Skënder Begeja (5 February 1924 - 3 October 2010) was a former

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 football forward. He made four appearances for the Albania national team.

Club career

Begeja studied at the

Qemal Stafa High School The Qemal Stafa High School is a high school, located in Tirana, Albania. Founded in 1925 by Prime Minister Ahmet Zogu, as the ''Lyceum of Tirana'', it has many notable alumni, of whom 75 died in World War II and 14 were awarded the title People ...

, in Tirana,

. He was the first Albanian athlete to run the 100 meters under 11 seconds. During his football career Begeja played for Shprefeja (1942–1945), Bulgarian PFC Akademik Sofia, Akademik Sofia (1948–50) and Dinamo Tirana (1952–58).

International career

He made his debut for Albania national football team, Albania in a May 1947 Balkan Cup match against Romania national football team, Romania and earned a total of 4 caps, scoring no goals. His final international was a September 1947 Balkan Cup match against Yugoslavia national football team, Yugoslavia.

Personal life

After retiring as a player in 1958, Begeja worked as a reserve team coach with Dinamo and was deputy to head coach Skënder Jareci. He also worked for the Albanian Football Association, FSHF and the Albanian Olympic committee. He died on 3 October 2010, aged 86.Retrospektivë: Skënder Begeja, "ekspresi" i futbollit shqiptar
- Ikub

Honours

Dinamo Tirana

*Kategoria Superiore (6): 1950 Albanian Superliga, 1950, 1951 Albanian Superliga, 1951, Kategoria Superiore 1952, 1952, Kategoria Superiore 1953, 1953, Kategoria Superiore 1955, 1955, Kategoria Superiore 1956, 1956.Albania - Championship Winning Teams
- RSSSF *Kupa e Shqipërisë (3): Kupa e Shqipërisë 1952, 1952, Kupa e Shqipërisë 1953, 1953, Kupa e Shqipërisë 1954, 1954.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Begeja, Skender 1924 births 2010 deaths Footballers from Tirana Albanian footballers Association football forwards Albania international footballers Shprefeja players Akademik Sofia players FK Dinamo Tirana players First Professional Football League (Bulgaria) players Albanian expatriate footballers Expatriate footballers in Bulgaria Albanian expatriate sportspeople in Bulgaria Qemal Stafa High School alumni Albanian male sprinters