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.

Sulejman Demollari
Personal information
Full name Sulejman Demollari
Date of birth (1964-05-15) 15 May 1964
Place of birth Tirana, Albania
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

Dinamo Bucarest

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
  1. Hoxha, Florent (16 July 2009). "Albania – Record International Players". RSSSF. Retrieved 20 July 2009.
  2. Q. Stafa High School website. "Historiku". Archived from the original on 12 January 2014.
  3. "Albania - Championship Winning Teams". RSSSF.com. Retrieved 27 October 2018.
  4. "Suleiman Demollari - national football team player". EU-Football.info. Retrieved 27 October 2018.
  5. dinamo. "Sulejman Demollari – Nderi i sportit shqiptar". www.dinamo.al. Archived from the original on 10 October 2009. Retrieved 19 December 2009.
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