Franc Veliu

Franc Veliu (born 11 November 1988 in Vlorë) is an Albanian professional footballer who plays mainly as a defender for Kosovan club Gjilani and the Albania national team. His natural position is left back but he has also played as a left midfielder and even as a central defender.

Franc Veliu
Personal information
Full name Franc Veliu
Date of birth (1988-11-11) 11 November 1988
Place of birth Vlorë, Albania
Height 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)
Position(s) Defender
Team information
Current team
 Gjilani
Youth career
2003–2006 Flamurtari
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2006–2015 Flamurtari 210 (14)
2015–2016 Kukësi 8 (0)
2016 Partizani 3 (0)
2016–2019 Flamurtari 66 (3)
2019– Gjilani 47 (4)
International career‡
2008–2009 Albania U21 8 (0)
2009–2013 Albania 7 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 3 January 2017
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 31 December 2014

He only played for one club team at professional level between 2006 and 2015, before joining Kukësi in 2015. He has only ever won two trophies in his career so far, two times Albanian Cup in 2009 and 2014 after winning in the final against Tirana and against current club Kukësi in 2009 and 2014 respectively.

Club career

Flamurtari Vlorë

He made his debut for Flamurtari Vlorë in 2006 and since then has cemented his place in his hometown club's first team. He has spent most of his career in the left back position but he has also played as a left midfielder and most recently as a central defender as well. On 29 October 2008, he scored his first hat-trick, an unusual achievement for a defender, in a 1–6 away win against Naftëtari Kuçovë valid for the first leg of the first round of 2008–09 Albanian Cup.[1]

He was voted Flamurtari's player of the year for 2014 by the club's fans, beating Bruno Telushi and Ardit Shehaj who came second and third respectively.[2]

Kukësi

After making 263 appearances for Flamurtari between 2006 and 2015, Veliu left to join fellow Albanian Superliga club Kukësi.[3]

Partizani Tirana

On 1 February 2016, Veliu joined Partizani Tirana where he signed a contract until the end of the season with an option to extend it for a further year.[4] After some matches in bench, Veliu made his first appearance with Red Bulls on 20 March by playing in the last 13 minutes of a 0–2 win at Teuta Durrës.[5] He played his first match as starter later on 17 April in the 3–0 home win over Vllaznia Shkodër; he was however replace at the end of first half.[6] Veliu left the club following the end of the season after making only three appearances, collecting only 80 minutes as the team finished runner-up in the championship.[7]

Return to Flamurtari Vlorë

On 22 July 2016, Veliu officially returned to Flamurtari Vlorë by joining as a free agent.[8] He was allocated his old squad number 11, and made his return debut on 7 September in the opening league match of the season, a 2–1 away defeat to Skënderbeu Korçë.[9] On 27 May, in the final matchday, Veliu scored his first goal of the season after an individual effort in a 3–0 win over Korabi Peshkopi, as Flamurtari avoided the relegation by just one point.[10] In June, following the departure of team captain Bruno Telushi in Croatia, Veliu was renamed the new captain, three years after losing the status.[11] He suffered a major injury during the summer preparation phase which forced him to miss the entire first half of 2017–18 season.[12] On 22 July 2017, Veliu signed a contract running until July 2018.[13] He returned on action in the first days of January 2018 where he played in a friendly against the under-19 side.[14]

Gjilani

In summer 2019, Veliu moved abroad to play for Football Superleague of Kosovo side Gjilani.[15]

International career

Veliu was selected by Josip Kuže for a friendly against Argentina on 20 June 2011.[16] He was in the starting line up on his debut in a game which ended in a 4–0 loss.[17][18]

Personal life

Veliu was arrested on 25 October 2015 for drunk driving.[19] His vehicle was confiscated,[20] and Veliu was jailed for one month.[21]

Career statistics

Club
As of 1 February 2016[22][23][24][25]
Club performance League Cup Continental[nb 1] Other[nb 2] Total
SeasonClubLeague AppsGoals AppsGoals AppsGoals AppsGoals AppsGoals
Flamurtari Vlorë League Albanian Cup Europe Other Total
2006–06Flamurtari VlorëAlbanian Superliga81??–0081
2008–08242??——242
2008–0929273——365
2009–10323002010353
2010–1130140——341
2011–1224312340—406
2012–132418320—344
2013–1421150——261
2014–15180403110261
Total Flamurtari Vlorë 210144091112026324
Kukësi League Albanian Cup Europe Other Total
2015–16KukësiAlbanian Superliga8040——120
Total Kukësi 8040——120
Career total 218144491112027524
  1. Including continental competitions, such as UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League
  2. Including other competitions, such as Albanian Supercup

International
As of 1 February 2016[26][27]
Albania national team
YearAppsGoals
201130
201230
201310
Total70

Honours

Club
Flamurtari Vlorë[22]

Individual

References
  1. "Vlonjatët në heshtje, kështu përgatisim fitoren" [Vlonjats in silence, here' how we prepared a win] (in Albanian). Arkiva Lajmeve. 21 October 2008. Retrieved 14 November 2015.
  2. "Flamurtari, Veliu, "Lojtari i Vitit 2014″" [Flamurtari, Veliu, "Player of the Year 2014″] (in Albanian). Panorama Sport. 5 January 2014. Retrieved 6 January 2015.
  3. Sotir Kora (6 October 2015). "Franc Veliu: Kukësi, zgjedhja e duhur për mua" [Franc Veliu: Kukësi, the right choice for me] (in Albanian). SuperSport Albania. Archived from the original on 11 September 2015. Retrieved 9 September 2015.
  4. "Zyrtare, Franc Veliu firmos me Partizanin" [Official, Franc Veliu signs with Partizani] (in Albanian). Panorama Sport. 1 February 2016. Retrieved 1 February 2016.
  5. "Teuta Durrës 0 – 2 Partizani Tirana". Soccerway. 20 March 2016. Retrieved 20 March 2016.
  6. "Partizani Tirana 3 – 0 Vllaznia Shkodër". Soccerway. 17 April 2016. Retrieved 17 April 2016.
  7. "Summary - Superliga - Albania - Results, fixtures, tables and news". Soccerway. Retrieved 9 January 2018.
  8. "ZYRTARE,VELIU RIKTHEHET TEK FLAMURTARI" [OFFICIAL, VELIU RETURNS TO FLAMURTARI] (in Albanian). Vlora News. 22 July 2016. Archived from the original on 6 October 2016. Retrieved 26 September 2016.
  9. Erald Kodheli (7 September 2016). "Skënderbeu, start nën shenjën e Salihit" [Skënderbeu, start on Salihi's mark] (in Albanian). SuperSport Albania. Archived from the original on 10 September 2016. Retrieved 7 September 2016.
  10. Andi Deçka (27 May 2017). "Flamurtari qëndron në Superiore" [Flamurtari stays in Superliga] (in Albanian). SuperSport Albania. Retrieved 1 June 2017.
  11. "Largimi i Telushit "gradon" Veliun, tani është ai përsëri lideri në fushë" [Telushi's departure "graduates" Veliu, he is again on-field leader] (in Albanian). Panorama Sport. 25 June 2017. Retrieved 26 June 2017.
  12. Jorgis Memo (26 December 2017). "Ngrohja e stolit i ka tërbuar, ja 21 lojtarët që luten për t'u aktivizuar" [Bench warm has angered them, here are 21 players that beg to play] (in Albanian). Panorama Sport. Retrieved 26 December 2017.
  13. "Zyrtare, Flamurtari rinovon me Veliun" [Official, Flamurtari renew with Veliu] (in Albanian). Sport Ekspres. 22 July 2017. Retrieved 22 July 2017.
  14. "Veliu, një "blerje" e re për Flamurtarin" [Veliu, a new "purchase" for Flamurtari] (in Albanian). Sport Ekspres. 8 January 2018. Retrieved 9 January 2018.
  15. Zyrtare: Franc Veliu futbollist i Gjilanit - Telegrafi (in Albanian)
  16. Roger Gonzalez (19 June 2011). "Argentina vs Albania Preview". Goal.com. Retrieved 26 June 2011.
  17. "l'Argentina travolge l'Albania in un'amichevole di preparazione" (in Italian). Sport Live. 21 June 2011. Archived from the original on 23 March 2012. Retrieved 26 June 2011.
  18. "Draugiškose rungtynėse Argentina sutriuškino Albaniją" (in Lithuanian). Sportas Delfi. 21 June 2011. Retrieved 26 June 2011.
  19. "Arrestohet Franc Veliu, po drejtonte automjetin në gjendje të dehur" [Franc Veliu arrested, was driving the vehicle on drunk condition] (in Albanian). Panorama Sport. 25 October 2015. Retrieved 1 February 2016.
  20. "Policia arreston futbollistin Franc Veliu, u kap në gjendje të dehur" [The police arrest the footballer Franc Veliu, was caught on drunk condition] (in Albanian). Panorama. 25 October 2015. Retrieved 1 February 2016.
  21. "Një muaj burg për Franc Veliun, drejtonte automjetin i dehur" [One month jail for Franc Veliu, was driving the vehicle drunk] (in Albanian). Panorama Sport. 27 April 2016. Retrieved 27 April 2016.
  22. "Albania - F. Veliu - Profile with news, career statistics and history". Soccerway. Retrieved 31 December 2014.
  23. "Football : Franc Veliu". Football DataBase. 31 December 2014. Retrieved 31 December 2014.
  24. "Franc Veliu Football Statistics". WhoScored.com. Retrieved 31 December 2014.
  25. "Profile of Franc Veliu at Scoresway.com". Scoresway.com. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 31 December 2014.
  26. "Franc Veliu - national football team player". EU-Football.info. 1 February 2016. Retrieved 1 February 2016.
  27. Franc Veliu | National Football Teams 31 December 2014
  28. "Franc Veliu i Flamurtarit lojtari i muajit nentor" [Flamurtari's Franc Veliu player of the month november] (in Albanian). Arkiva e Lajmeve. 12 December 2010. Retrieved 7 July 2015.
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