Igli Allmuça (born 25 October 1980) is an Albanian professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

coach and former player. Allmuça played as a

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

and spent the majority of his career with

Partizani Tirana Futboll Klub Partizani 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 home ground is the newly built sta ...

and

Dinamo Tirana Football Club Dinamo City, commonly referred to as Dinamo City and colloquially known as Dinamo, is an Albanian professional football club based out of Tirana. They compete in the Kategoria Superiore, the top tier of Albanian football. Founded i ...

, being successful in both clubs. He also had e brief spell with

Tirana Tirana ( , ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in Albania, 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 ov ...

, becoming one of the few players to represent all capital teams and to win at least a trophy with them. Allmuça is one of the most decorated players in the history of Albanian football, winning with Partizani Tirana, Tirana, Dinamo Tirana and Skënderbeu Korçë. Allmuça is the 10th Albanian player with most appearances in European competitions with 32 matches between

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by List of top-division football clubs in UEFA countries, top-divisio ...

UEFA Europa League The UEFA Europa League (UEL), usually known simply as the Europa League, is an annual association football, football club competition organised since 1971 by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European footb ...

and

UEFA Intertoto Cup The UEFA Intertoto Cup (from , "between" and , " betting pool"),Most precisely, from ( football pool); cf. originally called the International Football Cup, was a summer football competition between European clubs. The competition was dis ...

Club career

Tirana

On 29 June 2006, Allmuça joined

on a one-year transfer, taking the vacant number 17. Following his presentation, Allmuça flew out to

Macedonia Macedonia (, , , ), most commonly refers to: * North Macedonia, a country in southeastern Europe, known until 2019 as the Republic of Macedonia * Macedonia (ancient kingdom), a kingdom in Greek antiquity * Macedonia (Greece), a former administr ...

to link up with the rest of the squad on their summer training camp. He was an important instrument in team's European campaign, playing 4 out of 4 matches, as Tirana were eliminated in the second round by

Kayserispor Kayseri Spor Kulübü, commonly known as Kayserispor, and also called Bellona Kayserispor due to sponsorship reasons, is a Turkish professional football club based in Kayseri. They play their home matches at the RHG Enertürk Enerji Stadium ...

. He made his competitive debut on 13 July in

2006–07 UEFA Cup The 2006–07 UEFA Cup was the 36th edition of the UEFA Europa League, UEFA Cup, Europe's second-tier club association football, football tournament. On 16 May 2007, at Hampden Park, Glasgow, Scotland, Sevilla FC, Sevilla won their second consecu ...

first round's first leg against

Varaždin Varaždin ( or ; , also known by #Name, alternative names) is a city in Northern Croatia, north-east of Zagreb. The total population is 46,946, with 38,839 in the city settlement itself (2011). The city is best known for its baroque buildings, ...

, where he played 79th minutes in an eventual 1–1 away draw. He had an important role in the returning leg as Tirana recorded a 2–0 win at

Selman Stërmasi Stadium The Selman Stërmasi Stadium () is a multi-purpose stadium in Tirana, Albania. It is currently used mostly for football matches and is the home ground of KF Tirana. The stadium holds 9,500 people (all seated). It is named after Selman Stërma ...

, progressing in the next round with the aggregate 3–1.

Dinamo Tirana

In August 2007, Allmuça signed with

for the upcoming 2007–08 season. On 27 June 2008, following the end of the season where Dinamo was crowned as Albanian champions, Allmuça agreed a contract extension for another season.

Skënderbeu Korçë

On 10 June 2011, Allmuça agreed personal terms with Albanian champions

Skënderbeu Korçë Gjergj Kastrioti (17 January 1468), commonly known as Skanderbeg, was an Albanian feudal lord and military commander who led a rebellion against the Ottoman Empire in what is today Albania, North Macedonia, Greece, Kosovo, Montenegro, and Serb ...

and signed a one-year contract with them, and was assigned number 14 for the 2011–12 season. He made his competitive debut with the club on 13 July 2011 in team's first ever European match against APOEL, playing 67 minutes in e eventual 2–0 home defeat. In the returning leg of Champions League's second round seven days later, Allmuça played full-90 minutes, being unable to avoid the 4–0 away lose, with Skënderbeu Korçë who were eliminated with the aggregate 6–0.

Kukësi

On 2 August 2012, Allmuça joined Kukësi on a free transfer, signing a one-year deal with a wage of 45.000

Albanian Lek The lek (; indefinite singular ''lek'', definite plural ''lekët'', indefinite plural ''lekë''; Currency symbol, sign: L; ISO 4217, code: ALL) is the currency of Albania. Historically, it was subdivided into 100 ''qintars'' (; singular ''qinda ...

. He was allocated squad number 14, and made his Kukësi debut in team's first ever

Albanian Superliga Kategoria Superiore (), also known as Abissnet Superiore for sponsorship reasons with internet service provider, Abissnet, is a professional league for men's association football clubs in Albania. At the top of the Albanian football league syste ...

match, a goalless draw against Luftëtari Gjirokastër in which Allmuça played full-90 minutes. Allmuça concluded his first season with Kukësi by playing 34 matches between league and cup, scoring 14 times in the process. Following the end of the season, he was named "Albanian Superliga Fair Play Award". Allmuça was released from Kukësi on 5 January 2015 after making only four league appearances in the first part of the season. He said that he didn't expect his departure from Kukësi, adding that he club's directors didn't gave him a reason for his releasing.

Return to Dinamo Tirana

On 8 January 2015, Allmuça, aged 34, returned to

who were in

Albanian First Division Albanian may refer to: *Pertaining to Albania in Southeast Europe; in particular: **Albanians, an ethnic group native to the Balkans **Albanian language **Albanian culture **Demographics of Albania, includes other ethnic groups within the country ...

to play for the second part of 2014–15 season. He was immediately named the new captain of the team, and made his return debut on 7 February by playing 62 minutes in a 1–0 away loss to Lushnja. He scored his first goal of the season in his second appearance for Dinamo Tirana, the lone goal of the match against

Tomori Berat Futboll Klub Tomori Berat is an Albanian football club based in the city of Berat. The club's home ground is the Tomori Stadium and they currently participate in the Kategoria e Dytë. History The sport of football was introduced to the city of ...

from a penalty kick. Allmuça was able to cement a place at the starting lineup by playing 14 matches, all of them as a starter scoring four times in the process, scoring one goal in each month, as Dinamo Tirana failed to promote in

. In the last match of 2014–15 season against

on 16 May 2015, Allmuça converted a penalty kick to help Dinamo to finish the season with a win. Following the end of 2014–15 season, Allmuça decided to retire from football at the age of 34, thus terminating his 16-year career, starting his coaching career in the process.

International career

Youth teams

In 2002, Allmuça, aged 21, was called up for the first time to play for Albania U21 in their qualifying campaign for 2004 UEFA Euro U21 by then coach Hasan Lika. He made his competitive debut on 11 October 2002 in team's first qualifying match against

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

, playing full-90 minutes in defence with the number 2 in an eventual goalless draw at

. Five days later, he made his appearance with Albania who fell down 1–0 against

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

. He would play another five matches in teams not successfully qualifying campaign; during the qualifiers, Allmuça was moved in midfield by the coach Lika and he swapped the number from 2 to 14. Albania eventually concluded the Group 10 in third place with 10 points from three wins, one draw and four losses.

Senior team

Allmuça received a call-up from the Albania senior team coach

Josip Kuže Josip Kuže (13 November 1952 – 16 June 2013) was a Croatian football manager and footballer. He was a player and later a manager of Dinamo Zagreb where he played for 10 years, making a total of 384 appearances and scoring 14 goals. Playing ...

for the friendly match against

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

on 20 June 2011. In this match, Allmuça played as a starter before being substituted in 58th-minute for fellow midfielder

Gilman Lika Gilman Lika (born 31 January 1987) is an Albanian former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. Having started his career with Vllaznia Shkodër in 2004, he moved to Turkey in 2008 where he played for Hacettepe, Boluspor and Diyar ...

, with the match finished in a 4–0 away lose. That was his first and last international appearance for Albania senior team.

Managerial career

Dinamo Tirana

On 30 June 2015, Allmuça was named the new coach of

for the upcoming 2015–16 season, taking the duty over Faruk Sejdini. He started his work for the new season on 13 July. In Allmuça's first match as a manager in Albanian First Division, Dinamo lost to Luftëtari Gjirokastër 2–0 at the Internacional Complex. Following another league defeat at the hands of Pogradeci, Allmuça won his first match in charge against

Shkumbini Peqin Klubi i Futbollit Shkumbini Peqin is an Albanian football club based in the town of Peqin. The club's home ground is the Shkumbini Stadium and they compete in the Kategoria e Dytë. History Football was first introduced to the city of Peqin in t ...

on 26 September 2015, thanks to goal of Jozef Thana and the own goal of Emilan Lundraxhiu.

Career statistics

Club

International

Managerial

Honours

Club

;Partizani Tirana *

Albanian Cup The Albanian Cup () is the main "knockout" competition in Albanian football. The competition started in 1939 as Kupa e Mbretit ( English:"The King's Cup"). The cup was suspended for the next eight years as the Second World War started. It start ...

(1): 2003–04 *

Albanian Supercup The Albanian Supercup is a single match usually at the beginning of the season between the winners of the Kategoria Superiore and Albanian Cup. Prior to 2000, Supercup final was not played when the champion team won the Double. However, after the ...

(1):

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

;Tirana *

(1): 2006–07 *

(1):

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

;Dinamo Tirana *

(1): 2009–10 *

(1):

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

, Runner-up

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

;Skënderbeu Korçë *

(1): 2011–12 *

: Runner-up

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

;Kukësi *

: Runner-up

2012–13 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

, 2013–14 *

: Runner-up 2013–14

Individual

Fair Play Award (1):

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Allmuca, Igli 1980 births Living people Footballers from Tirana Albanian men's footballers Men's association football midfielders Albania men's international footballers Albania men's under-21 international footballers FK Partizani Tirana players KF Tirana players FC Dinamo City players KF Skënderbeu Korçë players FK Kukësi players Kategoria e Parë players Kategoria Superiore players Albanian football managers FC Dinamo City managers Kategoria e Parë managers 21st-century Albanian sportsmen