Fatmir Frashëri: The Agile Right-Back Who Excelled With KF Tirana
Fatmir Frashëri (1941-2019) is one of the best fullbacks to play for the Albanian national football (soccer) team. He is still considered one of the best right-backs in the history of Albanian football. Unfortunately, he belonged to a lost generation of footballers who suffered setbacks and isolation under the Albanian communist regime.
Early Career
Frashëri started his football journey with the youths of KF Tirana. At 16, he played in the youth squad of Tirana (1957-1958). The following year, thanks to his energetic performances, he made his debut with the seniors. 1958-1962 marked the first period of Fatmir Frashëri at the legendary club. During this time, Frashëri secured his spot at the right back position opposing attackers of the caliber of Panajot Pano. The domestic career of Frashëri was relatively short, though full of success.
In 1962, the right-back moved to the other capital team, FK Partizani. During two seasons with the reds, he won the league title twice, consecutively in the 1962-1963 and 1963-1964 editions. These triumphs with Partizani marked the prologue of a triumphal decade for Frashëri. Indeed, Fatmir Frashëri would become one of the most titled Albanian players of the 60s.
A Legend Of KF Tirana
From 1963 until his retirement in 1972, Fatmir Frashëri played as a right-back for KF Tirana. With him within the team, Tirana would dominate domestic competitions. The right-back won with Tirana the league titles of 1964-1965 and 1965-1966, taking his title trophies to four in a row.
Frashëri was about to take a fifth consecutive title when, on 24 June 1967, his side defeated Partizani 1-2, three weeks from the end season and three points above the second-placed FK Dinamo Tirana. Yet, a pointless and baseless claim initiated by government agents ended up in a decision that intentionally banished Tirana. This decision zeroed Tirana’s victory over Partizani and all three remaining games. Eventually, Dinamo won the title in a season still regarded as Tirana’s rightful title.
The policy of the regime was so aggressive that some of Tirana’s players were denounced publicly as potential figures endorsing anti-regime and counter-sports values. Fatmir Frashëri was also among the named individuals. In a statement published almost three decades later, in 1995, Frashëri regarded 1966-1967 as belonging to Tirana. As such, he appealed for that title to count as won by Tirana so that justice could finally prevail.
The setback of 1967 did not discourage the elite players of Tirana. They went on to win two other consecutive titles (seasons 1968 and 1969-1970). Frashëri was a key to these triumphs. His final trophies as a player took his total league titles to six without counting the one rejected unfairly.
National Team Stats & Other International Highlights Of Fatmir Frashëri
Fatmir Frashëri made his debut for the national team on 29 June 1963 in the 4-0 away loss against Denmark. With Frashëri on the pitch, Albania would win the return leg 1-0 four months later (though not enough to move through the European Nations’ Cup). Frashëri kept playing for the national team only for seven more years, reaching only twelve total but precious caps.
At a club level, the right-back appeared in some memorable international games, eligible for the European Champions Clubs’ Cup (the current UEFA Champions League competition). He helped Partizani secure a 1-0 home win against Spartak Plovdiv (11 September 1963), a home goalless draw against FC Köln (9 September 1964), and yet another home draw, 1-1, versus Norrköping (12 September 1962). With Tirana, particularly memorable are the draws against Kilmarnock FC (0-0 on 8 September 1965), Standard Liège (1-1 on 1 October 1969), and Ajax (2-2 on 16 September 1970).
After retiring as a player, Frashëri kept working as a manager for several domestic clubs, recording other triumphs. His relationship with Tirana was meaningful; the former right-back managed his beloved team on four separate occasions (1975-1980; 1990-1991; 1993-1994; 2003). As for his managerial silverware, he won two domestic league titles for Tirana and FK Dinamo (respectively, seasons 1985-86 and 2002-03). Also, we should note two consecutive Albanian Cups won while coaching Tirana (1975-1976; 1976-1977).
Currently, a stand at the Air Albania Stadium, the largest in the country, is named after Fatmir Frashëri.
* Fatmir Frashëri features in our top 11 Albanian football players of all time *
