Erzeni players Kategoria Superiore players