Sabien Lilaj

Sabien Lilaj

Personal information
Full name	Sabien Lilaj
Date of birth	(1989-02-10) 10 February 1989
Place of birth	Maliq, Korçë County, Albania
Height
Position(s)	Midfielder
Team information
Current team	Skënderbeu
Number	88
Youth career
1999–2008	Tirana
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2008–2011	Tirana	67	(3)
2011–2012	Lokomotiva Zagreb	15	(0)
2012–	Skënderbeu Korçë	105	(13)
International career‡
2009	Albania U20	2	(0)
2008–2011	Albania U21	10	(0)
2011–	Albania	11	(0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 18 January 2016 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 13 June 2015

Sabien Lilaj (born 10 February 1989 in Maliq, Korçë County) is an Albanian footballer who plays for Skënderbeu Korçë in Albanian Superliga as well as the Albania national team. He is a versatile midfielder who mainly operates in a holding role, but he has also played in more advanced midfield roles too.

Career

KF Tirana

Lilaj was born in Maliq, Korçë County, but moved to the capital Tiranë along with his family aged 8, where he began playing football at the Loro Boriçi sports mastery school at the age of 10, playing for the school's football team Shkëndija Tiranë. In the summer of 2008 he went on trial with KF Tirana, where he was spotted by the head coach Blaž Slišković, who was impressed with the 19-year-old and signed him ahead of the 2008–09 campaign. He made his league debut in the opening game of the 2008-09 Albanian Superliga against Vllaznia Shkodër, where he started the game in midfield in the goalless draw. He scored his first professional goal in a 3–2 away win over local rivals Dinamo Tirana, and in total he made 20 league appearances in his debut season, where he also won the Albanian Superliga for the first time. He also made 2 appearances in the club's Albanian Cup run, where they reached the final but eventually lost to Flamurtari Vlorë.

The following season he made his European debut in the second qualifying round of the UEFA Champions League against Norwegian side Stabæk Fotball, in a game that ended in a 1–1 draw. He also started the return leg that ended in a 4–0 loss to his side which send his side tumbling out of Europe. He came on at half time for Blerti Hajdari in the 2009 Albanian Supercup as they defeated Flamurtari Vlorë 1–0, the side that beat them in the previous cup final. In the league he made 23 appearances, most of which were off the bench as he struggled to establish himself in midfield in a season where his side failed to win the league where they finished 3rd, or the cup where they reached the third round.

He began the 2010–11 by playing against Hungarian side Zalaegerszegi TE in the first qualifying round of the Europa League, where both legs finished in goalless draws, meaning that extra time was needed after the second leg in Zalaegerszeg, where KF Tirana won the tie through an Erando Karabeci free kick in the 107th minute. His side were drawn against Dutch side FC Utrecht, and they lost the first leg 4–0 away at the Stadion Galgenwaard, but they held FC Utrecht to a 1–1 in the return leg at the Qemal Stafa Stadium but were ultimately knocked out of the competition. In the Albanian Superliga, his side struggled throughout the season and they finished 5th out of 12 teams, just 2 points above the relegation playoff places, but Lilaj still managed to show some good form as he made 24 appearances and scored one goal. His side did however have a successful Albanian Cup run as they defeated Dinamo Tirana on penalties in the final to win their first Albanian Cup since 2006. Lilaj scored once in the run up to the final, as well as featuring in 6 games, including both legs of the quarter and semi finals, respectively and the final, where he played the full 120 minutes as KF Tirana won on penalties to rescue their season. He was then allowed to leave the club at the end of the season, as did many other first team players including Andi Lila, Jahmir Hyka, Tefik Osmani and Pero Pejić.

NK Lokomotiva

In the summer transfer window of 2011, Lilaj moved to Croatia to join Prva HNL side NK Lokomotiva, where he struggled to compete with the likes of Mateo Poljak and Marcelo Brozović for a first team place. He made just 15 league appearances as his side finished in a respectable 7th place out of 16 teams, and his side did not qualify to feature in the 2011–12 Croatian Football Cup meaning he could not play any other games that season. Despite having a difficult season in terms of first team competition, his performances when he did play attracted the interest of Albania national team head coach Josip Kuže, who gave him first first senior international call up and cap. After one season in Croatia, he left NK Lokomotiva to return to Albania, where he was subject to interest from a host of Albanian Superliga sides in the summer of 2012.

Skënderbeu Korçë

Lilaj in action during a Europa League match against Lokomotiv Moscow.

He returned to his birthplace and signed a three–year contract with Albanian Superliga reigning champions Skënderbeu Korçë on 7 August 2012, where he once again teamed up with Ditmar Bicaj, Ivan Gvozdenović, Pero Pejić, Sebino Plaku and Daniel Xhafa, who had all been his teammates at KF Tirana. He made his debut for the club in the 2012 Albanian Supercup, where he started the game but was substituted off in the second half in the 2–1 defeat to his former side KF Tirana. He impressed in his first season at Skënderbeu Korçë, despite competition in the centre of midfield with captain Bledi Shkëmbi and Nurudeen Orelesi. On 3 October 2012, he scored his first goal in nearly 20 months against Olimpik Tirana in 7–2 Albanian Cup win that also saw him receive a red card in the 85th minute. He scored in the very next game on 6 October in an Albanian Superliga] game against Shkumbini Peqin. He featured in 20 league games and scored 4 league goals to help his side retain the Albanian Superliga title and win it for a third consecutive season. In the Albanian Cup he scored 4 goals in 5 appearances, including his side's only goal in the semi finals against Bylis Ballsh, who knocked out Skënderbeu Korçë after a 2–1 aggregate win over two legs. He scored 8 times in 30 games in all competitions in the 2012–13 season.

As his side won the league the previous season, Lilaj began the 2013–14 campaign playing in the second qualifying round of the Champions League, where he played against Azerbaijani side Neftchi PFK, whom Skënderbeu Korçë defeated 1–0 on aggregate after extra time, as both legs ended in goalless draws in regulation time. In the next round they faced Kazakh side Shakhter Karagandy, who defeated Skënderbeu Korçë 3–0 in the first leg, but Lilaj and his side showed resilience in the return leg as they went 3–0 up in the opening 29 minutes, only to concede twice either side of half time to win the game 3–2 as they ultimately lost the tie 5–3 on aggregate that saw them get knocked out of the Champions League. They did however qualify for the playoff round of the Europa League, and they were drawn against Ukrainian side Chornomorets Odesa, with the first leg in Ukraine ending in 1–0 loss for Skënderbeu Korçë. In the return leg in Albania, his side won the game 1–0 and took the tie to extra time, which did not produce any goals meaning the tie went to penalties for a spot in the group stage of the Europa League. Lilaj took his side's 5th penalty and successfully converted, but his teammates Nurudeen Orelesi and Bakary Nimaga missed the next two penalties, as his side lost 7–6 on penalties.

On 12 August 2014 he signed a two–year contract with Polish Ekstraklasa side Ruch Chorzów, where he even completed his medical and was presented to the media, only for the move to be annulled and he returned to Skënderbeu Korçë for another season as the Albanian side claimed to have automatically renewed his contract at the end of the 2013–14 season for another year.

On 5 November 2015, Sabien Lilaj scored twice in just under 20 minutes as Skënderbeu recorded a 3-0 victory over Sporting Lisbon in the 2015-16 UEFA Europa League group stage. His first goal was scored after fellow teammates Peter Olayinka and Esquerdinha missed opprtunities, but Lilaj netted in the rebound to put Skënderbeu 1-0 up. His second came from the penalty spot as fellow teammate Liridon Latifi got fouled by Sporting Lisbon goalkeeper Rui Patricio and then got sent off. Lilaj scored the resulting penalty that went past the substitute goalkeeper Marcelo Boeck to put Skënderbeu 2-0 up at the Elbasan Arena. Skënderbeu eventually ran out 3-0 winners and recorded their first ever win in a major tournament.

On 28 December 2015, Lilaj was selected Albanian Superliga Player of the Year.

International career

Albania youth squads

Lilaj playing with Albania U21

Lilaj was first selected for Albania under-21s on 22 October 2008 by Artan Bushati for a friendly against neighbouring country Macedonia. He was picked in the 23 man squad that would be travelling to Macedonia for the friendly along with 2 other KF Tirana players, Enri Tafaj and Migen Metani. However he would not be able ot play the friendly in Ohrid on 19 November 2008 due to injury just days before the fixture. This meant that fellow Tirana team mate Migen Metani took his place in the squad. He was again picked by Artan Bushati in February 2009, this time preparation for the UEFA U-21 Championship. He was picked in the squad once again with fellow club team mate Migen Metani.

Albania senior team

In 2011 Lilaj made a debut for Albanian national team.

Career statistics

Club

As of 6 August 2015

Club	Season	League			Cup		Europe		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
KF Tirana	2008–09	Albanian Superliga	20	1	2	0	—		—		22	1
	2009–10		23	0	0	0	2	0	1	0	26	0
	2010–11		24	1	6	1	4	0	—		34	2
	Total		67	2	8	1	6	0	1	0	82	3
NK Lokomotiva	2011–12	Prva HNL	15	0	—		—		—		15	0
	Total		15	0	—		—		—		15	0
Skënderbeu Korçë	2012–13	Albanian Superliga	20	4	5	4	—		1	0	26	8
	2013–14		29	2	7	0	6	0	1	0	43	2
	2014–15		33	4	6	1	2	0	—		41	5
	2015–16		0	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	2	0
	Total		82	10	18	5	10	0	2	0	112	15
Career total			164	12	26	6	16	0	3	0	209	18

International

International appearances and goals
#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Final Score	Goal	Result	Competition
2011
1	7 October 2011	Stade de France, Paris, France	France	3–0	0	Loss	UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying
2	11 October 2011	Qemal Stafa Stadium, Tirana, Albania	Romania	1–1	0	Draw	UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying
3	15 November 2011	Goce Delcev Stadium, Prilep, Macedonia	Macedonia	0–0	0	Draw	Friendly
2012
4	22 May 2012	Campo de Fútbol de Vallecas, Madrid, Spain	Qatar	1–2	0	Win	Friendly
5	27 May 2012	BJK İnönü Stadium, İstanbul, Turkey	Iran	0–1	0	Win	Friendly
6	14 November 2012	Stade de Genève, Geneva, Switzerland	Cameroon	0–0	0	Draw	Friendly
2013
7	26 March 2013	Qemal Stafa Stadium, Tirana, Albania	Lithuania	4–1	0	Win	Friendly
8	15 November 2013	Akdeniz University Stadium, Antalya, Turkey	Belarus	0–0	0	Draw	Friendly
2014
9	31 May 2014	Stade Municipal, Yverdon-les-Bains, Switzerland	Romania	0–1	0	Loss	Friendly
10	8 June 2014	San Marino Stadium, Serravalle, San Marino	San Marino	0–3	0	Win	Friendly

Honours

Club

KF Tirana

• Albanian Superliga (1): 2008–09
• Albanian Cup (1): 2010–11
• Albanian Supercup (1): 2009

Skënderbeu Korçë

• Albanian Superliga (3): 2012–13, 2013–14, 2014–15
• Albanian Supercup (2): 2013, 2014

Individual

• Albanian Superliga Player of the Month (1): October 2012
• Albanian Superliga Player of the Year (1): 2015

External links

• Skënderbeu Korçë official profile
• Sabien Lilaj – UEFA competition record
• Sabien Lilaj – FIFA competition record
• Sabien Lilaj at National-Football-Teams.com
• Sabien Lilaj career statistics at Soccerbase