Armando Dobra

Armando Dobra

Personal information
Full name	Armando Dobra [1]
Date of birth	(2001-04-14) 14 April 2001 (age 23) [2]
Place of birth	Redbridge, England
Position(s)	Attacking midfielder / Winger
Team information
Current team	Chesterfield
Number	17
Youth career
2017–2019	Ipswich Town
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2019–2022	Ipswich Town	22	(0)
2021–2022	→ Colchester United (loan)	11	(1)
2022–	Chesterfield	89	(20)
International career‡
2019	Albania U19	7	(1)
2020–	Albania U21	11	(1)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 22:57, 12 December 2024 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 22:09, 7 June 2022 (UTC)

Armando Dobra (born 14 April 2001) is a professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for EFL League Two club Chesterfield. Born in England, he represents Albania's youth teams internationally.

Club career

Ipswich Town

Dobra joined the Ipswich Town academy in 2017, progressing through the youth system at Portman Road. He signed his first professional contract on 27 February 2019, signing an 18-month deal with the option of a further years extension. ^[3] He scored on his first-team debut for the club in a 3–1 loss to Luton Town in an EFL Cup first round tie, on 13 August 2019. ^[4]

His second appearance with the Ipswich Town first-team saw him assist both goals in a 2–1 win against Tottenham Hotspur U21s in the EFL Trophy group stage on 3 September 2019. ^[5] The following month he appeared in another group stage match, coming on as a substitute to assist the final goal in a 4–0 win against Gillingham. ^[6] Dobra made his first league appearance for Ipswich on 20 October 2019, coming on from the bench in a 2–0 loss against Accrington Stanley. ^[7] On 6 May 2020, Ipswich took up the option to extend Dobra's contract by a further year, keeping him at the club until 2021. ^[8] He signed a new three-year contract with Ipswich on 20 May 2020, keeping him at the club until 2023 with the option of a further year extension. ^[9]

On 4 July 2022, Dobra left Ipswich by mutual consent. ^[10]

Colchester United (loan)

Dobra moved to Colchester United on 31 August 2021 on a season-long loan. ^[11] He made his club debut on 7 September in Colchester's 1–0 defeat to Gillingham in the EFL Trophy. ^[12] He scored his first goal for the club in Colchester's 1–0 win against West Ham United Under-21s in the EFL Trophy on 28 September. ^[13]

Chesterfield

On 5 July 2022, Dobra joined National League club Chesterfield on a two-year contract. ^[14] He scored on his debut for the club in a 2–2 draw against Dorking. ^[15]

Despite missing several games due to injury, Dobra finished his first season at Chesterfield as their top scorer with 12 goals.

International career

Born in England, Dobra qualifies to play for Albania through his father. ^[16] He made his debut for the Albania U19 team in a friendly on 24 March 2019, featuring in a 1–1 draw with Macedonia U19 in Korça. He won his second cap in another friendly with Macedonia on 26 March 2019, coming on as a half-time substitute in a 2–1 defeat in Ohrid. ^[17]

In August 2019, Dobra was called up to the Albania U19s for two friendlies against Bosnia and Herzegovina. He featured in both friendly matches, with the first game ending in a 0–0 draw and the second result a 2–0 loss, winning his fourth and fifth caps respectively for the U19s. ^[18]

On 13 November 2019, Dobra scored his first international goal in a 5–1 loss against Greece U19s in the 2020 UEFA European Under-19 Championship qualification stage. ^[19]

On 11 March 2020, Dobra received his first call up to the Albania U21 national team for a UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualifier against Kosovo U21, ^[20] although the matches were postponed due to the outbreak of the Coronavirus. He was called up to the U21 side again in August 2020 for 2021 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualifiers in September 2020. ^[21] He made his debut for the Albania U21's on 4 September in a 5–1 win against Austria U21. ^[22]

Career statistics

As of match played 10 December 2024

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	Division	League		FA Cup		EFL Cup		Other		Total
			Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Ipswich Town	2019–20 [23]	League One	3	0	1	0	1	1	3 [a]	0	8	1
	2020–21 [24]	League One	17	0	0	0	1	0	1 [a]	1	19	1
	2021–22 [25]	League One	2	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	3	0
	Total		22	0	1	0	3	1	4	1	30	2
Colchester United (loan)	2021–22 [25]	League Two	11	1	2	0	—		4 [a]	1	17	2
Chesterfield	2022–23 [26]	National League	27	6	5	5	—		2 [b]	1	34	12
	2023–24 [26]	National League	43	10	3	0	—		—		43	10
	2024–25 [26]	League Two	19	4	2	1	1	1	3	1	25	7
	Total		89	20	10	6	1	1	5	2	105	29
Career total			122	21	13	6	4	2	13	4	152	33

1. Appearance(s) in EFL Trophy
2. Appearances in National League play-offs

Honours

Chesterfield

• National League: 2023–24 ^[27]

References

1. "Notification of shirt numbers: Ipswich Town" (PDF). English Football League. p. 34. Retrieved 15 October 2019.
2. Armando Dobra at the English National Football Archive (subscription required)
3. "Dobra Signs First Pro Deal". TWTD. 27 February 2019. Retrieved 13 August 2019.
4. "Luton Town 3–1 Ipswich Town". BBC Sport. 13 August 2019. Retrieved 13 August 2019.
5. "Ipswich Town 2–1 Tottenham Hotspur U21s". 3 September 2019.
6. "TOWN 4 GILLINGHAM 0". itfc.co.uk. Retrieved 13 October 2019.
7. "Accrington Stanley 2–0 Ipswich Town". BBC Sport. 20 October 2019. Retrieved 22 October 2019.
8. "Jordan Loan Spell Over". Ipswich Town F.C. 6 May 2020. Retrieved 6 May 2020.
9. "New Deal for Dobra". Ipswich Town F.C. 20 May 2020. Retrieved 20 May 2020.
10. "DOBRA DEPARTS TOWN". www.itfc.co.uk. 4 July 2022. Retrieved 4 July 2022.
11. "Loan move for Dobra". Ipswich Town F.C. 31 August 2021. Retrieved 31 August 2021.
12. "Colchester vs Gillingham". Sky Sports. 7 September 2021. Retrieved 7 September 2021.
13. "Colchester vs West Ham United U21". Sky Sports. 28 September 2021. Retrieved 28 September 2021.
14. "Dobra deal done". chesterfield-fc.co.uk. 5 July 2022. Retrieved 5 July 2022.
15. "REPORT: Spireites hold on for draw against Dorking despite having midfielder Ollie Banks in net for an hour". www.derbyshiretimes.co.uk. 6 August 2022. Retrieved 10 August 2022.
16. "The making of Armando Dobra: A young man with skill, drive, support and his feet firmly on the ground". East Anglian Daily Times. 11 October 2019. Retrieved 11 October 2019.
17. "Downes Wins Cap as England U20s Defeated". TWTD. 26 March 2019. Retrieved 14 August 2019.
18. "Georgiou, Dozzell and Dobra Win Caps". TWTD. 9 September 2019. Retrieved 9 September 2019.
19. "Greece U19 vs. Albania U19". Soccerway. 13 November 2019. Retrieved 13 November 2019.
20. "Dobra in Albania U21 Squad". Ipswich Town F.C. 11 March 2020. Retrieved 13 March 2020.
21. "Dobra in Albania U21 Squad". Ipswich Town F.C. 31 August 2020. Retrieved 3 September 2020.
22. "Duo Win U21s Caps". Ipswich Town F.C. 4 September 2020. Retrieved 4 September 2020.
23. "Games played by Armando Dobra in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 20 October 2019.
24. "Games played by Armando Dobra in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 20 October 2019.
25. "Games played by Armando Dobra in 2021/2022". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 18 August 2021.
26. "A. Dobra: Summary". Soccerway. Perform Group. Retrieved 7 January 2023.
27. "National League: 2023/24: Current table". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 28 April 2024.
    "Chesterfield: Squad details: 2023/24". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 28 April 2024.

External links

• Armando Dobra profile at the Ipswich Town F.C. website
• Armando Dobra at Soccerbase