 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | (1981-03-03)3 March 1981 (age 44) | ||
| Place of birth | Tirana,PSR Albania | ||
| Height | 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Defensive midfielder /Right back | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1998 | Tirana | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1998–2007 | Tirana | 201 | (14) |
| 2007–2010 | Kryvbas Kryvyi Rih | 58 | (2) |
| 2010–2011 | Hajduk Split | 15 | (0) |
| 2011–2012 | AZAL Baku | 22 | (3) |
| 2012–2014 | Sepahan | 47 | (1) |
| 2014–2016 | Tirana | 32 | (1) |
| Total | 375 | (21) | |
| International career | |||
| 1998–1999 | Albania U18 | 6 | (1) |
| 1999–2002 | Albania U21 | 15 | (1) |
| 2002–2015 | Albania | 56 | (1) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 2015–2019 | Albania (assistant) | ||
| 2019 | Albania (caretaker) | ||
| 2020– | Albania U-17 | ||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Ervin Bulku (Albanian pronunciation:[ɛɾvinbulku], born 3 March 1981) is an Albanian former professionalfootballer.
He was autility player and played in many positions such ascentral midfielder,defensive midfielder,right midfielder and evenright back for theAlbania national team between 2002 and 2015 and in the club level withTirana where he started and ended his career after playing for various club outside such asKryvbas inUkraine,Hajduk Split inCroatia,AZAL Baku inAzerbaijan andSepahan inIran.
Bulku was born inTirana, Albania. He was the second son of the family afterSokol Bulku also a formerKF Tirana's footballer with whom he played there between 1998–2004 and the later is current manager ofKF Tirana under 19s Squad.
Bulku started his career as a youngster in theKF Tirana youth teams. At the age of 18 he was put into the first team by coachSulejman Mema and was given a chance to compete with the likes of Sokol Prenga andArdian Mema for a spot there. In his first season with the club in professional football he managed to feature in 13 games during the season.[1] During the 1999–2000 season with Tirana, Bulku found it easier to make an impact in the first team with the club's new managerShkëlqim Muça having faith in the promising youngster after fellow midfieldersEldorado Merkoçi,Devis Mukaj,Klodian Duro and Sokol Prenga all leaving the club. These departures meant that Bulku would feature more frequently in the first team and he did so making an impressive 21 appearances in his second season in which he won his first trophy of his career, theAlbanian Superliga title.[2] After a very good season he tried to repeat it for the 2000–2001 season, but this did not happen as both injury and some mediocre displays meant that Bulku spent most of the season on the side lines. He did however manage to win theAlbanian Supercup at the start of the season but his side Tirana narrowly lost the race for the title toVllaznia Shkodër.[3] During the next few seasons of his career Bulku managed to make a name for himself in the squad and in the league, he was receiving a lot of attention from the media and the fans because he was destined for a successful career. He began to feature in almost every game when fit and became a key member in the squad and a key figure in all the trophy winning sides that the club produced over the next few years. In the 2001–02 season he was a regular member of the team in the2001–02 Albanian Cup scoring two goals throughout the route to the final where Tirana won the trophy beatingDinamo Tirana 1–0.[4] Bulku was also a key player in Tirana's European games and featured against teams such asDinamo Tbilisi,Ferencváros,CSKA Sofia andKayserispor.[5] He also played in 6Albanian Supercup finals during his time with Tirana, winning 5 of them, including the famous 6–0 win over city rivalsDinamo Tirana in which Bulku managed to score in.[6] In his final season with Tirana, Bulku was once again a key member in the team that won the league, the cup and the supercup. He played 30 games and scored one goal in the league,[7] played in the 2–0 supercup win overKS Elbasani[8] and he also played in 1–0 win overVllaznia in the final of theAlbanian Cup.[9]
In the 2007 Summer transfer window, Bulku signed withKryvbas Kryvyi Rih in theUkrainian Premier League. He played among fellowAlbanian internationalsDorian Bylykbashi,Isli Hidi and alsoAnsi Agolli who eventually joined the club two years later.He made his debut on 28 July 2007 in the matchday 3 againstKarpaty Lviv playing the full 90-minutes in a 3–0 loss. During the 2007–08 route he was often as a starter under coachOleh Taran forming partnerships in the midfield with fellow Albanian Dorian Bylykbashi,Ruslan Kostyshyn andAnatoliy Oprya.He made 14 league appearances in the starting line up and 5 as a substitute to help his side to collect 30 points enough to end in the 13th place to avoid the relegation.[10]
In his second season 2008–09 under same coach Taran, Bulku was more often in the starting line up. He started the season on 19 July 2008, playing full 90-minutes againstMetalurh Zaporizhya and provided the assist for the 1–0 winning goal.[11] Bulku scored his first goal for Kryvbas on 22 March 2009 in the matchday 21 againstKharkiv, giving his team the 0–1 victory.[12] This was followed by another one in the next game week as Bulku scored the opening goal in the 7th minute againstZorya Luhansk on 4 April 2009 as the match eventually finished in the 2–1 victory.[13] Bulku finished the 2008–09 season with a total of 25 appearances, where he was 21 times as a starter as Kryvbas ended up a bit better than last season collecting 32 points to secure the 12th place.[10]
Bulku was part of the team for the first half of the 2009–10 season. He retained his starting place playing 13 out 14 games as a starter but Kryvbas suffered a worst progress taking only two wins and 1 draw and conceding 14 losses. Following the end of the first-half campaign, he interrupted his contract with Kryvbas.[10]
After 6 months as afree agent, in August 2010 he signed forCroatian sideHajduk Split in thePrva HNL. He made his debut with the team on 16 September 2010 in a match valid for2010–11 UEFA Europa League group stage againstAEK Athens, where Bulku played in the starting line up and substituted off after 81 minutes forDinko Trebotić, as the match finished in the 3–1 loss.[14]He made it his league debut on 19 September 2010 againstRijeka, where the match finished in the 0–1 away victory and Bulku played 83 minutes, as he got substituted off forMirko Oremuš in the 83rd minute.[15] He played second match in the UEFA Europa League 2010–11 group stage on 30 September 2010, in the 1–0 victory overAnderlecht.[16]Bulku played the full 90 minutes on 4 November 2010 in the 2–3 home defeat againstZenit St. Petersburg in the UEFA Europa League 2010–11 group stage.[17] At the club he was important part of the starting line up in the league matches, as he played in total of 15 matches where 12 as a starter, where he got substituted off 6 times, and only 3 as a substitute.[10] In the UEFA Europa League he made in total 4 appearances. In the end of the 2010–11 season, Hajduk finished as runners-up.[18]
At the end of June 2011 Bulku signed withAZAL of theAzerbaijan Premier League.[19] Bulku made his debut for AZAL on 7 August 2011 againstSimurq,[20] going on to score his first goal for the club 3 games later againstNeftchi Baku on 27 August 2011.[21] In total Bulku made 22 league appearances for the club scoring three goals.[22]
On 21 July 2012, Bulku signed a one-year contract with Iranian championsSepahan F.C., joining there another fellow Albanian playerXhevahir Sukaj, who had come in the team early on January.[23]
He made it his debut on 29 August 2012, playing the full 90-minutes in the home victory 1–0 againstFajr Sepasi.[24] Bulku scored his first goal for Sepahan on 6 April 2013 againstNaft Tehran winning the match within the 3–1 result, were his goal was the opening of the match, scored in the 12th minute, also Bulku was sent off in the 41st minute after receiving his second yellow card as the first was received in the 12th minute for taking his shirt off after scored the goal.[25]In his first season with Sepahan, he made twenty-one league appearances, scoring once. He also appeared fiveAFC Champions League matches.
In his second season with Sepahan, he made twenty six league appearances, failing to score. He did score once in theAFC Champions League, but Sepahan failed to get out of the group stage phase. In the2012–13 Hazfi Cup Bulku scored once in the 1/4-finals on 9 January 2013 againstSanat Naft to open the way towards qualifying for the semifinals as the match finished in the 2–0 victory.[26]
In May 2014, Bulku declared that he left the club after the end of the 2-year contract.[27]
On 5 June 2014,Tirana announced to have acquired Bulku as a free agent, with the veteran marking his return to the club after seven years.[28] Nine days later, the transfer was made official and Bulku signed a two-year contract.[29] However, he joined the team managed byGugash Magani on 1 July when the summer transfer window officially begun.[29] In August, team captainErando Karabeci handed his captaincy to Bulku as a sign of respect of the veteran, and became the vice-captain instead.[30]
Bulku made his first appearance of the season on 24 August, playing full-90 minutes in the opening championship match againstApolonia Fier, which ended in a 3–0 win at Qemal Stafa Stadium.[31] He scored his first goal of the season on day three, netting a last-minute equalizer in a 1–1 away draw againstVllaznia Shkodër which was infamously marred by crowd trouble which saw 13 people arrested and both clubs' fans receiving lengthy stadium bans.[32][33][34]
He concluded his first season back in Albania by making 32 appearances between league and cup, also scoring once.[35] Bulku played as a starter in Tirana's first three matches of2015–16 season, but was injured and subsequently lost his place in the starting lineup, finishing his second season with only four league appearances.[35]
Bulku made it his first international debut, withAlbania national under-18 football team in the1999 UEFA European Under-18 Championship qualifying, playing in the opening match on 24 November 1998 againstLiechtenstein, match finished as a 0–1 loss.[36]
Bulku played forAlbania national under-21 football team 15 matches and scored 1 goal in the2000 &2002 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification between years from 1999 to 2002.[36][37]
Bulku was part ofAlbania national football team since 2002 when he made his debut under coachSulejman Demollari on 17 April 2002 againstAndorra, coming on as a substitute in place ofAltin Rraklli in the 54th minute in a 2–0 loss.[38] He made another 2 appearances in the same year.
He wasn't included in national team until 2006 when he was called up by coachOtto Barić for theUEFA Euro 2008 qualifying match againstNetherlands on 11 October.
His next appearance for Albania came in 2007 playing on 7 February in a friendly againstMacedonia, finished in the loss 0–1.
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He scored first goal on 9 February 2011 in the friendly match againstSlovenia finished in the loss 1–2, where Bulku scored the equalising goal for 1–1 in the 62nd minute.[39]
Bulku retained his starting place for the2014 FIFA World Cup qualifiers under coachGianni De Biasi playing 9 out 10 matches as a starter. In the 2012s matches he formed a duo defensive-midfielders partnership withBurim Kukeli playing all 4 matches as the full 90-minutes with Albania taking 2 wins and 2 losses. Then he played two full 90-minutes matches againstNorway away on 22 March 2013 and home on 7 June 2013 with a new partnerMigjen Basha and provided 1 assist in both cases forHamdi Salihi's goal away which was decisive for Albania taking the 0–1 glorious victory and forValdet Rama's goal in home in the 1–1 draw. In remaining matches Bulku played one full 90-minutes match, 2 as a starter until second half and 1 as a substitute againstIceland as coach De Biasi played with Basha and newErgys Kaçe as a starter and Bulku replaced Basha in the 64th minute with Albania 2–1 behind but unable to change the score.[10] For his performances during the qualifiers, Bulku amongMërgim Mavraj were rated as impenetrable and very actives on the field.[40]
During theUEFA Euro 2016 qualifying under same coach De Biasi, Bulku was regularly called up into the national side, except for the two closing matches in October 2015 but however he participated in just one match vsArmenia on 29 March 2015, this due to upcomings of fellow defensive midfielders fromSwitzerland national under-21 football team such asTaulant Xhaka,Amir Abrashi,Migjen Basha and also the presence of experienced and younger playersBurim Kukeli,Ledian Memushaj andErgys Kaçe.[41][10]
In November 2015 Bulku was appointed as assistant manager ofGianni De Biasi at theAlbania national football team becoming the third one afterPaolo Tramezzani andErjon Bogdani. He debuted in his assistant manager role on 17 November 2015 againstGeorgia.[42] He participated with Albania in their first major competition theUEFA Euro 2016.[43]
On 23 March 2019, following the sacking of Albania national team head coachChristian Panucci after the 2–0 home defeat toTurkey in the opening day ofUEFA Euro 2020 qualifying campaign,[44] Bulku was announced as thecaretaker manager withSulejman Mema as his assistant for the second match againstAndorra two days later.[45][46] In the match played atEstadi Nacional, Albania won comfortably 3–0; two of the goals were scored byBekim Balaj andAmir Abrashi, who were brought on by Bulku as substitutions.[47][48]
| Club | Season | League | Cup | Continental[a] | Other[b] | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Tirana | 1998–99 | Albanian Superliga | 13 | 0 | — | — | — | 13 | 0 | |||
| 1999–00 | 21 | 0 | — | 2 | 0 | — | 23 | 0 | ||||
| 2000–01 | 12 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 13 | 0 | ||||
| 2001–02 | 22 | 2 | 3[4] | 2[4] | 2 | 0 | — | 27 | 3 | |||
| 2002–03 | 22 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1[4] | 1[4] | 26 | 3 | ||
| 2003–04 | 24 | 2 | 2 | 0 | — | 26 | 2 | |||||
| 2004–05 | 33 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | — | 38 | 7 | |||
| 2005–06 | 24 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | — | 29 | 1 | |||
| 2006–07 | 30 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | — | 36 | 1 | |||
| Total | 201 | 14 | 8 | 3 | 20 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 230 | 18 | ||
| Kryvbas | 2007–08 | Ukrainian Premier League | 19 | 0 | — | — | — | 19 | 0 | |||
| 2008–09 | 25 | 2 | — | — | — | 25 | 2 | |||||
| 2009–10 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 14 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 58 | 2 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 58 | 2 | ||||
| Hajduk Split | 2010–11 | Prva HNL | 15 | 0 | — | 4 | 0 | — | 19 | 0 | ||
| AZAL | 2011–12[22] | Azerbaijan Premier League | 22 | 3 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 24 | 3 | ||
| Sepahan | 2011–12 | Iran Pro League | — | — | 2 | 0 | — | 2 | 0 | |||
| 2012–13 | 21 | 1 | — | 3 | 0 | — | 24 | 1 | ||||
| 2013–14 | 26 | 0 | — | 5 | 1 | — | 31 | 1 | ||||
| Total | 47 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 1 | — | 57 | 2 | |||
| Tirana | 2014–15 | Albanian Superliga | 28 | 1 | 4 | 0 | — | — | 32 | 1 | ||
| 2015–16 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 4 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 32 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 36 | 1 | |||
| Career total | 375 | 21 | 14 | 3 | 34 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 424 | 26 | ||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Albania | 2002 | 3 | 0 |
| 2003–2006 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2007 | 7 | 0 | |
| 2008 | 6 | 0 | |
| 2009 | 7 | 0 | |
| 2010 | 9 | 0 | |
| 2011 | 7 | 1 | |
| 2012 | 9 | 0 | |
| 2013 | 7 | 0 | |
| 2014 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2015 | 0 | 0 | |
| Total | 56 | 1 | |
| No. | Date | Venue | Cap | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 27 September 1999 | Stadium Forssa,Forssa,Finland | 4 |  Faroe Islands | 1–1 | 3–1 | 2000 UEFA European Under-18 Championship qualifying |
| No. | Date | Venue | Cap | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 31 August 2001 | Qemal Stafa,Tirana,Albania | 7 |  Finland | 3–0 | 3–0[53] | 2002 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification |
| No. | Date | Venue | Cap | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 9 February 2011 | Qemal Stafa Stadium,Tirana,Albania | 33 |  Slovenia | 1–1 | 1–2 | Friendly |
| Sporting positions | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | KF Tirana captain 2014–2016 | Succeeded by |