Mikel Canka (born 18 February 1987) is an

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 ...

n 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 striker for Lushnja in the

Kategoria e Parë Kategoria e Parë is the second tier of professional football 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 Se ...

Club career

Canka left his hometown club Lushnja following their relegation from the

Kategoria Superiore 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 signed a three-year contract with newly promoted side Apolonia on 10 June 2014. In 2015, during the winter transfer window, Canka left Apolonia after only half season to rejoin Lushnja until the end of 2014–15 season. In July 2015, Canka left Lushnja and signed a one-year contract with fellow

side Luftëtari. During the 2015–16 season, Canka played 25 league matches, scoring 15 goals, as Luftëtari won the Group B and achieved the promotion to Kategoria Superiore. In August 2016, Canka returned to Lushnja for a third time, and made his first appearance of the 2016–17 season on 26 September in the opening day against Tomori. On 18 October he scored a hat-trick, including first goals of the season in Lushnja's 1–4 win at Elbasani. This was followed by a brace in the 2–0 home win against

Shkumbini The Shkumbin (; ), also known as Shkembi, is a river in Albania. It is long and its drainage basin is . Its average discharge is . Etymology It derives from Latin ''Scampinus'' (recorded alternatively as ), which replaced the Illyrian name o ...

four days later, scoring in the last minutes of the match, taking his tally up to 5 league goals. On 25 February of the following year, Canka scored a cruel goal against Apolonia in an eventual 2–0 away win in the matchday 17, helping Lushnja to win in

Fier Fier (; sq-definite, Fieri, Latin: ''Fierum'') is the seventh most populous city of the Republic of Albania and seat of Fier County and Fier Municipality. It is situated on the bank of Gjanica River in the Myzeqe Plain between the Seman in ...

for the first time in 44 years. After helping the club to return to top flight after three years, Canka confirmed that he would remain in Lushnja for the next season. On 24 July, he extended his contract for another season. Canka scored his first top flight goal in three years on 26 November 2017 in the 2–1 away defeat to Kamza valid for week 12. Later on 16 December in the league match versus

Skënderbeu 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 ...

, after the dismissal of goalkeeper Mikel Spaho and after all three of the club's substitutions were exhausted, Canka was put into goal for the final 7 minutes of the match, conceding a goal when he dropped a free-kick from

Marko Radaš Marko Radaš (born 26 October 1983) is a Croatian retired footballer who last played as a defender for NK Rudeš. Club career Skënderbeu Korçë 2011–14 season In July 2011, Radaš completed a transfer to Albanian Superliga club Skënderbeu ...

Career Statistics

Honours

Lushnja *

2012–13 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 ...

Luftëtari *

: 2015–16 Individual *Kategoria e Parë Top Goalscorer:

Notes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Canka, Mikel 1987 births Living people Footballers from Lushnjë Men's association football forwards Albanian men's footballers KS Lushnja players FK Apolonia Fier players Luftëtari FC players KF Egnatia Rrogozhinë players FK Tomori Berat players KF Besa Kavajë players Kategoria Superiore players Kategoria e Parë players 21st-century Albanian sportsmen