Andis Shala (; born 15 November 1988) is a Kosovar

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 ...

who most recently played as a

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...

for

Chemnitzer FC Chemnitzer Fußballclub e.V. is a German association football club based in Chemnitz, Saxony. The club competes in Regionalliga Nordost, the fourth tier of German football. The roots of the club go back to its establishment as Chemnitzer BC 1 ...

Club career

Having begun career in the youth team at

Hannover 96 Hannoverscher Sportverein von 1896, commonly referred to as Hannover 96 (), Hannover, HSV or simply 96, is a German professional football club based in the city of Hanover, Lower Saxony. They played in the Bundesliga for a total of 30 years betw ...

, Shala joined

VfR Mannheim VfR Mannheim is a German association football club based in Mannheim, Baden-Württemberg formed in 1911 out of the fusion of Mannheimer FG 1896, Mannheimer FG 1897 Union, and FC Viktoria 1897 Mannheim. The club captured the national title in 194 ...

in January 2008 on a short-term deal. Shala joined

Dundee United Dundee United Football Club is a Scottish professional football club based in the city of Dundee. The club name is usually abbreviated to Dundee United. Formed in 1909, originally as Dundee Hibernian, the club changed to the present name in ...

in pre-season for the 2008–09 season, with manager

Craig Levein Craig William Levein (born 22 October 1964) is a Scottish professional football manager and former player. He is currently a full-time advisor to the board of directors at Highland Football League club Brechin City. During his playing career ...

calling him a "decent prospect" and stated that he had "high hopes for him". Shala arrived in mid June 2008 with fellow new signing Michael McGovern. He made his debut as a substitute in an August 2008

Scottish League Cup The Scottish League Cup (also known as the Viaplay Cup for sponsorship reasons) is a football competition open to all Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) clubs. First held in 1946–47, it is the oldest national League Cup in exist ...

match. He made his league debut in February 2009, and with his first touch of the ball, set up Lee Wilkie to score the equalising goal in a 1–1 draw against

Inverness Caledonian Thistle Inverness Caledonian Thistle Football Club, commonly known as Caley Thistle, is a professional football club based in Inverness, Scotland. The team currently competes in the Scottish Championship, the second tier of the Scottish Professional F ...

. He was released by Dundee United in the summer of 2011. Following his release, Shala returned to Germany to sign for

Hallescher FC Hallescher FC, sometimes still called by its former popular name Chemie Halle, is a German association football club based in Halle an der Saale, Saxony-Anhalt. The club currently plays in the 3. Liga, the third highest level in the German footba ...

. After earning promotion to the

3. Liga The 3. Liga is a professional association football league and the third division in Germany. In the German football league system, it is positioned between the 2. Bundesliga and the fourth-tier Regionalliga. The modern 3. Liga was formed for t ...

in the 2011–12 season, he left Halle to sign for Carl Zeiss Jena in January 2013. Eighteen months later he signed for

BFC Dynamo Berliner Fussball Club Dynamo e. V., commonly abbreviated to BFC Dynamo () or BFC (), alternatively sometimes called Dynamo Berlin, is a German football club based in the locality of Alt-Hohenschönhausen of the borough of Lichtenberg of Ber ...

. He agreed the termination of his contract with

Regionalliga Nordost The Regionalliga Nordost is the fourth tier of German football in the states of Berlin, Brandenburg, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Saxony-Anhalt, Saxony and Thuringia. These comprise the states of former East Germany as well as West Berlin. It ...

side

in January 2022.

International career

Shala is of

Kosovar Albanian The Albanians of Kosovo ( sq, Shqiptarët e Kosovës, ), also commonly called Kosovo Albanians, Kosovar/Kosovan Albanians or Kosovars/Kosovans, constitute the largest ethnic group in Kosovo. Kosovo Albanians belong to the ethnic Albanian sub- ...

descent. In late December 2009, Shala was the subject of interest from the Albania national team, with team manager

Josip Kuže Josip Kuže (13 November 1952 – 16 June 2013) was a Croatian football manager and footballer. He was a player and later a manager of Dinamo Zagreb where he played for 10 years, making a total of 384 appearances and scoring 14 goals. Playing ...

confirming he was intending to watch the player. In an interview for the Albanian newspaper '' Sporti Shqiptar'', Shala stated his willingness to play for Albania, and stated that if he never got called up for the squad, that he would not consider playing for any other country.

Personal life

His father is former Croatia international

Kujtim Shala Kujtim Shala ( hr, Kujtim Šalja; born 13 July 1964) is a Croatian-Albanian former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. International career Shala played his one and only match for the Croatia national football team in a 2–1 w ...

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Shala, Andis 1988 births Living people Sportspeople from Gjakova Footballers from Mannheim Kosovo Albanians German people of Albanian descent Sportspeople of Albanian descent German people of Kosovan descent Men's association football forwards German men's footballers Kosovan men's footballers Hannover 96 II players VfR Mannheim players Dundee United F.C. players Hallescher FC players FC Carl Zeiss Jena players Berliner FC Dynamo players SV Babelsberg 03 players FC Rot-Weiß Erfurt players Kickers Offenbach players SV Waldhof Mannheim players Chemnitzer FC players 3. Liga players Regionalliga players Scottish Premier League players Shala (tribe) German expatriate men's footballers German expatriate sportspeople in Scotland Expatriate men's footballers in Scotland Kosovan expatriate sportspeople in Scotland