_(cropped).jpg) Duka withColumbus Crew in 2017 | |||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Dilaver Duka[1] | ||||||||||
| Date of birth | (1989-09-15)September 15, 1989 (age 35) | ||||||||||
| Place of birth | Montville, New Jersey, United States | ||||||||||
| Height | 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) | ||||||||||
| Position(s) | Midfielder | ||||||||||
| Team information | |||||||||||
Current team | FC Motown | ||||||||||
| College career | |||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||
| 2007–2008 | Rutgers Scarlet Knights | 36 | (10) | ||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||
| 2008 | New Jersey Rangers | 0 | (0) | ||||||||
| 2008–2009 | Newark Ironbound Express | 7 | (1) | ||||||||
| 2010–2012 | Columbus Crew | 45 | (2) | ||||||||
| 2013–2014 | Chicago Fire | 37 | (4) | ||||||||
| 2014–2015 | Montreal Impact | 41 | (5) | ||||||||
| 2016–2017 | Columbus Crew | 15 | (1) | ||||||||
| 2017 | New York Red Bulls | 3 | (0) | ||||||||
| 2017 | →New York Red Bulls II (loan) | 3 | (0) | ||||||||
| 2018 | FC Motown | 6 | (6) | ||||||||
| 2019 | Partizani Tirana | 13 | (1) | ||||||||
| 2020– | FC Motown | 0 | (0) | ||||||||
| International career | |||||||||||
| 2009 | United States U20 | 13 | (2) | ||||||||
| 2012 | United States U23 | 1 | (0) | ||||||||
| Managerial career | |||||||||||
| 2024 | FC Motown | ||||||||||
Medal record
| |||||||||||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 19:35, 24 October 2019 (UTC) | |||||||||||
Dilaver Duka (born September 15, 1989) is an American professionalsoccer player who plays as amidfielder forFC Motown in theNational Premier Soccer League.
Duka grew up in Montville, New Jersey, to an Albanian family originally fromDebar.[2] Duka played atMontville Township High School, won three New Jersey state titles and one national title at club level, spent time in theRed Bull Academy,[3][4] and playedcollege soccer atRutgers University. During his time at Rutgers, he led the team in scoring and was a 2008 All-Big East selection. For his career, he played in thirty-six games, making thirty-five starts, scoring ten goals and contributing five assists.[5]
During his college years Duka played two seasons with theNewark Ironbound Express in theUSL Premier Development League.[6] He actually started 2008 with theNew Jersey Rangers but he never made an appearance for the club.[7]
Duka was drafted in the first round (eighth overall) of the2010 MLS SuperDraft byColumbus Crew.[8] He made his debut for the Crew on August 14, 2010, againstReal Salt Lake in a 2–0 defeat.[9] Later that season he made his first start for Columbus, picking up a yellow card in a 1–0 victory atD.C. United on September 4, 2010.[10] Duka made five appearances in the2010–11 CONCACAF Champions League, providing two assists, and also made three appearances in the2010 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup.
Duka scored his first career goal on October 15, 2011, in a 3–0 victory overNew England Revolution. He trapped an attempted clearance outside the box and finished from the left side of the penalty area in the 59th minute.[11] He would go on to score his second career goal in the Crew's next match, a 3–2 defeat toChicago Fire on October 22, 2011.[12] Duka appeared againstColorado Rapids in the2011 MLS Cup Playoffs as the Crew were eliminated 1–0 by the defending champions in the wildcard round.[13]
Duka notched two assists from 20 appearances in2012.[14]
After three seasons in Columbus, Duka was traded toChicago Fire on February 1, 2013, in exchange forDominic Oduro.[15] Duka made his debut for the Fire on March 3, 2013, in a season-opening 4–0 loss to theLA Galaxy. He was subbed off after 57 minutes.[16] On June 22, 2013, in his return to Columbus, Duka scored in the 52nd minute of a 2–1 victory for the Fire, his first goal for the club.[17] He set career highs in his first season with Chicago, scoring four goals and providing three assists.
Duka began the2014 season in Chicago, but appeared in just six of the first 19 matches. He did start away to his former club Columbus on May 24, but was subbed off after 61 minutes in a 2–0 defeat.[18] His final appearance with the Fire came on July 6 in a 1–1 away draw withSporting KC, when he came on as a substitute at halftime forAlex.[19]
On July 29, 2014, Duka departed Chicago when he was traded to theMontreal Impact in exchange forSanna Nyassi.[20] He made his debut for the Impact on August 2, 2014, in a401 Derby match againstToronto FC, coming on as a substitute forJustin Mapp in the 74th minute of a 2–0 defeat.[21] Duka made his first start in Montreal when his former club, the Fire, visitedStade Saputo on 16 August 2014. He played the full 90 minutes, tallying one shot in a 1–0 Impact victory.[22] In the next MLS match for Montreal, away to theNew York Red Bulls on August 23, 2014, Duka tallied his first goal for the Impact. His left-footed strike in the 37th minute gave the Impact a 1–0 lead at the time, but they went on to fall 4–2 to the Red Bulls.[23] Duka went on to score in matches against theHouston Dynamo[24] andSan Jose Earthquakes[25] and finished the2014 season with three goals for Montreal, appearing in all 14 matches after the trade.
In the2014–15 CONCACAF Champions League, Duka appeared in all 10 matches the Impact played in their run to the final of the tournament. He scored twice, with both goals coming in the first leg of the quarterfinal matchup with Mexican sidePachuca.[26] Duka started both legs of the2015 CONCACAF Champions League Finals against Mexican sideAmérica. In the first leg, held at theEstadio Azteca, he received a yellow card and was replaced in the 71st minute byMaxim Tissot as América'sOribe Peralta scored in the 89th minute to earn a 1–1 draw.[27] In the second leg, at theOlympic Stadium, Duka went the full 90 minutes as the Impact were defeated 4–2 and denied their first-everCONCACAF title by a 5–3 aggregate score.[28]
In the2015 Canadian Championship, Duka appeared in three of four games for the Impact, only being benched in the second leg of the championship againstVancouver Whitecaps FC.[29] In the first leg, he had started and played 76 minutes before being replaced byAndrés Romero.[30] With the 4–2 aggregate defeat, Montreal was denied a berth in the2015–16 CONCACAF Champions League.
Duka opened the2015 season in the starting lineup, as he went the full 90 minutes of a 1–0 season-opening loss toD.C. United,[31] but he would wind up starting just 19 of 34 regular-season matches. Duka scored his first goal of the season on May 16 againstReal Salt Lake, his 78th-minute strike helping Montreal to their first MLS win of the season, 4–1.[32] He wouldn't score again until September 19 againstEastern Conference-leadingNew England Revolution. After coming on as a substitute forAndrés Romero in the 71st minute, Duka chipped Revolution goalkeeperBobby Shuttleworth in the 76th minute to seal a 3–0 victory for the Impact.[33] In the2015 MLS Cup Playoffs, Duka appeared in all three matches for the Impact, but did not finish the full 90 minutes in any. He started the 3–0 victory in the Knockout Round over Toronto FC, before being replaced on 84 minutes byDominic Oduro.[34] At home for the first leg of the semifinals againstColumbus Crew SC, Duka came off the bench to replace Oduro in the 61st minute of a 2–1 victory.[35] The second leg atMAPFRE Stadium would turn out to be Duka's last game with Montreal. His 40th-minute goal would put the Impact up 3–2 on aggregate, but Duka would be replaced byHassoun Camara in the 65th minute as Montreal would lose the game, 3–1 in extra time, and the series 4–3 on aggregate.[36]
At the end of the 2015 season, Montreal expressed interest in bringing Duka back for 2016, with the player saying, "Now, I’m just waiting for the Impact to make an offer. I’m going to look at that. If that’s good, I’ll definitely come back."[37] However, on January 18, 2016, Duka announced he would not return to Montreal, with the club quoted as saying he wanted to pursue opportunities in Europe.[38] The Impact retained his rights in MLS.
After leaving Montreal following the2015 season, Duka returned to Columbus on June 20, 2016, after Columbus acquired his right of first refusal from Montreal in exchange for general allocation money, targeted allocation money, and a second round pick in the2017 MLS SuperDraft.[39] He made his return to Columbus July 3, 2016, playing 17 minutes as a substitute in a 3–2 win againstSporting KC.[40] Duka's first goal back with Crew SC came October 1, 2016, in a 3–0 victory over his former club, Chicago Fire.[41] He ended the 2016 season with one goal and one assist in 15 appearances.
Duka was waived by Columbus on July 10, 2017.[42]
Duka was picked up by theNew York Red Bulls on August 10, 2017.[43]
Duka played in all three games for theUnited States in the2009 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Egypt. He scored the third goal and gave an assist in the team's 4–1 win overCameroon.
Duka made his lone appearance with theU-23 national team on February 29, 2012, againstMexico, in the lead up to the2012 London Olympics. He was not selected to the US team for the2012 CONCACAF Men's Olympic Qualifying Championship, where the United States was eliminated in the group stage.[44]
| Club | Season | League | Playoffs[a] | Cup[b] | Continental | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| New Jersey Rangers | 2008[7] | PDL | 0 | 0 | – | – | – | 0 | 0 | |||
| Newark Ironbound Express | 2008[6] | PDL | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 4 | 1 | ||
| 2009 | 3 | 0 | – | – | – | 3 | 0 | |||||
| Total | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 1 | ||
| Columbus Crew | 2010 | MLS | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 10 | 0 |
| 2011 | 22 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 24 | 2 | ||
| 2012 | 20 | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | – | 20 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 45 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 54 | 2 | ||
| Chicago Fire | 2013 | MLS | 31 | 4 | – | 4 | 0 | – | 35 | 4 | ||
| 2014 | 6 | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | – | 6 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 37 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 41 | 4 | ||
| Montreal Impact | 2014 | MLS | 14 | 3 | – | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 18 | 3 | |
| 2015 | 27 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 2 | 39 | 5 | ||
| Total | 41 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 10 | 2 | 57 | 8 | ||
| Columbus Crew SC | 2016 | MLS | 15 | 1 | – | 0 | 0 | – | 15 | 1 | ||
| 2017 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | 1 | 0 | |||
| Total | 15 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 1 | ||
| New York Red Bulls | 2017 | MLS | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| New York Red Bulls II (loan) | 2017 | USL | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 3 | 0 | ||
| FC Motown | 2018[47] | NPSL | 6 | 6 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 3 | – | 13 | 12 | |
| Partizani Tirana | 2018–19 | Albanian Superliga | 0 | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Career total | 157 | 19 | 9 | 4 | 13 | 3 | 15 | 2 | 194 | 28 | ||
