Azdren Gani Llullaku (born 15 February 1988) is an Albanian professional footballer who plays as a
striker for
Liga III
The Liga 3, most often spelled as Liga III, is the third level of the Romanian football league system. It was founded in 1936 and was called Divizia C until 2006. An exception was the seasons 1992–93 to 1996–97, in which the league was call ...
club
Gloria Bistrița-Năsăud.
Club career
Early career
Llullaku was born on 15 February 1988 in
Istok
Istok may refer to:
Places
* Istok, Kosovo, a town and municipality located in the District of Peja of western Kosovo also known as Istog or Burim
* Istok River or Istog River, originating near the city of Istog, Kosovo
* Bolshoy Istok, a villag ...
. Due to the
Kosovo War
The Kosovo War (; sr-Cyrl-Latn, Косовски рат, Kosovski rat) was an armed conflict in Kosovo that lasted from 28 February 1998 until 11 June 1999. It ...
, aged 12 Llullaku moved to Italy along with his mother and his brother, settling in
Tarzo in the
Province of Treviso
The province of Treviso () is a Provinces of Italy, province in the Veneto region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Treviso. The province is surrounded by Province of Belluno, Belluno in the north, Province of Vicenza, Vicenza in the west, Pro ...
,
Veneto
Veneto, officially the Region of Veneto, is one of the 20 regions of Italy, located in the Northeast Italy, north-east of the country. It is the fourth most populous region in Italy, with a population of 4,851,851 as of 2025. Venice is t ...
. He began his youth career with
A.C. Vallata 1999, a team of the
third category, the lowest level of "amateur" football in Italy.
Italian lower divisions
In the regional competitions, Llullaku revealed himself to be a talented goalscorer and he was recruited by Denis Florin, sporting director of
Conegliano
Conegliano (; Venetian language, Venetian: ''Conejan'') is a town and ''comune'' of the Veneto region, Italy, in the province of Treviso, about north by rail from the town of Treviso. The population of the city is of people. The remains of a 10th ...
, which played in
Eccellenza
The Eccellenza (, "excellence") is the fifth level (since 2014–15) of Italian football.Official ...
at that time. Llullaku accepted with enthusiasm and in the 2005–06 season, he started playing with the juniors team, and after ten matches, in December 2005 he transitioned into the senior team by
Umberto Trinca and at 17, he scored three goals in 18 matches, helping to avoid a difficult relegation but especially stood out as a player deserving to be a professional.
He moved into
Serie D
The Serie D () is the highest level of semi-professional football in Italy, and the fourth tier of the Italian national league system. It sits beneath the third and lowest fully professional league, Serie C, and feeds in to it through promotion ...
, joining
A.S.D. Sacilese Calcio in 2006.
In the
2006–07 Season he made a total of 31 appearances and scored eight goals.
In the summer of 2007, Llullaku joined
Serie C2
Serie C2 was the fourth highest football league in Italy, the lowest with a professional status.
History
Before the 1978–79 season, there were only three professional football leagues in Italy, the third being Serie C. The league menaging t ...
side
Südtirol
South Tyrol ( , ; ; ), officially the Autonomous Province of Bolzano – South Tyrol, is an autonomous province in northern Italy. Together with Trentino, South Tyrol forms the autonomous region of Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol. The provinc ...
.
In the
2007–08 season he made a total of 12 appearances.
In 2008, he joined Serie D side
Domegliara.
In the
2008–09 season he made a total of 33 appearances and scored 11 goals.
He returned in 2009 to the previous team
Sacilese in
Lega Pro Seconda Divisione
Serie C2 was the fourth highest football league in Italy, the lowest with a professional status.
History
Before the 1978–79 season, there were only three professional football leagues in Italy, the third being Serie C. The league menaging ...
(previous name
Serie C2
Serie C2 was the fourth highest football league in Italy, the lowest with a professional status.
History
Before the 1978–79 season, there were only three professional football leagues in Italy, the third being Serie C. The league menaging t ...
) but didn't made any appearances for entire
2009–10 season due to the law that prohibits the enrollment of non-EU citizens.
This made him move to
Tamai in Serie D.
In the
2010–11 season, he made a total of 33 appearances and scored 22 goals.
In February, he was elected by the statistics of the
Corriere dello Sport as the best striker in the
Serie D
The Serie D () is the highest level of semi-professional football in Italy, and the fourth tier of the Italian national league system. It sits beneath the third and lowest fully professional league, Serie C, and feeds in to it through promotion ...
and is placed in the Top 11 Serie D.
;SandonàJesolo
In 2011, he joined fellow Venetian team
SandonàJesolo.
On 25 September 2011, Llullaku scored by penalty the opening goal in the victory 2–0 against
San Giorgio. Later on 18 December, Llullaku scored hat-trick to give the clean 3–0 victory SandonàJesolo against
I.S.M. Gradisca.
In the
2011–12 season he made a total of 30 appearances and scored 13 goals.
SandonàJesolo finished in the 6th place in the
final rank and qualified for the
fourth round
Fourth or the fourth may refer to:
* the ordinal form of the number 4
* ''Fourth'' (album), by Soft Machine, 1971
* Fourth (angle), an ancient astronomical subdivision
* Fourth (music), a musical interval
* ''The Fourth'', a 1972 Soviet drama
...
of the
Promotion play-off as the finalist of 2011–12 Coppa Italia Serie D and were shorted to play against
Arezzo
Arezzo ( , ; ) is a city and ''comune'' in Italy and the capital of the Province of Arezzo, province of the same name located in Tuscany. Arezzo is about southeast of Florence at an elevation of Above mean sea level, above sea level. As of 2 ...
. First play-off match against Arezzo played on 27 May 2012 finished in the goalless draw, and then was decided by penalty shoot-out as SandonàJesolo won it by 3–4 result. SandonàJesolo advanced to the
semi-finals
A single-elimination knockout, or sudden-death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of a match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final match-up, ...
where they played against
Legnago Salus on 3 June 2012 and won the match with the 2–0 result, in which also Llullaku scored the closing goal in the 51st minute after an personally attack himself. SandonàJesolo managed to get in
the final and they played against
Cosenza
Cosenza (; Languages of Calabria#Northern Calabrian (Cosentian), Cosentian: ''Cusenza'', ) is a city located in Calabria, Italy. The city centre has a population of approximately 70,000, while the urban area counts more than 200,000 inhabitants. ...
, where Llullaku scored the second goal advantage but not enough to win the game as Cosenza came from behind to win the match by the 3–2 result.
Llullaku also managed to play in the
Coppa Italia Serie D
Coppa Italia Serie D (Italian language, Italian for Serie D Italian Cup) is a straight knock-out based competition involving teams from Serie D in Italy, Italian football (soccer), football. The competition is held since the 1999–2000, when Ser ...
with SandonàJesolo in the 2011–12 season. SandonàJesolo played in a two-legged match for the semi-final against
Bogliasco and the first leg was won by the 1–0 home result, then in the second leg SandonàJesolo lost by the 2–1 result and they qualified due to the away goals rule, where the only away goal was scored by Llullaku himself. They advanced to the final and Llullaku also played in a 2–1 loss for the cup final match against
Sant'Antonio Abate.
At the end of the 2011–12 season many professional clubs like
Cremonese and
Pordenone
Pordenone (; Venetian language, Venetian and ) is a city and (municipality) in the Italy, Italian region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, the capital of the Province of Pordenone, Regional decentralization entity of Pordenone.
The name comes from Lati ...
wanted to buy Llullaku but his foreign players status didn't help him.
Gaz Metan Mediaș
After spending 6 years in
Italy
Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
, on 24 July 2012 after a trial, Llullaku signed for Romanian top division side
Gaz Metan Mediaș.
Llulaku made his competitive debut on 24 August 2012 during the league match against
Turnu Severin
Drobeta-Turnu Severin (), colloquially Severin, is a city in Mehedinți County, Oltenia, Romania, on the northern bank of the Danube, close to the Iron Gates. It is one of six Romanian county seats lying on the river Danube. "Drobeta" is the name ...
, coming on as a substitute in an eventual 2–0 home win. He netted his first goal for the team on 1 December in the match against
CFR Cluj
Fotbal Club CFR 1907 Cluj, commonly known as CFR Cluj ( or ) or simply CFR, is a Romanian professional association football, football club based in the city of Cluj-Napoca, Cluj County, that competes in the Liga I. Founded as ''Kolozsvári Vasut ...
, giving his team a 1–1 draw. Llullaku started 2013 by scoring a goal in team's 3–1 win over
Gloria Bistrița on 22 February, which was followed by a brace in the 4–1 home win against
Viitorul Constanța. Llullaku was again decisive for his team by scoring the lone goal in the match against
Concordia Chiajna, giving his team three important points. That was his final strike of the season, as he finished it by playing 22 matches between league and cup, scoring five in the process.
Lullaku lost his place in the starting lineup during the 2013–14 season, making only nine league starts. He scored his first goal of the season on 26 July in the league encounter against
Botoșani
Botoșani () is the capital city of Botoșani County, in the northern part of Moldavia, Romania. Today, it is best known as the birthplace of many celebrated Romanians, including Mihai Eminescu, Nicolae Iorga and Grigore Antipa.
Origin of the ...
, finished in a 1–2 defeat. On 25 September 2013, he scored twice in Gaz Metan Mediaș' 0–4 win over
Petrolul Ploiești in the
Romanian Cup
Romanian may refer to:
*anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Romania
**Romanians, an ethnic group
**Romanian language, a Romance language
***Romanian dialects, variants of the Romanian language
**Romanian cuisine, traditional ...
. The 2013–14 season was a bad one for Llullaku; he scored only one league goal in 28 appearances, in addition two
Romanian Cup
Romanian may refer to:
*anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Romania
**Romanians, an ethnic group
**Romanian language, a Romance language
***Romanian dialects, variants of the Romanian language
**Romanian cuisine, traditional ...
goals in two matches.
Llullaku started 2014–15 season by playing the entire match against
Pandurii Târgu Jiu
The uprising of 1821 was a social and political rebellion in Wallachia, which was at the time a tributary state of the Ottoman Empire. It originated as a movement against the Phanariote administration, with backing from the more conservative b ...
for the quarter-finals of
2014–15 Romanian Cup, which finished in a 1–0 defeat in extra-time. He made his first league appearance for this season on 27 July 2014 in the 3–0 away win over Botoșani. Lullaku scored his first goal of the season on 8 August, a last-minute equalizer against
Rapid București
Rapid(s) or RAPID may refer to:
Hydrological features
* Rapids, sections of a river with turbulent water flow
* Rapid Creek (Iowa River tributary), Iowa, United States
* Rapid Creek (South Dakota), United States, namesake of Rapid City
Sport ...
in the matchday 3 to give his side a 1–1 draw. On 12 September, during the 3–1 loss against
Steaua București in which Llullaku scored his team's only goal, he got injured after just kicked the ball cause of an accident collision with opponent player.
On 5 December, in the matchday 17 against
Brașov
Brașov (, , ; , also ''Brasau''; ; ; Transylvanian Saxon dialect, Transylvanian Saxon: ''Kruhnen'') is a city in Transylvania, Romania and the county seat (i.e. administrative centre) of Brașov County.
According to the 2021 Romanian census, ...
, Llullaku scored a brace inside first five minutes to give his team a 2–1 win in the last match of 2014. The new year found him injured, as he return to play in the team only in March, playing for 59 minutes in the match against Rapid București, which ended in a 1–0 defeat. He scored his first goal of 2015 on 14 March in the 1–1 draw against
Craiova
Craiova (, also , ) is the largest city in southwestern Romania, List of Romanian cities, the seventh largest city in the country and the capital of Dolj County, situated near the east bank of the river Jiu River, Jiu in central Oltenia.
It i ...
. Llullaku concluded the 2014–15 season with 30 appearances, 16 as a starter and 14 as a substitute in which he scored 8 goals but Gaz Metan Mediaș got relegated as they were ranked in the 13th place of the table, a place which was the higher of the rank which would result relegation.
Llullaku remained at Gaz Metan Mediaș for the 2015–16 season, where he made his
Liga II
The Liga 2, most commonly spelled as Liga II, is the second level of the Romanian football league system. The league changed its name from Divizia B just before the start of the 2006–07 Liga II, 2006–07 football season. It is currently Sponso ...
debut on 29 August 2015 in the opening day against
UTA Arad. He scored his first goal of campaign on 11 September in the 1–1 home draw against
Șoimii Pâncota. Later that month, Llullaku scored his second goal of the season, a 91st-minute penalty, helping his side to earn a 3–3 home draw against
Mioveni. On 13 January 2016, Llullaku left Gaz Metan Mediaș after three-and-a-half seasons where he managed to score 17 goals in 93 league appearances. He announced via his official
Facebook
Facebook is a social media and social networking service owned by the American technology conglomerate Meta Platforms, Meta. Created in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with four other Harvard College students and roommates, Eduardo Saverin, Andre ...
profile that he has terminated his contract with the club by mutual consensus, being a free agent.
CSMS Iași
Llullaku returned to
Liga I
Liga I (; ''First League''), also spelled as Liga 1 and officially known as SuperLiga for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Romania and the highest level of the Romanian football league system. Contested by 1 ...
as he signed with
CSMS Iași on 30 January 2016. He made his debut on 13 February 2016 against
Viitorul Constanța coming on as a substitute in the 82nd minute in place of
Nuno Viveiros. During the second part of 2015–16 season, Llullaku made 14 league appearances, including 9 as a starter, collecting 698 minutes, but failed to score a single goal, as CSMS Iași finished the season in the 7th position.
Astana
On 24 December 2016, Llullaku signed a 2-year contract with Kazakh
champions Astana
Astana is the capital city of Kazakhstan. With a population of 1,423,726 within the city limits, it is the second-largest in the country after Almaty, which had been the capital until 1997. The city lies on the banks of the Ishim (river), Ishim ...
, on a free transfer. His new salary would be from €50K and in the 2017–18 season he has secured a participation in the
2017–18 UEFA Champions League - Second qualifying round.
He made his debut on 4 March 2017 in the
Kazakhstan Super Cup against
Kairat playing as a starter. He scored his first goal in his 4th match in the
Premier League
The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...
on 17 March 2017 against
Akzhayik. Llullaku scored the 2nd goal in the 13th minute and the match finished in the 3–1 victory.
Loan to Tobol
On 2 July 2017 Llullaku was loaned to fellow
Kazakhstan Premier League
The Kazakhstan Professional Football League (, ''Qazaqstan Premier Ligasy''), commonly referred to as the Kazakh Premier League or simply the Premier League, is a professional association football league in Kazakhstan and the highest level of the ...
side
FC Tobol
FC Tobol () is a Kazakhstan, Kazakh professional association football, football club based at the Kostanay Central Stadium, Central Stadium in Kostanay. They have been members of the Kazakhstan Premier League since its foundation in 1992. In 20 ...
for 6 months. He debuted 8 days later in the matchday 19 against
Irtysh Pavlodar playing as a starter and becoming protagonist of the match. In the 82nd minute after a cross from the right side, Llullaku did a header which was deflected into the goal by opponents defender
Carlos Fonseca and this goal was enough for Tobol to take the away 0–1 victory. In December he was exhibited by FC Astana for the transfer.
He was returned to Astana following the end of the 2017 season and later on 15 January 2018 he announced via his
Instagram
Instagram is an American photo sharing, photo and Short-form content, short-form video sharing social networking service owned by Meta Platforms. It allows users to upload media that can be edited with Social media camera filter, filters, be ...
profile to have departed from Astana.
International career
In April 2013,
FSHF has been reported to have an interest in Llullaku representing
Albania
Albania ( ; or ), officially the Republic of Albania (), is a country in Southeast Europe. It is located in the Balkans, on the Adriatic Sea, Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea, and shares land borders with Montenegro to ...
and asked him to apply for an Albanian passport (citizenship).
On 24 May 2013, Llullaku received the Albanian citizenship among 4 fellow Albanian international players,
Jurgen Gjasula,
Ilir Berisha,
Amir Abrashi and
Vullnet Basha.
He received the first call-up from the national team coach
Gianni De Biasi who declared that due to the absence of
Edmond Kapllani, he had decided to call-up Llullaku to replace him for the match against
Norway
Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...
on 7 June 2013 and this due to his both-wings playing ability. Llullaku was an unused substitute for the entire match as he remained on the bench.
In October 2016, after a three years absence, following a series of good performances with Gaz Metan Mediaș, Llullaku was called up again from De Biasi for the
2018 FIFA World Cup qualification
The 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification process was a series of tournaments organised by the six FIFA FIFA#Structure, confederations to decide 31 of the 32 teams which would play in the 2018 FIFA World Cup, with Russia national football team, Rus ...
matches against
Liechtenstein
Liechtenstein (, ; ; ), officially the Principality of Liechtenstein ( ), is a Landlocked country#Doubly landlocked, doubly landlocked Swiss Standard German, German-speaking microstate in the Central European Alps, between Austria in the east ...
and
Spain
Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...
. He made his senior debut on 6 October by playing as a starter in the match against Liechtenstein which finished a 2–0 away win, as Albania took the lead of Group G with six points.
Career statistics
Club
International
Honours
Astana
*
Kazakhstan Super Cup runner-up:
2017
2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly.
Events January
* January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...
Astra Giurgiu
*
Cupa României
The Cupa României () is a Association football, football cup competition for List of football clubs in Romania, Romanian teams which has been held annually since 1933–34 Cupa României, 1933–34, except during World War II. It is the Romania ...
runner-up:
2018–19
Shakhtyor Soligorsk
*
Belarusian Super Cup runner-up:
2020
The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...
Individual
*
Liga I
Liga I (; ''First League''), also spelled as Liga 1 and officially known as SuperLiga for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Romania and the highest level of the Romanian football league system. Contested by 1 ...
top scorer:
2016–17
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Llullaku, Azdren
1988 births
Living people
People from Istog
Footballers from the District of Peja
Albanian emigrants to Italy
Naturalised citizens of Italy
Kosovo Albanians
Kosovan men's footballers
Albanian men's footballers
Men's association football forwards
Albania men's international footballers
Serie D players
Serie C players
Serie B players
Liga I players
Liga II players
Kazakhstan Premier League players
Belarusian Premier League players
FCD Conegliano Calcio 1907 players
ASD Sacilese Calcio players
FC Südtirol players
SSD Domegliara players
ASD Polisportiva Tamai players
SSD Calcio San Donà players
CS Gaz Metan Mediaș players
FC Politehnica Iași (2010) players
FC Astana players
FC Tobol players
Virtus Entella players
FC Astra Giurgiu players
FC Shakhtyor Soligorsk players
CS Concordia Chiajna players
ASD Cjarlins Muzane players
CSM Ceahlăul Piatra Neamț players
CS Gloria Bistrița-Năsăud footballers
Albanian expatriate men's footballers
Albanian expatriate sportspeople in Italy
Albanian expatriate sportspeople in Romania
Albanian expatriate sportspeople in Kazakhstan
Albanian expatriate sportspeople in Belarus
Expatriate men's footballers in Italy
Expatriate men's footballers in Romania
Expatriate men's footballers in Kazakhstan
Expatriate men's footballers in Belarus
Footballers from Peja
21st-century Albanian sportsmen