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 in 1950, the club was historically affiliated to the Interior Ministry and having won 18 National Championships, it is considered to be the second most decorated club after local rivals KF Tirana.
The club was officially founded on 3 March 1950 by the Interior Ministry of Albania during the communist regime under dictator Enver Hoxha. They won four consecutive championships from 1950 to 1953.[1] During this time, Dinamo recorded a hot streak of 25 consecutive wins, a record in Albanian football and 4th longest domestic winning streak in Europe.[1]
In 1967, Dinamo won its 9th championship by leaving Tirana, then 17 Nëntori, one point behind, who was expelled for the tournament three weeks before the end.[2] This championship is not officially recognised by UEFA, however.
In 1989, Dinamo eventually finished third in the league which was won by 17 Nëntori, which made eligible to play in European Cup Winners' Cup for the third time in their history.[3] In the preliminary round of the tournament the team faced Chernomorets Burgas, losing the first leg 1–3 (Demollari scoring the lone goal for Dinamo City) but winning the second 4–0 at home, thus recording its biggest win in a UEFA club competition.[4] The team then was eliminated in the first round by Dinamo București despite winning the first leg in Tirana 1–0. Dinamo București won the second leg 2–0.
In 1995, the team were renamed KS Olimpik Tirana to leave behind the "communist past", but the club returned to their original name two years later.[5]
Original Logo
After finishing third in the table in 2005–06 season, Dinamo City named Faruk Sejdini as their new coach. One of Albania's best teachers of footballing fundamentals, he had a spell at the club last term before being dismissed by president Besnik Sulaj. Having returned following a spell at Shkumbini, Sejdini said: "It's nice to be back." On 23 October 2006, he was fired.
At the start of the 2007–08 season, Agim Canaj took over as head coach, replacing Ilir Daja who led Dinamo towards the championship title, after a dramatic win against Partizani 2–1 in the final match, playing for 36 minutes with 9 players. In the summer of 2008, Ilir Daja moved into a position as director in order to make place for Marcelo Javier Zuleta from Argentina. The Argentinian coach also brought with him four Argentinian players; goalkeeper Daniel Bertoya, defender Alejandro Palladino, midfielder Agustín González, and striker Cristian Campozano. Zuleta only lasted for the first Champions League qualification match against Bosnians FK Modriča before he was replaced as coach by Artan Mërgjyshi, for only one match.
Together with Zuleta, the four Argentinian players also left the club. After Mërgjyshi left, Zlatko Dalić, the actual coach of Croatia, was appointed as new coach for Dinamo. He signed a two-year contract with the club. That deal was broken when Dinamo lost its second game in the re-beginning of the 2008–09 season against Partizani. Shkëlqim Muça was then appointed manager of the club five days after of Zlatko Dalić's leave. In the 2009–10 season, Dinamo won the championship again, registering its 18th success.[6]
In 2011–12 season, the club experienced its worst period of all time, finishing last in the league with 13 points from 26 matches, winning only 3 times. They were relegated to the Kategoria e Parë for the first time in their history.[7] Since the 2012–13 season, the club have played in the Kategoria e Parë and have risked relegation to the third tier several times.[8] After spending 9 seasons in the second division, Dinamo clinched the promotion to the Superiore, confirming first place in Group A following a 2–0 win against FK Vora.
On 25 August 2023, it was officially announced by president Bardhi that the club would rebrand to Dinamo City, ahead of the 2023–24 Kategoria Superiore season.
The "Blue Boys" are an Ultras group for the Albanian football team, Dinamo City. The group were formed in 2008 and have gained 5,000 followers as of 2021. They organise meetings and trips to matches in Tirana and also away matches in Albania and even abroad. They promote Dinamo City to the local public and influence fans of the club in a number of ways.[9]
Internationally, they lost a final in the Balkan Cup in 1969 against Beroe Stara Zagora. They won the first leg in Tirana 1–0 with a goal by Bahri Ishka, but in the return match they lost 3–0 by forfeit because during the regime of Enver Hoxha, travel wasn't allowed to Bulgaria.
FC Dinamo City in Europe
Dinamo City have given good performances in Europe among Albanian squads, winning 3 ties in Europe.
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↑ Skifter Këlliçi (21 June 2012). "NJE KAMPIONE E DENUAR NGA DIKTATURA!."[A CHAMPION PUNISHED BY DICTATURE!..] (in Albanian). Tirana Observer. Archived from the original on 15 June 2017. Retrieved 23 June 2017.
↑ "Dinamo...lavdia e sportit drejt zhdukjes!"[Dinamo...the glory of the sport towards extinction!] (in Albanian). Albanian Free Press. 28 May 2017. Archived from the original on 2 July 2017. Retrieved 23 June 2017.
↑ Drilon Xhepollari (7 May 2017). "Dinamo zyrtarisht qëndron në Kategorinë e Parë"[Dinamo officially stays in Albanian First Division] (in Albanian). Telesport.al. Archived from the original on 25 September 2017. Retrieved 23 June 2017.
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