Flamurtari FC

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Flamurtari Vlorë
)
Flamurtari
Full nameFlamurtari Football Club
Nickname(s)Kuq e Zinjtë (The Red and Blacks)
Flota Kuq e Zi (The Red and Black fleet)
Founded23 March 1923; 100 years ago (1923-03-23) as Shoqeria Sportive Vlorë
GroundFlamurtari Stadium
Capacity8,500[1]
OwnerMunicipality of Vlorë, Air Albania, TRK
PresidentSinan Idrizi
Head coachEqerem Memushi
LeagueKategoria e Parë
2022–23Kategoria e Parë, 3rd
Current season

Flamurtari FC is a 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.

Founded in 1923, the club is one of the oldest in Albania, also being one of its most successful clubs, having won one

Albanian Superliga title in 1991, four Albanian Cups, and two Albanian Supercups. Flamurtari is also known for their European runs in the 1980s, where they famously reached the last sixteen in the 1987–88 UEFA Cup, where they beat Spanish giants Barcelona in Vlorë
but lost on aggregate.

History

Foundation

KS Flamurtari Vlorë were founded on 23 March 1923, as Shoqeria Sportive Vlorë with Milto Korçari as the club's first ever President, while Malo Ismaili held the role of the secretary and Faslli Zoga that of the financier. The club was created to make sports more organized and popular, with a focus on football. Its financial needs were covered by donations from the members or from different activities organized in the city of

Bashkimi Shkodran
at home, 1–1) and six losses.

World War II

In the

Vetëtima Himarë entered the competition, while Sportklub Narta withdrew. The season proved once again the superiority of the Red and Black team against their Second Division opponents, by finishing once again top of the Group C and securing promotion. In the two-legged final against Sportklub Elbasan
, which determined the winner of the Second Division, Shoqeria Sportive lost 4–3 on aggregate, thus ending the season as runners-up.

The

Tomori Berat
thanks to a better goal difference.

On 7 April 1939, Albania was invaded by

Teuta
was superior and won the match by three to one. This meant Sh.S. Ismail Qemali was knocked out of the tournament.

1945–1980

In November 1944, Shoqata Sportive Ismail Qemali was re-opened. The championship began on 16 September 1945 and the club was playing against

Dinamo Tirana
and they lost 1–0 after a hard-fought match. The next years were almost same for the team, placed always in mid-table.

Golden years

In the 1980s Flamurtari regained their former status as one of the big names in

KF Partizani
and thus claimed their first ever professional trophy.

In 1985–86, Flamurtari finished second in the championship losing the trophy only by goal difference to

Vllaznia
.

After a perfect season they gained the right to play for the second consecutive year in the

Partizan were leading 2–0 until the 76th minute when Sokol Kushta
scored the goal that took Flamurtari in the next round.

In the second round Flamurtari were drawn against Wismut Aue. In the first game in Aue, Flamurtari lost 0–1 being denied many times by keeper Weisflog, however in the second leg there was nothing to do for Aue as Flamurtari defeated them, 2–0.

In the third round Flamurtari were drawn once again against FC Barcelona. First leg was played at Camp Nou in front of 35,000 spectators on 25 November. Flamurtari scored in the first half and the players went to the first half break with a score Barcelona-Flamurtari 0–1. However, in the second half Barcelona turned the situation in favour and won with scoreline 4–1. Flamurtari narrowly won the second leg, 1–0, which wasn't enough to secure the next round and was therefore eliminated from

UEFA Cup
after six played matches.

In the same season Flamurtari went all the way to win the

Vllaznia 5–2), they won the championship with a six-point lead. In the same year they would win also the Albanian Supercup
.

The 1990s

After the fall of communism, Flamurtari had difficult moments. Many players left the club and went to play abroad. In the 1991–92 season the club started the championship with −6 points because of financial irregularities. Flamurtari finished the

Stadiumi Flamurtari a fortress, winning nine and drawing four out of 13 matches played home, but away from home the team had some horrible results culminating with a 5–0 away defeat to KF Laçi. The next two seasons Flamurtari would finish in fourth place. The 1996–97 would be the best season for Flamurtari after the fall of communism. The team had a great start in the season with eight wins in the first nine games. Finishing the 1st phase of the championship in the first place, Flamurtari started the second phase while Albania was suffering the 1997 riots. Flamurtari was leading until the week the championship was suspended and the Albanian Football Association decided to play all games after in Tirana, something Flamurtari could not afford because of the danger. So, after the games were played KF Tirana
ended up winning the Championship, while Flamurtari finished in third place. The next seasons would be the worst for the team in the last 30 years with the team having its best placement in the 1998–99 season finishing 11th in a 16 team league.

Supporters

Flamurtari Vlorë fans are considered as the most passionate in Albania. They are, also, the vast majority of all Albania, with at least 20% of all Albanians. This is related with the fact that there has not been other football team in Vlorë. Usually, as mentioned in Petraq Hanxhari's book "Per ty, Flamurtar! (For you, Flamurtar!)" from Monday to Thursday the fans used to talk in every pub about the team's last game and condition of the players. On Thursday, after the team's usual test match with any local side, the fans would talk about the next game. But nowadays, the support for Flamurtari has been going down. Even though the ticket sales and the number of season-ticket holders has increased rapidly since 1999 (the lowest average attendance in the entire Flamurtari's history), there are much fewer in comparison with the Communist era. The two fan clubs supporting Flamurtari are "Dragonjte Kuqezi (Red and Black Dragons)" and "Flota Kuqezi (The Red and Black Fleet)". The latter usually stay in the East Stand, commonly known as "Tribuna C".

Club rivalries

Flamurtari Vlorë's main rival is

Teuta. The matches against Teuta are called the "coastal derbies". At years 2011–13, Flamurtari Vlorë had some troubles against Skënderbeu Korçë
because of a clash between the fans of each team but the violence has subsided.

Stadium

The main stand at the Flamurtari Stadium

Before the construction of the stadium, the club played their home games on a field known as Varri i Halimit, which translates to Halimi's Tomb. The field was located near Uji i Ftohtë, which is where the club's training ground is located. The stadium was built in 1961 with an initial capacity of 6,500, and was expanded to 11,000 in 1975 following reconstruction. During the club's golden era the stadium would attract crowds of up to 15,000 spectators and in 1987 when the club faced

UEFA Cup there was a crowd of 18,500, making it the ground's record attendance. Between 2004 and 2012 the ground was under recurring development with the aid of the Albanian Football Association which saw the ground converted into an all-seater stadium
with a capacity of 8,500. In addition to the construction of the stands and the installation of seats, a new parking lot was built and floodlights were installed for the first time.

Crest and colours

Badges

Flamurtari's first crest.

The club's traditional colours are red and black, after the

Albanian Football Championship, and it was designed to resemble the Vlorë Municipality coat of arms. Following the Second World War the club changed its crest to the shape of a shield, with the initial F in black in the middle of the shield on a red background. In the 1980s the club's crest changed once again but the shape and style still remained, but the club still placed the initial F on the football kits rather than the full crest until 2000. On 3 August 2015 the club announced that the crest would be changed ahead of the 2015–16 campaign as part of rebranding strategy,[2] but they faced immediate pressure from fans as well as the local municipality who were unhappy at both the decision to change the crest and the new design.[3][4]
The shield shape was replaced by a circle with an F and half of a double headed eagle, as found on the Albanian flag.

Kits

Flamurtari kits during 1987–88 season.

A photograph of the first ever official championship game, taken on 6 April 1930, shows the players wearing a white jersey with a thick black horizontal stripe at the chest, black shorts and black socks. This design was common in England where post office worker and Flamurtari's president, Milto Korcari, ordered them from. Later, in 1937, the team adopted the vertical stripes and started playing in a red jersey with thin vertical black stripes, black shorts and black socks. In the first years of the team's history the kits featured even the team's emblem while later this was replaced with a golden "F" sewn in the middle of the chest.

After World War II, the team started using red kits, white shorts and red socks. In different championships the team used black shorts instead of white, similar to the design of the Albania national football team. The away kit was all white. This proved to be a popular design with the fans because it reminded them of the national team. In the 1960s however the primary kit was changed again and a new one was introduced. The new kit was white with three vertical stripes in the center (Red – Black – Red), black shorts and black socks. The red kit which earlier had been used as a home kit was now used as an away kit for the first team but it remained as a home kit for the youth team. In 1975 the club decided to reverse once again the kits and the red kit with white shorts and red socks became again the home kit. Away the team used its traditional white kit with the three central vertical stripes.

1981 marked the start of a new era at the club. Apart from a new promising generation of footballers blooming from the youth setup and great results on the pitch, a new kit was introduced which remains until today, with minor changes, the club's home kit. The kit was similar to the one used in the late 1930s, red with thin vertical black stripes, red shorts and red socks while the away kit was still the same. The kit proved to be popular with the fans, primarily because of the colours, which are the Albanian national colours, but also with the great achievements the team reached in this period.

Over the years the home kit has not had major changes and the design has remained almost the same, with the change being in the primary colour of the team, sometimes red and sometimes black, and in the colour of the shorts and socks which have changed from red to black. The away kit has been for many years the same with the club using an all-white in only five seasons since 1981.

A new third kit was introduced for the first time in 2005 to celebrate the team winning the

2011–12 Albanian Superliga
the team used an outfit based mostly on black. The kit featured a black chevron and red and black stripes below it, black shorts and black socks. The away kit remained the traditional away kit.

For the

2012–13 Albanian Superliga, Flamurtari used a Legea
design based primarily on red with black thick stripes, black shorts and black socks, while the club decided to drop the traditional away kit in favour of an all-white one.

Kit evolution

1937–45
1946–61, 1975–81
1961–75
1975–90
Late 90s–present

Shirt sponsors

Sponsor Type Name
Main sponsor Albania Municipality of Vlorë
Secondary sponsors Albania Air Albania
Turkey TRK
Official clothing provider Italy Diadora

Honours

Flamurtari Vlorë honours
Type Competition Titles Seasons/Years
Domestic Albanian Cup 4 1984–85, 1987–88, 2008–09, 2013–14
Albanian Supercup 2 1990, 1991
Kategoria Superiore 1 1990–91
Kategoria e Parë 1 2005–06
Kategoria e Dytë 1 2021–22
Minor Bashkimi Cup of Journal 3 1962, 1963, 1987
Trade Unions of Albania Cup 1 1948
Party of Labour of Albania Cup 1976
Birra Norga Trophy 2007

Players

Current squad

As of 19 May 2023

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

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK Albania ALB Aldo Teqja
2 DF Albania ALB Fabio Hasa
3 DF Albania ALB Fjoralb Deliaj
4 DF Albania ALB Denis Pjeshka
5 MF Albania ALB Idriz Batha
6 DF Albania ALB Fabian Beqja
7 MF Albania ALB Erjon Vucaj
8 MF Albania ALB Aleksander Dalanaj
9 FW Albania ALB Vasil Shkurti
10 FW Brazil BRA Índio Oliveira
11 FW Albania ALB Arlind Leshi
12 GK Albania ALB Arjol Kaloshi
13 FW Sweden SWE Arton Podrimcaku
14 MF Albania ALB Erik Kondaj
No. Pos. Nation Player
15 MF Slovenia SVN Marko Krivičič
16 MF Albania ALB Behar Ramadani
17 DF Guinea GUI Lancinet Sidibe
18 FW Albania ALB Gersi Diamanti
19 MF Albania ALB
Lejdi Licaj
20 MF Albania ALB Paolo Pjeshka
21 MF Albania ALB Erlis Frashëri
22 FW Peru PER Sebastián La Torre
23 FW Albania ALB Daniel Bregova
24 GK Albania ALB Bruno Qarri
25 MF Kosovo KOS Ermal Vitija
28 FW Nigeria NGA Beji Anthony
29 DF Colombia COL Gustavo Benjumea

Personnel

Current technical staff
Position Name
Head coach Albania Eqerem Memushi
Analysis Coach Albania Edmond Liçaj
Assistant coach Albania Lejdi Liçaj
Goalkeeping coach Albania Luan Birçe
Assistant G Coach Albania Erion Dinaj
U19 coach Albania Fjodor Xhafa
U17 coach Albania Bledion Guga
Physiotherapist Albania Arsen Voci
Doctor Albania Amarildo Prifti
Board members
Office Name
President Albania Sinan Idrizi
Vice-president Albania Kreshnik Çipi
Sport director Albania Rapo Taho
Technical director Albania Alfred Ferko

Historical list of coaches

Coaches who have coached Flamurtari Vlorë since 1968 are as follows:

  1. Albania Stavri Lubonja (–1968)
  2. Albania Hasan Luçi (1968–)
  3. Albania Bejkush Birçe (1975–1978)
  4. Albania Agron Sulaj (1979–1983)
  5. Albania Leonidha Çuri (1983–1988)
  6. Albania Edmond Liçaj (1990–1994)
  7. Albania Bejkush Birçe (1994–1996)
  8. Albania Leonidha Çuri (1996–1997)
  9. Albania Latif Gjondeda (1997)
  10. Albania Uran Xhafa (1998)
  11. Albania Vasil Ruci (1998–1999)
  12. Albania Edmond Liçaj (1999–2000)
  13. Albania Sokol Kushta (2000–2001)
  14. Albania Gjergji Leka (2001)
  15. Albania Mexhid Haxhiu (2001)
  16. Bulgaria Nikolay Arabov (2002)
  17. Albania Petraq Bifsha (2002)
  18. Albania Leonidha Çuri (2003)
  19. Albania Petraq Bifsha (2003)
  20. Albania Alfred Ferko (2003–2004)
  21. Albania Agim Canaj (2006)
  22. Albania Eqerem Memushi (2006)
  23. Albania Vasil Ruci (2006–2007)
  24. Albania Gerd Haxhiu (2007)
  25. Albania Eqerem Memushi (2007–2008)
  26. Croatia Slavko Kovačić (2008)
  27. Albania Edmond Liçaj (2008–2009)
  28. Albania Eqerem Memushi (2009)
  29. Albania Gugash Magani (2009–2011)
  30. Albania Edmond Lutaj (2011)
  31. Albania Shkëlqim Muça (2011–2012)
  32. Spain Julián Rubio (2012)
  33. Albania Ernest Gjoka (2012–2014)
  34. Italy Ernestino Ramella (2014–2015)
  35. Czech Republic Stanislav Levý (2015)
  36. Albania Gentian Mezani (2015–2016)
  37. North MacedoniaAlbania Zekirija Ramadani (2016)
  38. Albania Gugash Magani (2016)
  39. Albania Gentian Mezani (2016–2017)
  40. Albania Shpëtim Duro (2017–2018)
  41. Albania Ardian Behari (2018)
  42. Albania Ilir Daja (2018–2019)
  43. Brazil Marcello Troisi (2019)
  44. Albania Gerd Haxhiu (2019)
  45. Albania Dritan Sadedini (2019)
  46. Albania Luan Birce (2019)
  47. Albania Dritan Resuli (2020)
  48. Brazil Marcello Troisi (2020)
  49. Albania Dritan Resuli (2020 − Sep 2022)
  50. Brazil Marcello Troisi (Sep 2022 – Mar 2023)
  51. Italy Diego Longo (Mar 2023 – Jun 2023)
  52. Albania Emiliano Çela (Jun 2023 − 27 Nov 2023)
  53. Albania Dritan Resuli (28 Nov 2023 − 30 Jan 2024)
  54. Albania Alfred Ferko (30 Jan 2024 − 2 Feb 2024)
  55. Albania Eqerem Memushi (3 Feb 2024–)

Recent seasons

As of 23 May 2018
Season League Pos Pld W D L GF GA Pts Cup
2006–07 Kategoria Superiore 9th 33 9 7 17 35 41 34 R16
2007–08 8th 33 10 14 9 35 37 44 R16
2008–09 6th 33 10 12 11 33 33 42 W
2009–10 5th 33 13 8 2 42 39 47 R16
2010–11 2nd 33 22 3 8 62 27 66−3 R16
2011–12 4th 26 13 7 6 42 20 46 SF
2012–13 4th 26 13 7 6 49 33 46 QF
2013–14 7th 33 14 9 10 45 40 48−3 W
2014–15 6th 36 10 8 18 29 37 38 QF
2015–16 8th 36 9 11 16 34 44 35−3 SF
2016–17 8th 36 12 10 14 42 34 40−6 QF
2017–18 6th 36 11 13 12 37 37 46 SF
2018–19 5th 36 15 9 12 35 32 54 SR
2019–20 9th 36 2 9 25 32 72 15 SR
2020–21 Kategoria e Parë 7th 20 5 2 13 14 30 14 SR
2021–22 Kategoria e Dytë 1st 22 18 4 0 57 7 58 QF
2022–23 Kategoria e Parë 3rd 26 13 7 6 48 23 46 R16
2023–24

European Record

At an international level, Flamurtari are best known for a series of good results obtained in the late 1980s, being one of the most successful Albanian teams in the history of European Competitions. In the 1986–87 UEFA Cup season, they played against Barcelona, who eliminated them with a 1–1 scorline in Vlorë and a 0–0 draw in Barcelona. In the next season, Flamurtari managed to knock out Partizan as 2–0 in Vlorë and 1–2 in Belgrade and Wismut Aue as 0–1 in Aue and 2–0 in Vlorë before losing again to Barcelona as 1–4 in Barcelona and 1–0 in Vlorë. In the 2009–10 UEFA Europa League campaign, they faced Motherwell from the Scottish Premier League. The team put in a strong performance despite playing against technically gifted opponents to record a 1–0 home victory. However, despite going to Scotland with confidence boosted, they were beaten 8–1.

Season Competition Round Opponent Home Away
1985–86
UEFA Cup Winners' Cup 1R Finland HJK Helsinki 1–2 2–3
1986–87
UEFA Cup
Spain Barcelona 1–1 0–0
1987–88 Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Partizan 2–0 1–2
2R East Germany Wismut Aue 2–0 0–1
1/16 Spain Barcelona 1–0 1–4
1988–89 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup 1R
Lech Poznan
2–3 0–1
1990–91 Greece Olympiacos 0–2 1–3
1991–92
UEFA European Cup
Sweden IFK Göteborg 1–1 0–0
1996–97 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup QR Slovakia Humenné 0–2 0–1
2009–10 UEFA Europa League 2QR Scotland Motherwell 1–0 1–8
2011–12 1QR
Buducnost Podgorica
1–2 3–1
2QR Czech Republic Baumit Jablonec 0–2 1–5
2012–13 1QR Hungary Budapest Honvéd 0–1 0–2
2014–15 1QR Georgia (country) Sioni Bolnisi 1–2 3–2
2QR Romania Petrolul Ploiești 1–3 0–2

Notable European Campaigns

Season Achievement Notes
UEFA Europa League
1986–87 First Round eliminated by Spain FC Barcelona 1–1 on aggregate*
1987–88 Round of 16 eliminated by Spain FC Barcelona 5–1 on aggregate
Season Achievement Notes
UEFA Champions League
1991–92 First Round eliminated by Sweden IFK Göteborg 1–1 on aggregate*

*Using away goals rule

References

  1. ^ "World Stadiums". Archived from the original on 2017-07-25. Retrieved 2014-01-25.
  2. ^ "Flamurtari ndryshon stemen" [Flamurtari changes the crest] (in Albanian). Sport Ekspres. 3 August 2015.
  3. ^ "Tifozëve nuk iu pëlqen logo e re e Flamurtarit" [Fans do not like Flamurtari's new logo] (in Albanian). Bota Sot. 4 August 2015.
  4. ^ "Flamurtari ndërron logon, Bashkia: E jashtëligjshme" [Flamurtari switches the logo, Municipality: Outlaw] (in Albanian). Panorama Sport. 5 August 2015.

External links