Andi Lila

Andi Lila

Lila with KF Tirana in 2010
Personal information
Date of birth12 February 1986
Place of birthKavajë, Albania
Height1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)
Playing positionDefender
Club information
Current team
Parma
Number3
Youth career
2000–2003Besa Kavajë
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps†(Gls)†
2003–2006Besa Kavajë72(1)
2006–2007Iraklis3(0)
2007–2008Besa Kavajë29(0)
2008–2011Tirana78(11)
2011–2015PAS Giannina90(5)
2015–Parma8(2)
National team‡
2002–2003Albania U1710(0)
2003–2005Albania U195(0)
2006–2007Albania U2110(0)
2007–Albania51[1](0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 26 April 2015.

† Appearances (Goals).

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 18 November 2014

Andi Lila (born 12 February 1986) is an Albanian footballer who plays as a defender for Italian club Parma and the Albania national football team.

Career

Besa

Lila started his career with hometown club, Besa Kavajë. He made his debut for the club during the 2002–2003 season in the Albanian Superliga on 14 December 2002 in an away match against Teuta Durrës. Lila came on as a substitute at half time to replace Ervin Bardhi. However it was not a game to remember for a young Andi Lila as it finished 5–0 to Teuta Durrës.

Iraklis

Since making his debut in 2002 he started to impress more and more people with his performances at right back. This paved the way for his move to Greek club Iraklis FC in January 2007, where he joined fellow Albanians Enea Koliqi, Elvis Kaja and Indrit Fortuzi who were already at the club.[2] Despite making his dream move abroad a reality, Lila struggled to settle in Greece and after only 6 months and 3 appearances he moved back to his original club Besa Kavajë.

Besa

Following his return, he was made captain of the team. During the 2007–2008 season he played 26 times without scoring a goal.[3] He was also a beaten Albanian Supercup finalist after losing 4–2 to KF Tirana.[4] The defender played his final game with Besa Kavajë in the Intertoto Cup on 12 July 2008. He came off in the 57th minute of the game.[5] The game ended in a 3–0 home loss and ended the club's run in Europe and Lila's time in Kavajë.

KF Tirana

Lila completed his move to KF Tirana on 21 July 2008 after him and his agent Sokol Haxhia agreed to terms with KF Tirana and its president Refik Halili.[6] Since making his move to the capital, Lila has been able to settle quickly and he has played the best football of his career so far. His first game as a KF Tirana player was the opening game of the season against Vllaznia Shkoder, he played the full 90 minutes of the goalless draw.[7] His first goal in a blue and white jersey came on only his third game with the club in a Tirana derby against Partizani Tirana, he scored the winner in the 90th minute and secured the three points for his club.[8] Lila didn't have to wait long for another goal as it came less than a week later on 20 September 2008 against Apolonia Fier, his goal came in the 28th minute of the game.[9] During the entire 2008–2009 season he became the club's first choice right back and he played 29 games, he also proved that he has attacking qualities as well by scoring 4 goals during the campaign.[10]

PAS Giannina

He signed a three-year contract with Greek side PAS Giannina on 24 June 2011 worth €700,000 plus bonuses.[11][12] He played his first game for the club on 27 August 2011 against Aris Thessaloniki in a goalless draw.[13]

On 12 July 2014, Lila had even declared that his contract with PAS Giannina had come to an end, allowing him to sign a contract with Croatian side HNK Rijeka,[14] however he eventually opted against this and signed a new three-year contract with PAS Giannina.[15]

Parma

After much speculation over his future, on 28 December 2014 he confirmed his move to Serie A club Parma F.C.[16] He signed a three-year contract and will join the club on 1 January 2015, when the transfer window reopens.[17]

He made his debut for Parma on 14 January 2015, starting in the Coppa Italia match against Cagliari.[18] After 13 minutes however Lila was forced off the field with a thigh muscle problem.[19] In his first game back after returning from injury, Lila scored his first goal for Parma against Sassuolo on 15 March 2015, having played from the start, with the match ending as a 4–1 defeat for the Gialloblù.[20][21]

International career

Lila was first called up to the Albania national team by Otto Baric in late 2007, it was his performances at right back for Besa Kavajë in the Albanian Superliga that caught the eye of the Croatian. He made his debut for the senior team in a Euro 2008 Qualifiers against Romania in Bucarest on 21 November 2007. Lila started the game at right back and played the full 90 minutes. However it wasn't a debut to remember because the match ended 6–1 to Romania and the coach that had called the young defender up to the senior squad quit as the head coach of the Albanian National Team just one hour after the final whistle of the embarrassing defeat.[22] The next manager of the National Team also liked Lila's play and this earned him a call up by Arie Haan to his first game in charge which was a friendly against Poland on 27 May 2008. Lila started the game but was substituted at half time for Endrit Vrapi.[23] The game ended in a 1–0 loss but the Albanians played well after conceding in the 3rd minute. Andi Lila managed to play another two games under Arie Haan, in a friendly against Liechtenstein and a FIFA World Cup 2010 Qualifier against Malta. In both matches he came on as a substitute.[24]

Career statistics

Clubs

As of 26 April 2015 [25][26][27]
Season Club League country League League Cup Europe Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
2003–04 Besa Kavajë Albanian Superliga 100----100
2004–05 240----240
2005–06 291----291
2006–07 90----90
Iraklis ThessalonikiSuperleague Greece 30----30
Total 30000030
2007–08 Besa Kavajë Albanian Superliga 2901020310
Total Besa Kavajë 101110201041
2008–09 Tirana Albanian Superliga 2846000344
2009–10 2413120292
2010–11 2665041357
Total 7811141619813
2011–12 PAS GianninaSuperleague Greece 2100000210
2012–13 29261--353
2013–14 26200--262
2014–15 14100--141
Total 9056100966
Parma Serie A 8210--92
Total 82100092
Career total 280192228131022

International

As of 18 November 2014
Albania national team[26][28]
YearAppsGoals
200710
200830
200930
201090
201190
201290
201390
201480
Total510

Honours

Club

Tirana

References

  1. ↑ (52 – Lila has played in a UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying match against Serbia on 14 October 2014 in Belgrade, a match which was abandoned in the 42nd minute due to incidents that happened during the match. Serbia were awarded a 3–0 victory but deducted 3 points.)
  2. ↑ Iraklis 2006–2007
  3. ↑ League games 2007–2008
  4. ↑ Albanian Supercup
  5. ↑ Lila's final game
  6. ↑ Move to Tirana
  7. ↑ Lila debut
  8. ↑ First goal
  9. ↑ 2nd goal
  10. ↑ 2008–2009 season
  11. ↑ Jorgis Memo (25 February 2011). "Lila firmos te Janina për 200 mijë euro" (in Albanian). Panorama Sport. Retrieved 26 June 2011.
  12. ↑ Άντι Λίλα για τρία χρόνια στον ΠΑΣ ΓΙΑΝΝΙΝΑ (in Greek). PAS Giannina. 24 February 2011. Retrieved 26 June 2011.
  13. ↑ "PAS Giannina 0–0 Aris Thessaloniki". Soccerway. 27 August 2011. Retrieved 27 August 2011.
  14. ↑ "Andi Lila e konfirmon: Do të shkoj te Rijeka". Panorama Sport. 24 June 2014. Retrieved 17 March 2015.
  15. ↑ "Έμεινε ο Λίλα 12 July 2014". Panorama Sport. 12 July 2014. Retrieved 17 March 2015.
  16. ↑ Lila confirms Parma transfer | Football Italia
  17. ↑ Lila konfirmon: Po shkoj te Parma Telegrafi
  18. ↑ Parma vs. Cagliari – 14 January 2015 – Soccerway
  19. ↑ Lila braktis debutimin i dëmtuar aSport.info
  20. ↑ "Sassuolo vs. Parma – 15 March 2015". Soccerway. 15 March 2015. Retrieved 17 March 2015.
  21. ↑ "Lila, gol në Serinë A: Ja pse festova si shqipe, tani dua fitoren me Armeninë". Panorama Sport. 16 March 2015. Retrieved 17 March 2015.
  22. ↑ Baric quits
  23. ↑ Haan call up
  24. ↑ July 2008&datefin=0000-00-00&type=0 international games
  25. ↑ Andi Lila profile at Soccerway
  26. ↑ 26.0 26.1 Andi Lila at National-Football-Teams.com
  27. ↑ Andi Lila – UEFA competition record
  28. ↑ "Andi Lila profile at EU-Football.info".

External links