Afrim Taku
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Afrim Taku | ||
| Date of birth | 4 August 1989 | ||
| Place of birth | Tiranë, Albania | ||
| Height | 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in) | ||
| Playing position | Midfielder | ||
| Club information | |||
Current team | KF Tirana | ||
| Number | 26 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2004–2008 | KF Tirana | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 2008– | KF Tirana | 111 | (4) |
| 2008–2009 | → KF Skrapari (loan) | 11 | (0) |
| National team | |||
| 2015– | Albania | 0 | (0) |
|
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. | |||
Afrim Taku (born 4 August 1989 in Tiranë) is an Albanian midfielder footballer who plays for KF Tirana in the Albanian Superliga. He made his debut for the club in 2010 and has since become an integral part of the first team, which led to an international call up by Albania head coach Gianni De Biasi for a friendly match against France on 13 June 2015.[1]
Career
Early career
Taku began his football career as a 13 year old when he joined the KF Tirana academy, where he progressed through the ranks before eventually being loaned out to Albanian First Division side KF Skrapari for the 2008–09 campaign in order to gain first team experience. He made his professional debut in the First Division with KF Skrapari, where he featured in 11 league games as he helped the side narrowly avoid the relegation playoff places by a single point.[2]
He returned to his parent club KF Tirana but did not feature at all in the club's 2009–10 campaign, but he was promoted to the first team by head coach Nevil Dede ahead of the 2010–11 season, and he made his debut for the club in the Albanian Cup against his former side KF Skrapari on 20 October 2010 in a 1–0 away win in which Taku played the full 90 minutes of.[3] He made his Albanian Superliga debut on 20 November 2010 in a 3–1 home win over KF Elbasani, where he came on as a 76th-minute substitute for Mladen Žižović.[4] Dede left the club soon after and Mišo Krstičević took charge of the team, and the Croatian coach handed Taku his first Superliga start on 30 April 2011 in a 2–1 loss to Flamurtari Vlorë.[5] He made 5 league appearances in his debut season with KF Tirana as the club finished in a disappointing 5th place, and he made 4 cup appearances as KF Tirana went on to beat local rivals Dinamo Tirana in the final to win the trophy, which was the first major trophy of Taku's career.
Breakthrough
When Spanish coach Julián Rubio took charge of KF Tirana in June 2011 he placed his faith in the 21 year old Taku, and he was handed his European debut in the club's season opener in the UEFA Europa League qualifier against Slovakian side Spartak Trnava, which ended in a goalless draw as Taku played the full 90 minutes.[6] He also played the full game in the second leg, which KF Tirana ultimately ended up losing 3–1 on aggregate, as they were knocked out of the competition.[7] He then played in his first ever Albanian Supercup against Skënderbeu Korçë on 18 August 2011, where he was substituted off in the second half of the 1–0 win as he won the second trophy of his career.[8]
Taku’s career took off when coach Julián Rubio came in charge of KF Tirana on June 2011. He was part of the senior squad almost on every game of the Albanian Superliga for the 2011–12 season except for two matches. Taku’s best performance so far has been in the Albanian Supercup for 2011–12 season, a match where the two best football teams in Albania compete to win the ultimate trophy. He scored his first official goal in this decisive match which he dedicated to his coach and the national coach Gianni De Biasi.
International career
On 7 June 2015, after his good season with Tirana, Taku received his first call up from the coach Gianni De Biasi for the friendly match against France on 13 June 2015.[9] He was an unused substitute during the entire match, with Albania who beat France 1–0 at Elbasan Arena to receive a historic result.[10]
Career statistics
Club
- As of 14 August 2015[11]
| Club | Season | League | Cup | Europe | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| KF Skrapari | 2008–09 | Albanian First Division | 11 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 12 | 0 | ||
| Total | 11 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 12 | 0 | ||||
| KF Tirana | 2009–10 | Albanian Superliga | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2010–11 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 9 | 0 | |||
| 2011–12 | 25 | 0 | 14 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 42 | 0 | ||
| 2012–13 | 25 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 34 | 2 | ||
| 2013–14 | 22 | 2 | 4 | 1 | — | — | 26 | 3 | ||||
| 2014–15 | 34 | 1 | 7 | 3 | — | — | 41 | 4 | ||||
| 2015–16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 111 | 4 | 33 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 152 | 9 | ||
| Career total | 122 | 4 | 34 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 164 | 9 | ||
References
- ↑ "De Biazi shpall listën anti-Francë, mungojnë Agolli, Kukeli, Xhaka dhe Shkëlzen Gashi". Panorama Sport. 8 June 2015. Retrieved 1 July 2015.
- ↑ "2008–09 Albanian First Division". Soccerway. Retrieved 14 August 2015.
- ↑ "KF Skrapari 0–1 KF Tirana". Footballdatabase.eu. Retrieved 14 August 2015.
- ↑ "KF Tirana 3–1 KF Elbasani". Soccerway. Retrieved 14 August 2015.
- ↑ "Flamurtari Vlorë 2–1 KF Tirana". Soccerway. Retrieved 14 August 2015.
- ↑ "KF Tirana 0–0 Spartak Trnava". Soccerway. Retrieved 15 August 2015.
- ↑ "Spartak Trnava 3–1 KF Tirana". Soccerway. Retrieved 15 August 2015.
- ↑ Fation Shehu (19 August 2011). ""Luftë" në Korçë, Tirana fiton Superkupën". Panorama. Retrieved 15 August 2015.
- ↑ "De Biazi shpall listën anti-Francë, mungojnë Agolli, Kukeli, Xhaka dhe Shkëlzen Gashi". Panorama Sport. 8 June 2015. Retrieved 1 July 2015.
- ↑ "Kaçe free-kick gives Albania win against France". UEFA.com. 13 June 2015. Retrieved 1 July 2015.
- ↑ "Afrim Taku Soccerway profile". Soccerway. Retrieved 14 August 2015.
External links
- Profile at UEFA.com
- Profile at Football Database
- Profile at World Football
- Sport Ekspres.com
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