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KF Tirana

2018–19 season
President	Refik Halili
Head coach	Zé Maria (until 11 October 2018) Ardian Mema (from 12 October 2018)
Stadium	Selman Stërmasi Stadium
Kategoria Superiore	7th
Albanian Cup	Runners-up
Top goalscorer	League: Edon Hasani (12) All: Michael Ngoo (16)
Highest home attendance	8,000 vs Partizani Tirana (1 March 2019)
Lowest home attendance	200 vs Iliria Fushë-Krujë (25 September 2018)
Home colours Away colours Third colours
← 2017–182019–20 →

The 2018–19 season is Klubi i Futbollit Tirana's 80th competitive season, 78th in the Kategoria Superiore and 98th year in existence as a football club.

Season overview

June

On 1 June 2018, Tirana announced to have signed a new two-year contract with manager Zé Maria, making him the highest paid coach in Albania. The defender Erion Hoxhallari agreed a new contract until June 2020 despite interest from several European clubs. Then he was sent on loan at fellow Superliga side Laçi on a short-term contract only for their UEFA Europa League campaign.

On 14 June, Tirana reached a principal agreement with striker Michael Ngoo for the contract renewal. The club announced their first summer transfer nine days later, the Macedonian striker Dejan Blazhevski, who signed a 1+1 contract.

On 29 June, the youngster Ernest Muçi signed his first professional contract that would link him with Tirana for the next three years. The club also presented their second signing of summer transfer window, the midfielder Eni Imami who signed for the next two seasons.

July

Tirana begun the month by completing the signing of Vincent Atinga on a contract until June 2021. Youngsters Jurgen Çelhaka and Marsel Ismailgeci both signed three-year contracts, their firsts as professionals. The club then announced the next signing, the Ghanaian midfielder Winful Cobbinah, who signed a three-year deal.

The club did not offer a new deal the youngster Patrik Bardhi who left as a free agent and later signed for Kastrioti Krujë. After one season, Alked Çelhaka left the club by terminating the contract by mutual consent.

On 16 July, Asion Daja and Dorian Kërçiku both signed contracts for the new season. On 23 July, Tirana beat the concurrence of their rivals Partizani and signed the midfielder Edon Hasani on a two-year contract. The next days, Tirana announced that they were going to play friendly matches with Apolonia Fier, Flamurtari Pristina and Prishtina.

In the first friendly, Tirana recorded a 2–0 win at Selman Stërmasi Stadium against Apolonia Fier with the goal coming from newcomers Dejan Blazhevski and Edon Hasani. On 27 July, Sedat Berisha was unveiled as Tirana's newest player by signing a one-year contract with an option to renew. In the second one, Tirana won again, this time 3–0 versus Flamurtari Pristina.

August

Club vice-captain Gentian Muça returned in training after more than a year after healing from the Spinal disc herniation and a neck tumor which he discovered in July of the previous year. In the third and final friendly against Prishtina, Tirana suffered the first loss, as the Football Superleague of Kosovo side won 3–1 with Albi Doka scoring the consolation goal for the team.

On 14 August, Tirana acquired the services of goalkeeper Shpëtim Moçka as a free agent. Moçka, who previously played for Teuta Durrës, signed a contract running until the end of the 2018–19 season. Tirana commenced the Kategoria Superiore season four days later by playing against Kamza at home; the team surprisingly lost via a Sebino Plaku late winner. The following week, Tirana didn't go more than a goalless draw against Teuta Durrës, earning their first championship point.

Players such as Rei Qilimi, Alvaro Bishaj, Jurgen Vrapi, Hardy Binguila and Kenneth Muguna were all released by the club.

On 29 August, Tirana was drawn in the first round of the 2018–19 Albanian Cup against Iliria Fushë-Krujë.

On 31 August 2018, Nnamdi Oduamadi joined the club on a two-year contract.

September

Tirana begun the new month by playing in the third league match against Kukësi at Loro Boriçi Stadium; youngster Ernest Muçi scored the consolation goal for the team which was defeated 3–1. Two goals from Cobbinah and one each from Blazhevski and Turtulli secured a 4–1 victory in the first leg of the Albanian Cup, first round, over Iliria Fushë-Krujë.

Back in league, Tirana won their first championship match on 16 September by defeating Luftëtari Gjirokastër 3–1 at home; Blazhevski, Turtulli and Greca gave Tirana their first top-flight win after 484 days. The team then played Skënderbeu Korçë away in the matchday 5; despite opening the score with a header from Edon Hasani, the team conceded in the last minutes in a match which was marred by referee's mistakes.

On 25 September, Tirana won comfortably the second leg of Albanian Cup first round against Iliria Fushë-Krujë; Sentamu scored a hat-trick which was followed by Ngoo's goal. The team will play Flamurtari Vlorë in the second round.

Three days later, Tirana played their first derby match against Partizani Tirana after more than a year; the team lost again, making it 14 consecutive matches without winning. The loss also meant the team's worst Kategoria Superiore start since 2007–08 season.

October

Tirana's October begun with a 3–2 win at Kastrioti Krujë for the second win of the season. A brace by Blazhevski and an owngoal from Stijepović sealed the victory for the white&blues. It was Tirana's first away win in Kategoria Superiore since February 2016.

In the next league match, Tirana fell at the hands of Laçi; the guests won 1–0 at Selman Stërmasi Stadium thanks to a goal of Redon Xhixha while Blazhevski missed a crucial penalty in the last minutes. Following the match, striker Nnamdi Oduamadi was sent to hospital with a broken rib due to heavy challenges from Laçi players.

Players

Squad information

As of 28 September 2018

Squad no.	Name	Nationality	Position	Date of birth (age)
Goalkeepers
1	Ilion Lika		GK	(1980-05-17)17 May 1980 (aged 38)
81	Alessio Abibi		GK	(1996-12-04)4 December 1996 (aged 21)
89	Shpëtim Moçka		GK	(1989-10-20)20 October 1989 (aged 28)
Defenders
2	Marsel Ismailgeci		LB	(2000-03-14)14 March 2000 (aged 18)
3	Klisman Cake		CB	(1999-05-02)2 May 1999 (aged 19)
4	Gentian Muça		CB / DM	(1987-05-13)13 May 1987 (aged 31)
5	Marvin Turtulli		CB	(1994-10-17)17 October 1994 (aged 23)
17	Albi Doka		RB	(1997-06-26)26 June 1997 (aged 21)
28	Erion Hoxhallari		LB	(1993-02-26)26 February 1993 (aged 25)
21	Vincent Atinga		CB	(1993-10-30)30 October 1993 (aged 24)
23	Sedat Berisha		CB	(1989-09-03)3 September 1989 (aged 28)
Midfielders
6	Tony Mawejje		DM	(1990-12-15)15 December 1990 (aged 27)
7	Bedri Greca		CM	(1990-10-23)23 October 1990 (aged 27)
8	Winful Cobbinah		AM	(1991-09-06)6 September 1991 (aged 26)
13	Erando Karabeci		CM / DM / AM	(1988-09-06)6 September 1988 (aged 29)
14	Asion Daja		CM / RB	(1990-03-14)14 March 1990 (aged 28)
16	Edon Hasani		CM / DM / AM	(1992-01-09)9 January 1992 (aged 26)
18	Dorian Kërçiku		CM / RB / LB	(1993-07-30)30 July 1993 (aged 24)
19	Eni Imami		CM / LM / CB / LB	(1992-12-19)19 December 1992 (aged 25)
Forwards
9	Grend Halili		CF	(1998-05-24)24 May 1998 (aged 20)
10	Nnamdi Oduamadi		CF	(1990-10-17)17 October 1990 (aged 27)
11	Yunus Sentamu		CF	(1994-08-13)13 August 1994 (aged 23)
45	Michael Ngoo		CF	(1992-10-23)23 October 1992 (aged 25)
77	Dejan Blazhevski		CF	(1985-12-06)6 December 1985 (aged 32)

From youth squad

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 15 MF  ALB Jurgen Çelhaka 20 MF  ALB Ernest Muçi

No. Pos. Nation Player 22 MF  ALB Jurgen Vrapi 25 MF  ALB Andri Stafa

Transfers

Transfers in

Date	Pos.	Nationality	Player	Age	Moving from	Fee	Ref
23 June 2018	FW		Dejan Blazhevski	31	Vardar	Free
29 June 2018	MF		Eni Imami	24	Free agent	Free
1 July 2018	DF		Vincent Atinga	23	Free agent	Free
4 July 2018	MF		Jurgen Çelhaka	16	Youth team	Free
4 July 2018	DF		Marsel Ismailgeci	17	Youth team	Free
13 July 2018	MF		Winful Cobbinah	25	Free agent	Free
23 July 2018	MF		Edon Hasani	25	Free agent	Free
27 July 2018	DF		Sedat Berisha	27	Free agent	Free
14 August 2018	GK		Shpëtim Moçka	28	Free agent	Free
31 August 2018	FW		Nnamdi Oduamadi	27	Free agent	Free

Transfers out

Date	Pos.	Nationality	Player	Age	Moving to	Fee	Ref
8 July 2018	MF		Alked Çelhaka	23	Free agent	Free
1 August 2018	MF		Rei Qilimi	22	Free agent	Free
1 August 2018	DF		Alvaro Bishaj	26	Free agent	Free
9 August 2018	FW		Patrik Bardhi	20	Kastrioti Krujë	Free
19 August 2018	MF		Kenneth Muguna	22	Gor Mahia	Free
29 August 2018	MF		Jurgen Vrapi	19	Dinamo Tirana	Free

1. Following Bardhi's departure he joined Kastrioti Krujë.

Loans out

Start date	Pos.	Nationality	Name	To	End date	Ref.
14 June 2018	LB		Erion Hoxhallari	Laçi	3 August 2018

Pre-season and friendlies

25 July 2018 Friendly	Tirana	2–0	Apolonia Fier	Tiranë, Albania
17:00 CET	Blazhevski Hasani			Stadium: Selman Stërmasi Stadium

29 July 2018 Friendly	Tirana	3–0	Flamurtari Pristina	Tiranë, Albania
17:00 CET	Sentamu 55' Cobbinah 67' Turtulli 85'	Report		Stadium: Selman Stërmasi Stadium Referee: Klajdi Kola (Albania)

5 August 2018 Friendly	Tirana	1–3	Prishtina	Tiranë, Albania
17:00 CET	Doka 49'	Report	Korenica 10' (pen.), 20', 25'	Stadium: Selman Stërmasi Stadium

9 January 2019 Friendly	Tirana	1–2	Skënderbeu Korçë	Tiranë, Albania
14:00 CET	Muçi 14'	Report	Hoxhaj 66' Otto John 81'	Stadium: Skënder Halili Complex

12 January 2019 Friendly	Tirana	0–2	Laçi	Tiranë, Albania
14:00 CET		Report	Xhixha 6' Mersinaj 19'	Stadium: Skënder Halili Complex

16 January 2019 Friendly	Tirana	3–1	Besa Kavajë	Tiranë, Albania
14:00 CET	Muçi 65', 85' Doka 87'	Report	Onuh 60'	Stadium: Skënder Halili Complex

Competitions

Last updated: 2 June 2019
Source: Soccerway

Kategoria Superiore

League table

1. Flamurtari failed to obtain a UEFA license.
2. Since the winners of the 2018–19 Albanian Cup, Kukësi, qualified for European competition based on league position, the spot awarded to the cup winners was passed down to the sixth-placed team, Laçi, since the fourth-placed team and the fifth-placed team failed to obtain a UEFA license.

Results summary

Last updated: 30 May 2019.
Source: Competitive matches

Results by round

Matches

16 September 2018 4	Tirana	3–1	Luftëtari Gjirokastër	Tiranë
18:45 CEST	Blazhevski 3' Hoxhallari  18'  55' Turtulli 24' Daja  39' Greca 90+4',  90+4'	Report	Doka 14' (o.g.) Janičić  15'  71' Milosavljev  46' Ramadani  54' Ymeraj  66'	Stadium: Selman Stërmasi Stadium Attendance: 1,200 Referee: Eldorjan Hamiti

1. The match was originally scheduled to be played on 9 March, but it was delayed due to the boycott of the Union of Albanian football referees due to insecure conditions at the stadiums.
2. The match was awarded due to the exclusion of Kamza.

Albanian Cup

First round

Second round

Quarter-finals

Semi-finals

Final

Statistics

Squad stats

Last updated: 13 March 2019
Source: Soccerway

Top scorers

No.	Pos.	Nation	Name	Kategoria Superiore	Albanian Cup	Total
77	FW		Dejan Blazhevski	3	1	4
11	FW		Yunus Sentamu	0	3	3
8	MF		Winful Cobbinah	0	2	2
5	DF		Marvin Turtulli	1	1	2
7	MF		Bedri Greca	1	0	1
16	MF		Edon Hasani	1	0	1
20	FW		Ernest Muçi	1	0	1
45	FW		Michael Ngoo	0	1	1
#	Own goals			1	0	1
TOTAL				8	8	16

Last updated: 3 October 2018

Clean sheets

The list is sorted by shirt number when total appearances are equal.

Rnk	No.	Player	Kategoria Superiore	Albanian Cup	Total
1	81	Alessio Abibi	1	0	1
2	89	Shpëtim Moçka	0	1	1
TOTALS			1	1	2

Last updated: 25 September 2018

References

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2. "Erjon Hoxhallari rinovon kontraten bardheblu" [Erjon Hoxhallari renew the whiteblue contract] (in Albanian). kftirana.al. 6 June 2018. Retrieved 25 June 2018.
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5. ^ "Dejan Blazhevski vishet bardheblu" [Dejan Blazhevski dressed whiteblue] (in Albanian). kftirana.al. 24 June 2018. Retrieved 25 June 2018.
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13. ^ "Fillojnë spastrimet te Tirana, ja kush rrezikon" [The cleansen begun at Tirana, here's who risks] (in Albanian). Sport Ekspres. 9 July 2018. Retrieved 14 August 2018.
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21. "Gentjan Muça i rikthehet stervitjes" [Gentian Muça returns in training] (in Albanian). kftirana.al. 2 August 2018. Retrieved 14 August 2018.
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29. ^ "Merkato e çmendur, ja të gjitha lëvizjet e verës. Sa shumë largime e afrime për çdo ekip" [Crazy transfer market, here's all the summer moves. How many departures and arrivals for every team] (in Albanian). Panorama Sport. 1 September 2018. Retrieved 30 September 2018.
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43. "PIKANTE/ "Shi" bidonësh lojtarëve dhe Ze Marias, në fushë luhet me tre topa. Oduamadi shkon në… spital" [A rain of bottles to the players and Zé Maria, is played with three balls in the field. Oduamadi goes to… hospital] (in Albanian). Panorama Sport. 8 October 2018. Retrieved 10 October 2018.
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45. "Superliga: Season rules". Scoresway. Archived from the original on 20 August 2018. Retrieved 8 June 2017.

External links

• Official website

• KF Tirana seasons
• Albanian football clubs 2018–19 season