KF Skënderbeu Korçë

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
For other uses, see Skanderbeg (disambiguation).

Skënderbeu
Municipality of Korçë
PresidentArdian Takaj
Head CoachIvan Gvozdenović
LeagueKategoria Superiore
2022–23Kategoria e Parë, 1st (promoted)
WebsiteClub website

Klubi Futbollistik Skënderbeu Korçë (Albanian pronunciation: [skəndɛɾbɛu kɔɾtʃə]), is an Albanian professional football club based in Korçë, a city in southeastern Albania. The club plays in the Kategoria Superiore, which is the first tier of football in the country. The club was founded as Vllazëria Korçë in 1909. In 1925, it took on its current form following the merger of several local clubs, and the club's name was changed 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.

Skënderbeu Korçë have won 8

Dinamo Tirana
who had won four consecutive titles in the 1950s.

In 2015, the club became the first Albanian side to reach the play-off round of the UEFA Champions League but they lost to Dinamo Zagreb and dropped into the UEFA Europa League, and became the first Albanian side to qualify for the group stages of a UEFA competition.

History

The first years

The first football club in the city of

Albanian National Lyceum formed the Shpresa sports society. Skënderbeu was formed in 1925 when a large number of the young men and young men of the city were playing football regularly in local fields. The rise in popularity of the sport led to most neighbourhoods forming their own football teams, such as Zhgaba in 1926 and Leka i Madh, Pirro, Brekverdhit, Zjarri, Tigri and Diamanti in 1927, which competed in the city's first organised football competition held in 1928. These teams were local, however, and would only compete with one another, as the main football club to represent the city was Skënderbeu who overcome several problems at the start, some of which were even political. Skënderbeu was named after 15th century Albanian nobleman and national hero Skanderbeg
.

The club quickly became the Alban's main football team, and in 1926 they began to play friendly games against teams from neighbouring countries, starting with Macedonian side Monastir, then part of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. In two games played, Skënderbeu won 5–2 and then drew 2–2. Skënderbeu also played friendlies against Greek teams from Ermioni and Thessaloniki, which is modern day Aris FC. They also played against Kavala, who they beat 2–0 in Albania but lost 1–0 against in Greece.[4]

1930s championships

The club competed in the first ever national football competition in Albania, which was the

1933, finishing two points ahead of Vllaznia.[6] The championship winning side was: Klani Marjani, Kristaq Bimbli, Andrea Çani, Andon Miti, Lefter Petra, Fori Stasa, Nexhat Dishnica, Tomor Ypi, Thoma Vangjeli, Servet Teufik Agaj, Enver Kulla, Vasil Trebicka, Stavri Kondili, Aristotel Samsuri
, with Qemal Omari as their manager.

In the same year, the club's striker Servet Teufik Agaj was the top goalscorer with seven league goals, an honour also won by his strike partner Aristotel Samsuri in 1931, also with seven goals. The following year, Skënderbeu strongly fought to retain their title, but only finished as runners-up once again to KF Tirana, with Samsuri being the club's top goalscorer that season with seven goals. In the next two championships held prior to World War II, Skënderbeu finished in fourth place in both years under manager Qemal Omari. The club ceased operations between 1938 and 1945 due to World War II, as there were no official tournaments held in Albania.

Post-war struggles

In 1945, the club began operating again. Supporters paraded in the streets of Korçë as the club announced the news. The majority of the players who were active in the 1930s were no longer playing football competitively, so the squad was virtually new, except for Klani Marjani, Bellovoda and Saro.

But the delight was short lived as the club struggled to match their performances before the war. In 1945, they finished fourth in Group B, consisting of six teams, and in the following 1946 season they finished fifth in Group A, just one point ahead of bottom place. Manager Tato Bimbli decided to bring in young players in order to revive the squad during the 1947 season, when the club also changed its name to Dinamo Korçë for the Communist Party, Bimbli's decision to bring in young players paid off as the club finished third in the league out of nine teams. The following season, however, turned out to be a disaster as they finished bottom of Group A with just a single point from seven games.

In 1949, the club changed its name to Korça, and they finished in sixth place out of nine teams in the same year. Manager Tato Bimbli left the club after having a difficult time in charge, and he was replaced by Spiro Koçe in 1950. In 1951, all Albanian teams were ordered by the Communist Party to be named "Puna", which literally translates to "work". During these years, the club remained a notable force, but with no relative success often finishing in mid-table in the league. Skënderbeu was also a three time finalist in the

1976–77
as well as three other times with the last win in 2008–09 season where Skënderbeu won the rights to move into the Albanian Superliga.

Recent dominance

2009–10

During the winter of 2009–10, the club was bottom of the league and facing the real possibility of relegation from the Albanian Superliga, but there were seismic changes in terms of the ownership and the board, as a new president in the shape of Red Bull Albania CEO Agim Zeqo was appointed. A new 16-member board was also elected, and a host of new donors attached themselves to the club, including some of Albania's most successful businessmen, such as

KS Kamza, which they won 1–0 through a second minute Klodian Asllani goal to remain in the Albanian Superliga.[8]

2010–11

Ahead of the 2010–11 season, the squad was revamped and under the guidance of

Flamurtari Vlorë. Shkëlqim Muça was replaced by Shpëtim Duro as head coach in February and defeated Flamurtari Vlorë in his first game in charge to move closer to top spot, and he went on to guide the club to 11 wins in his 13 games in charge, to win the Albanian title for the first time since 1933 and to qualify for the UEFA Champions League qualifying round for the first time in their history.[9] After winning the league for the first time in 78 years, club president Agim Zeqo said, "It was a great season and it was great to see our city and our fans enjoy this title. This town loves football and deserved this win. Let's do it again next season."[10]

2011-12

The club made its Champions League debut against Cypriot side

Teuta Durrës
to the title with only a single point between the sides to claim the only Champions League spot once again. In the Albanian Cup, Skënderbeu reached their first final since 1976, but they lost to KF Tirana as they continued their 100% losing record in Albanian Cup finals, having lost in 1958, 1965 and 1976 before the 2012 final.

2012–13

They kicked off the 2012–13 campaign with their first ever Champions League and European win, as they defeated Hungarian side

Bylis Ballsh
in the semi-final after a 2–1 aggregate loss over two legs, a result which came as a surprise as Skënderbeu had defeated all five teams they had faced during their cup run and were considered the favourites.

2013–14

The club won the

Partizani
.

2014–15

The club won the Albanian Supercup for the second year in a row after defeating Flarmutari 1–0 in the final. In the new Champions League season, they had great expectations fed by a 0–0 draw in the second qualifying round against

Teuta Durrës
. Then, they had an unbeaten run, with losses against only KF Tirana and KF Laçi. In the Albanian Cup, they were knocked out by Kukësi in the semi-finals. They won their fifth consecutive championship title and sixth overall.

2015–16

The summer transfer window was marked by the signing of the Albanian international

Sporting Clube de Portugal. In matchday 1, their first ever group stage game, the club was defeated at home 0–1 by Beşiktaş after a hard fight between the two sides. In the next matchday, they lost 0–2 to Lokomotiv Moscow in Moscow. Their worst defeat in the European competition yet came the next matchday, a storming 1–5 loss to Sporting in the away leg at Lisbon
, but also had the Albanian side scoring their first goal in the UEFA Europa League group stages. In the home match, Skënderbeu Korçë recorded a historic 3–0 win over Sporting, was one of the most important victories of a football club in Albania as Skënderbeu recorded their first points in a Europa League group stage game. They received 2 scoreless loses in the remaining matches respectively 2–0 away against Beşiktaş and 0–3 home against Lokomotiv Moscow to end the European campaign eliminating from group stage ranked in the last place. In the cup they advanced until the semi-final to be eliminated from Laçi on away goals rule after losing the first match away 1–0 and despite winning the second one 2–1. They won their sixth consecutive league title collecting 79 points 5 more than Partizani Tirana.

2016–17

Skënderbeu were banned from European football during the 2016–17 season for 10 years over

match-fixing allegations.[11] The decision was unprecedented in UEFA's history, both for the length of the ban as well as the fact that UEFA's conclusions were based primarily on statistical analysis of betting patterns.[12]

2017–18

Skënderbeu entered

UE Sant Julia, defeating them 1–0 at home and 5–0 in Andorra, so they qualified. For the 2nd round, they played against the Kazakhstan outfit, Kairat. The match ended in a draw (1–1) in Kazakhstan and won 2–0 at home. They then went on to play the Czech Republic side, FK Mladá Boleslav and lost 2–1 on the night in the Czech Republic. The return match in Elbasan Arena saw Skënderbeu winning the regular time 2–1, while the extra periods yielded no further goals. Skënderbeu ultimately triumphed 4–2 on penalties. For the play-off round, they were drawn against Dinamo Zagreb for their second time, just like the UEFA Champions League play-off 2 years ago, where Skënderbeu were eliminated 6–2 on aggregate. They surprised Dinamo in the away match by scoring through Liridon Latifi
in the 37th minute, but conceding in the very last minute. Even though Skënderbeu didn't win, they could hope for the Europa League qualification thanks to the away goal scored. Skënderbeu needed at least a goalless draw to progress to the next stage of the competition. In the return leg, that was exactly what happened. Skënderbeu qualified for the group stage for the second time in their history, and also being the first Albanian team to win four qualifying rounds in the Europa League. Also, they have been the only Albanian club to earn more than 3 points, which was the record for the most points earned in the Europa League group stage by an Albanian club 2 years ago.

On 29 March 2018, Skënderbeu was handed a 10-year ban from European competition on the basis of conclusive evidence of match fixing. The club was additionally fined €1 million in one of the harshest punishments of a European club. The club is expected to appeal.

2019–20

On 12 July 2019, Skënderbeu's appeal against their 10-year ban from European competition was dismissed by the Court of Arbitration for Sport.[13]

Stadium

The club has played its home games at the Skënderbeu Stadium since it was built in 1957. The stadium was fully renovated in 2010 in order to gain accreditation from UEFA to host European games at the ground. The stadium has a capacity of 12,343 people all seater. It was approved by UEFA, to hold preliminary rounds of Champions League matches in 2011.

Supporters

Skenderbeu is considered to be one of the best supported clubs in Albania, with the majority of fans live in the Korçë District, which has a population of just under 140,000. The main supporters' group for the club is called Ujqërit e Dëborës, which literally translates to snow wolves. The group was formed in 2008 and quickly became considered the club's main supporters' group. They are present at every home game at the Skënderbeu Stadium and they also organise trips to every away game of the season, also attending Albania national team games alongside other teams' supporters' groups.[14] It is compulsory for every member to wear either the group's or Skënderbeu's clothing during games to distinguish between other fans. The group also has factions in different cities around the world where there are Albanian diaspora, including Toronto, Canada. Yearly membership to be an official member of the group costs 1000 lek (€7,14 or £5.86 as of 1 February 2014).

They have a fierce rivalry with KF Tirana's supports groups

Tiranë the Ujqërit e Deborës group called upon Tirona Fanatics members to reduce the tensions between the two sets of fans.[15]

In November 2013, Skënderbeu was forced to play Flamurtari Vlorë behind closed doors due to the behaviour of Ujqërit e Dëborës against Partizani in a 3–0 win on 2 November. The game against Partizani Tirana was seen by attended by 5500 and there were no altercations between rival fans or any offensive chanting but the

Albanian Football Association deemed the choreography of the Ujqërit e Dëborës to be worthy of a one match ban on supporters.[16]

Honours

Domestic

Recent seasons

Season Division Pos. Pl. W D L GS GA P Cup Supercup Europe Top Scorer
2006–07
 Kategoria e Parë 1st 24 17 5 2 46 18 56 FR — — — Albania Migen Memelli 13
2007–08
 Kategoria Superiore 12th 33 3 2 28 26 80 11 FR — — — Albania Marius Ngjela 12
2008–09
 Kategoria e Parë 2nd 30 20 5 5 60 32 65 FR — — — Albania Migen Memelli 15
2009–10
 Kategoria Superiore 10th 33 11 9 13 41 41 42 QF — — — Croatia Miliam Guerrib 11
2010–11
 Kategoria Superiore 1st 33 23 4 6 52 23 73 QF — — —
Alfredo Rafael Sosa
13
2011–12
 Kategoria Superiore 1st 26 17 6 3 45 16 57 RU RU UCL 2QR Albania Daniel Xhafaj 11
2012–13
 Kategoria Superiore 1st 26 18 4 4 43 14 58 SF RU UCL 2QR Croatia Pero Pejić 12
2013–14
 Kategoria Superiore 1st 33 18 7 8 52 32 61 SF W UCL
UEL 		3QR
PO 		Croatia Pero Pejić 20
2014–15
 Kategoria Superiore 1st 36 24 7 5 58 18 79 SF W UCL 2QR Brazil Dhiego Martins 7
2015–16
 Kategoria Superiore 1st 36 25 4 7 73 27 79 SF RU UCL
UEL 		PO
GS 		Albania Hamdi Salihi 27
2016–17
 Kategoria Superiore 3rd 36 21 9 6 45 22 72 RU RU — — Albania Hamdi Salihi 15
2017–18
 Kategoria Superiore 1st 36 22 6 8 68 41 72 W — UEL GS The Gambia Ali Sowe 21
2018–19
 Kategoria Superiore 4th 36 15 12 9 45 30 55 SF W — — Albania Dejvi Bregu 9
2019–20
 Kategoria Superiore 4th 36 17 7 12 42 43 58 QF — — — Albania Dejvi Bregu 10
2020–21
 Kategoria Superiore 7th 36 9 10 17 34 55 37 RU — — — Netherlands Alfred Mensah 7
2021–22
 Abissnet Superiore 10th 36 4 14 18 23 43 26 QF — — — Netherlands Alfred Mensah 9
2022–23 Kategoria e Parë 1st 24 13 9 2 37 12 48 SR — — — Republic of Ireland Abdul Temitope 12
2023–24 Abissnet Superiore — — —

Records

European competitions record

By competition

As of 19 October 2017
Competition App Pld W D L GF GA
Balkan Cup
1
4
2
0
2
3
8
UEFA Champions League
5
16
6
3
7
18
25
UEFA Europa League
3
22
7
5
10
24
29
Total
9
42
15
8
19
45
62

Matches

Season Competition Round Club Home Away Aggregate
1977–78 Balkans Cup Group B Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Rijeka 1–0 0–6
2nd
Greece Aris 2–0 0–2
2011–12 UEFA Champions League 2Q Cyprus APOEL 0–2 0–4 0–6
2012–13 UEFA Champions League 2Q Hungary Debrecen 1–0 0–3 1–3
2013–14 UEFA Champions League 2Q
Neftchi Baku
 1–0
(aet) 		0–0 1–0
3Q Kazakhstan Shakhter Karagandy 3–2 0–3 3–5
UEFA Europa League PO Ukraine Chornomorets Odesa 1–0
(aet) 		0–1 1–1
(6–7 p)
2014–15 UEFA Champions League 2Q Belarus BATE Borisov 1–1 0–0 1–1
2015–16 UEFA Champions League 2Q Northern Ireland Crusaders 4–1 2–3 6–4
3Q Moldova Milsami Orhei 2–0 2–0 4–0
PO Croatia Dinamo Zagreb 1–2 1–4 2–6
UEFA Europa League Group H Turkey Beşiktaş 0–1 0–2
4th
Russia Lokomotiv Moscow 0–3 0–2
Sporting CP
 3–0 1–5
2017–18 UEFA Europa League 1Q Andorra Sant Julià 1–0 5–0 6–0
2Q Kazakhstan Kairat 2–0 1–1 3–1
3Q Czech Republic Mladá Boleslav 2–1 (aet) 1–2 3–3
(2–1 p)
PO Croatia Dinamo Zagreb 0–0 1–1 1–1 (
a
)
Group B Ukraine Dynamo Kyiv 3–2 1–3
4th
Serbia Partizan 0–0 0–2
Switzerland Young Boys 1–1 1–2
Notes
  • 1Q: First qualifying round
  • 2Q: Second qualifying round
  • 3Q: Third qualifying round
  • PO: Play-off round

Ranking

UEFA club coefficient ranking

As of 1 June 2021[17]
Rank Team Points
286
Europa
 4.000
287 Latvia Liepāja 4.000
288
Vardar Skopje
 4.000
289
Skënderbeu
 4.000
290
Hibernians
 3.750
291
Levadia Tallinn
 3.750
292 Georgia (country) Torpedo Kutaisi 3.750

Players

Current squad

As of 6 April 2024[18]

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
 		Herdis Alliu
4 DF Brazil BRA Marco Ramos
5 DF Albania 
ALB
 		Elvis Prençi
6 DF Nigeria NGA Mario Rabiu
7 FW Albania 
ALB
 		Gresild Lika
8 MF Albania 
ALB
 		Dean Liço (captain)
9 FW Albania 
ALB
 		Ermir Rashica
10 FW North Macedonia MKD Suhel Muharem
11 FW Albania 
ALB
 		Ardit Nikaj
14 DF Albania 
ALB
 		Andrea Gerco
17 MF Albania 
ALB
 		Rei Pecani
No. Pos. Nation Player
18 FW Nigeria NGA Samuel Ajine
20 DF Ghana GHA Randy Dwumfour
21 DF Albania 
ALB
 		Kosta Vangjeli
23 MF North Macedonia MKD Ramin Alii
25 MF Albania 
ALB
 		Dejvid Janaqi
30 MF Brazil BRA Yuri Merlim
32 DF Albania 
ALB
 		Ergi Zenullari
66 FW Nigeria NGA Uche Sabastine
71 GK Albania 
ALB
 		Marco Alia
77 DF Albania 
ALB
 		Klevis Shaqe
98 FW Cameroon CMR Ivan Djantou

Top scorers

  •   Top scorers in
    Albanian Superliga
    .
Season Player Goals
1931 Albania Aristotel Samsuri 9
1933 Albania Servet Teufik Agaj 7
2012–13
 Croatia Pero Pejić 12
2015–16
 Albania Hamdi Salihi 27
2017–18
 The Gambia Ali Sowe 21

Current staff

Position Staff
President Albania Ardian Takaj
Managing Director Albania Arlind Boshku
Albania Niko Pëlleshi
Albania Petrika Konomi
Albania Agim Zeqo
Albania Spiro Bardhi
Technical Director Albania Ilirjan Përmeti
Sporting Director Albania Ardi Gjançi
Director Albania Roland Shkelqimi
Head Coach Serbia Ivan Gvozdenović
Assistant Manager Albania Gentian Lici
Goalkeeping Coach Albania Ilir Bozhiqi
Athletics Coach Albania
Physiotherapist Albania Dionis Prisoj
Doctor Albania Gezim Qyli

Historical list of coaches

Sponsorship

Companies that KF Skënderbeu Korçë currently has sponsorship deals with include:

Licensee Product
Caffè Quaranta Main Sponsor
Uhlsport Technical Sponsor
Bashkia Korçë Co Sponsor
Republika Housepub Co Sponsor
Almeco Co Sponsor
Klinika Mjekësore Kristi Co Sponsor

Kit sponsors

Period Kit manufacturer Shirt sponsor
2005–2007 Legea —
2009–2010 — Almaco
2010–2011 Adidas Ama Caffe
2011–2015 Legea
2015–2019
Puma
2019–2021 Uhlsport ––
2021–2023 Joma ––
2023- Uhlsport Quaranta Caffè

References

  1. ^ Historia e klubit
  2. ^ "World Stadiums – Stadiums in Albania". worldstadiums.com. Retrieved 10 March 2017.
  3. ^ Historiku i Klubit (Official website) Archived 16 August 2015 at the Wayback Machine
  4. ^ Teodor Vaso (11 November 2010). "Todo Vaso, mjeshtri i merituar, rrëfen historinë 80-vjeçare të futbollit korçar" (in Albanian). Sporti Shqiptar. Retrieved 12 November 2010. [dead link]
  5. ^ Giovanni Armillotta (15 July 2009). "Albanian Football Season 1930". Giovanniarmillotta.it. Retrieved 18 June 2011.
  6. ^ Giovanni Armillotta (15 July 2009). "Albanian Football Season 1933". Giovanniarmillotta.it. Retrieved 18 June 2011.
  7. ^ "Prezantohet Skenderbeu i ri!". hoxhalli.info. Archived from the original on 18 May 2015. Retrieved 10 March 2017.
  8. ^ AlbaniaSoccer. "Skënderbeu – Kamza 1-0/ Asllani mban korcaret ne Superiore". albaniasoccer.com. Retrieved 10 March 2017.
  9. ^ "Member associations – Albania – News". UEFA. 5 May 2011. Retrieved 10 March 2017.
  10. ^ "Member associations – Albania – News". UEFA. 30 June 2011. Retrieved 10 March 2017.
  11. ^ "Albania's KF Skenderbeu banned from Europe for match-fixing". espnfc.co.uk. Retrieved 10 March 2017.
  12. ^ Brown, Jamie Singer and Ross. "Can suspicious betting alerts prove match fixing? The case of KS Skënderbeu v UEFA". lawinsport.com. Archived from the original on 12 March 2017. Retrieved 10 March 2017.
  13. ^ "CAS dismisses the appeal filed by KS Skënderbeu". tas-cas.org/. Court of Arbitration for Sport. 12 July 2019. Retrieved 12 July 2019.
  14. ^ "Ujqërit e Dëborës thërrasin shqiptarët : Eja edhe ti!". asport.info. Archived from the original on 2 February 2014. Retrieved 10 March 2017.
  15. ^ Tifozët, thirrje bardhebluve: Të evitojmë problemet Archived 20 February 2014 at the Wayback Machine
  16. ^ Vendos Disiplina: Skënderbeu-Flamurtari, luhet pa tifozë Archived 20 February 2014 at the Wayback Machine
  17. ^ "Member associations – UEFA rankings – Club coefficients". UEFA. Retrieved 10 March 2017.
  18. ^ "Skuadra" [The squad] (in Albanian). KF Skënderbeu Korçë. Retrieved 17 August 2018.

External links

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