Andi Ribaj (born 21 November 1989) is a retired Albanian professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who played as a striker.

Club career

In August 2013, Ribaj joined

Skënderbeu Gjergj Kastrioti (17 January 1468), commonly known as Skanderbeg, was an Albanian feudal lord and military commander who led a rebellion against the Ottoman Empire in what is today Albania, North Macedonia, Greece, Kosovo, Montenegro, and Serb ...

on a two-year contract. In January 2015, Ribaj made his return to Apolonia after one-and-a-half season by signed a six-month contract. He debuted for the first time after his return in the last day of the same month, starting and playing full-90 minutes in a 2–0 loss against Partizani. On 3 August 2015, Ribaj moved for the first time abroad as he signed a three-year deal with

Liga Leumit The Israeli Liga Leumit (, HaLiga HaLeumit, ) is the second division of the professional Israeli association football (soccer) league system. This second-tier league is placed directly below the Israeli Premier League. Structure There are 16 ...

side

Maccabi Kiryat Gat Maccabi Kiryat Gat F.C. () was an Israeli football team based in the southern city of Kiryat Gat. The club's best achievement has been promotion to the Premier League as Liga Leumit runners-up in 2001, after beating Hapoel Beit She'an on the f ...

. He made his debut for the club on 21 August in the opening league match against

Maccabi Ahi Nazareth Maccabi Akhi Nazareth Football Club (; ) is an Israeli football club based in Nazareth. The club is currently in the and plays at the Ilut Stadium in Ilut on the outskirts of the city. History The club was formed in 1968, and played in Liga ...

, and scored his first goal three weeks later during the 1–2 home defeat to Hapoël Rishon LeZion. That was his only strike of the season, as he appeared in 29 league matches, in addition one cup match. In September 2016, he was bought on trial by fellow Albanian Superliga club Partizani, playing a friendly match for

reserve team In sports, a reserve team is a team composed of players who are under contract to a club but who do not regularly play in matches for the club's primary team. Reserve teams usually include players who are part of the larger first-team squad but ...

against

Dinamo Tirana Football Club Dinamo City, commonly referred to as Dinamo City and colloquially known as Dinamo, is an Albanian professional football club based out of Tirana. They compete in the Kategoria Superiore, the top tier of Albanian football. Founded i ...

. However, he was not offered a contract by the technical staff after failing impressing, and eventually ended up by penning a one-year contract with other top flight club

Teuta Teuta ( Illyrian: ''*Teutana'', 'mistress of the people, queen'; ; ) was the queen regent of the Ardiaei tribe in Illyria, who reigned approximately from 231 BC to 228/227 BC. Following the death of her spouse Agron in 231 BC, she assumed ...

. Ribaj made his official debut on 12 October against his former side Skënderbeu, failing to score as Teuta slumped into a 1–0 away defeat. He scored his maiden Teuta goal later on 30 November in the matchday 13 against Flamurtari, netting his team's only goal in an eventual 1–2 home defeat. Then, he scored a brace in the 0–2 away win at Laçi to give Teuta three important points against the survival relegations rivals. Ribaj finished the season with 4 goals in 26 league appearances, collecting 1300 on the field as Teuta secured another season in 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 ...

. He left the team after the end of the season. In September 2017, Ribaj was close to a move to

Kastrioti The Kastrioti were an Albanian noble family, active in the 14th and 15th centuries as the rulers of the Principality of Kastrioti. At the beginning of the 15th century, the family controlled a territory in the Mat and Dibra regions. The most not ...

Albanian First Division Albanian may refer to: *Pertaining to Albania in Southeast Europe; in particular: **Albanians, an ethnic group native to the Balkans **Albanian language **Albanian culture **Demographics of Albania, includes other ethnic groups within the country ...

, but eventually joined Vllaznia in top flight on a one-year contract. He ended a barren run of 14 league games without a goal for Vllaznia on 16 December 2017, when he headed in against Kamza at

Loro Boriçi Stadium The Loro Boriçi Stadium (), previously known as Vojo Kushi Stadium () is a multi-purpose stadium in Shkodër, Albania, which is used mostly for football matches and is the home ground of Vllaznia. The stadium has a capacity of around 16,000 seat ...

to give the home side a 1–0 lead. The match finished 3–2 for Vllaznia. Ribaj concluded his first and only season in

Shkodër Shkodër ( , ; sq-definite, Shkodra; historically known as Scodra or Scutari) is the List of cities and towns in Albania, fifth-most-populous city of Albania and the seat of Shkodër County and Shkodër Municipality. Shkodër has been List of o ...

by scoring 5 goals in 31 league appearances, as Vllaznia was relegated for the first time in 60 years, just one year before the club's 100 anniversary. In September 2018, Ribaj remained in top flight, signing a contract with Flamurtari. He scored his first goal for the club later on 17 February 2019 in a 2–0 home win over Skënderbeu.

Career statistics

Honours

Club

;Skënderbeu Korçë *

: 2013–14 *

Albanian Supercup The Albanian Supercup is a single match usually at the beginning of the season between the winners of the Kategoria Superiore and Albanian Cup. Prior to 2000, Supercup final was not played when the champion team won the Double. However, after the ...

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ribaj, Andi 1989 births Living people Footballers from Vlorë Albanian men's footballers Men's association football forwards FK Apolonia Fier players KF Skënderbeu Korçë players Maccabi Kiryat Gat F.C. players KF Teuta players KF Vllaznia Shkodër players Flamurtari FC players Kategoria Superiore players Liga Leumit players Albanian expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Israel Albanian expatriate sportspeople in Israel 21st-century Albanian sportsmen