KF Tirana in European football

Last updated September 16, 2024

KF Tirana are the Albanian football club with the best performance through all European competitions. They have the most participations, matches, wins, points and experience in Europe among all other Albanian clubs.

Tirana holds the record for the most ties won (14) (once directly by draw) along their road. They are the most successful Albanian team in European competitions, since making their European debut in the 1965–66 European Cup and the first Albanian squad to win a tie in European performances. They reached Round of 16 four times, of which three times in the European Cup (now Champions League) alone in 1980s, making it the Albanian team to have progressed farthest in any European competition. Tirana is the team that were able to overturn the first leg negative result to their advantage in at least four occasions; worth to remember their great second legs wins against Ħamrun Spartans, FC Bobruisk, Dinamo Tbilisi, ND Gorica; additionally good overturns against Apollon Limassol and Ferencvarosi TC. Even though at 14 attempts they have not passed more than one round, KF Tirana are the Albanian team which has won more ties in Europe throughout their long history. Another significant international result comes at Balkans Cup of season 1981 where they went on the final, but lost both matches against Beroe Stara Zagora.

Along their European road, KF Tirana has met many famous squads in Europe, such as: FC Bayern Munich, Standard Liège, AFC Ajax, Malmö FF, IFK Göteborg, Ferencvárosi TC, PFC CSKA Sofia, Red Star, Besiktas JK. etc., and in many of such matches has given unforgettable performances.

Additionally, white and blues hold the all-time record for the highest IFFHS ranking of an Albanian football club, being ranked as high as 31st in the world in 1987, as result of good performances preceded 1986–87.^[1]^[2] KF Tirana started competing for the first time in the European Cup 1965–66. Below are all matches played and up-to-date rankings.

European performance table

Season	Competition	Round	Country	Opposition	Home	Away
1964–66	Balkans Cup	Group B		Cherno More Varna	0–0	0–1
				Beşiktaş J.K.	2–0	1–1
				Rapid București	1–2	1–3
1965–66	European Champion Clubs' Cup	1R		Kilmarnock F.C.	0–0	0–1
1966–67	European Champion Clubs' Cup	1R		Vålerenga	n.p	n.p
1969–70	European Champion Clubs' Cup	1R		Standard Liège	1–1	0–3
1970–71	European Champion Clubs' Cup	1R		AFC Ajax	2–2	0–2
1975	Balkans Cup	Group B		Panionios	6–0	1–2
1975	Balkans Cup	Group B		Radnički Niš	0–0	0–3
1981-83	Balkans Cup	Group B		Larissa	3–0	1–3
		Group B		Sloboda Tuzla	n.d	n.d
		Final		Beroe Stara Zagora	0-1	0-3
1982–83	European Champion Clubs' Cup	1R		Linfield	1–0	1–2
1982–83	European Champion Clubs' Cup	Round of 16		Dynamo Kyiv	n.p	n.p
1983–84	UEFA Cup Winners' Cup	1R		Hammarby IF	2–1	0–3
1986–87	UEFA Cup Winners' Cup	1R		FC Dinamo București	1–0	2–1
1986–87	UEFA Cup Winners' Cup	Round of 16		Malmö FF	0–3	0–0
1988–89	European Champion Clubs' Cup	1R		Ħamrun Spartans	2–0	1–2
1988–89	European Champion Clubs' Cup	Round of 16		IFK Göteborg	0–3	0–1
1989–90	European Champion Clubs' Cup	1R		Sliema Wanderers	5–0	0–1
1989–90	European Champion Clubs' Cup	Round of 16		FC Bayern Munich	0–3	1–3
1990–91	Balkans Cup	QF		Budućnost Titograd	0–0	1–2
1994–95	UEFA Cup Winners' Cup	QR		FC Bobruisk	3–0	1–4
1994–95	UEFA Cup Winners' Cup	1R		Brøndby IF	0–1	0–3
1995–96	UEFA Cup	QR		Hapoel Be'er Sheva FC	0–1	0–2
1996–97	UEFA Cup	1QR		NK Croatia Zagreb	2–6	0–4
1998–99	UEFA Cup	1QR		FK Inter Bratislava	0–2	0–2
1999–00	UEFA Champions League	1QR		Íþróttabandalag Vestmannaeyja	1–2	0–1
2000–01	UEFA Champions League	1QR		FC Zimbru Chisinau	2–3	2–3
2001–02	UEFA Cup	QR		Apollon Limassol	3–2	1–3
2002–03	UEFA Cup	QR		Național București	0–1	2–2
2003–04	UEFA Champions League	1Q		Dinamo Tbilisi	3–0 (4:2 p)	0–3
2003–04	UEFA Champions League	2QR		Grazer AK	1–5	1–2
2004–05	UEFA Champions League	1QR		FC Gomel	0–1	2–0
2004–05	UEFA Champions League	2QR		Ferencvárosi TC	2–3	1–0
2005–06	UEFA Champions League	1QR		ND Gorica	3–0	0–2
2005–06	UEFA Champions League	2QR		PFC CSKA Sofia	0–2	0–2
2006–07	UEFA Cup	1QR		NK Varteks	2–0	1–1
2006–07	UEFA Cup	2QR		Kayserispor	0–2	1–3
2007–08	UEFA Champions League	1QR		NK Domžale	1–2	0–1
2009–10	UEFA Champions League	2QR		Stabæk	1–1	0–4
2010–11	UEFA Europa League	1QR		Zalaegerszegi TE	0–0	1–0 (aet)
2010–11	UEFA Europa League	2QR		FC Utrecht	1–1	0–4
2011–12	UEFA Europa League	2QR		FC Spartak Trnava	0–0	1–3
2012–13	UEFA Europa League	1QR		CS Grevenmacher	2–0	0–0
2012–13	UEFA Europa League	2QR		Aalesunds FK	1–1	0–5
2017–18	UEFA Europa League	1QR		Maccabi Tel Aviv F.C.	0–3	0–2
2020–21	UEFA Champions League	1QR		Dinamo Tbilisi	—	2–0
	UEFA Champions League	2QR		Red Star Belgrade	0−1	—
	UEFA Europa League	3QR		BYE	—	—
	UEFA Europa League
PO		Young Boys	—	0−3
2022–23	UEFA Champions League	1QR		F91 Dudelange	1−2	0–1
2022–23	UEFA Europa Conference League	2QR		HŠK Zrinjski	0–1	2–3
2023–24	UEFA Conference League	1QR		Dinamo Batumi	1–1	2–1
2023–24	UEFA Conference League	2QR		Besiktas JK	1-3	0-2

Balkans Cup performance

Season	Round	Country	Home	Away
Balkans Cup 1964–66	1R	PFC Cherno More Varna	0–0	0–1
Balkans Cup 1964–66	1R	Beşiktaş J.K.	2–0	1–1
Balkans Cup 1964–66	1R	FC Rapid București	1–2	1–3
Balkans Cup 1975	1R	Panionios G.S.S.	6–0	1–2
Balkans Cup 1975	1R	FK Radnički Niš	0–0	0–3
Balkans Cup 1981	1R	Larissa F.C.	3–0	1–3
Balkans Cup 1981	2R	FK Sloboda Tuzla	3–0	3–0
Balkans Cup 1981	Final	PFC Beroe Stara Zagora	1–3	0–3
Balkans Cup 1990	1R	FK Budućnost Podgorica	0–0	0–1

QR = Qualifying Round
1R = 1st round
2R = 2nd round
n.p = non participation

Overall	GP	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
Home	9	4	3	2	16	5	+11
Away	9	1	1	7	7	17	−10
Total	18	5	4	9	23	22	+1

By country

Country	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Q	E
Austria	2	0	0	2	2	7	−5	0	1
Belarus	4	2	0	2	6	5	+1	2	0
Belgium	2	0	1	1	1	4	−3	0	1
Bosnia	6	2	0	2	8	4	+4	1	1
Bulgaria	6	0	1	5	1	11	−10	0	3
Croatia	4	1	1	2	5	11	−6	1	1
Cyprus	2	1	0	1	4	5	−1	0	1
Denmark	2	0	0	2	0	4	−4	0	1
Germany	2	0	0	2	1	6	−5	0	1
Georgia	5	3	1	1	8	5	+3	3	0
Greece	4	2	0	2	11	5	+6	2	0
Hungary	4	2	1	1	4	3	+1	1	1
Iceland	2	0	0	2	1	3	−2	0	1
Israel	4	0	0	4	0	8	−8	0	2
Luxembourg	6	1	1	2	3	3	0	1	1
Malta	4	2	0	2	8	3	+5	2	0
Moldova	2	0	0	2	4	6	−2	0	1
Montenegro	2	0	1	1	0	1	−1	0	0
Netherlands	4	0	2	2	3	9	−6	0	2
Northern Ireland	2	1	0	1	2	2	0	1	0
Norway	4	0	2	2	2	11	−9	0	2
Romania	6	2	1	3	7	9	−2	1	2
Scotland	2	0	1	1	0	1	−1	0	1
Serbia	3	0	1	2	0	4	−4	0	1
Slovakia	4	0	1	3	1	7	−6	0	2
Slovenia	4	1	0	3	4	5	−1	1	1
Sweden	6	1	1	4	2	11	−3	0	3
Switzerland	1	0	0	1	0	3	−3	0	1
Turkey	6	1	1	4	5	-10	−5	1	2
Ukraine	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1

Q = Qualified
E = Eliminated

Last Update: 03 August 2023

UEFA club competition record

Competition	GP	PP	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	P
Champions League	40	16	8	4	28	37	65	−28	–
Cup Winners' Cup	10	3	4	1	5	9	16	−7	–
UEFA Cup / Europa League	28	11	5	7	16	20	54	−34	–
UEFA Europa Conference League	6	2	1	1	4	6	11	−5	–
Intertoto Cup	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	–
Inter-Cities Fairs Cup	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	–
UEFA Super Cup	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	–
Intercontinental Cup	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	–
Total	84	32	18	13	53	72	146	−74	67

Overall	GP	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
Home	41	11	9	21	45	59	−14
Away	43	7	4	32	27	87	−60
Total	84	18	13	53	72	146	−74

Europe and Balkan total

Overall	GP	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
Home	50	15	12	23	61	64	-3
Away	52	8	5	39	34	104	−70
Total	102	23	17	62	95	168	−73

World and European rankings

UEFA club coefficient ranking

(As of 4 August 2023)^[3]

Rank	Team	Points
222	Sepsi OSK	5.500
223	Levski Sofia	5.500
224	Valmieras FK	5.500
225	KF Tirana	5.500
226	FK Borac Banja Luka	5.500
227	Tre Penne	5.500
228	Hammarby IF	5.500

Last Update: 4 August 2023

Related Research Articles

Futboll Klub Partizani is an Albanian professional football club based in Tirana, that competes in the Kategoria Superiore. Founded in 1946, the club was historically affiliated to the Albanian army. Partizani's home ground is the newly built stadium at Partizani Complex. The club also uses Arena Kombëtare also known as Air Albania stadium for matches in European competitions and major domestic football derbies in Albania.

Football Club Dinamo City, commonly referred to as Dinamo City and colloquially known as Dinamo, is an Albanian professional football club based in 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.

Klubi i Futbollit Tirana is an Albanian professional football club based in the country's capital city, Tirana, that competes in the Kategoria Superiore, the top tier of Albanian football. The men's football club is part of the multi-disciplinary sports club SK Tirana, and is the most successful in Albania, having won 54 major domestic trophies. They are the only football club in Albania with two stars in their crest after winning their 20th league championship in 2003, making them the first and only Albanian club to have achieved this feat to date. They play their home games at the Selman Stërmasi Stadium in Tirana.

Sport in Albania revolves mostly around team sports, such as football, basketball, volleyball and handball. Other sports includes boxing, weightlifting, tennis, swimming, judo, karate, athletics, table tennis, badminton, rugby, cricket, and chess. Football in particular has seen a rapid transformation, with the Albania national football team making its debut at the 1964 UEFA European Football Championship. The national football team also qualified for the 2016 UEFA European Football Championship. Many Albanian athletes have also achieved significant success and have won European and Mediterranean titles in numerous sports during the years, such as wrestling, football, athletics and weightlifting. Albanian athletes have won a total 49 medals for Albania in 8 different Mediterranean sports.

Panajot Thoma Pano was an Albanian football player. He started his career as a goalkeeper in the 17 Nëntori Tirana youth academy, but later became the most prolific centre-forward of their arch-rivals, Partizani Tirana. During his eighteen-year career he played 24 matches as part of the Albania national team and was awarded the Albanian UEFA Jubilee Award.

Klubi i Futbollit Vllaznia Shkodër, commonly known as Vllaznia is an Albanian football club based in the city of Shkodër. It is the association football branch of the Vllaznia Sports Club, which was founded on 16 February 1919. It is also the oldest club in Albania which means it is the first club created in Albania. The club have competed in every edition of Kategoria Superiore since 1930, which is the top tier of football in Albania, besides in the 1956–57, 1961–62 and 2018–19 football seasons.

Flamurtari FC is an Albanian professional football club based in Vlorë, Albania. The club plays in the Kategoria e Parë, which is the second tier of football in the country.

Klubi i Futbollit Skënderbeu Korçë is an Albanian professional football club based in Korçë, southeastern Albania. The club competes in the Kategoria Superiore, the top tier of Albanian football. An amateur club named Vllazëria Korçë was found in 1909. The club in its current form was established on August 1926 by Fazlli Frashëri, known as Sportklub Korça, later changing its name to Skënderbeu Korçë, after Albania's national hero Skanderbeg. The club's home ground has been the Skënderbeu Stadium since it was built in 1957, and it now has a capacity of 12,343, of which 5,724 are seated.

Football is the most popular sport in Albania, both at a participatory and spectator level. The sport is governed by the Football Association of Albania (FSHF).

Endri Vrapi is an Albanian retired footballer who last played as a defender for Kosovan club Liria.

Jetmir Sefa is an Albanian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder.

Elis Flamur Bakaj is an Albanian former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder or a forward.

Daniel Xhafaj is an Albanian retired professional footballer. Mainly as a striker, he could also play as second striker.

Sabien Lilaj is an Albanian former professional footballer who played as a central midfielder. He is a versatile midfielder who mainly operates in a holding role, but he has also played in more advanced midfield roles.

Bekim Balaj is an Albanian professional footballer who plays as a striker for Albanian club Vllaznia Shkodër and the Albania national team.

Albanian football clubs have competed in European football tournaments since the 1962-63 season when Partizani Tirana played in the European Cup. Clubs took part in the UEFA Champions League, UEFA Cup, UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, UEFA Europa League, UEFA Europa Conference League and UEFA Intertoto Cup.

Erion Hoxhallari is an Albanian professional footballer who plays as a left-back for Polish club Polonia Warsaw.

Ilir Daja is an Albanian professional football coach and former player. He is the current manager of Dinamo City. He has won the Albanian League as a coach with three clubs: Elbasani, Dinamo Tirana and Skënderbeu. He also won the Kosovo Superleague three times with FC Ballkani and lead them to qualification for the group stage of UEFA Europa Conference League in 2022–23 and 2023–24.

Association football has been played in Albania for over century and is today one of the country's most popular sports. Domestic clubs and a national championship, along with a national team, were established in the 1920s and 1930s. Since the second half of the 20th century, Albania has been a key component of European football.

KF Tirana is an Albanian men's football club in the Albanian Superliga, and based in Tirana. The club, part of the multidisciplinary sports club SK Tirana, is the most successful in Albania, having won 51 recognized major domestic titles. They play their home games at the Selman Stërmasi Stadium in Tirana.

References

↑ "UEFA Rannking". Kassiessa.
↑ "Skenderbeu 178th but Tirana 31st". Archived from the original on 2014-03-16.
↑ "Club coefficients". Bert Kassies. Retrieved 4 August 2023.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

[Bert_Kassies-1] "UEFA Rannking". Kassiessa.

[2] "Skenderbeu 178th but Tirana 31st". Archived from the original on 2014-03-16.

[3] "Club coefficients". Bert Kassies. Retrieved 4 August 2023.

[1]

[2]

[3]