Franc Veliu

Franc Veliu
Personal information
Full name Franc Veliu
Date of birth (1988-11-11) 11 November 1988
Place of birth Vlorë, Albania
Height 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)
Playing position Defender
Club information
Current team
Flamurtari Vlorë
Number 11
Youth career
2003–2006 Flamurtari Vlorë
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2006–2015 Flamurtari Vlorë 210 (14)
2015–2016 Kukësi 8 (0)
2016 Partizani Tirana 3 (0)
2016– Flamurtari Vlorë 31 (2)
National team
2008–2009 Albania U21 8 (0)
2009–2013 Albania 7 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 3 January 2017.
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 31 December 2014

Franc Veliu (born 11 November 1988 in Vlorë) is an Albanian football player who currently plays for Flamurtari in the Albanian Superliga. His natural position is left back but he has also played as a left midfielder and even as a central defender.

He only played for one club team at professional level between 2006 and 2015, before joining Kukësi in 2015. He has only ever won two trophies in his career so far, two times Albanian Cup in 2009 and 2014 after winning in the final against KF Tirana and against current club Kukësi in 2009 and 2014 respectively.

Interest has been shown by many British teams including Portsmouth, Aston Villa and Celtic.[1]

Club career

Flamurtari Vlorë

He made his debut for Flamurtari Vlorë in 2006 and since then has cemented his place in his hometown club's first team. He has spent most of his career in the left back position but he has also played as a left midfielder and most recently as a central defender as well. On 29 October 2008, he scored his first hat-trick, an unusual achievement for a defender, in a 1–6 away win against Naftëtari Kuçovë valid for the first leg of the first round of 2008–09 Albanian Cup.[2]

He was voted Flamurtari's player of the year for 2014 by the club's fans, beating Bruno Telushi and Ardit Shehaj who came second and third respectively.[3]

Kukësi

After making 263 appearances for Flamurtari between 2006 and 2015, Veliu left to join fellow Albanian Superliga club Kukësi.[4]

Partizani Tirana

On 1 February 2016, Veliu joined Partizani Tirana where he signed a contract until the end of the season with an option to extend it for a further year.[5]

Return to Flamurtari Vlorë

On 22 July 2016, Veliu officially returned to Flamurtari Vlorë by joining as a free agent.[6] He was allocated his old squad number 11, and made his return debut on 7 September in the opening league match of the season, a 2–1 away defeat to Skënderbeu Korçë.[7] On 27 May, in the final matchday, Veliu scored his first goal of the season after an individual effort in a 3–0 win over Korabi Peshkopi, as Flamurtari avoided the relegation by just one point.[8] In June, following the departure of team captain Bruno Telushi in Croatia, Veliu was renamed the news captain, three years after losing the status.[9]

International career

Veliu was selected by Josip Kuže for a friendly against Argentina on 20 June 2011.[10] He was in the starting line up on his debut in a game which ended in a 4–0 loss.[11][12]

Personal life

Veliu was arrested on 25 October 2015 for driving his car while he was drunk,[13] which was confiscated.[14] For making of this penal act, Veliu was jailed for one month.[15]

Career statistics

Club

As of 1 February 2016[16][17][18][19]
Club performance League Cup Continental[nb 1] Other[nb 2] Total
Season Club League Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Flamurtari Vlorë League Albanian Cup Europe Other Total
2006–06Flamurtari VlorëAlbanian Superliga81??0081
2008–08242??242
2008–0929273365
2009–10323002010353
2010–1130140341
2011–1224312340406
2012–132418320344
2013–1421150261
2014–15180403110261
Total Flamurtari Vlorë 210144091112026324
Kukësi League Albanian Cup Europe Other Total
2015–16KukësiAlbanian Superliga8040120
Total Kukësi 8040120
Career total 218144491112027524
  1. Including continental competitions, such as UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League
  2. Including other competitions, such as Albanian Supercup

International

As of 1 February 2016[20][21]
Albania national team
YearAppsGoals
201130
201230
201310
Total70

Honours

Club

Flamurtari Vlorë

Individual

References

  1. "Franc Veliu afër ishullit britanik" [Franc Veliu nearby British island] (in Albanian). Lajme-news.blogspot.com. 30 July 2009. Retrieved 31 December 2014.
  2. "Vlonjatët në heshtje, kështu përgatisim fitoren" [Vlonjats in silence, here' how we prepared a win] (in Albanian). Arkiva Lajmeve. 21 October 2008. Retrieved 14 November 2015.
  3. "Flamurtari, Veliu, “Lojtari i Vitit 2014″" [Flamurtari, Veliu, “Player of the Year 2014″] (in Albanian). Panorama Sport. 5 January 2014. Retrieved 6 January 2015.
  4. Sotir Kora (6 October 2015). "Franc Veliu: Kukësi, zgjedhja e duhur për mua" [Franc Veliu: Kukësi, the right choice for me] (in Albanian). SuperSport Albania. Retrieved 9 September 2015.
  5. "Zyrtare, Franc Veliu firmos me Partizanin" [Official, Franc Veliu signs with Partizani] (in Albanian). Panorama Sport. 1 February 2016. Retrieved 1 February 2016.
  6. "ZYRTARE,VELIU RIKTHEHET TEK FLAMURTARI" [OFFICIAL,VELIU RETURNS TO FLAMURTARI] (in Albanian). Vlora News. 22 July 2016. Retrieved 26 September 2016.
  7. Erald Kodheli (7 September 2016). "Skënderbeu, start nën shenjën e Salihit" [Skënderbeu, start on Salihi's mark] (in Albanian). Super Sport Albania. Retrieved 7 September 2016.
  8. Andi Deçka (27 May 2017). "Flamurtari qëndron në Superiore" [Flamurtari stays in Superliga] (in Albanian). SuperSport Albania. Retrieved 1 June 2017.
  9. "Largimi i Telushit “gradon” Veliun, tani është ai përsëri lideri në fushë" [Telushi's departure “graduates” Veliu, he is again on-field leader] (in Albanian). Panorama Sport. 25 June 2017. Retrieved 26 June 2017.
  10. Roger Gonzalez (19 June 2011). "Argentina vs Albania Preview". Goal.com. Retrieved 26 June 2011.
  11. "l'Argentina travolge l'Albania in un'amichevole di preparazione" (in Italian). Sport Live. 21 June 2011. Retrieved 26 June 2011.
  12. "Draugiškose rungtynėse Argentina sutriuškino Albaniją" (in Lithuanian). Sportas Delfi. 21 June 2011. Retrieved 26 June 2011.
  13. "Arrestohet Franc Veliu, po drejtonte automjetin në gjendje të dehur" [Franc Veliu arrested, was driving the vehicle on drunk condition] (in Albanian). Panorama Sport. 25 October 2015. Retrieved 1 February 2016.
  14. "Policia arreston futbollistin Franc Veliu, u kap në gjendje të dehur" [The police arrest the footballer Franc Veliu, was caught on drunk condition] (in Albanian). Panorama. 25 October 2015. Retrieved 1 February 2016.
  15. "Një muaj burg për Franc Veliun, drejtonte automjetin i dehur" [One month jail for Franc Veliu, was driving the vehicle drunk] (in Albanian). Panorama Sport. 27 April 2016. Retrieved 27 April 2016.
  16. "Albania - F. Veliu - Profile with news, career statistics and history". Soccerway. Retrieved 31 December 2014.
  17. "Football : Franc Veliu". Football DataBase. 31 December 2014. Retrieved 31 December 2014.
  18. "Franc Veliu Football Statistics". WhoScored.com. Retrieved 31 December 2014.
  19. "Profile of Franc Veliu at Scoresway.com". Scoresway.com. Retrieved 31 December 2014.
  20. "Franc Veliu - national football team player". EU-Football.info. 1 February 2016. Retrieved 1 February 2016.
  21. Franc Veliu | National Football Teams 31 December 2014
  22. "Franc Veliu i Flamurtarit lojtari i muajit nentor" [Flamurtari's Franc Veliu player of the month november] (in Albanian). Arkiva e Lajmeve. 12 December 2010. Retrieved 7 July 2015.

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