Azdren Llullaku

Azdren Gani Llullaku (born 15 February 1988) is an Albanian professional footballer who plays as a striker for Romanian team Concordia Chiajna.[1]

Azdren Llullaku
Personal information
Full name Azdren Gani Llullaku
Date of birth (1988-02-15) 15 February 1988
Place of birth Istok, SFR Yugoslavia
Height 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Position(s) Striker / Winger
Club information
Current team
 Concordia Chiajna
Number 10
Youth career
2003–2004 Vallata
2004–2005 Conegliano
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2005–2006 Conegliano 18 (3)
2006–2010 Sacilese Calcio 31 (8)
2007–2008 → Südtirol (loan) 12 (0)
2009 → Domegliara (loan) 33 (11)
2010–2011 Tamai 33 (22)
2011–2012 SandonàJesolo 30 (13)
2012–2015 Gaz Metan Mediaș 93 (17)
2016 CSMS Iași 14 (0)
2016 Gaz Metan Mediaș 20 (16)
2017 Astana 17 (1)
2017 → Tobol (loan) 13 (0)
2018 Virtus Entella 4 (0)
2018–2019 Astra Giurgiu 34 (7)
2019–2020 Shakhtyor Soligorsk 13 (1)
2020– Concordia Chiajna 14 (4)
National team‡
2013–2017 Albania 6 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 6 December 2020
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 6 October 2017

Club career

Early career

Llullaku was born on 15 February 1988 in Istok.[2] Due to the Kosovo War, at age of 12 Llullaku moved to Italy along with his mother and his brother, settling in Tarzo in the Province of Treviso, Veneto.[3] He began his youth career with A.C. Vallata 1999,[4] a team of the third category, the lowest level of "amateur" football in Italy.[5]

Italian lower divisions

In the regional competitions, Llullaku revealed himself to be a talented goalscorer and he was recruited by Denis Florin, sporting director of Conegliano, which played in Eccellenza at that time. Llullaku accepted with enthusiasm and in the 2005–06 season, he started playing with the juniors team, and after ten matches, in December 2005 he transitioned into the senior team by Umberto Trinca and at 17, he scored three goals in 18 matches, helping to avoid a difficult relegation but especially stood out as a player deserving to be a professional.[6][7]

He moved into Serie D, joining A.S.D. Sacilese Calcio in 2006.[8] In the 2006–07 Season he made a total of 31 appearances and scored eight goals.[9]

In the summer of 2007, Llullaku joined Serie C2 side Südtirol.[8] In the 2007–08 season he made a total of 12 appearances.[9]

In 2008, he joined Serie D side Domegliara.[8] In the 2008–09 season he made a total of 33 appearances and scored 11 goals.[9]

He returned in 2009 to the previous team Sacilese in Lega Pro Seconda Divisione (previous name Serie C2) but didn't made any appearances for entire 2009–10 season[9] due to the law that prohibits the enrollment of non-EU citizens.[6] This made him move to Tamai in Serie D.[8] In the 2010–11 season, he made a total of 33 appearances and scored 22 goals.[9] In February, he was elected by the statistics of the Corriere dello Sport as the best striker in the Serie D and is placed in the Top 11 Serie D.

SandonàJesolo

In 2011, he joined fellow Venetian team SandonàJesolo.[8] On 25 September 2011, Llullaku scored by penalty the opening goal in the victory 2–0 against San Giorgio.[10] Later on 18 December, Llullaku scored hat-trick to give the clean 3–0 victory SandonàJesolo against I.S.M. Gradisca.[11]

In the 2011–12 season he made a total of 30 appearances and scored 13 goals.[9] SandonàJesolo finished in the 6th place in the final rank and qualified for the fourth round of the Promotion play-off as the finalist of 2011–12 Coppa Italia Serie D and were shorted to play against Arezzo. First play-off match against Arezzo played on 27 May 2012 finished in the goalless draw, and then was decided by penalty shoot-out as SandonàJesolo won it by 3–4 result. SandonàJesolo advanced to the semi-finals where they played against Legnago Salus on 3 June 2012 and won the match with the 2–0 result, in which also Llullaku scored the closing goal in the 51st minute after an personally attack himself.[12] SandonàJesolo managed to get in the final and they played against Cosenza, where Llullaku scored the second goal advantage but not enough to win the game as Cosenza came from behind to win the match by the 3–2 result.[6]

Llullaku also managed to play in the Coppa Italia Serie D with SandonàJesolo in the 2011–12 season. SandonàJesolo played in a two-legged match for the semi-final against Bogliasco and the first leg was won by the 1–0 home result, then in the second leg SandonàJesolo lost by the 2–1 result and they qualified due to the away goals rule, where the only away goal was scored by Llullaku himself.[13] They advanced to the final and Llullaku also played in a 2–1 loss for the cup final match against Sant'Antonio Abate.[14]

At the end of the 2011–12 season many professional clubs like Cremonese and Pordenone wanted to buy Llullaku[15] but his foreign players status didn't help him.[16]

Gaz Metan Mediaș

After spend 6 years at Italy, on 24 July 2012 after a trial, Llullaku signed for Romanian top division side Gaz Metan Mediaș.

Llulaku made his competitive debut on 24 August 2012 during the league match against Turnu Severin, coming on as a substitute in an eventual 2–0 home win.[17] He netted his first goal for the team on 1 December in the match against CFR Cluj, giving his team a 1–1 draw.[18] Llullaku started 2013 by scoring a goal in team's 3–1 win over Gloria Bistrița on 22 February,[19] which was followed by a brace in the 4–1 home win against Viitorul Constanța.[20] Llullaku was again decisive for his team by scoring the lone goal in the match against Concordia Chiajna, giving his team three important points.[21] That was his final strike of the season, as he finished it by playing 22 matches between league and cup, scoring five in the process.

Lullaku lost his place in the starting lineup during the 2013–14 season, making only nine league starts. He scored his first goal of the season on 26 July in the league encounter against Botoșani, finished in a 1–2 defeat.[22] On 25 September 2013, he scored twice in Gaz Metan Mediaș' 0–4 win over Petrolul Ploiești in the Romanian Cup.[23] The 2013–14 season was a bad one for Llullaku; he scored only one league goal in 28 appearances, in addition two Romanian Cup goals in two matches.

Llullaku started 2014–15 season by playing the entire match against Pandurii Târgu Jiu for the quarter-finals of 2014–15 Romanian Cup, which finished in a 1–0 defeat in extra-time.[24] He made his first league appearance for this season on 27 July 2014 in the 3–0 away win over Botoșani.[25] Lullaku scored his first goal of the season on 8 August, a last-minute equalizer against Rapid București in the matchday 3 to give his side a 1–1 draw.[26] On 12 September, during the 3–1 loss against Steaua București in which Llullaku scored his team's only goal, he got injured after just kicked the ball cause of an accident collision with opponent player.[27]

On 5 December, in the matchday 17 against Brașov, Llullaku scored a brace inside first five minutes to give his team a 2–1 win in the last match of 2014.[28] The new year found him injured, as he return to play in the team only in March, playing for 59 minutes in the match against Rapid București, which ended in a 1–0 defeat.[29] He scored his first goal of 2015 on 14 March in the 1–1 draw against Craiova.[30] Llullaku concluded the 2014–15 season with 30 appearances, 16 as a starter and 14 as a substitute in which he scored 8 goals but Gaz Metan Mediaș got relegated as they were ranked in the 13th place of the table, a place which was the higher of the rank which would result relegation.

Llullaku remained at Gaz Metan Mediaș for the 2015–16 season, where he made his Liga II debut on 29 August 2015 in the opening day against UTA Arad.[31] He scored his first goal of campaign on 11 September in the 1–1 home draw against Șoimii Pâncota.[32] Later that month, Llullaku scored his second goal of the season, a 91st-minute penalty, helping his side to earn a 3–3 home draw against Mioveni.[33] On 13 January 2016, Llullaku left Gaz Metan Mediaș after three-and-a-half seasons where he managed to score 17 goals in 93 league appearances. He announced via his official Facebook profile that he has terminated his contract with the club by mutual consensus, being a free agent.[34]

CSMS Iași

Llullaku returned to Liga I as he signed with CSMS Iași on 30 January 2016.[35] He made his debut on 13 February 2016 against Viitorul Constanța coming on as a substitute in the 82nd minute in place of Nuno Viveiros.[36] During the second part of 2015–16 season, Llullaku made 14 league appearances, including 9 as a starter, collecting 698 minutes, but failed to score a single goal, as CSMS Iași finished the season in the 7th position.

Astana

On 24 December 2016, Llullaku signed a 2-year contract with Kazakh champions Astana, on a free transfer.[37] His new salary would be from €50K and in the 2017–18 season he has secured a participation in the 2017–18 UEFA Champions League - Second qualifying round.[38][39]

He made his debut on 4 March 2017 in the Kazakhstan Super Cup against Kairat playing as a starter.[40] He scored his first goal in his 4th match in the Premier League on 17 March 2017 against Akzhayik. Llullaku scored the 2nd goal in the 13th minute and the match finished in the 3–1 victory.[41]

Loan to Tobol

On 2 July 2017 Llullaku was loaned to fellow Kazakhstan Premier League side FC Tobol for 6 months.[42] He debuted 8 days later in the matchday 19 against Irtysh Pavlodar playing as a starter and becoming protagonist of the match. In the 82nd minute after a cross from the right side, Llullaku did a header which was derivated in goal by opponents defender Carlos Fonseca and this goal was enough for Tobol to take the away 0–1 victory.[43][44] In December he was exhibited by FC Astana for the transfer.

He was returned to Astana following the end of the 2017 season and later on 15 January 2018 he announced via his Instagram profile to have departed from Astana.[45]

International career

In April 2013, FSHF has been reported to have an interest in Llullaku representing Albania and asked him to apply for an Albanian passport (citizenship).[46] On 24 May 2013, Llullaku received the Albanian citizenship among 4 fellow Albanian international players, Jurgen Gjasula, Ilir Berisha, Amir Abrashi and Vullnet Basha.[47]

He received the first call-up from the national team coach Gianni De Biasi who declared that due to the absence of Edmond Kapllani, he had decided to call-up Llullaku to replace him for the match against Norway on 7 June 2013 and this due to his both-wings playing ability.[48] Llullaku was an unused substitute for the entire match as he remained on the bench.[49]

In October 2016, after a three years absence, following a series of good performances with Gaz Metan Mediaș, Llullaku was called up again from De Biasi for the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification matches against Liechtenstein and Spain.[50] He made his senior debut on 6 October by playing as a starter in the match against Liechtenstein which finished a 2–0 away win,[51] as Albania took the lead of Group G with six points.[52]

Career statistics

Club
As of 15 January 2018 [53][54][55]
Club statistics
Club Season League Cup Europe[lower-alpha 1] Other[lower-alpha 2] Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Conegliano2005–06Eccellenza 183———183
Sacilese2006–07Serie D 318———318
2009–10Lega Pro Seconda Divisione —
Total 318———318
Südtirol2007–08Serie C2 120———120
Domegliara2008–09Serie D 3311———3311
Tamai2010–11Serie D 3322———3322
SandonàJesolo2011–12Serie D 301331——3314
Gaz Metan Mediaș2012–13Liga I 20520——225
2013–14 28122——303
2014–15 30820——328
2015–16Liga II 153———153
2016–17Liga I 201610——2116
Total 1133372——12035
CSMS Iași2015–16Liga I 140———140
Astana 2017 Kazakhstan Premier League 16110—10181
Tobol 2017 Kazakhstan Premier League 130———130
Career total 31391113—1032594
  1. Including continental competitions, such as UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League
  2. Including other competitions, such as Kazakhstan Super Cup

International
As of 6 October 2017 [56][55]
National teamYearAppsGoals
Albania 201300
201620
201740
Total60

Honours

Club
Astra Giurgiu

Individual

References
  1. Andrei Hergheligiu și Azdren Llullaku au semnat cu Concordia Chiajna. Echipa lui Florin Bratu are patru atacanți aduși în această vară din șapte achiziții. liga2.prosport.ro (in Romanian)
  2. Yjet e Istogut Archived 2017-09-14 at the Wayback Machine K.F. Istogu "Azdren Llullaku - Gaz Metan Medias. Azdren Llullaku u lind me 15 Shkurt 1988 në Istog"
  3. "AZDREN LLULLAKU U arratis nga lufta, sot në kombëtare" (in Albanian). Sporti Shqiptar. 4 June 2013. Archived from the original on 10 January 2014. Retrieved 23 January 2016.
  4. AC VALLATA 1999 Facebook
  5. Anna Laura Giannini (3 January 2012). "Sandonà Jesolo, Llullaku: "Io capocannoniere? ci provo"" (in Italian). Notiziario del Calcio. Retrieved 23 January 2016.
  6. Gianluca Di Marzio (29 September 2012). "G Factor: Azdren Denny Llullaku, l'attaccante scappato dalla guerra" (in Italian). Gianluca Di Marzio. Archived from the original on 29 January 2016. Retrieved 23 January 2016.
  7. L´EX LULLAKU DEBUTTA CON LA NAZIONALE ALBANESE Archived 2017-03-18 at the Wayback Machine F.C.D. Conegliano Calcio 1907
  8. "Llullaku, dorit de Lazio şi Chievo" (in Romanian). Tribuna.ro. 13 June 2013.
  9. "Azdren Llullaku - Carriera - stagioni, presenze, goal" (in Italian). TuttoCalciatori.Net. 23 January 2016. Retrieved 23 January 2016.
  10. "Il San Giorgio deve arrendersi al Sandonà Jesolo: Sport News Südtirol" (in Italian). Sportnews.bz. 25 September 2011. Archived from the original on 29 January 2016. Retrieved 23 January 2016.
  11. "Azdren Llullaku: tripletta e pallone a casa, SandonaJesolo ok..." (in Italian). Venetogol.it. 18 December 2011. Retrieved 23 January 2016.
  12. Maria Lopez (3 June 2012). "NC LIVE - Semifinale Play Off: Legnago-Sandonà Jesolo 0-2 (10' pt Nichele, 6' st Llullaku) FINITA" (in Italian). Notiziario del Calcio. Retrieved 23 January 2016.
  13. "Llullaku gol, SandonàJesolo in finale - Sport" (in Italian). La Nuova di Venezia. 30 March 2012. Retrieved 23 January 2016.
  14. "Il Sant'Antonio Abate conquista la Coppa Italia" (in Italian). 4 May 2012. Archived from the original on 30 January 2016. Retrieved 23 January 2016.
  15. Matteo Bursi (11 January 2013). "Sandonà, mezza Lega Pro sul gioiellino Llullaku" (in Italian). Tutto Mercato Web. Retrieved 23 January 2016.
  16. "Profugo kosovaro giocava a calcio con Sacilese e Tamai Ora è in nazionale" (in Italian). Il Gazzettino. 30 January 2014. Retrieved 23 January 2016.
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  18. "Gaz Metan Mediaș vs. CFR Cluj 1 – 1". Soccerway. 1 December 2012. Retrieved 1 December 2012.
  19. "Gaz Metan Mediaș vs. Gloria Bistrița 3 – 1". Soccerway. 22 February 2013. Retrieved 22 February 2013.
  20. "Gaz Metan Mediaș vs. Viitorul 4 – 1". Soccerway. 8 March 2013. Retrieved 8 March 2013.
  21. "Concordia Chiajna vs. Gaz Metan Mediaș 0 – 1". Soccerway. 8 April 2013. Retrieved 8 April 2013.
  22. "Gaz Metan Mediaș vs. Botoșani 1 – 2". Soccerway. 26 July 2013. Retrieved 26 July 2013.
  23. "Petrolistul Boldeștivs. Gaz Metan Mediaș 0 – 4". Soccerway. 25 September 2013. Retrieved 25 September 2013.
  24. "Gaz Metan Mediaș vs. Pandurii Târgu Jiu 0 – 1". Soccerway. 21 July 2014. Retrieved 21 July 2014.
  25. "Botoșani vs. Gaz Metan Mediaș 0 – 3". Soccerway. 27 July 2014. Retrieved 27 July 2014.
  26. "Rapid București vs. Gaz Metan Mediaș 1 – 1". Soccerway. 8 August 2014. Retrieved 8 August 2014.
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  30. "CS U Craiova vs. Gaz Metan Mediaș 1 – 1". Soccerway. 14 March 2015. Retrieved 14 March 2015.
  31. "UTA Bătrâna Doamnă vs. Gaz Metan Mediaș 1 – 2". Soccerway. 29 August 2015. Retrieved 29 August 2015.
  32. "Gaz Metan Mediaș vs. Șoimii Pâncota 1 – 1". Soccerway. 11 September 2015. Retrieved 11 September 2015.
  33. "Gaz Metan Mediaș vs. Mioveni 3 – 3". Soccerway. 26 September 2015. Retrieved 26 September 2015.
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  35. "Zyrtare, Azdren Llullaku bëhet me ekip të ri" (in Albanian). minuta90.com. 30 January 2016. Retrieved 30 January 2016.
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  37. "Астана подписала форварда сборной Албании". fca.kz (in Russian). FC Astana. 24 December 2016. Retrieved 24 December 2016.
  38. Llullaku, kontratë 2-vjecare me Astanan SuperSport
  39. Zyrtare, Llullaku largohet nga Gaz Metani për para dhe Champions Panorama Sport
  40. Astana vs. Kairat - 4 March 2017 Soccerway
  41. Astana vs. Akzhayik - 17 March 2017 Soccerway
  42. Foto / U huazua te Toboli, “prezantohet” Azdren Llullaku Panorama Sport
  43. "Irtysh" - "Tobol" 0: 1 Football club "Tobol" (В атаку костанайцам удается ходить не часто, но есть результат! После активности на правом фланге Вуха, Тимур Жакупов переправляет мяч к воротам, где его забивает Аздрен Лулаку. 0:1!)
  44. "Irtysh Pavlodar 1-1 Tobol Kostanay (C3) Europa League 2017/2018". YouTube. Retrieved 20 December 2017.
  45. "Fotolajm/ Llullaku i jep lamtumirën Astanës, zbulon destinacionin e radhës" [Photonews / Llullaku gives farewell to Astana, discovers the next destination] (in Albanian). Gazeta Panorama. 15 January 2018. Retrieved 15 January 2018.
  46. Asport (April 22, 2013). "Ekskluzive: Azdren Llullaku vishet kuq e zi". Asport. Archived from the original on June 1, 2016. Retrieved April 28, 2016. Ai ka thënë se tashmë me kërkesën e zyrtarëve të FSHF-së po bënë gati dokumentacionin për shtetësi shqiptare.“Jam duke grumbulluar dokumentete e nevojshme që të aplikojë sa më parë për pasaportë shqiptare, e pastaj besoj ftesën besoj do ma bëj trajneri së shpejti”, tha Lullaku
  47. "Ekskluzive: Basha, Gjasula, Abrashi,Berisha e Llullaku me pasaportë shqiptare (dekreti)" (in Albanian). aSport.al. 25 May 2013. Archived from the original on 2016-05-13. Retrieved 25 May 2013.
  48. "De Biazi: Nordikët i mundim vetëm me 110% të forcës sonë" (in Albanian). Sporti Shqiptar. 29 May 2013. Archived from the original on 8 June 2013. Retrieved 29 May 2013. Mungon Kapllani dhe është thirrur Llullaku, pse kjo zgjedhje? -Zgjedhja e Llullakut është bërë, pasi ai mund të luajë në të dyja krahët, kjo si pasojë e aftësive fizike dhe teknike që ai disponon. Ky lojtar mund të luajë në të dyja krahët e sulmit, ku mund të më japë shumë zgjidhje. Duke parë që jemi të kompletuar në sulm me Bogdanin, Salihin dhe Çanin, mendoj se kemi nevojë për lojtarë me karakteristika të ndryshme.
  49. "Nuk mjafton Rama, Norvegjia merr barazim në "Qemal Stafa"" (in Albanian). Gazeta Dita. 7 June 2013. Retrieved 23 January 2016.
  50. "Grezda dhe Llullaku premtojnë maksimumin, Shqipëria zgjedhje e parë për dy kosovarët" (in Albanian). TV Klan. 2 October 2016. Retrieved 2 October 2016.
  51. "Ndryshime me Lihtenshtejnin Llullaku nga minuta e parë" (in Albanian). Shqipëria.com. 5 October 2016. Retrieved 5 October 2016.
  52. Andi Deçka (6 October 2016). "Shqipëria fiton me Lihtenshtejnin, merr kryesimin e grupit" (in Albanian). Super Sport Albania. Retrieved 6 October 2016.
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  54. "Llullaku Azdren" (in Italian). TuttoCalciatori.Net. 23 January 2016. Retrieved 23 January 2016.
  55. "Azdren Llullaku". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmerman. Retrieved 25 November 2017.
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