Safet Berisha (11 November 1949 – 19 October 2016) was an Albanian football player who played for Lokomotiva Durrës and

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 ...

as well as the Albania national team, where he earned 20 senior caps.

Club career

A tall defender, Berisha was raised 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 ...

by his adoptive parents, which is where he joined the local side Lokomotiv Durrës as a youth player and was promoted to the senior squad by coach

Loro Boriçi Lorenco Boriçi (4 August 1922 – 25 April 1984), commonly known as Loro Boriçi was an Albanian association football forward and is regarded as one of Albania's football legends. He played mostly for Partizan Tirana (won the 1949 and 1954 A ...

. In 1968 he was summoned to fulfil his military service and subsequently joined army club

with whom he has won three championships, four cups and one Balkan Champion title.

International career

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 ...

in a December 1970 European Championship qualification match against

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 ...

in Istanbul and earned a total of 21 caps, scoring no goals. His final international was a November 1981 FIFA World Cup 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 ...

Personal life

In 1992, he emigrated to

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

along with his family, firstly living in Bari for 6 years, then moving to Arezzo where he worked as an ambulance driver. He died in October 2016 in Italy after a short illness.

Honours

;Partizani Tirana *

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 ...

(3): 1970–71, 1978–79, 1980–81Albania - Championship Winning Teams
- RSSSF * Kupa e Shqipërisë (3): 1969–70, 1972–73, 1979–80, * Balkans Cup (1): 1970

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Berisha, Safet 1949 births 2016 deaths Footballers from Durrës Albanian men's footballers Men's association football defenders Albania men's international footballers Albania men's under-21 international footballers KF Teuta Durrës players FK Partizani Tirana players Albanian expatriate sportspeople in Italy