 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Mario Morina | ||
| Date of birth | (1992-10-16)16 October 1992 (age 33) | ||
| Place of birth | Tirana, Albania | ||
| Height | 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in) | ||
| Position | Forward | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2008–2010 | Tirana | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2010–2013 | Tirana | 63 | (13) |
| 2013 | Skënderbeu Korçë | 13 | (2) |
| 2014–2015 | Tirana | 40 | (10) |
| 2015 | Flamurtari Vlorë | 8 | (1) |
| 2016 | Kukësi | 7 | (0) |
| 2016–2017 | Kamza | 23 | (10) |
| 2017 | Besa Kavajë | 6 | (4) |
| 2018 | Dinamo Tirana | 8 | (0) |
| 2018–2019 | Prishtina | 26 | (8) |
| 2019 | Luftëtari | 0 | (0) |
| 2020 | Tirana | 4 | (0) |
| 2020 | Tirana B | 1 | (0) |
| International career | |||
| 2011–2015 | Albania U21 | 3 | (0) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 20:23, 8 December 2020 (UTC) | |||
Mario Morina (born 16 October 1992) is anAlbanian professionalfootballer who plays as aforward.[1]
Morina made his début forTirana on 3 November 2010 in anAlbanian Cup fixture at home againstSkrapari. Morina was included in the starting line up, with fellow youngstersBlerti Hajdari andEnco Malindi. Morina played a role in his side's 4–0 win, including an assist for Hajdari, striking the post and winning a penalty, which would be converted by Hajdari. Tirana coach Nevil Dede praised the player after the game ended and stated that the youngster was in his plans for the near future.[2][3]
He would only have to wait until 20 November for his first league game, a home game againstElbasani. Morina took the place of strikerSebino Plaku in the 71st minute when the score was 2–1 in favour of Tirana. In the 93rd minute of the game he marked his league début with a goal.[4]
During 2011–12 season, despite the fact that he had rivalry in attack withHerby Fortunat andMirel Çota, Morina was able to appear in 22 league matches, scoring four times, including the winners againstLaçi andFlamurtari Vlorë respectively on 17 December 2011 and 18 March 2012.[5][6] He was an unused substitute in team's victory in2011 Albanian Supercup againstSkënderbeu Korçë, in a match delayed and disrupted by crowd trouble.[7] Morina was also an important instrument in2011–12 Albanian Cup, playing 14 matches and scoring 7 goals; he scored for the first time in his career 5 goals in the second leg of first round againstHimara as Tirana won 7–1 and progressed 10–1 on aggregate.[8] He also scored against Laçi andKamza in Group 1 of quarter-finals, with Tirana who went to win the title for the second consecutive season, beating once again Skënderbeu in the final thanks to the winner ofBekim Balaj.[9]
Morina started his third season with "white&blues" by winning2012 Albanian Supercup on 19 August against Skënderbeu Korçë.[10] He scored his first goals of the season on 2 September in a 3–0 home win againstShkumbini Peqin.[11][12] Twentyfour days later, in the capital derby against the rivals ofPartizani Tirana in the second leg of the Albanian Cup first round, Morina scored the opener after only 8 minutes as Tirana won 2–1, securing the progression to the second round.
On 10 June 2013, Morina was presented as the new Skënderbeu Korçë player, taking the squad number 9 last worn by fellow strikerSebino Plaku ahead of 2013–14 season.[13] He made his competitive debut for the club on 23 July in the returning leg ofChampions League second qualifying round againstNeftçi PFK at home; he entered the field as a 77th-minute substitute in place ofGilman Lika and in the 116th minute assisted the goal ofNurudeen Orelesi. Skënderbeu won the match 1–0 and the tie with the same result, progressing to the third qualifying round of Champions League for the first time in history.[14]
He returned to his boyhood clubTirana in January 2014 with the club struggling in a relegation battle. With the help of Morina and his 5 league goals the club managed to escape relegation, marking a successful end of season for the club and player, which saw him voted as the talent of the year for 2014.[15]
On 13 July 2014, Morina signed a contract extension with Tirana, which will keep him in the capital until 2015.[16] Only one day later, he was sent on loan toLaçi for the club's first leg of2014–15 UEFA Europa League second qualifying round againstZorya Luhansk.[17] He played 40 minutes in the first half before being replaced byJetmir Sefa as Laçi was defeated 0–3 at home.[18]
On 27 January 2016, following his departure fromFlamurtari Vlorë, Morina joined fellow Albanian Superliga sideKukësi on a free transfer, signing a contract until the end of the season.[19] There, he found his former Tirana teammateKlodian Duro as the team's coach, who strongly required his acquisition.[19] He made his league debut with the club four days later, appearing as a late substitute for fellow debutantIzair Emini in team's 3–0 home victory overBylis Ballsh.[20]
After being a free agent for almost two months, Morina joinedAlbanian First Division sideKamza by signing a one-year contract on 19 August 2016.[21]
On 11 September 2017, Morina completed a transfer toBesa Kavajë by penning a one-year contract.[22] He played his first match for the team in the second matchday againstBesëlidhja Lezhë as a substitute in a 2–0 away loss.[23]
On 31 January 2018, on the deadline day, Morina agreed personal terms and joined fellow Albanian First Division sideDinamo Tirana on a contract until the end of the season.[24]
On 14 August 2018,Prishtina ofFootball Superleague of Kosovo announced to have signed Morina on a one-year contract, reuniting him with his former managerMirel Josa.[25][26]
On 28 January 2019, Tirana announced to have signed Morina on a deal lasting until the end of 2019–20 season, after the player had been training with the team for two months following his departure from Prishtina.[27]
For thequalifiers of 2015 UEFA Euro U-21, Albania was seeded in Group 4. On 14 August 2013, Morina made hisAlbania U21 debut in a 0–1 home defeat toAustria, appearing a second-half substitute.[28] A month later, he would play another match as a substitute in a 4–0 defeat against th reigning champions ofSpain.[29] On 5 March 2014, in the last qualifying match against Austria atUPC-Arena, Morina started and played full-90 minutes, helping his side to win the match 3–1 and to end the qualifying campaign with style.[30]
| Club | Season | League | Cup | Europe | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Tirana | 2010–11 | Albanian Superliga | 17 | 3 | 3 | 0 | — | — | 20 | 3 | ||
| 2011–12 | 22 | 4 | 14 | 7 | — | 0 | 0 | 36 | 11 | |||
| 2012–13 | 24 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 3[a] | 0 | 0 | 0 | 31 | 8 | ||
| Total | 63 | 13 | 21 | 9 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 88 | 22 | ||
| Skënderbeu Korçë | 2013–14 | Albanian Superliga | 13 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 3[b] | 0 | 1[c] | 0 | 20 | 4 |
| Tirana | 2013–14 | Albanian Superliga | 14 | 5 | — | — | — | 14 | 5 | |||
| 2014–15 | 26 | 3 | 3 | 1 | — | — | 29 | 4 | ||||
| Total | 40 | 8 | 3 | 1 | — | — | 43 | 9 | ||||
| Laçi (loan) | 2014–15 | Albanian Superliga | — | — | 1[a] | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | |||
| Flamurtari Vlorë | 2015–16 | Albanian Superliga | 8 | 1 | 2 | 1 | — | — | 10 | 2 | ||
| Kukësi | 2015–16 | Albanian Superliga | 7 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 9 | 0 | ||
| Kamza | 2016–17 | Albanian First Division | 24 | 10 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 25 | 10 | ||
| Besa Kavajë | 2017–18 | Albanian First Division | 6 | 4 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 7 | 4 | ||
| Dinamo Tirana | 2017–18 | Albanian First Division | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 8 | 0 | ||
| Prishtina | 2018–19 | Football Superleague of Kosovo | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | ||
| Career total | 169 | 38 | 34 | 13 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 211 | 51 | ||