| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | (1973-08-20)20 August 1973 (age 52) | ||
| Place of birth | Tirana,PR Albania | ||
| Height | 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in) | ||
| Position | Forward | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Albania U21 (manager) | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Tirana | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1992–1997 | Tirana | 27 | (24) |
| 1994 | →Szegedi (loan) | 20 | (7) |
| 1994–1995 | →FC Remscheid (loan) | ||
| 1996 | →Flamurtari Vlorë (loan) | 16 | (7) |
| 1997 | Apollon Smyrnis | 13 | (3) |
| 1998–1999 | Litex Lovech | 37 | (14) |
| 1999–2000 | Adanaspor | 29 | (10) |
| 2000–2005 | İstanbulspor | 96 | (26) |
| 2001–2003 | →Trabzonspor (loan) | 12 | (0) |
| 2004–2005 | Partizani Tirana | 14 | (5) |
| 2005–2010 | Levadiakos | 49 | (9) |
| 2006–2008 | →Apollon Kalamarias (loan) | 41 | (13) |
| 2010 | Tirana | 5 | (0) |
| Total | 359 | (118) | |
| International career | |||
| 1992–1993 | Albania U21 | 2 | (0) |
| 1995–2007 | Albania | 67 | (14) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 2015 | Albania U16 | ||
| 2016– | Albania U21 | ||
| 2017– | Albania U20 | ||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Alban Bushi (born 20 August 1973) is an Albanian professionalfootball coach and former player who is themanager ofAlbania under-21 andunder-20 team. He is nicknamed "Loku".[1]
Aforward, Bushi played for 12 clubs in six countries during his 19-year career.[2] He started his career with capital clubTirana where he had an impressive goal-per-game ratio; he also had three short spells on loan with Szegedi in Hungary,FC Remscheid in Germany andFlamurtari Vlorë in Albania. He then went off to Greece to play for a short time atApollon Smyrni. Following that he enjoyed a decent time at Litex Lovech before spending the next four years in Turkey by representing Adanaspor, İstanbulspor, and Trabzonspor.
Bushi returned to Albania in the middle of 2004 to play for one season withPartizani Tirana before returning to Greece, where he would spend the next five years atLevadiakos. At the end of his career, Bushi returned to Albania once again to represent Tirana, stating that it was a "moral debt" to end his career where it started. He retired from football in November 2010.
Bushi also had a successful international career, being part ofAlbania national team for 12 years. With 14 goals, he was Albania's all-time leading top scorer from 2004 untilErjon Bogdani overtook him in 2011.[3] He retired from international football in 2007.
Bushi enjoyed a long playing career which saw him play for 12 clubs in six countries.[2] He started off his career in Albania withTirana.[2] He made his professional debut for Tirana in the 1992–93 season and after spending two seasons with the club, he then moved to Hungary withSzegedi. Soon after he was transferred in Germany toFC Remscheid.[2] After two years abroad, he made a return to Albania, playing for two years between Tirana andFlamurtari Vlorë. He then moved to Greece signing forApollon Smyrni and right after a half season, he headed off to Bulgaria to joinLitex Lovech, where he became the first foreigner to captain the team. He spent two seasons in theBulgarian A Football Group, winning them both.[2]
After his spell inBulgaria he moved to Turkey to play initially forAdanaspor in the1999–2000 1.Lig. Then he signed for fellow1.Lig sideIstanbulspor. In his first season2000–01 he scored 12 goals in 29 matches as İstanbulspor finished 12th. In the next season2001–02 he played 16 games in where he scored four goals in the first-half before moving on loan to anotherSüper Lig teamTrabzonspor with whom he played only five matches but unable to score. He was part of Trabzonspor for another half season in2002–03 playing seven matches failing once again to score, before returning to Istanbulspor for the second half in which he played 14 matches managing 4 goals to contribute in team's 9th place. In the2003–04 season Bushi played 21 games and scored 5 goals to help Istanbulspor avoid relegation with one point above 16th placeBursaspor. He was part of the team in the first half of the2004–05 Süper Lig playing 16 matches scoring once before returning to Albania after many years playing abroad and signed withPartizani Tirana for the second half of the2004–05 Albanian Superliga; he played 14 games and netted 5 goals. He then went off to Greece again to joinAE Levadiakos. In his first season2005–06 Alpha Ethniki he played 22 matches often as a starter in which he scored 8 goals as Levadiakos however was relegated toBeta Ethniki. After that he moved on loan atApollon Kalamarias playing in two seasons in theSuperleague Greece,2006–07 and2007–08. Then, he went back toAE Levadiakos.[2]
Bushi was returned after 13 years to Tirana, the club where his career began, signing on 31 August 2010. He was presented to the media alongside fellow veteranDevi Muka.[4][5] Although having offers from foreign teams, he felt that he had the moral debt to Tirana to end his career where he started it,[6] a decision that earned Bushi the Swan d'Or from theAlbanian Football Association in recognition of his service to Albanian football.[7]
His first game in Albania after over 13 years came on 3 October 2010 in an away game againstSkënderbeu Korçë, where he came on as a substitute forPero Pejic in the 65th minute in a game which ended in a 2–1 loss for Bushi's side.[8] He played his first match as a starter on 31 October againstTeuta Durrës, contributing in a 2–0 home win.[9] He finished his final spell with Tirana by playing five league matches, three of them as a starter, failing to score.
On 23 November, he officially announced hisretirement from football at the age of 37.[1]
Bushi was part of theAlbania U21 national team during the1994 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification playing two games both againstGermany U21 on 17 November and 22 December 1992.[10]
Bushi is a formerAlbania's all-timetop scorer with 14 goals untilErjon Bogdani with his goal againstFrance in 2011 became the new record holder with 15. He made 67 appearances Albania, the tenth highest in the team's history.[11]
Bushi scored on his international debut for Albania on 16 August 1995 againstMalta atTa' Qali National Stadium, netting the temporary equalizer in the 72nd minute in an eventual 2–1 loss.[12] He made his competitive debut on 15 November in the match againstWales for thequalifiers of theUEFA Euro 1996, entering as a second-half substitute in a 1–1 home draw.[13]
On 17 January 2012, Bushi was named as theAlbania national team manager, a role which theAlbanian Football Association applied for the first time following suggestion of new arrived coach at AlbaniaGianni De Biasi.[14]
Bushi was namedAlbania under-16 coach for their participation in the UEFA Development Tournament 2015 in May 2015.[15] He won the tournament by winning all three matches.[16]
Following naming ofPaolo Tramezzani as national team director, on 9 December 2016 Bushi was named as theAlbania under-21 manager.[17] He won his first game with Albania U21 on 27 March 2017 againstMoldova 2–0.[18] In collaboration with the Albanian Football Association, reborned theunder-20 side by assigning afriendly versusGeorgia on 14 November 2017 atDavid Petriashvili Stadium,Tbilisi, with Bushi as the coach at the same time along the under-21 national team.[19]
| Club | Season | League | Cup | Europe | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Tirana | 1992–93 | Albanian Superliga | 12 | 8 | 0 | 0 | — | 12 | 8 | |
| 1993–94 | 8 | 6 | 0 | 0 | — | 8 | 6 | |||
| 1995–96 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | — | 2 | 3 | |||
| 1996–97 | 5 | 7 | 0 | 0 | — | 5 | 7 | |||
| Total | 27 | 24 | 0 | 0 | — | 27 | 24 | |||
| Szegedi (loan) | 1993–94 | Nemzeti Bajnokság II | 20 | 7 | 0 | 0 | — | 20 | 7 | |
| FC Remscheid (loan) | 1994–95 | Oberliga Nordrhein | 0 | 0 | — | |||||
| Flamurtari Vlorë (loan) | 1995–96 | Albanian Superliga | 10 | 5 | 0 | 0 | — | 10 | 5 | |
| 1996–97 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | — | 6 | 2 | |||
| Total | 16 | 7 | 0 | 0 | — | 16 | 7 | |||
| Apollon Smyrni | 1997–98 | Alpha Ethniki | 13 | 3 | 0 | 0 | — | 13 | 3 | |
| Litex Lovech | 1997–98 | Bulgarian A Football Group | 15 | 4 | 0 | 0 | — | 15 | 4 | |
| 1998–99 | 22 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 2[a] | 0 | 24 | 10 | ||
| Total | 37 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 39 | 14 | ||
| Adanaspor | 1999–2000 | Süper Lig | 29 | 10 | 0 | 0 | — | 29 | 10 | |
| İstanbulspor | 2000–01 | Süper Lig | 29 | 12 | 0 | 0 | — | 29 | 12 | |
| 2001–02 | 16 | 4 | 0 | 0 | — | 24 | 10 | |||
| 2002–03 | 14 | 4 | 0 | 0 | — | 14 | 4 | |||
| 2003–04 | 21 | 5 | 0 | 0 | — | 21 | 5 | |||
| 2004–05 | 16 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | 16 | 1 | |||
| Total | 96 | 26 | 0 | 0 | — | 96 | 26 | |||
| Trabzonspor (loan) | 2001–01 | Süper Lig | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 5 | 0 | |
| 2002–03 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 7 | 0 | |||
| Total | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 12 | 0 | |||
| Partizani Tirana | 2004–05 | Albanian Superliga | 14 | 5 | 0 | 0 | — | 14 | 5 | |
| Levadiakos | 2005–06 | Superleague Greece | 22 | 8 | 0 | 0 | — | 22 | 8 | |
| 2008–09 | 19 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | 20 | 1 | |||
| 2009–10 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 8 | 0 | |||
| Total | 49 | 9 | 1 | 0 | — | 50 | 9 | |||
| Apollon Kalamarias (loan) | 2006–07 | Superleague Greece | 24 | 9 | 1 | 1 | — | 25 | 10 | |
| 2007–08 | 17 | 4 | 1 | 0 | — | 18 | 4 | |||
| Total | 41 | 13 | 2 | 1 | — | 43 | 14 | |||
| Tirana | 2010–11 | Albanian Superliga | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 5 | 0 | |
| Career total | 359 | 118 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 364 | 119 | ||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Albania | 1995 | 2 | 1 |
| 1996 | 1 | 0 | |
| 1997 | 6 | 0 | |
| 1998 | 8 | 3 | |
| 1999 | 7 | 2 | |
| 2000 | 5 | 1 | |
| 2001 | 7 | 1 | |
| 2002 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2003 | 9 | 3 | |
| 2004 | 7 | 2 | |
| 2005 | 4 | 1 | |
| 2006 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2007 | 8 | 0 | |
| Total | 67 | 14 | |
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 16 August 1995 | Ta' Qali National Stadium,Ta'Qali,Malta |  Malta | 1–1 | 1–2 | Friendly |
| 2. | 21 January 1998 | Atatürk Stadium,Antalya,Turkey |  Turkey | 3–0 | 4–1 | |
| 3. | 19 August 1998 | Makario Stadium,Nicosia,Cyprus |  Cyprus | 2–0 | 3–2 | |
| 4. | 14 October 1998 | Ullevaal Stadion,Oslo,Norway |  Norway | 1–0 | 2–2 | UEFA Euro 2000 qualifying |
| 5. | 4 September 1999 | Qemal Stafa Stadium,Tirana,Albania |  Latvia | 1–1 | 3–3 | |
| 6. | 2–3 | |||||
| 7. | 11 October 2000 |  Greece | 1–0 | 2–0 | 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification | |
| 8. | 25 April 2001 | Gaziantep Kamil Ocak Stadium,Gaziantep, Turkey | Turkey | 1–0 | 2–0 | Friendly |
| 9. | 12 February 2003 | Stadio Comunale,Bastia Umbra,Italy |  Vietnam | 1–0 | 5–0 | |
| 10. | 10 September 2003 | Qemal Stafa Stadium, Tirana, Albania |  Georgia | 3–1 | 3–1 | UEFA Euro 2004 qualifying |
| 11. | 15 November 2003 |  Estonia | 2–0 | 2–0 | Friendly | |
| 12. | 31 March 2004 |  Iceland | 2–1 | 2–1 | ||
| 13. | 13 October 2004 | Almaty Central Stadium,Almaty,Kazakhstan |  Kazakhstan | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 14. | 17 August 2005 | Qemal Stafa Stadium, Tirana, Albania |  Azerbaijan | 1–1 | 2–1 | Friendly |
| Team | From | To | Record | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | W | D | L | Win % | |||
| Albania U16 | 27 April 2015 | 5 May 2015 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 100.0 |
| Albania U21[23] | 9 December 2016 | Present | 8 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 025.0 |
| Albania U20 | 24 October 2017 | Present | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 000.0 |
| Total | 12 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 041.7 | ||
Sektori i Ekipeve kombëtare në FSHF ka tashmë zyrtare edhe daten për ndeshjen miqësore të skuadrës kombëtare U-20, që përfshin lojtarë të datëlindjes U-20, përkatësisht me Gjeorgjinë.