50 Facts About Erjon Bogdani

Erjon Bogdani was born on 14 April 1977 and is an Albanian professional football coach and former player.

Erjon Bogdani left the club in January 1998 to sign with Genclerbirligi.

That summer, Erjon Bogdani moved in Croatia to play for Zagreb, before traveling to Italy where he enjoyed the best years of his career.

Erjon Bogdani played in the following years in Serie A and B, representing Reggina, Salernitana, Verona, Siena, Chievo, Livorno and Cesena.

Erjon Bogdani became a free agent in May 2013 after his contract with Siena ran out, and retired from the sport in February 2014.

Erjon Bogdani has 74 caps for Albania national team, making his debut in 1996 and scoring his first goal three years later.

Erjon Bogdani holds numerous Albanian records, including most goals as substitute and oldest goalscoring in history, and has been dubbed as the best striker to play for the Red and Black.

Erjon Bogdani began his managerial career by being named Gianni De Biasi assistant in August 2015.

Erjon Bogdani was discovered by local side Partizani Tirana at the age of 10 in a school team competition held in Tirana, where he scored 11 goals in just four games.

The young Erjon Bogdani then joined Partizani Tirana's academy, where he played through the different age groups and eventually signed his first professional contract with the club in 1994.

Erjon Bogdani later moved to Croatia with Josip Kuze's crucial help joining the Prva HNL club NK Zagreb.

Erjon Bogdani made his Serie A debut on 6 February 2000 against Bologna.

Under coach Massimo Ficcadenti Erjon Bogdani played all 38 matches where he participated as a starter completing 33 full 90-minutes and was the team top-scorer in the Serie B with 17 goals scored.

Erjon Bogdani was ranked 4th in the entire goalscorers classification with 3 goals behind top-scorer Gionatha Spinesi and 2 goals behind Diego Milito and Francesco Tavano.

Erjon Bogdani registered 28 appearances and only two goals for the entire season.

Erjon Bogdani had a bad season where he wasn't even included in 9 matches and played 12 matches as a starter and 9 as a substitute.

Erjon Bogdani participated in 32 matches playing 12 as a starter and 9 as a substitute where he scored 2 goals and provided 1 assist.

On 20 September 2009 against Genoa Erjon Bogdani played as a starter and created an immediate impact in the first minutes winning a penalty in the 4th minute converted in goal by Michele Marcolini and scoring a goal himself 2 minutes later.

On 22 July 2010, Erjon Bogdani signed with newly promoted Serie A side Cesena for an undisclosed fee as a free agent.

Erjon Bogdani was named "Man of the match" for his performance, and he followed that up by netting the winner versus Lecce the next week.

Erjon Bogdani finished his first season at Cavallucci Marini by scoring 8 goals in 35 league appearances, being the second scorer of the team, only one goal less than Luis Jimenez.

Erjon Bogdani lost his place in the next season, being reduced to playing only at cup games.

Erjon Bogdani returned to AC Siena by signing a two-year contract on the final day of the winter transfer window.

Erjon Bogdani made his debut with the Tuscans 22 February 2012, in the home defeat against Catania.

Erjon Bogdani scored again in the next two weeks against Cagliari and Cesena, his former team.

Erjon Bogdani concluded the season with 11 appearances and 4 goals.

Erjon Bogdani scored his second goal against Sampdoria on 20 January 2013.

On 11 February 2014 Erjon Bogdani confirmed to have retired from football.

Erjon Bogdani first became part of the Albania U21 team in 1996, where he scored on his official debut in a 1998 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship qualification match against Portugal on 9 October 1996.

Erjon Bogdani was called up to Albania under-23 by coach Sulejman Mema to participate in the 1997 Mediterranean Games football tournament, which began on 8 June in Southern Italy.

Erjon Bogdani was first introduced to the Albania senior squad by manager Neptun Bajko in April 1996 for the friendly match versus Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Erjon Bogdani came on in the last minutes as a substitute with the match ending in a goalless draw.

Later that year, in December, Erjon Bogdani was called up again for the 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification match against Northern Ireland in which Erjon Bogdani was an unused substitute.

Erjon Bogdani continued to be part of the team under Astrit Hafizi management in the UEFA Euro 2000 qualifying, where Albania was placed in Group 2.

Erjon Bogdani made 6 appearances during the qualifying phase, including one as starter, as Albania finished the group in 5th place with 7 points.

Erjon Bogdani didn't find more space in the next qualifying campaign, the 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification, in which he managed to play only four matches.

Erjon Bogdani was not seen as starter by manager Medin Zhega before players such as Igli Tare, Alban Bushi and Altin Rraklli.

Erjon Bogdani missed out almost the entire UEFA Euro 2004 qualifying due to injury suffered at club level, participating only one time on 7 June 2003 against Republic of Ireland where he was an unused substitute under coach Hans-Peter Briegel.

Erjon Bogdani continued to lead Albania's attacking force in the UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying, playing 11 matches, all of them as starter, and was along with Altin Haxhi the most used player.

Later on 6 June 2009, Erjon Bogdani scored his 10th international goal against Portugal, becoming only the fifth player to achieve the feat.

Albania finished Group 1 in 5th place with only 7 points and 6 goals scored, with Erjon Bogdani netting half of them.

Erjon Bogdani scored his first goal in the qualifiers on 2 September 2011 against the FIFA World Cup-winners France.

Erjon Bogdani described 2011 as one of the best years of his career.

Now a veteran, Erjon Bogdani continued to be a part of the national team even after the appointment of manager Gianni De Biasi, who was known for having a liking for youth players.

Erjon Bogdani begun 2013 by netting his 18th international goal, a first-half header, in the friendly loss against Georgia on 6 February.

Erjon Bogdani played as a late substitute in the qualifying match versus Norway as Albania took their first ever win versus them thanks to Hamdi Salihi's winner.

Erjon Bogdani captained Albania for the first time in his career four days later in the friendly match against Lithuania in his 74th international appearance, playing for 70 minutes before making place for Lorik Cana.

On 11 February 2014, Erjon Bogdani confirmed to have retired from the played football, thus ending his 17-year international career.

Erjon Bogdani is currently the top goalscorer with 18 goals.

Erjon Bogdani hold records for most goals scored for Albania at FIFA World Cup qualification, and most goals scored as a substitute.