Agim Murati

Agim Hysen Murati (8 March 1953 – 15 September 2005) was an Albanian international football striker. During his career, Murati was recognised for "his ability to head the ball in the penalty area".[1]

Agim Murati
Personal information
Full name Agim Hysen Murati
Date of birth (1953-03-08)8 March 1953
Place of birth Shijak, Durrës County, Albania
Date of death 15 September 2005(2005-09-15) (aged 52)
Position(s) Striker
Youth career
1967–1970 Erzeni
1970–1973 Partizani Tirana
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1973–1983 Partizani Tirana (40+)
International career
1973–1976 Albania 3 (0)
Managerial career
Erzeni
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Playing career

Early years

Agim Hysen Murati was born on 8 March 1953 in Shijak, the son of Hysen and Myhrie Murati.[1] He was raised in Shijak and attended the high school.[1] He developed a passion for the sport from an early age, joining Erzeni academy in 1967.[1]

Club

Murati begun his footballing career with his hometown club Erzeni, making his way through ranks before joining Partizani Tirana in 1970 as a 17-year old.[1] This transfer occurred after Murati impressed the manager Loro Boriçi in a friendly match against Shkëndija Tiranë, in which he scored a header.[1]

He is known for having been the best goalscorer of the Albanian Superliga during the 1976–77, 1977–78 and 1978–79 seasons with 12, 14 and 14 goals respectively.[2]

Murati is the only Partizani Tirana player to have score a hat-trick in the capital derby versus Tirana; the hat-trick came on 28 December 1980 in a 3–2 win.[3] All the goals were headers scored inside 27 minutes.[1]

He is also known for the goal scored against Scotland's Celtic in the 1979–80 European Cup. His goal scored in the first leg on 19 September gave Partizani the 1–0, but they lost 4–1 in the second leg and were eventually eliminated 4–2 on aggregate.[4]

International

Murati was a member of the Albania national football team.[5] He earned his first international cap on 10 October 1973 by playing the second half of a 1–0 home win versus Finland.[6]

Style of play

He [Murati] is the king of air

—Manager Loro Boriçi after seeing Murati play.[1]

Murati's most known skill was his heading ability; he is known to have scored more than 75% of his goals with headers.[1]

Managerial career

After ending his career, Murati continued his football career now as a manager; he coached the senior team of Erzeni for a short time and before that has also trained the youngster players in Tirana and Shijak.[1]

Personal life

Murati married Diana Murati in 1978; she gave birth to the couple's first children Donald on 13 October 1979. On 15 September 1983, Murati's wife gave birth to the couple's second children, a daughter named Anjeza.[1]

He died on 15 September 2005 due to a heavy illness.[1] His brother, Shkëlqim Murati, is a former player and manager.[7]

Legacy

On 27 December 2009, more than four years after his death, Murati was honoured with "Legend of Albanian Football" award.[1] He was also received the Silver order of Naim Frashëri Title and Meritorious Master of Sport.[1]

International statistics

Source:[8]

Appearances and goals by national team and year
National teamYearAppsGoals
Albania 197320
197610
Total30

Honours

Club

Partizani Tirana[8]

Individual

References
  1. "Asllan Kasa: Goleadori "fluturues" dhe "Mbret i ajrit", i sfidoi portierët, jo "jetën"" [Asllan Kasa: The flying goalscorer and king of the air, he challenged the goalkeepers but not the life] (in Albanian). Telegraf.al. 21 February 2017. Retrieved 17 September 2018.
  2. "Albania - I capocannonieri del campionato" [Albania - The goalscorer of championship] (in Italian). Calcio Mondiale Web. Retrieved 20 September 2018.
  3. "Speciale/ Gjithë golashënuesit e derbit të kryqytetit" [Special/ All the goalscorer of the capital derby] (in Albanian). Sport Ekspres. 18 February 2017. Retrieved 17 September 2018.
  4. "Histori, 37 vjet më parë Partizani trembte Sëlltikun" [History, 37 years ago Partizani scared Celtic] (in Albanian). Shekulli.com.al. 19 September 2016. Retrieved 17 September 2018.
  5. "Agim Murati - national football team player". EU-Football.info. Retrieved 17 September 2018.
  6. "Football MATCH: 10.10.1973 Albania v Finland". EU-Football.info. Retrieved 17 September 2018.
  7. "Murati, trajneri i ri i Erzenit" [Murati, the new coach of Erzeni] (in Albanian). Panorama Sport. 1 February 2014. Retrieved 17 September 2018.
  8. "Agim Murati". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved 17 September 2018.
  9. Albania - Championship Winning Teams - RSSSF
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