Sadri Gjonbalaj

Last updated
Sadri Gjonbalaj
Personal information
Date of birth (1966-01-05) January 5, 1966 (age 57)
Place of birth Vusanje, SR Montenegro,
SFR Yugoslavia
Position(s) Forward
College career
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
1983–1986 NC State Wolfpack
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
1987–1989 Los Angeles Lazers (indoor) 6 (0)
1988 → Albany Capitals (loan)
1989 New Jersey Eagles 17 (6)
1990 Washington Diplomats
1990–1991 New York Kick (indoor)
1991 Chicago Power (indoor) 9 (2)
1991–1992 Milwaukee Wave (indoor) 25 (18)
1993 Raleigh Flyers
1994 New York Fever
1994–1995 Canton Invaders (indoor) 13 (11)
1995 New York Centaurs 20 (4)
International career
1984–1985 U.S. U-20
1986–1993 United States 5 (1)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Sadri Gjonbalaj (born 1966) is an American retired football player who played professionally in the Major Indoor Soccer League, American Soccer League, American Professional Soccer League and National Professional Soccer League. He also earned five caps, scoring one goal, with the U.S. national team.

Contents

Early life

Gjonbalaj was born in Vusanje, a village in SR Montenegro, SFR Yugoslavia (modern-day Montenegro). Him and his family moved to Brooklyn, New York when he was a child. [ citation needed ]

Career

College

Gjonbalaj attended from the age of 17 at North Carolina State University where he played on the Wolfpack's soccer team from 1983 to 1986. [1]

Professional

In June 1987, the Los Angeles Lazers of the Major Indoor Soccer League selected Gjonbalaj in the first round (2nd overall) of the 1987 MISL Draft. [2] In May 1988, the Lazers loaned Gjonbalaj to the Albany Capitals of the American Soccer League. [3] In 1989, he was with the New Jersey Eagles of the ASL. [4] Then in 1990, he moved to the Washington Diplomats of the ASL successor league, the American Professional Soccer League. In the fall of 1990, he signed with the New York Kick of the National Professional Soccer League (NPSL). [5] In January 1991, the Kick sold Gjonbalaj's contract to the Chicago Power. [6] He played nine games and scored two goals as the Power won the NPSL championship. [7] In December 1991, he signed with the Milwaukee Wave. [8] In 1993, he played for the Raleigh Flyers of the USISL. [9] He then moved to the New York Fever for the 1994 season. In December 1994, he returned to the NPSL when he signed with the Canton Invaders. [10] In 1995, he was with the New York Centaurs of the A-League where he scored four goals in twenty games. [11]

National team

In 1984 and 1985, Gjonbalaj played for the United States U-20 men's national soccer team. [12] Gjonbalaj also earned five caps with the U.S. national team. [13] His first appearance came in a February 5, 1986 scoreless tie with Canada when he came on for Brent Goulet. His next cap did not come until a June 12, 1987 loss to South Korea. [14] He had to wait three more years for his third cap which came in a September 14, 1991 win over Jamaica. Gjonbalaj scored the U.S. goal in the 1-0 victory. It was another two years before Gjonbalaj appeared for the U.S. again, this time on March 23, 1993 in a tie with El Salvador. His last cap came two days later on March 25, 1993. [15]

Related Research Articles

Thompson Usiyan was a Nigerian professional footballer who played as a forward. He holds the NCAA Division I career scoring record and played in the North American Soccer League, Major Indoor Soccer League, American Soccer League and Continental Indoor Soccer League. He was a member of the Nigerian Olympic soccer team which boycotted the 1976 Olympics. He made several appearances for the Nigeria national team.

Dan Donigan is a retired United States soccer forward and former coach who played professionally in the Major Indoor Soccer League, American Professional Soccer League and National Professional Soccer League. Following his playing career he coached at the collegiate level as an assistant coach for Connecticut and Saint Louis, and subsequently as a head coach for Saint Louis and Rutgers.

Michael Windischmann is an American retired soccer defender who played in both the Major Indoor Soccer League and the American Soccer League. He earned fifty caps with the U.S. national team and was the captain of the U.S. team at the 1990 FIFA World Cup. He is a member of the National Soccer Hall of Fame.

Hernan "Chico" Borja was an Ecuadorian-born American soccer player and coach. He spent time in the several U.S.-based leagues including the North American Soccer League, Major Indoor Soccer League and the American Soccer League. He also earned eleven caps with the U.S. national team.

Keith Tozer is a retired American soccer player who played professionally in the Major Indoor Soccer League, American Soccer League and American Indoor Soccer Association. He is currently the commissioner of the Major Arena Soccer League.

James Michael Gabarra is an American retired soccer forward who coached the Washington Spirit National Women's Soccer League team, and previously coached Sky Blue FC and the Washington Freedom women's soccer teams. He played professionally in the American Soccer League, United Soccer League, American Indoor Soccer Association, Major Indoor Soccer League and Western Soccer Alliance.

Ted Eck is a retired American soccer player who played for numerous clubs in the United States and Canada over a thirteen-year professional career. He is currently an assistant coach with Real Salt Lake in Major League Soccer. He also earned thirteen caps with the U.S. national team between 1989 and 1996.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mark Jonas</span> American soccer player and coach

Mark Jonas is an American soccer midfielder who had a twelve-year professional career in the U.S. indoor and lower division outdoor leagues. He earned one cap with the U.S. national team in 1991.

James Pollihan is a former U.S. soccer player who was an outstanding collegiate forward with Quincy University but moved to defense as a professional. He earned fifteen caps with the U.S. national team between 1976 and 1979.

Jean Harbor is a former Nigerian American soccer forward who played for numerous teams in Nigeria and the US He earned fifteen caps with the US national team after becoming a US citizen in 1992.

Jorge Acosta is a Colombian-born American retired soccer forward. He spent most of his career in the lower U.S. divisions, as well as four in the Colombian first division. He also earned twelve caps with the U.S. national team in 1991 and 1992.

Joey Kirk is a former U.S. soccer forward who spent most of his career playing indoor soccer. He earned seven caps with the U.S. national team in 1987 and 1988.

Dale Ervine is a former U.S. soccer midfielder who spent most of his career playing indoor soccer. He also earned five caps with the U.S. national team between 1985 and 1993.

Vojislav "Scoop" Stanisic is a retired Serbian-born American soccer goalkeeper who was most recently the goalkeeping coach for Columbus Crew in Major League Soccer. He spent most of his career playing indoor soccer in the United States, but also played five outdoor seasons in the American Soccer League, American Professional Soccer League and USISL. He earned one cap with the US national team in 1993.

Victor Nogueira is a retired American soccer goalkeeper. Nogueira spent six seasons in the North American Soccer League, but gained his greatest recognition in over twenty seasons in three indoor leagues, the Major Indoor Soccer League, National Professional Soccer League and the second Major Indoor Soccer League. He was also a member of the U.S. futsal team which took second place at the 1992 FIFA Futsal World Championship, and he is the father of FC Kansas City and United States forward Casey Loyd. He was elected to the Indoor Soccer Hall of Fame in 2011.

Michael Collins is an American former professional soccer player who played as a midfielder. Collins played for at least twelve teams in nearly half a dozen leagues over his seventeen-year career. He also earned two caps with the United States national team in 1988. Collins currently serves as president and general manager of California United Strikers FC.

Kia Zolgharnain is an Iranian-American soccer coach and former player who is the current head coach and technical director of Akron City FC. As a player, Zolgharnain was a forward who led the American Indoor Soccer Association in scoring during the 1986–1987 season. He coaches youth soccer in Cleveland. During his playing days, he was known by his first name alone.

Doug Miller is an American youth soccer coach and retired soccer player. He spent one season in Major Indoor Soccer League and nine in the National Professional Soccer League as a forward, winning two championships and leading the league in scoring in 1998–99. Miller also played ten seasons of outdoor soccer in the USISL and A-League. He was the 1996 and 1997 USISL A-League leading scorer and 1997 league MVP. He also won one U.S. Open Cup.

Franco Paonessa is a retired Italian-American professional soccer player who has played in the second and third American Soccer Leagues, United Soccer League, American Indoor Soccer Association and USISL.

Chris Szanto is a retired American soccer defender who played professionally in the American Professional Soccer League, Major Indoor Soccer League, Continental Indoor Soccer League, NPSL and USISL. He was a member of the United States U-20 men's national soccer team which competed at the 1987 FIFA World Youth Championship.

References

  1. ↑ NC State Men's Soccer History of Success
  2. ↑ "NO SURPRISE, FORCE PICKS BLISS WITH 1ST PICK" Akron Beacon Journal (Ohio) Wednesday, June 24, 1987
  3. ↑ "BROOKLYN IMPORT GIVES CAPITALS A LIFT IN DEBUT" Times Union (Albany, New York) Sunday, May 22, 1988
  4. ↑ The Year in American Soccer – 1989
  5. ↑ "GAME SHOULD BE A KICK FOR FANS" Times Union (Albany, New York) Sunday, November 4, 1990
  6. ↑ "SPORTS" Chicago Tribune Friday, January 18, 1991
  7. ↑ "1990-91 Chicago POWER individual player statistics". 2011-07-09. Archived from the original on 2011-07-09. Retrieved 2018-08-14.
  8. ↑ "Attack hammers Wave to move into division lead" Milwaukee Sentinel Saturday, December 28, 1991
  9. ↑ "Flyers turn back Columbia 2-0 on late goals by Kreis, Gjonbalaj The News & Observer Saturday, June 12, 1993
  10. ↑ NATIONAL PROFESSIONAL SOCCER LEAGUE FINAL OFFICIAL STATISTICS -- 1994–1995 Archived 2013-09-03 at the Wayback Machine
  11. ↑ GOALSeattle.com Galleries :: 1996 Seattle Sounders Media Guide :: 1996media_17 Archived 2007-09-27 at the Wayback Machine
  12. ↑ "MEXICAN JUNIOR TEAM BEATS U.S. IN SOCCER Akron Beacon Journal (Ohio) Sunday, March 24, 1985
  13. ↑ U.S. Men's National Team Player Registry: F – J Archived 2009-07-31 at the Wayback Machine
  14. ↑ USA – Details of International Matches 1980–1989
  15. ↑ USA – Details of International Matches 1990–1994
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.