Sulejman Demollari
Sulejman Demollari (born 15 May 1964 in Tirana) also known as Sul Demollari is a retired football player and later coach for the Albania national football team.
Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | Sulejman Demollari | ||
Date of birth | 15 May 1964 | ||
Place of birth | Tirana, Albania | ||
Playing position(s) | Midfielder | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
1980–1991 | Dinamo Tirana | 124+ | (40+) |
1991–1995 | Dinamo Bucharest | 100 | (36) |
1994–1996 | Panionios | 24 | (1) |
1996–1997 | Győr FC | 5 | (1) |
National team | |||
198?–1984 | Albania U-21 | ||
1983–1995 | Albania | 45 | (1) |
Teams managed | |||
2001–2002 | Albania | ||
2004–2005 | Lushnja | ||
2005–2006 | Shkumbini | ||
2006 | Lushnja | ||
2006 | Dinamo Tirana | ||
2009–2011 | Albania U-15 | ||
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only |
He made 45 appearances for Albania between 1983 and 1995, the highest in the team's history who predominantly played during the communist era when Albania only played a limited amount of international matches.[1] As of February 2011, Demollari was appointed as scout at his former team Dinamo Bucureşti.
Playing career
Early life
Demollari was born in Albania's capital Tirana, where he was raised as a child and where he completed his primary education. He studied at the Qemal Stafa High School, in Tirana, Albania.[2] From a young age he was part of 'KF Vojo Kushi', which was a sports institution. Despite still being in school, Demollari had impressed many football specialists and was quickly picked to play for Dinamo Tirana's youth team where he managed to become one of the best players on the team. At the age of just 15 he was called up to play for Dinamo senior team, alongside fellow midfield legends such as Ilir Përnaska, Shyqyri Ballgjini and Muhedin Targaj.
Club
He played his entire career in Albania for Dinamo Tirana, alongside fellow internationals Genc Ibro, Eduard Abazi and Agim Canaj, winning two league titles.[3] Following the fall of communism, Demollari was among the first players to pursue a career abroad, signing for Romanian side Dinamo Bucharest in 1991. He later had spells in Greece with Panionios and in Hungary with Győr FC.
International
He made his debut for Albania in an April 1983 European Championship qualification match away at Northern Ireland and earned a total of 45 caps, scoring 1 goal. He played in the famous December 1984 home win over Belgium and his final international was an October 1995 European Championship qualification match against Bulgaria.[4]
Honours
Dinamo Tirana
- Kategoria Superiore (2): 1985–86, 1989–90
- Kupa e Shqipërisë (2): 1985–86, 1989–90
- Superkupa së Shqipërisë (1) : 1990
Dinamo Bucarest
- Divizia A (1) : 1991–92
Individual
- Dinamo Tirana's top goal scorer (1) – 1989–90
- Dinamo Bucureşti's top goal scorer (1) – 1991–92
- Captain of Albania Senior, U-21 and youth national teams
- Sporti Popullor player of the season (6) – 1983, 1985, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994
- 'Best foreign player to have played in Romania'
- Mjeshtër i Merituar i Sportit (Deserved Master of Sport)
- Nderi i Sportit Shqiptar (Honour of Albanian Sport)[5]
References
- Hoxha, Florent (16 July 2009). "Albania – Record International Players". RSSSF. Retrieved 20 July 2009.
- Q. Stafa High School website. "Historiku". Archived from the original on 12 January 2014.
- "Albania - Championship Winning Teams". RSSSF.com. Retrieved 27 October 2018.
- "Suleiman Demollari - national football team player". EU-Football.info. Retrieved 27 October 2018.
- dinamo. "Sulejman Demollari – Nderi i sportit shqiptar". www.dinamo.al. Archived from the original on 10 October 2009. Retrieved 19 December 2009.
External links
- Sulejman Demollari at National-Football-Teams.com