Sulejman Demollari

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Sulejman Demollari
Personal information
Date of birth (1964-05-15) 15 May 1964 (age 61)
Place of birth Tirana, Albania
Position Midfielder
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
1980–1991 Dinamo Tirana [a] 124 (40)
1991–1994 Dinamo București 100 (36)
1995 Panionios 24 (1)
1996–1997 Győr 5 (1)
International career
1982 Albania U18 3 (0)
1982–1984 Albania U21 10 (1)
1983–1995 Albania 45 (1)
Managerial career
2001–2002 Albania
2003–2004 Dinamo Tirana
2004–2005 Lushnja
2005–2006 Shkumbini
2006 Lushnja
2006 Dinamo Tirana
2009–2011 Albania U15
2015–2024 Albania U19 (assistant)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals

Sulejman Demollari (born 15 May 1964 in Tirana) also known as Sul Demollari is an Albanian former football player and coach.

Contents

Early life

Demollari was born on 15 May 1964 in Albania's capital Tirana, where he completed his primary education at the Qemal Stafa High School. [2] [3] From a young age he was part of the 'KF Vojo Kushi' sports institution. Despite still being in school, Demollari had impressed many football specialists and was quickly picked to play for Dinamo Tirana's youth team where he managed to become one of its best players. At just the age of 15 he was called up to play for Dinamo's senior team, alongside fellow midfield legends such as Ilir Përnaska, Shyqyri Ballgjini and Muhedin Targaj.

Club career

Dinamo Tirana

Demollari played his entire career in Albania for Dinamo Tirana, alongside fellow internationals Genc Ibro, Eduard Abazi and Agim Canaj. [4] [5] His first performance was winning the 1985–86 title under coach Fatmir Frashëri. [2] [6] In the same season, he helped the club get past Hamrun Spartans in the first round of the 1985–86 UEFA Cup, being eliminated by Sporting Lisbon in the second round. [7] In the following season, Demollari played in both legs of the 3–0 aggregate loss to Beşiktaş in the first round of the 1986–87 European Cup. [8] Afterwards he won the 1988–89 Albanian Cup with Dinamo, scoring a brace in the 3–1 win over Partizani in the final. [9]

Dinamo started the following season by winning the 1989 Albanian Supercup, with Demollari netting a penalty in the 84th minute for a 2–0 victory against 17 Nëntori. [10] Then he scored two goals in the preliminary round of the 1989–90 European Cup Winners' Cup, as his side eliminated Chernomorets Burgas with 5–3 on aggregate, but were defeated in the following round by Dinamo București. [11] They finished the season by winning The Double and Demollari contributed with 14 goals in the 33 league matches that coach Bejkush Birçe used him. [2] [6] [12] Subsequently, he helped them win the 1990 Albanian Supercup by scoring in the 83rd minute for a 3–3 draw against Flamurtari Vlorë, leading to extra time and an eventual penalty shoot-out victory. [10] Then he played in both matches of the 5–1 aggregate loss to Olympique Marseille in the first round of the 1990–91 European Cup. [13]

Dinamo București

Following the fall of communism, Demollari was among the first players to pursue a career abroad, signing for Romanian side Dinamo București in 1991. [14] [15] Demollari was wanted there by coach Florin Halagian, who had seen him in an Albania U21 – West Germany U21 1–1 draw, and he also made a good impression when he played against them in Dinamo Tirana's 2–1 aggregate loss in the 1989–90 European Cup Winners' Cup. [5] [16] [17] Demollari made his Divizia A debut on 25 August 1991 in a 6–0 victory against Petrolul Ploiești in which he scored two goals and provided an assist, being nicknamed "Dobrin of Albania" by the Gazeta Sporturilor newspaper. [2] [14] [17] He became the first foreign player to score in the derby against Steaua București, netting the only goal of a 1–0 victory. [16] [17] Afterwards, the fans had a chant dedicated to him during the games:Demollari omoară militarii (English: Demollari kills the military men). [18] [19] In his first season spent at the club, Demollari scored 18 goals in 30 league games and was the team's second top-scorer after Gábor Gerstenmájer, helping Dinamo win the title undefeated. [2] [14] [16] [17] [18] In the same season, he played in Dinamo's 2–1 victory on aggregate against Luis Figo's Sporting Lisbon in the 1991–92 UEFA Cup. [16] [19] [20]

In the following season, Demollari scored a goal that helped them advance past Kuusysi Lahti in the first round of the 1992–93 Champions League. [2] [21] Dinamo faced Olympique Marseille in the second round, where they drew 0–0 in the first leg but lost the subsequent game with 2–0, the French ultimately winning the competition. [2] [21] His last Divizia A appearance took place on 7 December 1994 in a 4–0 loss to Inter Sibiu. [2] Demollari appeared in a total of 100 Divizia A matches in which he scored 36 goals and received only one yellow card, being considered one of the best foreign footballers who played in Romania. [14] [15] [16] [17] [22]

Panionios and Győr

Demollari went to play in 1995 at Greek side Panionios. [2] [20] [23] There, he was coached by Emerich Jenei. [23] He made 24 league appearances for Panionios in which he scored once. [2]

Subsequently, Demollari joined Hungarian team Győr, making his Nemzeti Bajnokság I debut under coach József Póczik on 16 March 1996 in a 2–1 loss to Budapest Honvéd. [2] [24] [25] On 20 April he netted a goal in a 3–2 victory against Csepel. [2] [24] That was his only goal scored in the five league matches played for Győr. [2] [24]

He played a total of 25 games with three goals scored in European competitions. [20] Throughout his career, Demollari was named player of the season on six occasions by the Sporti Popullor newspaper in 1983, 1985, 1991, 1992, 1993 and 1994. [4] [5]

International career

Demollari represented Albania's under-18 national team in the 1982 European Under-18 Championship, playing three games as his side failed to progress from their group. [26] He was also part of Albania's under-21 generation that finished first in the 1984 European Under-21 Championship qualification group, above West Germany U21, against whom he scored once in a 1–1 draw. [5] [26] The team reached the quarter-finals where they were eliminated by Italy U21 after a double 1–0 loss. [5] [26]

Demollari played 45 matches and scored one goal for Albania, making his debut on 27 April 1983 under coach Shyqyri Rreli in a 1–0 loss to Northern Ireland during the Euro 1984 qualifiers. [27] [28] He played six games in the 1986 World Cup qualifiers, including a 2–0 victory against Belgium. [27] Demollari went on to play six games during the Euro 1988 qualifiers, another six in the 1990 World Cup qualifiers and five during the Euro 1992 qualifiers, but with the exception of a 1–0 win over Iceland, all the other matches were losses. [27] Subsequently, he made nine appearances in which he scored his only goal for the national team in a 3–1 loss to Lithuania in the 1994 World Cup qualifiers. [27] [29] His last nine matches for the national team were during the Euro 1996 qualifiers, with the last one taking place on 7 October 1995 in a 3–0 loss to Bulgaria. [27] Of his 45 caps, only three were friendlies, in 41 he was in the starting XI and he was captain in 18 matches. [27]

International goals

Scores and results list Albania's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Demollari goal. [27] [29]
List of international goals scored by Sulejman Demollari
#DateVenueCapOpponentScoreResultCompetition
114 April 1993 Žalgirio stadionas, Vilnius, Lithuania33Flag of Lithuania.svg  Lithuania 1–31–3 1994 World Cup qualifiers

Managerial career

Demollari started his coaching career at Albania's national team, making his debut on 1 September 2001 in a 2–0 loss to Finland in the 2002 World Cup qualifiers. [22] [30] Four days later he led the team in another 2–0 loss to England in the same qualifiers. [30] On 27 March 2002, Albania defeated Azerbaijan 1–0 in a friendly. [30] Demollari's last match at the national team was a 2–0 friendly loss to Andorra, having a total of 9 games (1 victory, 3 draws, 5 losses). [30]

Subsequently, he coached the club at which he began his playing career, Dinamo Tirana during the 2003–04 season. [22] [31] Then he worked for Lushnja on two occasions, Shkumbini and had a second spell at Dinamo Tirana in 2006. [32]

In 2009, Demollari became the first coach of Albania's under-15 national team. [33] He led them during the 2010 Summer Youth Olympics qualifiers, where after defeating Liechtenstein 2–0, they lost 2–1 to Montenegro, thus failing to qualify. [34] From 2011 to 2012, Demollari worked as a scout for Dinamo București, bringing Elis Bakaj to the club. [15] [35] Afterwards he worked as an assistant coach for Albania U19 between 2015 and 2024. [20]

Personal life

On 11 May 2018, Demollari was awarded by the President of Albania, Ilir Meta, with the "Mjeshtër i Madh" – (Grand Master) title. [36]

Honours

Club

Dinamo Tirana

Dinamo București

Individual

Notes

  1. ↑ The statistics for the 1982–83, 1983–84, 1984–85, 1985–86 and 1986–87 Albanian National Championship seasons are unavailable. [1]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Sulejman Demollari at National-Football-Teams.com
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Sulejman Demollari at RomanianSoccer.ro (in Romanian)
  3. ↑ Q. Stafa High School website. "Historiku". Archived from the original on 12 January 2014.
  4. 1 2 3 "Sul Demollari: "Edhe uno besoj!"" [Sul Demollari: "I believe too!"] (in Albanian). Telegraf.al. 3 June 2013. Retrieved 18 November 2021.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Sulejman Demollari kapiteni modern i kuqezinjve" [Sulejman Demollari, the modern captain of the Red and Blacks] (in Albanian). Tifozet.al. 7 July 2021. Archived from the original on 18 November 2021. Retrieved 18 November 2021.
  6. 1 2 "Albania – Championship Winning Teams". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation . Retrieved 11 December 2025.
  7. ↑ "Sulejman Demollari. UEFA Cup 1985/1986". WorldFootball. Retrieved 11 December 2025.
  8. ↑ "Sulejman Demollari. European Cup 1985/1986". WorldFootball. Retrieved 11 December 2025.
  9. ↑ "Albania 1988/89". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation . Retrieved 11 December 2025.
    "ALBANIA - Coppa Nazionale 1988/89" [ALBANIA - National Cup 1988/89] (in Italian). Calciomondialeweb.it. Retrieved 11 December 2025.
  10. 1 2 3 "Albania Supercup". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation . Retrieved 11 December 2025.
  11. ↑ "Sulejman Demollari. Cup Winners Cup Qualifiers 1989/1990". WorldFootball. Retrieved 11 December 2025.
    "Sulejman Demollari. Cup Winners Cup 1989/1990". WorldFootball. Retrieved 11 December 2025.
  12. ↑ "Albania 1989/90". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation . Retrieved 11 December 2025.
  13. ↑ "Sulejman Demollari. European Cup 1990/1991". WorldFootball. Retrieved 11 December 2025.
  14. 1 2 3 4 "Demollari idhulli i rumuneve qe e beri presidentin me zemer" [Demollari, the Romanian idol who made the president by heart] (in Albanian). Panorama.com. 30 October 2015. Retrieved 18 November 2021.
  15. 1 2 3 "Declarație cutremurătoare a lui Demollari, după moartea lui Florin Halagian" [Shocking statement of Demollari, after the death of Florin Halagian] (in Romanian). Prosport.ro. 16 August 2019. Retrieved 18 November 2021.
  16. 1 2 3 4 5 "Demollari, cel mai bun străin care a evoluat vreodată în România" [Demollari, the Romanian idol who made the president by heart] (in Albanian). Gsp.ro. 30 October 2015. Retrieved 18 November 2021.
  17. 1 2 3 4 5 "Primii străini de după revoluție" [The first foreigners after the revolution] (in Albanian). Welovesport.ro. 8 April 2022. Retrieved 13 April 2023.
  18. 1 2 "Arbitrii români l-au găsit pe Demollari! Ce mai face fostul star al lui Dinamo. "Am rămas impresionat!" SPECIAL" [The Romanian referees found Demollari! How is the former Dinamo star. "I was impressed!" SPECIAL] (in Romanian). Prosport.ro. 20 November 2020. Retrieved 18 November 2021.
  19. 1 2 "Cel mai bun străin care a evoluat în Liga 1! "Sunt Demollari care omoară militarii"" [The best foreigner to play in Liga 1! "Demollari are kills the military men"] (in Romanian). Prosport.ro. 2 February 2011. Retrieved 18 November 2021.
  20. 1 2 3 4 Sulejman Demollari at WorldFootball.net
  21. 1 2 "29 de ani de la cea mai Misterioasă "dublă" europeană a lui Dinamo: "Băieții au avut 30.000 de dolari bonus de calificare"" [29 years since Dinamo's most Mysterious European "double": "The boys had a $30,000 qualification bonus"] (in Romanian). Gsp.ro. 21 October 2021. Retrieved 11 December 2025.
    "Trei decenii de la Dinamo – Marseille, un meci învăluit în mister" [Three decades since Dinamo - Marseille, a match shrouded in mystery] (in Romanian). Welovesport.ro. 21 October 2022. Retrieved 11 December 2025.
    "Sulejman Demollari. Champions League 1992/1993". WorldFootball. Retrieved 11 December 2025.
  22. 1 2 3 "Demollari isi cauta de lucru in Romania" [Demollari is looking for work in Romania] (in Romanian). Evz.ro. 14 June 2007. Retrieved 18 November 2021.
  23. 1 2 "Greece 1995/96". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation . Retrieved 11 December 2025.
  24. 1 2 3 "Sulejman Demollari" (in Hungarian). Magyarfutball.hu. Retrieved 11 December 2025.
  25. ↑ "Győri ETO FC - Kispest-Honvéd FC 1 : 2" (in Hungarian). Magyarfutball.hu. Retrieved 11 December 2025.
  26. 1 2 3 "Sulejman Demollari profile". 11v11. Retrieved 11 December 2025.
  27. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Sulejman Demollari player profile". European Football. Retrieved 18 November 2021.
  28. ↑ "Northern Ireland 1-0 Albania". European Football. Retrieved 18 November 2021.
  29. 1 2 "Lithuania 3-1 Albania". European Football. Retrieved 11 December 2025.
  30. 1 2 3 4 "Sulejman Demollari manager profile". European Football. Retrieved 18 November 2021.
  31. ↑ "Albania 2003/04". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation . Retrieved 11 December 2025.
  32. ↑ "Albania 2004/05". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation . Retrieved 11 December 2025.
    "Albania 2004/05". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation . Retrieved 11 December 2025.
    "Albania 2005/06". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation . Retrieved 11 December 2025.
  33. ↑ "FSHF krijon kombetaren U15" [AFF creates U15 national team] (in Albanian). Top-channel.tv. 22 July 2009. Archived from the original on 11 October 2016. Retrieved 11 December 2025.
  34. ↑ "U-15 Shqiperi-Lihtenshtein 2-0" [U-15 Albania-Lihtenshtein 2-0] (in Albanian). Albaniasoccer.com. 18 October 2009. Retrieved 11 December 2025.
    "U-15 Shqiperi - Mali i Zi 1-2" [U-15 Albania - Montenegro 1-2] (in Albanian). Albaniasoccer.com. 20 October 2009. Retrieved 11 December 2025.
  35. ↑ "Cu Demollari scouter, Dinamo se transformă în colonie albaneză" [With Demollari scout, Dinamo transforms into an Albanian colony] (in Romanian). Libertatea.ro. 23 February 2011. Retrieved 18 November 2021.
    "L-au "demolat" pe Demollari" [They "demolished" Demollari] (in Romanian). Adevarul.ro. 10 August 2011. Retrieved 18 November 2021.
  36. ↑ "Sulejman Demollari merr titullin "Mjeshtër i Madh", Meta: "Të gjithë e mbajnë mend lojën e tij virtuoze!"" [Sulejman Demollari receives the title "Grand Master", Meta: "Everyone remembers his virtuoso playing!"] (in Albanian). Shqiptarja.com. 11 May 2018. Retrieved 11 December 2025.
  37. ↑ dinamo. "Sulejman Demollari – Nderi i sportit shqiptar". dinamo.al. Archived from the original on 10 October 2009. Retrieved 19 December 2009.
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