Sadri Gjonbalaj (born 1966) is an American retired

football player 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 professionally in the Major Indoor Soccer League, American Soccer League,

American Professional Soccer League The American Professional Soccer League (APSL) was a professional men's soccer league with teams from the United States and later Canada. It was formed in 1990 by the merger of the third American Soccer League with the Western Soccer League. ...

and National Professional Soccer League. He also earned five

caps Caps are flat headgear. Caps or CAPS may also refer to: Science and technology Computing * CESG Assisted Products Service, provided by the U.K. Government Communications Headquarters * Composite Application Platform Suite, by Java Caps, a Java ...

, scoring one goal, with the U.S. national team.

Early life

Gjonbalaj was born in

Vusanje Vusanje ( cnr-Cyrl, Вусање; ) is a village in Gusinje Municipality, Montenegro. According to the 2003 census, the town had 648 inhabitants. Geography Vusanje is located within the Plav municipality, below the town of Gusinje. It is located ...

, a village in

SR Montenegro The Socialist Republic of Montenegro ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Socijalistička Republika Crna Gora, Социјалистичка Република Црна Гора), commonly referred to as Socialist Montenegro or simply Montenegro, was ...

SFR Yugoslavia The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (commonly abbreviated as SFRY or SFR Yugoslavia), known from 1945 to 1963 as the Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia, commonly referred to as Socialist Yugoslavia or simply Yugoslavia, was a country ...

(modern-day

Montenegro , image_flag = Flag of Montenegro.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Montenegro.svg , coa_size = 80 , national_motto = , national_anthem = () , image_map = Europe-Mont ...

). Him and his family moved to

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

when he was a child.

Career

College

Gjonbalaj attended from the age of 17 at

North Carolina State University North Carolina State University (NC State, North Carolina State, NC State University, or NCSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Raleigh, North Carolina, United States. Founded in 1887 and p ...

where he played on the Wolfpack's soccer team from 1983 to 1986.

Professional

In June 1987, the

Los Angeles Lazers The Los Angeles Lazers were an indoor soccer team that played in the Major Soccer League, Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL) from 1982 to 1989. History Jerry Buss, the owner of California Sports, the parent company of the Los Angeles Lakers, Los ...

of the Major Indoor Soccer League selected Gjonbalaj in the first round (2nd overall) of the 1987 MISL Draft. In May 1988, the Lazers loaned Gjonbalaj to the

Albany Capitals The Albany Capitals joined the third incarnation of the American Soccer League in 1988. The team joined the American Professional Soccer League in 1990 when the ASL merged with the Western Soccer League. The club was based in Albany, New York, a ...

of the American Soccer League. In 1989, he was with the

New Jersey Eagles The New Jersey Eagles were an American soccer team founded in 1987 as the Cosmopolitan Eagles. In 1988, they entered the third American Soccer League (1988–1989), American Soccer League as the New Jersey Eagles. They folded following the 1990 ...

of the ASL. Then in 1990, he moved to the

Washington Diplomats The Washington Diplomats were an American soccer club representing Washington, D.C. Throughout their playing existence, the club played their home games at Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium and indoor home matches at the neighboring D.C. A ...

of the ASL successor league, the

. In the fall of 1990, he signed with the

New York Kick The New York Kick was a professional indoor soccer team based in Albany, New York playing at the Knickerbocker Arena and competed in the National Professional Soccer League (1984–2001). The team was previously known as the Indiana Kick in 1989� ...

of the National Professional Soccer League (NPSL). In January 1991, the Kick sold Gjonbalaj's contract to the

Chicago Power The Chicago Power were an indoor soccer team based in Chicago, Illinois, that competed in the American Indoor Soccer Association and National Professional Soccer League. After the 1995–96 season, the team was sold to Peter Pocklington, m ...

. He played nine games and scored two goals as the Power won the NPSL championship. In December 1991, he signed with the

Milwaukee Wave The Milwaukee Wave are an American professional indoor soccer team based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, that competes in the Major Arena Soccer League (MASL). Founded in 1984, they have been the oldest continuously operating professional indoor footbal ...

. In 1993, he played for the Raleigh Flyers of the

USISL The United States Interregional Soccer League (USISL) was a semi-professional men's outdoor soccer league that played six seasons from 1989 to 1994. It was the first outdoor league to be operated by the organization known today as the United ...

. He then moved to the

New York Fever New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 ** "New" (Paul McCartney song), 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, 1995 * "New" (Daya song), 2017 * "New" (No Doubt song), 19 ...

for the 1994 season. In December 1994, he returned to the NPSL when he signed with the

Canton Invaders The Canton Invaders was an indoor soccer club based in Canton, Ohio that competed in the National Professional Soccer League. After the 1995–96 season, the team relocated and became the Columbus Invaders. History The Canton Invaders were a pr ...

. In 1995, he was with the

New York Centaurs The New York Centaurs were an A-League professional soccer club, based in New York City. The team played only one season in 1995. The New York Fever of the USISL Pro League, debuted in 1994, playing two seasons in the league before merging wit ...

of the

A-League A-League Men, also known as the Isuzu UTE A-League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional soccer league in Australia and New Zealand and the highest level of the Australian soccer league system. Established in 2004 as the A-League by the ...

where he scored four goals in twenty games.

National team

In 1984 and 1985, Gjonbalaj played for the

United States U-20 men's national soccer team The United States U-20 men's national soccer team is controlled by the United States Soccer Federation. The highest level of competition in which the team competes is the FIFA U-20 World Cup, which is held every two years. The United States' be ...

. Gjonbalaj also earned five

with the U.S. national team. His first appearance came in a February 5, 1986 scoreless tie with

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

when he came on for

Brent Goulet Brent Goulet (born June 19, 1964) is a retired American soccer forward who later coached SV Elversberg from 2004 to 2008. He began his career in the United States before moving to England and Germany, and also earned eight caps with the U.S. na ...

. His next cap did not come until a June 12, 1987 loss to

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

. He had to wait three more years for his third cap which came in a September 14, 1991 win over

Jamaica Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...

. Gjonbalaj scored the U.S. goal in the 1–0 victory. It was another two years before Gjonbalaj appeared for the U.S. again, this time on March 23, 1993, in a tie with

El Salvador El Salvador, officially the Republic of El Salvador, is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south by the Pacific Ocean. El Salvador's capital and largest city is S ...

. His last cap came two days later on March 25, 1993.USA – Details of International Matches 1990–1994
/ref>

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gjonbalaj, Sadri 1966 births Living people People from Plav Municipality Soccer players from Brooklyn Yugoslav emigrants to the United States American people of Albanian descent Montenegrin people of Albanian descent Men's association football forwards Montenegrin men's footballers American men's soccer players United States men's under-20 international soccer players United States men's international soccer players NC State Wolfpack men's soccer players Los Angeles Lazers players Albany Capitals players New Jersey Eagles players Washington Diplomats (1988–1990) players New York Kick players Chicago Power players Milwaukee Wave players Raleigh Express players Canton Invaders players New York Centaurs players American Soccer League (1988–89) players American Professional Soccer League players Major Indoor Soccer League (1978–1992) players National Professional Soccer League (1984–2001) players USISL players Montenegrin expatriate men's footballers 20th-century American sportsmen