Arben Minga
Encyclopedia
Arben Minga was an Albania
n footballer, who played as a centre-forward and a central defender. He was known as Beni i madh (Big Ben). He was a six-time Albanian title winner.
, Mirel Josa
, Sulejman Mema
, Shkelqim Muca
, Bedri Omuri
and Millan Baçi
, Minga was a member of the Tirana side of the 1980s that won four national championships and three national cups. In the early 1990s, Minga moved abroad to play in Romania
in the 1992-1994, but came back to KF Tirana in the last two years. Capped 28 times by Albania
, he played 20 games in European competition.
with his wife Nora Goxhaj, a former professional basketball
er, where they raised two sons, Gridi and Joni. It was there that he was diagnosed with a terminal illness. Minga died on 31 January 2007. Players in the 18th round of the 2006-2007 Albanian Superliga games wore black armbands in his memory.
Ben Minga in memoriam video
remembered that he had his Tirana debut in 1981 because Minga was suspended. Josa discovered he had no boots to play in, but recalled that "Beni gave me his boots and said 'put them on and be careful because they never stop running'."
Shyqyri Rreli, his coach at KF Tirana called Minga: "The best captain and leader I ever had."
Team-mate Millan Baçi
added: "His shot was like a bullet." Meanwhile, his former colleague on the national side, Skënder Gega, labelled him "the hardest forward to defend against and the best person to have in your team". His one-time youth coach Fatmir Frasheri said: "I never heard him say 'I'm tired'. He would always be the first in for training and would give everything he had in every game."
Winner of Albania Cup: 5 times
Romanian Cup
finalist : once (1992-93
)
Albania
Albania , officially known as the Republic of Albania , is a country in Southeastern Europe, in the Balkans region. It is bordered by Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, the Republic of Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south and southeast. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea...
n footballer, who played as a centre-forward and a central defender. He was known as Beni i madh (Big Ben). He was a six-time Albanian title winner.
Club career
He began his career in Albanian Championship with KF Tirana, then known as 17 Nëntori, becoming well established by the 1977/78 season. Along with Agustin KolaAgustin Kola
Agustin Kola is a former Albanian footballer. His former teams are SK Tirana, where he played all but one season of his career with SK Tirana as he has one season in Greece with Egaleo F.C. in the 1991-1992 season...
, Mirel Josa
Mirel Josa
Mirel Josa is an Albanian football coach and former player, who currently works as head coach of KS Vllaznia.-Career:Josa played for Kavala F.C. and Aris Thessaloniki F.C...
, Sulejman Mema
Sulejman Mema
Sulejman Mema is a former player and manager of SK Tirana. He has also been head of refereeing at the Football Association of Albania.Currently Mema is the principal of the Sports mastery school Loro Boriçi in Tirana.-References:...
, Shkelqim Muca
Shkelqim Muca
Shkëlqim Muça is a former Albanian football player and current coach of Skenderbeu. He will be remembered by football fans as one of the finest Albanian footballers of the '80s, skillful with the ball, but also distinguished as an extraordinary assist man, and a strong shooter...
, Bedri Omuri
Bedri Omuri
Bedri Omuri niknamed Bedrana by the SK Tirana fans during the 1980s is a former Albanian footballer. The midfielder spent all of his playing career at KF Tirana...
and Millan Baçi
Millan Baçi
Millan Baçi Millan Baçi Millan Baçi (born 1955 in Albania ia a former Albanian football midfielder. He spent his entire career with KF Tirana .He is also a former Albanian international having earned 7 caps and scoring 1 goal from 1976 up to his final game in 1981.-References:...
, Minga was a member of the Tirana side of the 1980s that won four national championships and three national cups. In the early 1990s, Minga moved abroad to play in Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
in the 1992-1994, but came back to KF Tirana in the last two years. Capped 28 times by Albania
Albania national football team
The Albania national association football team is the national association football team of Albania and is controlled by the Football Association of Albania...
, he played 20 games in European competition.
Personal life after competitive years
He subsequently went to CanadaCanada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
with his wife Nora Goxhaj, a former professional basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
er, where they raised two sons, Gridi and Joni. It was there that he was diagnosed with a terminal illness. Minga died on 31 January 2007. Players in the 18th round of the 2006-2007 Albanian Superliga games wore black armbands in his memory.
Ben Minga in memoriam video
Memories of colleagues and coaches
His friend and fellow footballer Mirel JosaMirel Josa
Mirel Josa is an Albanian football coach and former player, who currently works as head coach of KS Vllaznia.-Career:Josa played for Kavala F.C. and Aris Thessaloniki F.C...
remembered that he had his Tirana debut in 1981 because Minga was suspended. Josa discovered he had no boots to play in, but recalled that "Beni gave me his boots and said 'put them on and be careful because they never stop running'."
Shyqyri Rreli, his coach at KF Tirana called Minga: "The best captain and leader I ever had."
Team-mate Millan Baçi
Millan Baçi
Millan Baçi Millan Baçi Millan Baçi (born 1955 in Albania ia a former Albanian football midfielder. He spent his entire career with KF Tirana .He is also a former Albanian international having earned 7 caps and scoring 1 goal from 1976 up to his final game in 1981.-References:...
added: "His shot was like a bullet." Meanwhile, his former colleague on the national side, Skënder Gega, labelled him "the hardest forward to defend against and the best person to have in your team". His one-time youth coach Fatmir Frasheri said: "I never heard him say 'I'm tired'. He would always be the first in for training and would give everything he had in every game."
Honours
Albania Champion: 6 times.Winner of Albania Cup: 5 times
Romanian Cup
Romanian Cup
The Cupa României is a football competition which was held annually since 1933-34, except during the World War II. It is the country's main cup competition, and it is open to all clubs affiliated with FRF and the county football associations regardless of the league they belong to...
finalist : once (1992-93
1993 Cupa României Final
The 1993 Cupa României Final was the 55th final of Romania's most prestigious cup competition. The final was played at the Stadionul Naţional in Bucharest on 26 June 1993 and was contested between Divizia A sides Universitatea Craiova and Dacia Unirea Brăila. The cup was won by Universitatea...
)
Goals in Albanian Championship
| Season | Team | Goals |
|---|---|---|
| 1976-77 | KF Tirana | 1 |
| 1977-78 | KF Tirana | 1 |
| 1978-79 | KF Tirana | 3 |
| 1979-80 | KF Tirana | 1 |
| 1980-81 | KF Tirana | 7 |
| 1981-82 | KF Tirana | 3 |
| 1982-83 | KF Tirana | 4 |
| 1983-84 | KF Tirana | 8 |
| 1984-85 | KF Tirana | 13 |
| 1985-86 | KF Tirana | 16 |
| 1986-87 | KF Tirana | 11 |
| 1987-88 | KF Tirana | 16 |
| 1988-89 | KF Tirana | 9 |
| 1989-90 | KF Tirana | 6 |
| 1990-91 | KF Tirana | 3 |
| 1990-91 | |FC Braşov FC Brasov Fotbal Club Brașov is a professional football club based in the city of Brașov, Romania. They were founded in 1936, and since then they have spent 41 season in the top-flight. Brașov kits are yellow-black, and they play their home matches on the Silviu Ploeșteanu stadium.-Early modern football in... |
|
| 1992-93 | Dacia Unirea Brăila | |
| 1993-94 | ASA Acvila Giurgiu | |
| 1994-95 | KF Tirana | 2 |
| 1995-96 | KF Tirana | 1 |
| TOTAL | 105 |