Isli Hidi

Isli Hidi

Hidi with Kryvbas Kryvyi Rih in 2009
Personal information
Date of birth	(1980-10-15) 15 October 1980 (age 43)
Place of birth	Tirana, Albania
Height	1.90 m (6 ft 3 in)
Position(s)	Goalkeeper
Youth career
0000–1998	Tirana
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1998–2007	Tirana	117	(0)
2001–2002	→ Bylis (loan)	24	(0)
2007–2008	Kryvbas Kryvyi Rih	18	(0)
2008–2009	Alki	12	(0)
2009–2010	Kryvbas Kryvyi Rih	21	(0)
2010	Dinamo Tirana	8	(0)
2011	Olympiakos Nicosia	10	(0)
2011–2013	AEL Limassol	6	(0)
2013–2016	Apollon Limassol	0	(0)
2016	Nea Salamina	0	(0)
2016–2018	Olympiakos Nicosia	30	(0)
2018–2019	Teuta	33	(0)
2019–2020	Bylis	33	(7)
2020–2021	Kastrioti	36	(0)
2021–2022	Erzeni	29	(3)
2022–2023	Vora	7	(0)
Total		377	(10)
International career
2005–2011	Albania	17	(0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Isli Hidi (born 15 October 1980) is a former Albanian professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper.

He started his career with KF Tirana, where he won six Kategoria Superiore winners medals, three Kupa e Shqipërisë winners medals and six Superkupa e Shqipërisë winners medals. In Albania he has also played for KF Bylis, Dinamo Tirana, KF Teuta and KS Kastrioti. He also played in Ukraine for Kryvbas Kryvyi Rih and in Cyprus for Alki Larnaca, Olympiakos Nicosia, AEL Limassol, Apollon Limassol and Nea Salamina. During his time in Cyprus he won one Cypriot First Division winners medal with AEL Limassol and one Cypriot Cup with Apollon Limassol. ^[1]

Club career

He started off his career at his hometown club, Tirana in 1998. After very few appearances, he was loaned out to Bylis. After making a huge impact, he returned to Tirana to compete for the number 1 shirt. He signed for the Ukrainian club Kryvbas Kryvyi Rih in August 2007. In 2008, Hidi moved to Alki Larnaca for the remainder of the 2008–09 season. Hidi rejoined Kryvbas Kryvyi Rih on a three-year contract for around one million dollars per season on 3 March 2009.

On 6 July 2010, he signed for Dinamo Tirana for the 2010–11 season. ^[2] On 7 January 2011, Hidi joined Cyprus's Olympiakos Nicosia by inking a contract until the end of the season. ^[3]

In July 2018, Hidi joined Teuta on a one-year contract, returning to Kategoria Superiore after eight years. ^[4] In November, he was named league's player of the month after some strong performances. ^[5] He concluded the 2018–19 season by making 33 league appearances, missing only one match, the one against Tirana in April 2019. ^[6]

In August 2019, Hidi completed a transfer to Bylis, returning in Ballsh for the first time since 2002 when he was on loan. ^[7] He took squad number 1 for the 2019–20 season. Hidi made his debut on 24 August in the 1–0 away defeat to his former side Teuta. ^[8] On 1 September, in his third appearance of the season, Hidi scored his first career goal, a penalty in the 3–0 win at Skënderbeu, guiding the team to their first seasonal win. ^[9] On 15 September, in the first match following the international break, Hidi scored another penalty, this time at home against Kukësi, aiding Byis to achieve a 2–1 comeback win which lifted them in 4th place in championship. ^[10] His first goal in Albanian Cup came on 12 February 2020 in the second leg of competition's second round against Laçi, helping Bylis advance to quarter-finals 4–3 on aggregate. ^[11]

On 14 May 2023, Hidi announced his retirement from football a few days after winning the Kategoria e Dytë title with Vora. ^[12] He played seven matches as captain in his last season. ^[13]

International career

Hidi received his first senior international call-up in May 2005 for the friendly match versus Poland by German coach Hans-Peter Briegel who was impressed by Hidi's performances in Kategoria Superiore with his club at the time Tirana. He earned his first cap in that match, but things could not have started any worse for him as Poland scored in under 2 minutes with Maciej Żurawski. ^[14] Hidi's second appearance for Albania came later that year, on 17 August against Azerbaijan at Qemal Stafa Stadium; he started again and conceded another early goal, but this time the team bounced back and won 2–1 in front of around 7,300 Albanian fans. ^[15]

Personal life

In 2017, Hidi begun the application for Cypriot passport. ^[16]

Career statistics

Club

As of 12 February 2020 ^{[17] [18] [19]}

Club statistics

Club	Season	League			Cup		Europe		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Tirana	1998–99	Kategoria Superiore	4	0	0	0	0	0	—		4	0
	1999–2000		1	0	0	0	0	0	—		1	0
	2000–01		2	0	0	0	1 [lower-alpha 1]	0	—		3	0
	2001–02		0	0	0	0	0	0	1 [lower-alpha 2]	0	1	0
	2002–03		21	0	0	0	0	0	1 [lower-alpha 2]	0	22	0
	2003–04		20	0	0	0	0	0	1 [lower-alpha 2]	0	21	0
	2004–05		28	0	0	0	4 [lower-alpha 1]	0	1 [lower-alpha 2]	0	33	0
	2005–06		20	0	0	0	4 [lower-alpha 1]	0	1 [lower-alpha 2]	0	25	0
	2006–07		21	0	0	0	3 [lower-alpha 3]	0	—		24	0
	2007–08		0	0	0	0	2 [lower-alpha 1]	0	1 [lower-alpha 2]	0	3	0
	Total		117	0	0	0	14	0	6	0	137	0
Bylis (loan)	2001–02	Kategoria Superiore	24	0	0	0	—		—		24	0
Kryvbas Kryvyi Rih	2007–08	Vyshcha Liha	18	0	0	0	—		—		18	0
Alki Larnaca	2008–09	Cypriot First Division	12	0	0	0	—		—		12	0
Kryvbas Kryvyi Rih	2008–09	Ukrainian Premier League	12	0	0	0	0	0	—		12	0
	2009–10		9	0	0	0	0	0	—		9	0
	Total		21	0	0	0	—		—		21	0
Dinamo Tirana	2010–11	Kategoria Superiore	8	0	2	0	2 [lower-alpha 1]	0	1 [lower-alpha 2]	0	13	0
Olympiakos Nicosia	2010–11	Cypriot First Division	7	0	0	0	—		—		7	0
AEL Limassol	2011–12	Cypriot First Division	1	0	0	0	—		—		1	0
	2012–13		6	0	1	0	0	0	—		7	0
	Total		7	0	1	0	0	0	—		8	0
Apollon Limassol	2013–14	Cypriot First Division	0	0	0	0	2 [lower-alpha 4]	0	—		2	0
	2014–15		1	0	0	0	1 [lower-alpha 4]	0	—		2	0
	2015–16		0	0	0	0	0	0	—		0	0
	Total		1	0	0	0	3	0	—		4	0
Olympiakos Nicosia	2016–17	Cypriot Second Division	25	0	0	0	—		—		25	0
	2017–18	Cypriot First Division	30	0	1	0	—		—		31	0
	Total		55	0	1	0	—		—		56	0
Teuta	2018–19	Kategoria Superiore	33	0	2	0	—		—		35	0
	2019–20		0	0	0	0	2 [lower-alpha 4]	0	—		2	0
	Total		33	0	2	0	2	0	—		37	0
Bylis	2019–20	Kategoria Superiore	20	4	2	1	—		—		22	5
Career total			320	4	8	1	21	0	7	0	356	5

1. All appearance(s) in UEFA Champions League
2. All appearance(s) in Albanian Supercup
3. All appearance(s) in UEFA Cup
4. All appearance(s) in UEFA Europa League

International

As of 15 November 2011 ^{[17] [20]}

Appearances and goals by national team and year

National team	Year	Apps	Goals
Albania	2005	2	0
	2006	1	0
	2007	1	0
	2008	2	0
	2009	5	0
	2010	3	0
	2011	3	0
Total		17	0

Honours

Club

Tirana ^[18]

• Kategoria Superiore: 1998–99, 1999–00, 2002–03, 2003–04, 2004–05, 2006–07
• Kupa e Shqipërisë: 1998–99, 2000–01, 2005–06
• Superkupa e Shqipërisë: 2000, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007

AEL Limassol ^[18]

• Cypriot First Division: 2011–12

Apollon Limassol ^[18]

• Cypriot Cup: 2015–16

Individual

• Kategoria Superiore Player of the Month: November 2018 ^[5]

References

1. "Isli Hidi si vera, titullar në Qipro dhe pret edhe penallti" [Isli Hidi like wine, starter in Cyprus and even saves a penalty] (in Albanian). Sport Ekspres. 21 November 2017. Retrieved 21 November 2017.
2. "Levizjet/ Isli Hidi firmos me Dinamon" [Transfers/ Isli Hidi signs with Dinamo] (in Albanian). Albania Soccer. 6 July 2010. Retrieved 10 August 2018.
3. "Hidi nënshkruan me Olympiakosin" [Hidi signs with Olympiakos]. Express (in Albanian). Arkiva Shqiptare e Lajmeve. 7 January 2011. Retrieved 10 August 2018.
4. "ZYRTARE/ Ish-portieri i Kombëtares firmos për Teutën" [OFFICIAL/ Ex-national team goalkeeper signs for Teuta] (in Albanian). Panorama Sport. 10 August 2018. Retrieved 10 August 2018.
5. "Teuta e pandalshme, vlerësim individual për "gardianin" Hidi" [Teuta unstoppable, an individual award for the "guardian" Hidi] (in Albanian). Sport Ekspres. 9 December 2018. Retrieved 2 September 2019.
6. "Teuta Durrës vs. Tirana 1 – 3". Soccerway. 14 April 2019. Retrieved 2 September 2019.
7. "Zyrtare/ Bylis entuziasmon tifozët, rikthen Isli Hidin" [Official/ Bylis delights the fans, brings back Isli Hidi] (in Albanian). Ora News. 14 August 2019. Retrieved 2 September 2019.
8. "VIDEO/ Teuta e nis me fitore, kapiteni Arapi i jep 3 pikët përballë Bylisit" [Video/ Teuta starts with a win, captain Arapi gives them the 3 points versus Bylis] (in Albanian). Panorama Sport. 24 August 2019. Retrieved 2 September 2019.
9. "VIDEO/ Bylisi shkërmoq Skënderbeun në Korçë, shënon edhe portieri Hidi" [Video/ Bylis destroys Skënderbeu in Korçë, even goalkeeper Hidi scores] (in Albanian). Panorama Sport. 1 September 2019. Retrieved 2 September 2019.
10. "VIDEO/ Bylisi spektakolar, përmbys Kukësin në shtëpi dhe i shkakton humbjen e parë" [Video/ Bylis spectacular, overturn Kukësi at home and causes them their first loss] (in Albanian). Panorama Sport. 15 September 2019. Retrieved 16 September 2019.
11. "VIDEO/ "Fenomeni" Isli Hidi shënon edhe në Kupë, pastaj portieri grindet me Xhixhën" [Video/ The "Phenomenon" Hidi scores even in cup, than starts a brawl with Xhixha] (in Albanian). Sport Ekspres. 12 February 2020. Retrieved 13 February 2020.
12. ""U kisha premtuar çunave, Vora do të ngjitej si kampione"/ Hidi lë futbollin: E nisa dhe e mbylla me trofe" ["I had promised the boys, Vora wouldbe promoted as a champion"/ Hidi retires from football: I started and finished with a trophy] (in Albanian). Panorama Sport. 14 May 2023. Retrieved 14 May 2023.
13. "Isli Hidi". fshf.org (in Albanian). Albanian Football Association. Retrieved 14 May 2023.
14. "Poland vs. Albania 1 – 0". Soccerway. 29 May 2005. Retrieved 10 August 2018.
15. "Football MATCH: 17.08.2005 Albania v Azerbaijan". Eu-football.info. 17 August 2005. Retrieved 10 August 2018.
16. ""Qiprioti" Isli Hidi: Diell, futboll dhe… pasaportë" ["Cypriot" Isli Hidi: Sun, football and… passport] (in Albanian). Sport Ekspres. 22 November 2017. Retrieved 10 August 2018.
17. "Isli Hidi". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved 10 August 2018.
18. Isli Hidi at Soccerway
19. "Football : Isli Hidi". Football Database. Retrieved 6 June 2017.
20. "Isli Hidi - national football team player". EU-Football.info. Retrieved 10 August 2018.

External links

• Isli Hidi at National-Football-Teams.com
• Isli Hidi at UAF and archived FFU page (in Ukrainian)