Emiljano Vila (born 12 March 1988) is an

Albanian 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 ...

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 plays as an

attacking midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

for

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 ...

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 ...

and 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 ...

Club career

Early career

Vila started his career with his hometown team,

Teuta Durrës Klubi i Futbollit Teuta, commonly referred to as ''Teuta'', is an Albanian professional football club based in Durrës. The club competes in the Kategoria Superiore, the top tier of Albanian football. Their home ground is the Niko Dovana Stadiu ...

in 2006. He made his debut on 26 November 2006 in an away match against

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 ...

. Vila came on for Bledar Mancaku in the 77th minute of the game. His first goal came in only his 8th career appearance on 10 March 2007 against Luftetari Gjirokaster. Vila was on the pitch for the full 90 minutes and scored the opening goal in the 47th minute. The match ended 3–0 for Teuta Durrës after two further goals by

Daniel Xhafa Daniel Xhafaj (born 8 March 1977) is an Albanian retired professional footballer. Mainly as a striker, he could also play as second striker. He spent the majority of career playing in Albania where he enjoyed success with Dinamo Tirana, Teuta ...

and Bledar Mancaku.

Dinamo Zagreb

He signed a 4-year contract with Croatian champions

Dinamo Zagreb Građanski nogometni klub Dinamo Zagreb (), commonly referred to as simply Dinamo Zagreb (), is a Croatian professional football club based in Zagreb. Dinamo play their home matches at Stadion Maksimir. They are the most successful club in Cr ...

on 19 June 2009 and was sent on loan at fellow Croatian side

Lokomotiva Zagreb Nogometni klub Lokomotiva Zagreb (), commonly known as Lokomotiva Zagreb or simply Lokomotiva, is a Croatian professional football club based in Zagreb. It competes in the Croatian First Football League, the country's top division. Founded in 1 ...

without playing any match for the club.

Dinamo Tirana

After a brief spell in

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

, Vila decided to return in

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 ...

where he signed with capital club of

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 ...

for a fee of $55.000, with Vila earning €30,000 a season. He made his debut with Dinamo on 25 January 2010 in the first match of the second part of the season against

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 ...

, playing full-90 minutes in a 2–1 win.

PAS Giannina

Vile reached a verbal agreement to join international teammate Andi Lila at Greek side

PAS Giannina PAS Giannina Football Club (), or with its full name Panipirotikós Athlitikós Síllogos Giánnina (, ''Panepirotic Athletic Club Giannina'') is a Greek professional Association football, football club based in the city of Ioannina, the capita ...

on 30 June 2011, and completed a medical the next day to complete his move. He scored his 1st goal in the

Superleague Greece The Super League Greece 1 (), or Stoiximan Super League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Greece and the highest level of the Greek football league system. The league was formed on 16 July 2006 and repl ...

in the match against Panaitolikos, by scoring the winning goal of his team in the 71st minute. He also helped his team achieve its 2nd away consecutive win against

PAOK PAOK (, Πανθεσσαλονίκειος Αθλητικός Όμιλος Κωνσταντινοπολιτών, ''Panthessalonikeios Athlitikós Ómilos Constantinopoliton'', ''Pan-Thessalonian Athletic Club of Constantinopolitans''), commonly ...

, by scoring his 1st goal of his team on the 7th minute.

Partizani Tirana

Vila returned in Albania in August 2014 to sign a one-year contract with an option of a further one with capital club

. He aimed the championship title during his presentation and took squad number 88. He then flew op to Bulgaria to link up with the rest of the squad in their summer training camp. Following the end of summer transfer market, Partizani had made 32 transfers in an out, a record in Albanian football. Vila's transfer to Partizani was opposed by Albania senior team manager Gianni De Biasi, stating that he made a mistake by returning in Albania. His statements where opposed by

Albanian Football Association The Albanian Football Federation (; FSHF) is the governing body of football in Albania. Headquartered in Tirana, it organises the national football leagues of Kategoria Superiore, Kategoria e Parë, Kategoria e Dytë, Kategoria e Tretë, Alba ...

president

Armand Duka Armand Duka (born 7 October 1962) is an Albanian businessman and head of the Albanian Football Association (FShF). His first role in football was being owner of Erzeni Shijak. Education Duka graduated in economics from Tirana University. ...

, who replied that Vila did not make a mistake by moving to Partizani. Vila made his competitive debut for Partizani in the opening matchday of 2014–15 Albanian Superliga against Laçi, playing 78 minutes in a 1–1 away draw. Vila was chosen as the next penalty taker following the 0–1 loss at

Apolonia Fier Futboll Klub Apolonia Fier is an Albanian football club based in Fier. The club was founded on 17 June 1925 and took its name from the nearby ruins of the ancient city of Apollonia. The club currently competes in Kategoria e Parë, the secon ...

after capitain Nderim Nexhipi missed a penalty. His home debut occurred on 11 September in the match versus

Skënderbeu Korçë 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 ...

, netting his maiden Partizani goal via a penalty kick in the 90th minute to give the ''Red Bull'' the first league win of season. He dedicated the goal to manager

Shpëtim Duro Shpëtim Duro (born 24 December 1959) is an Albanian professional football coach. Managerial career Duro won his first major title as coach of KF Besa Kavajë when his team beat KF Vllaznia in the 2010 Albanian Cup final. He won the 2010–11 ...

and club fans. Later on 26 October Vila missed a penalty kick in the matchday 9 versus newly promoted Elbasani; his shot was saved by veteran goalkeeper

Elvis Kotorri Elvis Kotorri (born 30 April 1979) is an Albanian retired footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He is the goalkeeping coach at AF Elbasani. Playing career First spell with Dinamo Tirana Kotorri joined Dinamo Tirana in the summer of 2007. Duri ...

; this chance didn't fatal as Partizani won 1–0 thanks to a Stevan Račić goal. He ended his first part of the league by scoring once in nine appearances, with Partizani who finished the first part of the season with 18 points, tied with rivals of

as a leader.

Inter Baku

On 20 September 2015, Vila signed a six-month contract with

Azerbaijan Premier League The Azerbaijan Premier League (), also known as Misli Premyer Liqası for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Azerbaijan and the highest level of the Azerbaijani football league system. It is contested by twelve ...

side

Inter Baku PIK Shamakhi FK (, ) is an Azerbaijani professional football club based in Shamakhi, that currently competes in the Azerbaijan Premier League. The club has won the Premier League title twice. History Early years (1997–2004) The club has been func ...

Return to Partizani Tirana

On 20 January 2016, Vila signed a one-and-a-half contract with his former club

, returning there for the second part of 2015–16 season. On 13 May 2016, with the match against Skënderbeu Korçë approaching injury time, he scored a full volley goal to give Partizani the 1–0 victory at

Skënderbeu Stadium Skënderbeu Stadium () is a multi-purpose stadium in Korçë, Albania. The ground is currently the home of KF Skënderbeu Korçë. It had capacity of 12,343, but after installing individual seats its number decreased to 5,800 seats. History Th ...

and retain the title hopes alive. Vila left the club in the first days of January 2018 after being excluded from winter training camp in

Antalya Antalya is the fifth-most populous city in Turkey and the capital of Antalya Province. Recognized as the "capital of tourism" in Turkey and a pivotal part of the Turkish Riviera, Antalya sits on Anatolia's southwest coast, flanked by the Tau ...

Skënderbeu Korçë

On 13 January 2018,

announced to have sign Vila on a 18-month contract. After signing the contract, Vila flew out to Antalya, Turkey to link up with the rest of the squad on their winter training camp. He made his league debut his new club on 26 January 2018 in a 2–0 away loss to Luftëtari Gjirokastër. He scored his first league goal for Skenderbeu as part of a brace on 18 February 2018 in a 2–1 away victory over

FC Kamza Football Club Kamza was a football club based in Kamëz, Albania. Founded on 10 September 1936, the club competed in the lower levels of Albanian football for much of their history, except for the 2011–12 season where they were promoted to th ...

. His goals, scored in the 55th and 69th minutes, led Skenderbeu to a come from behind victory.

Second return to Teuta

On 12 July 2024, Vila returned to Teuta after one season, signing a one-year contract.

International career

Vila made his debut for the full national team on 11 June 2009 in a friendly match against

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

, starting and playing 80 minutes in a 1–1 home draw. He scored on his second international appearance against

Cyprus Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...

at home to help Albania to win 6–1, recording the biggest win in its history. He also played for the national team in a friendly against

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

Qemal Stafa Stadium The Qemal Stafa Stadium (), named after Qemal Stafa (1920–1942), a World War II hero, was a national stadium and the largest football stadium in Tirana, Albania. Construction started in 1939 and the stadium was inaugurated in 1946 for the Ba ...

which ended 3–3. Vila scored one of the goals however that goal was not count for statistics of the senior team, because the match was not played against another national team. He scored his third goal for Albania on 8 June 2014, playing as a starter against

San Marino San Marino, officially the Republic of San Marino, is a landlocked country in Southern Europe, completely surrounded by Italy. Located on the northeastern slopes of the Apennine Mountains, it is the larger of two European microstates, microsta ...

and scoring the third goal in the 73rd minute in an eventual 3–0 away win.

Career statistics

Club

International

International goals

:''As of match played 14 November 2014. Albania score listed first, score column indicates score after each Vila goal.''

Honours

Club

;Dinamo Tirana *

: 2009–10 *

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 ...

2010–11 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

Individual

* Albanian Superliga Talent of the Season: 2008–09

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Vila, Emiljano 1988 births Living people Footballers from Durrës Albanian men's footballers 21st-century Albanian sportsmen Men's association football midfielders Albania men's international footballers KF Teuta players GNK Dinamo Zagreb players NK Lokomotiva Zagreb players FC Dinamo City players PAS Giannina F.C. players FK Partizani Tirana players Shamakhi FK players KF Skënderbeu Korçë players PAE Kerkyra players Kategoria Superiore players Croatian Football League players Azerbaijan Premier League players Super League Greece players Albanian expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Croatia Albanian expatriate sportspeople in Croatia Expatriate men's footballers in Greece Albanian expatriate sportspeople in Greece Expatriate men's footballers in Azerbaijan Albanian expatriate sportspeople in Azerbaijan