Grent Refik Halili (born 24 May 1998 in

Tiranë Tirana ( , ; aln, Tirona) is the capital and 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 overlooking the Adriatic Sea ...

) is an Albanian former 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 ...

who 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 ...

. Throughout his career he has played for

Tirana Tirana ( , ; aln, Tirona) is the capital and 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 overlooking the Adriatic Sea ...

and he is the son of Tirana's owner and president

Refik Halili Refik Halili is the chairman and main sponsor of KF Tirana. Since 2003, Halili had been one of the sponsors of the club. His duty as Chairman of KF Tirana started on May 29, 2008. He is a businessman and founder and owner of one of Albania's leading ...

Club career

Early career

Halili started his youth career at

KF Tirana Klubi i Futbollit Tirana (KF Tirana) is an Albanian football club based in the country's capital city, Tirana. The men's football club is part of the multi-disciplinary sports club SK Tirana, and is the most successful in Albania, having won 54 ...

in 2011.Grent Halili profile

FSHF The Albanian Football Association ( sq, Federata Shqiptare e Futbollit; FSHF) is the governing body of football in Albania. The association is based in Tirana, Albania. It organises the national football leagues of the Albanian Superliga, the Fi ...

.org In May 2013 he went on trial at Italian club

Varese Varese ( , , or ; lmo, label=Varesino, Varés ; la, Baretium; archaic german: Väris) is a city and ''comune'' in north-western Lombardy, northern Italy, north-west of Milan. The population of Varese in 2018 has reached 80,559. It is the c ...

alongside fellow KF Tirana youth player

Marko Çema Marko van Basten Çema (born 16 January 1998), commonly known as Marko Çema is an Albanian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Albanian club Partizani Tirana B and the Chameria national team. Club career Kukësi On 15 June 2019, ...

as part of a collaboration between the two clubs.

Tirana

Halili was promoted to the senior team at KF Tirana by coach

Gugash Magani Gugash Magani (born 14 March 1965) is an Albanian retired football player and current coach. Club career Magani played the majority of his 22-year professional career with Shkumbini Peqin, while also having stints at other Albanian clubs Besa ...

during the 2014–15 season where he made his professional debut in the

Albanian Cup The Albanian Cup ( sq, Kupa e Shqipërisë) is the main "knockout" competition in Albanian football. The competition started in 1939 as Kupa e Mbretit ( English:"The King's Cup"). Just after a year the cup was suspended as the Second World War s ...

against

Sopoti Librazhd KF Sopoti is an Albanian sports club based in Librazhd. The club currently competes in the Kategoria e Dytë, the third tier of football in Albania. History They were founded in 1948 under the name ''KS Albania Tabak Librazhd'', and they play ...

, where he also scored his first goal. He signed a four–year contract with KF Tirana along with fellow youth player

David Domgjoni David Nue Domgjonas (born 21 May 1997), commonly known as David Domgjoni, is a Kosovan professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Turkish club Manisa and the Kosovo national team. Club career Tirana On 2 July 2014, Domgjoni signed hi ...

on 1 April 2015, keeping him at the club until 2019. Halili scored his first league goal for Tirana on 18 November 2017 in the matchday 8 of the 2017–18 Albanian First Division against

Apolonia Fier KF Apolonia 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 compete in the Kategoria e Parë and they play their hom ...

and Tirana took a 2–0 victory. He sacked the coaches Egbo and Dede for not including him at the starting 11. Halili's nickname is Gaucho Junior, due to similarities with Brazilian legend Ronaldinho.

International career

Albania U19

Halili was called up at

Albania national under-19 football team The Albania national under-19 football team represents Albania in international football at this age level in the UEFA European Under-19 Football Championship and the FIFA U-20 World Cup, as well as any other under-19 international football tour ...

by coach

Arjan Bellaj Arjan Bellaj (born 1 February 1971) is an Albanian former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. Club career Bellaj played for PAS Giannina, Kalamata F.C., Apollon Athens F.C., Ethnikos Piraeus F.C. and Panionios F.C. in the Greek ...

at the pre-eleminary squad for the

2017 UEFA European Under-19 Championship qualification The 2017 UEFA European Under-19 Championship qualifying competition was a men's under-19 football competition that determined the seven teams joining the automatically qualified hosts Georgia in the 2017 UEFA European Under-19 Championship final t ...

from 6-11 October 2016.

Albania U21

Halili was called up at the

Albania national under-21 football team The Albania national under-21 football team is the national under-21 football team of Albania and is controlled by the Football Association of Albania. The team competes in the European Under-21 Football Championship, which is held every two y ...

by coach

Alban Bushi Alban Bushi (born 20 August 1973) is an Albanian professional football coach and former player who is the current manager of Albania under-21 and under-20 team. He is nicknamed "Loku". During his playing career he played as a striker. Bushi ...

for a double

Friendly match An exhibition game (also known as a friendly, a scrimmage, a demonstration, a preseason game, a warmup match, or a preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sporting event whose prize money and impact on the player's or ...

against Moldova U21 on 25 & 27 March 2017.

2019 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification

Halili was called up for the

against France U21 on 5 June 2017 and the

2019 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification The 2019 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualifying competition was a men's under-21 football competition that determined the 11 teams joining the automatically qualified hosts Italy in the 2019 UEFA European Under-21 Championship final tour ...

opening match against Estonia U21 on 12 June 2017. He was not part of the 18-man squad which featured in the opening match of the qualifiers on 12 June against Estonia U21.

Career statistics

Club

Personal life

His father

is owner of the club where he plays

.Kur nuk ka nevojë për mik !
minuta90.com

Honours

Club

;Tirana *

Albanian Superliga The Kategoria Superiore, officially known as Abissnet Superiore for sponsorship reasons, is a professional league for men's association football clubs. At the top of the Albanian football league system, it is the country's primary football compet ...

: 2019–20 *

: 2016–17 *

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. Supercup final was not played in the occasions when the champion team won the Double. However, after y ...

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...

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 countr ...

: Winner Group B *

: 2017-2018

References

External links

*
Grent Halili
at the

Albanian Football Association The Albanian Football Association ( sq, Federata Shqiptare e Futbollit; FSHF) is the governing body of football in Albania. The association is based in Tirana, Albania. It organises the national football leagues of the Albanian Superliga, the Fi ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Halili, Grent 1998 births Living people Footballers from Tirana Albanian footballers Albania youth international footballers Albania under-21 international footballers Association football forwards Kategoria e Dytë players Kategoria e Parë players Kategoria Superiore players KF Tirana players