Arben Minga

Arben Minga (16 March 1959 – 31 January 2007) was an Albanian professional footballer, who played as a striker and later in his final years as a centre-back.

Arben Minga
Personal information
Full name Arben Minga
Date of birth 16 March 1959
Place of birth Tirana, Albania
Date of death 31 January 2007(2007-01-31) (aged 47)
Place of death Windsor, Canada
Height 1.87 m (6 ft 2 in)
Position(s) Striker
Youth career
1974–1975 17 Nëntori Tirana
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1975–1991 17 Nëntori Tirana 332 (133)
1991–1992 FC Brașov 17 (1)
1992–1993 Dacia Unirea Brăila 25 (3)
1993–1994 Acvila Giurgiu
1994–1996 Tirana 55 (3)
International career
Albania U21
1980–1989 Albania 28 (2)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

He was known as Beni i modh (Big Ben).[1]

Club career

Born in Tirana, Albania, Minga began his career with KF Tirana, then known as 17 Nëntori, at the age of 15.[1] He was well established in the senior squad by the 1977–78 season, making his competitive debut on 20 November 1977 in the match against Shkëndija Tiranë,[1] while his first goal for the club came later on 2 April 1978 in the 3–1 win over Luftëtari Gjirokastër.[1]

In the following years, Minga was also named team captain.[1] In the 1980' Minga would be part of Tirana's golden generation along with players such as Agustin Kola, Mirel Josa, Sulejman Mema, Shkëlqim Muça, Bedri Omuri and Millan Baçi, winning four championships and three cups.[2] He also received offers from Dinamo and Partizani to join them, and also friends and colleagues tried to convince him.[1] Dinamo also offered him a very lucrative house which Minga turned down, saying: Thank you for evaluating me, but I cannot leave 17 Nëntori.[1]

Minga was on top of his game during the 1985–86 season, netting 16 goals and helping Tirana to a third-place finish.[3] One of his more notable games was the opening championship match against rivals of Partizani Tirana on 22 September where he scored a hat-trick to give Tirana a 7–3 win, the largest ever win against them.[4]

In the early 1990s, Minga moved abroad to play in Romania in the 1992–1994. With Brǎila he played in (and lost) the 1993 Romanian Cup Final.[5] He came back to Tirana at the start of 1994–95 season, aged 35, also playing as a defender.[1] Minga excelled in playing in his new role in the final two years, helping Tirana to win the championship both times.[6]

In April 2020, Minga was voted by the fans as KF Tirana Player of the Century as part of their celebrations for the club's 100th anniversary.[7]

International career

Minga had a successful youth international career, winning Balkan Youth Championship twice in 1978 and 1981.[8]

Minga has been capped 28 times by Albania senior squad,[9] earning his first cap on 3 September 1980 in the 2–0 home win versus Finland valid for the 1982 FIFA World Cup qualification campaign.[10] He played 20 games in European competitions and 12 FIFA World Cup qualification matches [11] He played and scored in the famous December 1984 home win over Belgium and his final international was a March 1989 European Championship qualification match against England.[12]

Personal life

After returning to Albania in 1994, and despite still a professional footballer, Minga begun working as a representative of Gillette in Albania.[13] The business eventually collapsed in 1997 due to Albanian Civil War.[13] Following that, Minga worked for a short time as a security employee at Tirana International Airport Nënë Tereza.[13]

Canadian years and death

Minga subsequently went to Canada with his wife Nora Goxha, a former professional basketballer, where they raised two sons, Grid and Jon.[14] It was there that he was diagnosed with a terminal illness. Minga died on 31 January 2007 in Windsor, Ontario[13] of pancreatic cancer. Players in the 18th round of the 2006–07 Albanian Superliga games wore black armbands in his memory.

Legacy

His friend and fellow footballer Mirel Josa remembered that he had his Tirana debut in 1981 because Minga was suspended. Josa discovered he had no boots to play in, but recalled that "Beni gave me his boots and said 'put them on and be careful because they never stop running'."[15]

Shyqyri Rreli, his coach at KF Tirana called Minga: "The best captain and leader I ever had."[15] Team-mate Millan Baçi added: "His shot was like a bullet."[15] Meanwhile, his former colleague on the national side, Skënder Gega, labelled him "the hardest forward to defend against and the best person to have in your team". His one-time youth coach Fatmir Frashëri said: "I never heard him say 'I'm tired'. He would always be the first in for training and would give everything he had in every game."[15]

A street in Tirana is named after him.[16] Minga has also won several accolades and awards, such as "Merited Master of Sport", Honor of the city of Tirana" and "Honor of Albanian Sport".[6]

Career statistics

Goals in Albanian Championship
Season Team Goals
1976–7717 Nëntori Tirana1
1977–7817 Nëntori Tirana1
1978–7917 Nëntori Tirana3
1979–8017 Nëntori Tirana1
1980–8117 Nëntori Tirana7
1981–8217 Nëntori Tirana3
1982–8317 Nëntori Tirana4
1983–8417 Nëntori Tirana8
1984–8517 Nëntori Tirana13
1985–8617 Nëntori Tirana16
1986–8717 Nëntori Tirana11
1987–8817 Nëntori Tirana16
1988–8917 Nëntori Tirana9
1989–9017 Nëntori Tirana6
1990–9117 Nëntori Tirana3
1990–91FC Brașov1
1992–93Dacia Unirea Brăila3
1993–94ASA Acvila Giurgiu
1994–95KF Tirana2
1995–96KF Tirana1
Career total109

International goals
Scores and results list Albania's goal tally first.[9]
#DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
1.22 December 1984Qemal Stafa Stadium, Tirana, Albania Belgium2–02–01986 FIFA World Cup qualification
2.18 January 1989Qemal Stafa Stadium, Tirana, Albania Greece1–01–1Friendly match

Honours

Club

KF Tirana

Dacia Unirea Brăila

International

Albania U21

Individual

Orders

References
  1. "Në kujtim të legjendës Arben Minga/ Një dekadë pa "Benin e modh"" [In memoriam of legend Arben Minga/ A decade without “Big Ben”] (in Albanian). Sport Ekspres. 31 January 2017. Archived from the original on 29 August 2018. Retrieved 29 August 2018.
  2. "17 Nëntori i Tiranës, ndeshja e paharruar që tronditi Bukureshtin dhe turpëroi Dinamon" [17 Nëntori Tirana, the unforgettable match that shocked Bucharest and humiliated Dinamo]. Sporti Shqiptar (in Albanian). sktirana.com. 3 May 2011. Archived from the original on 29 August 2018. Retrieved 29 August 2018.
  3. "Albanian Football Season 1985-86". RSSSF.com. Archived from the original on 1 March 2012. Retrieved 29 August 2018.
  4. "Arben Minga, gjiganti që tronditi Byronë Politike në legjendaren "7-3" të 1985-s" [Arben Minga, the giant who shaked the political bureau in the legendary "7-3" of 1985]. Gazeta Tema (in Albanian). 7 July 2017. Retrieved 21 August 2018.
  5. Nora Goxha: Ju tregoj jetën me Arben Mingën - Panorama (in Albanian)
  6. "Arben MINGA – "Beni Modh", "Gjigandi Minga", "Pesembedhjetkatci Minga"" [Arben MINGA – “Big Ben”, “The giant Minga”, “15 floor Minga”] (in Albanian). tirona.website. Retrieved 29 August 2018.
  7. "Në prag të festës së 100 vjetorit të themelimit, KF Tirana zgjedh lojtarin e shekullit" [On the eve of the celebration of the 100th anniversary of the founding, KF Tirana chooses the player of the century] (in Albanian). Gazeta Blic. 6 April 2020. Retrieved 29 August 2018.
  8. "Balkan Youth Championship 1968-1981". RSSSF. Retrieved 29 August 2018.
  9. "Arbën Minga – national football team player". EU-Football.info. Retrieved 3 July 2015.
  10. "Football MATCH: 03.09.1980 Albania v Finland". EU-Football.info. 3 September 1980. Retrieved 3 July 2015.
  11. Arben Minga – FIFA competition record (archived)
  12. "Arbën Minga - national football team player". EU-Football.info. Retrieved 27 October 2018.
  13. Ergis Tafalla (16 March 2016). "Rrëfimi i fundit i Arben Mingës" [The last confession of Arben Minga] (in Albanian). Telesport.al. Retrieved 29 August 2018.
  14. "INTERVISTA/ Ish-basketbollistja Nora Goxha tregon për jetën me Arben Mingën: Ikëm në Kanada në 97', Benin e trajtuan si hero" [Interview/ Ex-basketball player Nora Goxha tells for her life with Arben Minga: We fly off to Canada in 97', Beni was treted like a hero] (in Albanian). Gazeta Panorama. 18 July 2015. Retrieved 21 August 2018.
  15. "Arben Minga". UEFA.com. Archived from the original on 5 July 2007. Retrieved 29 August 2018.
  16. "Rruga Arben Minga" [Arben Minga street]. Placesmap.net. Retrieved 29 August 2018.
  17. Arbën Minga Archived 6 October 2009 at the Wayback Machine - RSSSF
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