Mario Morina (born 16 October 1992) 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 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) ** Smal ...

Club career

Tirana

2010–11 season

Morina made his début for

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 ...

on 3 November 2010 in an

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 ...

fixture at home against

Skrapari Skrapar ( sq-definite, Skrapari) is a municipality in Berat County, southern Albania. It was created in 2015 by the merger of the former municipalities Bogovë, Çepan, Çorovodë, Gjerbës, Leshnjë, Potom, Qendër Skrapar, Vendreshë and Zhepë. ...

. Morina was included in the starting line up, with fellow youngsters

Blerti Hajdari Blerti Hajdari (born 1 August 1990) is an Albanians, Albanian retired football player. He played for KF Tirana in the Albanian Superliga with his main position being Striker (association football), striker but he could also play as an attacking ...

and Enco Malindi. Morina played a role in his side's 4–0 win, including an assist for Hajdari, striking the post and winning a penalty, which would be converted by Hajdari. Tirana coach Nevil Dede praised the player after the game ended and stated that the youngster was in his plans for the near future. He would only have to wait until 20 November for his first league game, a home game against Elbasani. Morina took the place of striker

Sebino Plaku Sebino Plaku (born 20 May 1985) is an Albanian former professional footballer who played as a striker. Club career Early career Plaku joined the Partizani academy as a teenager and was eventually promoted to the first team ahead of the 2003� ...

in the 71st minute when the score was 2–1 in favour of Tirana. In the 93rd minute of the game he marked his league début with a goal.

2011–12 season

During 2011–12 season, despite the fact that he had rivalry in attack with Herby Fortunat and

Mirel Çota Mirel Çota (born 14 May 1988) is an Albanian professional footballer who plays as a striker for Albanian club AF Elbasani. Club career Tirana 24-year old Çota completed a transfer at Tirana on 12 June 2012 by penning a two-year contract wor ...

, Morina was able to appear in 22 league matches, scoring four times, including the winners against Laçi and

Flamurtari Vlorë Flamurtari Football Club is an Albanian professional football club based in Vlorë, Albania. The club plays in the Kategoria Superiore, which is the first tier of football in the country. Founded in 1923, the club is one of the oldest in Alba ...

respectively on 17 December 2011 and 18 March 2012. He was an unused substitute in team's victory in 2011 Albanian Supercup against

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 ...

, in a match delayed and disrupted by crowd trouble. Morina was also an important instrument in

2011–12 Albanian Cup 2011–12 Albanian Cup () was the sixtieth season of Albania's annual cup competition. The winners of the competition qualified for the first qualifying round of the 2012–13 UEFA Europa League. KF Tirana are the defending champions, having won ...

, playing 14 matches and scoring 7 goals; he scored for the first time in his career 5 goals in the second leg of first round against Himara as Tirana won 7–1 and progressed 10–1 on aggregate. He also scored against Laçi and Kamza in Group 1 of quarter-finals, with Tirana who went to win the title for the second consecutive season, beating once again Skënderbeu in the final thanks to the winner of

Bekim Balaj Bekim Balaj (born 11 January 1991) is an Albanian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Albanian club Vllaznia Shkodër. Balaj started his football career with his hometown club Vllaznia and made his professional debut at the ag ...

2012–13 season

Morina started his third season with "white&blues" by winning

2012 Albanian Supercup The 2012 Albanian Supercup is the 19th edition of the Albanian Supercup since its establishment in 1989. The match was contested between the 2011–12 Albanian Cup winners KF Tirana and the 2011–12 Albanian Superliga champions Skënderbeu Kor� ...

on 19 August against Skënderbeu Korçë. He scored his first goals of the season on 2 September in a 3–0 home win against

Shkumbini Peqin Klubi i Futbollit Shkumbini Peqin is an Albanian football club based in the town of Peqin. The club's home ground is the Shkumbini Stadium and they compete in the Kategoria e Dytë. History Football was first introduced to the city of Peqin in t ...

. Twentyfour days later, in the capital derby against the rivals of

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 ...

in the second leg of the Albanian Cup first round, Morina scored the opener after only 8 minutes as Tirana won 2–1, securing the progression to the second round.

Skënderbeu Korçë

On 10 June 2013, Morina was presented as the new Skënderbeu Korçë player, taking the squad number 9 last worn by fellow striker

ahead of 2013–14 season. He made his competitive debut for the club on 23 July in the returning leg of Champions League second qualifying round against

Neftçi PFK Neftçi Peşəkar Futbol Klubu, known simply as Neftçi () or Neftchi Baku, is an Azerbaijani professional association football, football club based in the capital Baku, that plays in the Azerbaijan Premier League, the highest tier of Football ...

at home; he entered the field as a 77th-minute substitute in place of

Gilman Lika Gilman Lika (born 31 January 1987) is an Albanian former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. Having started his career with Vllaznia Shkodër in 2004, he moved to Turkey in 2008 where he played for Hacettepe, Boluspor and Diyar ...

and in the 116th minute assisted the goal of Nurudeen Orelesi. Skënderbeu won the match 1–0 and the tie with the same result, progressing to the third qualifying round of Champions League for the first time in history.

Return to Tirana

He returned to his boyhood club

in January 2014 with the club struggling in a relegation battle. With the help of Morina and his 5 league goals the club managed to escape relegation, marking a successful end of season for the club and player, which saw him voted as the talent of the year for 2014. On 13 July 2014, Morina signed a contract extension with Tirana, which will keep him in the capital until 2015. Only one day later, he was sent on loan to Laçi for the club's first leg of 2014–15 UEFA Europa League second qualifying round against

Zorya Luhansk FC Zorya Luhansk ( ) is a Ukrainian football team. Zorya Luhansk was based in the city of Luhansk, Ukraine. However, due to the Russo-Ukrainian War, the team currently plays its games at Slavutych-Arena in Zaporizhzhia. The modern club as a ...

. He played 40 minutes in the first half before being replaced by

Jetmir Sefa Jetmir Sefa (born 30 January 1987) is an Albanian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder. Club career Tirana 2005–06 season Sefa is a product of the KF Tirana academy and joined the club in 2000 as a 13-year-old, where he rose thr ...

as Laçi was defeated 0–3 at home.

Kukësi

On 27 January 2016, following his departure from

, Morina joined fellow Albanian Superliga side Kukësi on a free transfer, signing a contract until the end of the season. There, he found his former Tirana teammate

Klodian Duro Klodian Duro (; born 21 December 1977) is an Albanian retired professional football and current coach of Gjilani of the Superliga e Kosoves. He was a versatile midfielder who usually played in an attacking role. His brother Albert Duro was al ...

as the team's coach, who strongly required his acquisition. He made his league debut with the club four days later, appearing as a late substitute for fellow debutant Izair Emini in team's 3–0 home victory over

Bylis Ballsh Klubi i Futbollit Bylis is an Albanian professional football club based in Ballsh, part of Mallakastër municipality. They compete in the Abissnet Superiore, the top tier of Albanian football. Their home ground is the Adush Muça Stadium. His ...

Kamza

After being a free agent for almost two months, Morina joined

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 ...

side Kamza by signing a one-year contract on 19 August 2016.

Besa Kavajë

On 11 September 2017, Morina completed a transfer to

Besa Kavajë Besa or BESA may refer to: Arts & entertainment * ''Besa'' (newspaper), a newspaper published in Albania * ''Besa'' (TV series), a Serbian-British television series produced by Adrenalin and Red Planet Pictures * ''The Besa'', a novel by Albanian ...

by penning a one-year contract. He played his first match for the team in the second matchday against Besëlidhja Lezhë as a substitute in a 2–0 away loss.

Dinamo Tirana

On 31 January 2018, on the deadline day, Morina agreed personal terms and joined fellow Albanian First Division side

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 ...

on a contract until the end of the season.

Prishtina

On 14 August 2018,

Prishtina Pristina or Prishtina ( , ), . is the capital and largest city of Kosovo. It is the administrative center of the eponymous municipality and district. In antiquity, the area of Pristina was part of the Dardanian Kingdom. The heritage of th ...

Football Superleague of Kosovo The Football Superleague of Kosovo (), also known as the ALBI MALL Superleague of Kosovo () for sponsorship reasons with Albi Mall, is the top level of the Football in Kosovo#Men's, Kosovar football league system. The Superleague is organized by t ...

announced to have signed Morina on a one-year contract, reuniting him with his former manager

Mirel Josa Mirel Josa (born 1 June 1963) is an Albanian football coach and a former player. As a player, he played in the Greek Alpha Ethniki for Nea Kavala and Aris, as well as making 27 international appearances for the Albania national football team bet ...

Second return to Tirana

On 28 January 2019, Tirana announced to have signed Morina on a deal lasting until the end of 2019–20 season, after the player had been training with the team for two months following his departure from Prishtina.

International career

For the qualifiers of 2015 UEFA Euro U-21, Albania was seeded in Group 4. On 14 August 2013, Morina made his Albania U21 debut in a 0–1 home defeat to

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

, appearing a second-half substitute. A month later, he would play another match as a substitute in a 4–0 defeat against th reigning champions of

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 ...

. On 5 March 2014, in the last qualifying match against Austria at

UPC-Arena The Liebenauer Stadium, sponsored as the Merkur-Arena (formerly known as the Arnold Schwarzenegger Stadium and UPC-Arena), is in the Liebenau area of Graz, Styria, Austria. The ground is the home of the football clubs SK Sturm Graz and Grazer AK ...

, Morina started and played full-90 minutes, helping his side to win the match 3–1 and to end the qualifying campaign with style.

Career statistics

Honours

Club

;Tirana *

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 ...

: 2019–20 *

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 ...

, 2011–12 *

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 ...

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

;Skënderbeu Korçë *

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 ...

;Kukesi *

: 2015–16 ;Kamza *

: 2016–17

Individual

* Albanian Superliga Talent of the Season: 2013–14

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Morina, Mario 1992 births Living people Footballers from Tirana Albanian men's footballers Albania men's under-21 international footballers Men's association football forwards KF Tirana players KF Skënderbeu Korçë players Flamurtari FC players FK Kukësi players FC Kamza players KF Besa Kavajë players FC Dinamo City players FC Prishtina players Kategoria Superiore players Kategoria e Parë players Football Superleague of Kosovo players Albanian expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Kosovo Albanian expatriate sportspeople in Kosovo 21st-century Albanian sportsmen