Agim Hysen Murati (8 March 1953 – 15 September 2005) was an Albanian international

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

striker. During his career, Murati was recognised for "his ability to head the ball in the penalty area."

Playing career

Early years

Agim Hysen Murati was born on 8 March 1953 in

Shijak Shijak ( sq-definite, Shijaku) is a town and a municipality in Durrës County, west-central Albania. The municipality was formed at the 2015 local government reform by the merger of the former municipalities Gjepalaj, Maminas, Shijak and Xhafz ...

, the son of Hysen and Myhrie Murati. He was raised in Shijak and attended the high school. He developed a passion for the sport from an early age, joining Erzeni academy in 1967.

Club

Murati begun his footballing career with his hometown club Erzeni, making his way through ranks before joining

Partizani Tirana Futboll Klub Partizani is an Albanian professional football club based in Tirana, that competes in the Kategoria Superiore. Founded in 1946, the club was historically affiliated to the Albanian army. Partizani's home ground is the newly built sta ...

in 1970 as a 17-year old. This transfer occurred after Murati impressed the manager

Loro Boriçi Lorenco Boriçi (4 August 1922 – 25 April 1984), commonly known as Loro Boriçi was an Albanian association football, footballer who played as a forward (association football), forward. He is regarded as one of Albania's greatest players. He p ...

in a friendly match against

Shkëndija Tiranë Shkëndija Tiranë is an Albanian football club based in Tirana, and is the football team of the Sports mastery school Loro Boriçi. The academy is famous for being one of the most successful in the country and has produced 35 Albanian internat ...

, in which he scored a header. He is known for having been the best goalscorer of the

Albanian Superliga Kategoria Superiore (), also known as Abissnet Superiore for sponsorship reasons with internet service provider, Abissnet, is a professional league for men's association football clubs in Albania. At the top of the Albanian football league syste ...

during the 1976–77, 1977–78 and 1978–79 seasons with 12, 14 and 14 goals respectively. Murati is the only Partizani Tirana player to have scored a hat-trick in the capital derby versus

Tirana Tirana ( , ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in Albania, largest city of Albania. It is located in the centre of the country, enclosed by mountains and hills, with Dajti rising to the east and a slight valley to the northwest ov ...

; the hat-trick came on 28 December 1980 in a 3–2 win. All the goals were headers scored inside 27 minutes. He is also known for the goal scored against

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language *Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Foot ...

in the

1979–80 European Cup The 1979–80 European Cup was the 25th season of the European Cup, UEFA's premier club football competition. The tournament was won by holders Nottingham Forest in the final against Hamburg. The winning goal was scored by John Robertson, who d ...

. 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.

International

Murati was a member of the

Albania national football team The Albania national football team () represents Albania in men's international Association football, football. It is governed by the Albanian Football Federation (FSHF), the governing body for football in Albania. It is a member of UEFA in Eur ...

. He earned his first international cap on 10 October 1973 by playing the second half of a 1–0 home win versus

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

Style of play

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

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

and Shijak.

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

Legacy

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

International statistics

Source:

Honours

Partizani Tirana *

: 1978–79, 1980–81Albania - Championship Winning Teams
- RSSSF *

Albanian Cup The Albanian Cup () is the main "knockout" competition in Albanian football. The competition started in 1939 as Kupa e Mbretit ( English:"The King's Cup"). The cup was suspended for the next eight years as the Second World War started. It start ...

: 1979–80 Individual * Albanian Superliga top goalscorer: 1976–77, 1977–78, 1978–79

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Murati, Agim 1953 births 2005 deaths People from Shijak Footballers from Durrës County Footballers from Durrës Albanian men's footballers Men's association football forwards Albania men's international footballers KF Erzeni Shijak players FK Partizani Tirana players Kategoria Superiore players Albanian football managers 20th-century Albanian sportsmen