Ilir Përnaska
Encyclopedia
Ilir Jonuz Përnaska is a former Albanian footballer, who played as a striker
Striker
Forwards, also known as strikers, are the players on a team in association football who play nearest to the opposing team's goal, and are therefore principally responsible for scoring goals...

 for Dinamo Tirana between 1967 and 1981, as well as the Albania national team
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 is one of Dinamo's most famous players who is known for being one of the most prolific goalscorers in Albanian history.

Career

Përnaska is a product of the famous Dinamo academy and in 1967 Skënder Jareci promoted him along with Faruk Sejdini to the Dinamo first team, where at the age of just 16 he was in the usual starting eleven. On his debut in 1967 in an away match against Traktori Lushnja
KS Lushnja
Klubi Sportiv Lushnja is an Albanian football club based in Lushnjë. Their home ground is "Abdurrahman Roza Haxhiu Stadium" , named for Abdurrahman Roza Haxhiu....

, Përnaska helped his side to a 3-1 win with 2 goals at the age of 16 on his professional debut.

He was part of the 'Golden Age' of Dinamo between 1971 and 1981, where under the guidance of Skënder Jareci the club dominated Albanian football winning 5 Albanian Superliga titles and 3 Albanian Cups. Përnaska formed a successful offensive partnership Vasillaq Zëri and Shyqyri Ballgjini which is considered to be the best offensive trio in Dinamo's history. He was crowned top scorer in the league for 6 consecutive seasons between 1971 and 1977, becoming the second most frequent winner of the Albanian Golden Boot, behind Partizani Tirana's Refik Resmja
Refik Resmja
Refik Resmja was an Albanian football striker. He is the second best leading scorer of all time in the Albanian Superliga after Vioresin Sinani. Resmja managed to score 59 goals in the season 1951 of Albanian National Championship...

, although Përnaska is the player who has been top goalscorer more than any other player in history as Resmja was only joint top scorer in 1955 and 1959.

He retired from professional football in 1981 at the age of 30 after 14 years at Dinamo where he scored 136 goals and left his mark in the history of the club as well as Albanian football. Following his retirement he received a letter from Albania's Stalinst dictator Enver Hoxha
Enver Hoxha
Enver Halil Hoxha was a Marxist–Leninist revolutionary andthe leader of Albania from the end of World War II until his death in 1985, as the First Secretary of the Party of Labour of Albania...

 along with a pair of shorts, which the player himself found to be a humourus act on the state's behalf.

Honours

Dinamo Tirana
  • Albanian Superliga (5): 1972-73, 1974–75, 1975–76, 1976–77, 1979–80
  • Albanian Cup (3): 1970-71, 1973–74, 1977–78
  • Spartakiada Kombëtare (3): 1959, 1969, 1974
  • Kupa e Ushtrisë Popullore (3): 1973, 1978
  • Kupa e 500 vjetorit të Skënderbeut (1): 1968


Individual
  • Albanian Golden Boot
    Albanian Superliga Seasons Top Scorers
    The following is the list of the Albanian Superliga top scorers by season..* - Incomplete data-Ranking:...

     (6): 1971-72, 1972–73, 1973–74, 1974–75, 1975–76, 1976–77
  • Mjeshtër Sporti
  • Mjeshtër i Merituar i Sportit
  • Mjeshtër i Madh
  • Order of Naim Frashëri (3)

Personal life

Përnaska was born in Tiranë, his father Jonuz Korça was from the southern city of Korçë
Korçë
Korçë is a city in southeastern Albania and the capital of the Korçë District. It has a population of around 105,000 people , making it the sixth largest city in Albania...

 and his mother from the Këllezi clan in Tiranë, the last name 'Përnaska' was given to him over time. He moved to Ascoli Piceno
Ascoli Piceno
Ascoli Piceno is a town and comune in the Marche region of Italy, capital of the province of the same name. Its population is c. 51,400.-Geography:...

, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

in 1992, where he resides with his wife and 2 daughters.
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