Albi Alla

Albi Alla

Personal information
Date of birth	(1993-02-01) 1 February 1993 (age 31)
Place of birth	Pogradec, Albania
Height	1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)
Position(s)	Centre-back
Team information
Current team	Teuta
Number	93
Youth career
2009–2013	Ergotelis
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2013–2015	Ergotelis	8	(0)
2013–2014	→ Fokikos (loan)	23	(0)
2014–2015	→ Panachaiki (loan)	28	(0)
2016	Skënderbeu	0	(0)
2016	→ Bylis (loan)	16	(0)
2016–2018	Kukësi	51	(0)
2018–2019	Flamurtari	12	(1)
2019	Yanbian Funde	0	(0)
2019–2022	Shaanxi Chang'an Athletic	34	(3)
2021	→ Zibo Cuju (loan)	6	(1)
2021	→ Nanjing City (loan)	15	(0)
2022–2023	Laçi	15	(0)
2023–	Teuta	4	(0)
International career‡
2017–	Albania	1	(0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 25 March 2024 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 28 March 2017

Albi Alla (born 1 February 1993) is an Albanian professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Albanian Superliga side Teuta and the Albania national team. ^[1]

Club career

Ergotelis and loans

Alla began his football career in the youth teams of his local side Ergotelis and signed his first professional contract with the club, on 28 January 2013. ^[2] Six months later, on 24 August 2013 and after having made no appearances for his club, Alla was loaned out to Fokikos and made his professional debut playing the full 120 minutes in a Cup match against Acharnaikos on 15 September 2013. ^[3] Alla recorded a total of 26 appearances for the club in the 2013−14 season.

On 7 August 2014, Alla signed a contract with Football League side Panachaiki, ^[4] again on loan from Ergotelis, with a buyout option. ^[5] Although Alla earned a place in the club's starting XI lineup, events took a surprising turn after a league match against Olympiakos Volou on 7 June 2015, when Panachaiki owner at the time Alexis Kougias decided to release Alla from his contract, and thus return the player to Ergotelis. ^[6] Alla played a total of 33 matches for Panachaiki, scoring one goal against Paniliakos on 28 August 2014, in a match for the Greek Cup's first round. ^[7]

After two consecutive loans, Alla made his debut with Ergotelis in the 2015−2016 season in a league match against Lamia on 11 October 2015. ^[8] As Ergotelis faced financial issues which ultimately forced the club to withdraw from professional competitions in January 2016, Alla was one of only 17 players who remained in the club's roster until the end. ^[9]

Skënderbeu Korçë

Alla joined Albanian club Skënderbeu Korçë in January 2016 after being released by Ergotelis, signing until June 2018. ^[10] Immediately after joining the club, Alla was sent on loan at fellow top flight side Bylis Ballsh until the end of the season. ^[11] Alla made his first Albanian Superliga appearance on 31 January in the 3–0 loss to Kukësi. ^[12] He amassed 16 league matches during his loan spell with the club, collecting 1398 minutes as Bylis suffered relegation. ^[13]

Kukësi

Alla was released from his contract with Skënderbeu Korçë in the summer of 2016 and signed for Albanian Cup winners Kukësi. ^[14] He made his official debut for the club on 24 August 2016, playing in the 2016 Albanian Supercup against his former club Skënderbeu Korçë, as Kukësi won the game 3–1 for the trophy in Alla's career. ^[15]

On 28 June 2017, Alla completed a transfer to Greek club Athlitiki Enosi Larissa by signing a three year contract. ^[16] However the transfer was canceled as the player was still on contract with Kukësi and consequently was returned to the club. ^[17]

Alla returned to the club in mid-August 2017 and eventually signed a one-year contract with an option of a further one. ^[18]

Flamurtari Vlorë

On 20 August 2018, Alla agreed personal terms and joined Flamurtari Vlorë on a contract until the end of the 2018–19 season. ^[19] He made his debut six days later against his former team Kukësi, netting the match's only goal with a header, recording his first ever Albanian Superliga goal. ^[20] He was also named Man of the Match. ^[21] It was also's Flamurtari second ever win against Kukësi, and the first since October 2013. ^[22]

China

In February 2019, Alla transferred to China League One side Yanbian. ^[23] The team was disqualified from the league shortly after, and Alla moved to another Chinese club Shaanxi Chang'an Athletic.

International career

Alla burst on to international scene in 2017 when he received his first international call-up by manager Gianni De Biasi for the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification match against Italy on 24 March and the friendly against Bosnia and Herzegovina three days later as a replacement for defenders Mërgim Mavraj and Berat Djimsiti. ^[24]

Alla earned his first international cap in the second match against Bosnia and Herzegovina, playing in the first half as the match was lost 2–1 at Elbasan Arena. ^[25]

Personal life

Alla was born in Pogradec, Albania and moved to Greece along with his family when he was three years old. ^[16]

Career statistics

Club

As of 31 December 2021. ^{[26] [1] [27]}

Club statistics

Club	Season	League			Cup		Continental [lower-alpha 1]		Other [lower-alpha 2]		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Ergotelis	2012–13	Football League (Greece)	0	0	—		—		—		0	0
	2015–16		8	0	4	0	—		—		12	0
Total		8	0	4	0	—		—		12	0
Fokikos (loan)	2013–14	Football League (Greece)	23	0	3	0	—		—		26	0
Panachaiki (loan)	2014–15		28	0	5	1	—		—		33	1
Skënderbeu Korçë	2015–16	Albanian Superliga	—		—		—		—		0	0
Bylis Ballsh (loan)	2015–16		16	0	—		—		—		16	0
Kukësi	2016–17		30	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	31	0
	2017–18		21	0	4	0	—		—		25	0
	Total		51	0	4	0	0	0	1	0	56	0
Flamurtari	2018–19	Albanian Superliga	12	1	1	0	4	0	—		17	1
Shaanxi Chang'an Athletic	2019	China League One	21	2	1	0	—		—		22	2
	2020		13	1	—		—		—		13	1
	Total		34	3	1	0	0	0	0	0	35	3
Zibo Cuju (loan)	2021	China League One	6	1	0	0	—		—		6	1
Nanjing City (loan)			15	0	1	0	—		—		16	0
KF Laçi	2022–23	Albanian Superliga	0	0	0	0	—		—		0	0
Career total			193	5	19	1	4	0	1	0	217	6

1. Including continental competitions, such as UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League
2. Including other competitions, such as Albanian Supercup

International

As of 28 March 2017 ^{[26] [28]}

Appearances and goals by national team and year

National team	Year	Apps	Goals
Albania	2017	1	0
Total		1	0

Honours

Kukësi ^[1]

• Albanian Supercup: 2016
• Albanian Superliga: 2016–17

References

1. Albi Alla at Soccerway. Retrieved 17 November 2017.
2. "ΕΠΑΓΓΕΛΜΑΤΙΕΣ ΟΙ ΜΠΟΥΡΣΕΛΗΣ, ΑΛΑ ΚΑΙ ΛΕΟΝΑΡΝΤΟ (Greek)". Ergotelis F.C. 28 January 2013.
3. "Fokikos vs. Acharnaikos 2 – 1". Soccerway. 15 September 2013. Retrieved 26 August 2018.
4. "Υπέγραψε ο Άλμπι (Greek)". flnews.gr. 7 August 2014. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016.
5. "Άλμπι Άλλα: "Έχω αγαπήσει την Παναχαϊκή και μου αρέσει η ιδέα να μείνω στην Πάτρα!" (Greek)". sportgame.gr. 7 March 2015. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 20 October 2015.
6. "Τέλος ο Άλμπι! (Greek)". sportgame.com. 7 June 2015. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 20 October 2015.
7. "Παναχαϊκή-Πανηλειακός 3-0 (Greek)". onsports.com. 28 August 2014.
8. "Εργοτέλης – Λαμία 1-1 (Greek)". Ergotelis F.C. 11 October 2015.
9. "Αποσύρθηκε από τη Football League ο Εργοτέλης (Greek)". sport24.gr. 19 January 2016.
10. "Albi Alla firmos me Skënderbeun" [Albi Alla signs with Skënderbeu] (in Albanian). minuta90.com. 24 January 2016. Retrieved 26 August 2018.
11. "James mbyll merkaton e Skënderbeut" [James ends Skënderbeu's transfer market] (in Albanian). CNA.al. 2 February 2016. Retrieved 26 August 2018.
12. "Superiorja, Kukësi dhe Flamurtari e nisin me fitore fazën e tretë" [Superliga, Kukësi and Flamurtari starts the third phase with wins] (in Albanian). Top-Channel.tv. 31 January 2016. Retrieved 26 August 2018.
13. "Skenderbeu kampion, Terbuni dhe Bylis bien nga kategoria" [Skënderbeu champion, Tërbuni and Bylis relegated] (in Albanian). Albania Soccer. 23 May 2016. Retrieved 26 August 2018.
14. "Albi Alla, afrimi i rradhës te Kukësi (Albanian)". supersport.al. 18 June 2016. Archived from the original on 17 August 2017. Retrieved 25 August 2016.
15. "Kukësi mposht Skënderbeun, fiton Superkupën e Shqipërisë (VIDEO)" [Kukësi defeats Skënderbeu, wins the Albanian Supercup (VIDEO)] (in Albanian). Panorama Sport. 24 August 2016. Retrieved 26 August 2018.
16. "Albi Alla firmos me klubin e ri, e prezantojnë si futbollist grek" [Albi Alla signs with the new club, they present him as a Greek footballer] (in Albanian). Panorama Sport. 28 June 2017. Retrieved 26 August 2018.
17. "Problemi me kontratat, reagon klubi i Kukësit: I bëmë të famshëm, nuk dinë të lexojnë…" [Issues with the contracts, club of Kukësi reacts: We made them famous, they don't know how to read…] (in Albanian). Panorama Sport. 6 August 2017. Retrieved 26 August 2018.
18. "Albi Alla firmos kontratë të re 1+1 me Kukësin: Presidenti Gjici u tregua dashamirës" [Albi Alla signs a new 1+1 contract with Kukësi. President Gjici was sympathetic] (in Albanian). Panorama Sport. 17 August 2017. Retrieved 26 August 2018.
19. "Flamurtari "blindon" mbrojtjen, firmosin Alla dhe Sirghi" [Flamurtari "armoures" the defence, Alla and Sirghi signs] (in Albanian). Ora News. 20 August 2018. Retrieved 26 August 2018.
20. Adi Metaliu (26 August 2018). "Albi Alla bën Kukësin "të qajë" largimin e tij, i jep fitoren Flamurtarit" [Albi Alla makes Kukësi “cry” for his departure, gives Flamurtari the win] (in Albanian). SuperSport Albania. Retrieved 26 August 2018.
21. "Alla: Shameti më kujtonte akoma shok skuadre te goli, kjo është ironia e futbollit" [Alla: Shameti thought of me as a teammate when I scored, this is the irony of football] (in Albanian). Panorama Sport. 26 August 2018. Retrieved 26 August 2018.
22. "Pesë vjet pritje, Flamurtari i Dajës thyen Kukësin" [Five years of waiting, Daja's Flamurtari brakes Kukësi] (in Albanian). Panorama Sport. 26 August 2018. Retrieved 26 August 2018.
23. 延边三外援+多名新援到位 新阵容拼图完成备战中甲 at sports.sina.com 2019-02-21. Retrieved 2019-02-22 (in Chinese)
24. "De Biazi shpall listën për Italinë dhe Bosnjen" [De Biasi announces the list for Italy and Bosnia] (in Albanian). FSHF.org. 20 March 2017. Retrieved 26 August 2018.
25. "Shqipëria pësoi tjetër humbje, mundet në miqësore nga Bosnja në "Elbasan Arena" (VIDEO)" [Albania sufferes another loss, loses in the friendly by Bosnia at “Elbasan Arena” (VIDEO)] (in Albanian). Gazeta Blic. 28 March 2017. Archived from the original on 27 August 2018. Retrieved 26 August 2018.
26. "Albi Alla". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved 24 November 2017.
27. Albi Alla – UEFA competition record ( archive )
28. Albi Alla - national football team player EU-Football.info

External links

• Albi Alla – UEFA competition record ( archive )
• Albi Alla at National-Football-Teams.com
• Albi Alla at Soccerway
• Albi Alla at the Albanian Football Association (in Albanian and English)