Dinamo Tirana

Full name	Football Club Dinamo Tirana
Nickname(s)	Dinamovitët, Blutë (The Blues), Nëndetësja Blu (Blue Submarine)
Founded	3 March 1950 (1950-03-03)
President	Ardian Bardhi
Head coach	Dritan Mehmeti
League	Kategoria Superiore
2022–23	Kategoria e Parë, 2nd (promoted)
Website	Club website
Home colours Away colours Third colours

Football Club Dinamo Tirana, commonly referred to as Dinamo Tirana and colloquially known as Dinamo, is an Albanian professional football club based in Tirana. They play in the Kategoria Superiore, the first tier of Albanian football, in the 2023–24 season. Founded in 1950 during the communist regime, the club was historically affiliated to the Interior Ministry and having won 18 National Championships, it is considered to be the second most decorated club after local rivals KF Tirana.

History

The club was officially founded on 3 March 1950 by the Interior Ministry of Albania during the communist regime under dictator Enver Hoxha. They won four consecutive championships from 1950 to 1953.^[1] During this time, Dinamo recorded a hot streak of 25 consecutive wins, a record in Albanian football and 4th longest domestic winning streak in Europe.^[1]

In 1967, Dinamo won its 9th championship by leaving Tirana, then 17 Nëntori, one point behind, who was expelled for the tournament three weeks before the end.^[2] This championship is not officially recognized by UEFA, however.

In 1989, Dinamo eventually finished third in the league which was won by 17 Nëntori, which made eligible to play in European Cup Winners' Cup for the third time in their history.^[3] In the preliminary round of the tournament the team faced Chernomorets Burgas, losing the first leg 1–3 (Demollari scoring the lone goal for Dinamo Tirana) but winning the second 4–0 at home, thus recording its biggest win in a UEFA club competition.^[4] The team then was eliminated in the first round by Dinamo București despite winning the first leg in Tirana 1–0. Dinamo București won the second leg 2–0.

In 1995, the team were renamed KS Olimpik Tirana to leave behind the "communist past", but the club returned to their original name two years later.^[5]

After finishing third in the table in 2005–06 season, Dinamo Tirana named Faruk Sejdini as their new coach. One of Albania's best teachers of footballing fundamentals, he had a spell at the club last term before being dismissed by president Besnik Sulaj. Having returned following a spell at Shkumbini Peqin, Sejdini said: "It's nice to be back." On 23 October 2006, he was fired.

At the start of the 2007–08 season, Agim Canaj took over as head coach, replacing Ilir Daja who led Dinamo towards the championship title, after a dramatic win against Partizani 2–1 in the final match, playing for 36 minutes with 9 players. In the summer of 2008, Ilir Daja moved into a position as director in order to make place for Marcelo Javier Zuleta from Argentina. The Argentinian coach also brought with him four Argentinian players; goalkeeper Daniel Bertoya, defender Alejandro Palladino, midfielder Agustín González, and striker Cristian Campozano. Zuleta only lasted for the first Champions League qualification match against Bosnians FK Modriča before he was replaced as coach by Artan Mërgjyshi, for only one match.

Together with Zuleta, the four Argentinian players also left the club. After Mërgjyshi left, Zlatko Dalić, the actual coach of Croatia, was appointed as new coach for Dinamo. He signed a two-year contract with the club. That deal was broken when Dinamo lost its second game in the re-beginning of the 2008–09 season against Partizani. Shkëlqim Muça was then appointed manager of the club five days after of Zlatko Dalić's leave. In the 2009–10 season, Dinamo won the championship again, registering its 18th success.^[6]

In 2011–12 season, the club experienced its worst period of all time, finishing last in the league with 13 points from 26 matches, winning only 3 times. They were relegated to the Albanian First Division for the first time in their history.^[7] Since the 2012–13 season, the club have played in the Albanian First Division and have risked relegation to the third tier several times.^[8] After spending 9 seasons in the second division, Dinamo clinched the promotion to the Superliga, confirming first place in Group A following a 2–0 win against FK Vora.

On 25 August 2023, it was officially announced by president Bardhi that the club would rebrand to Dinamo City, ahead of the 2023-24 Kategoria Superiore season.

Stadium

Dinamo Tirana has historically played at Selman Stërmasi Stadium which was also known as Dinamo Stadium when it first opened. Dinamo City now plays in Elbasan Arena, Elbasan. To accommodate the club, there are plans to build a sports complex in the city of Durrës in collaboration with the new Manchester City academy in the city

Supporters

The "Blue Boys" are an Ultras group for the Albanian football team, Dinamo City. The group were formed in 2008 and have gained 5,000 followers as of 2021. They organise meetings and trips to matches in Tirana and also away matches in Albania and even abroad. They promote Dinamo City to the local public and influence fans of the club in a number of ways.^[9]

Honours

Domestic

Dinamo are the second most successful and decorated club in Albania, having won (18) league titles Albanian Superliga .The club also holds the win Albanian Cups (13) and Albanian Supercups (2). The club's most recent trophy was the 2009–10 Kategoria Superiore won on 17 May 2010.

Type	Competition	Titles	Seasons
Domestic	Kategoria Superiore	18	1950, 1951, 1952, 1953, 1955, 1956, 1960, 1966–67, 1972–73, 1974–75, 1975–76, 1976–77, 1979–80, 1985–86, 1989–90, 2001–02, 2007–08, 2009–10
	Kupa e Shqipërisë	13	1950, 1951, 1952, 1953, 1954, 1960, 1970–71, 1973–74, 1977–78, 1981–82, 1988–89, 1989–90, 2002–03
	Superkupa e Shqipërisë	2	1989, 2008
	Double	6	1950, 1951, 1952, 1953, 1960,1989–90
Europe	Balkans Cup	RU	1969

Internationally, they lost a final in the Balkan Cup in 1969 against Beroe Stara Zagora. They won the first leg in Tirana 1–0 with a goal by Bahri Ishka, but in the return match they lost 3-0 by forfeit because during the regime of Enver Hoxha, travel wasn't allowed to Bulgaria.

FK Dinamo Tirana in Europe

Dinamo Tirana have given good performances in Europe among Albanian squads, winning 3 ties in Europe.

Submarine blues In their European path, Dinamo have played against "big guns" such as: Ajax, Austria Wien, etc. Drawn against teams such as Sporting Lisbona, Beşiktaş, Dinamo București, Olympique Marseille, Brøndby, CSKA Sofia, Sheriff Tiraspol, CZ Jena, Aberdeen,etc. Dinamo has passed 3 rounds in the European cups, defeating opponents like Ħamrun Spartans, Chernomorets Burgas and Kaunas.

Season	Competition	Round	Country	Club	Home	Away	Aggregate
1961–63	Balkans Cup	Group B		FC Dinamo București	1–1	3–2	2nd
				Levski Sofia	0–0	2–2
				Fenerbahçe	3–2	0–1
1963–64	Balkans Cup	Group A		Beşiktaş	2–0	0–1	3rd
				Rapid București	1–1	1–2
				Levski Sofia	1–1	1–1
1967–68	European Cup	1R		Eintracht Braunschweig	(w/o)	(w/o)	(w/o)
1969	Balkans Cup	Group A		Universitatea Craiova	2–0	1–3	1st
				OFK Bor	4–1	2–2
		Final		Beroe Stara Zagora	1–0	0–3	1–3
1971–72	European Cup Winners' Cup	1R		FK Austria Wien	1–1	0–1	1–2
1976	Balkans Cup	Group B		Dinamo Zagreb	1–2	1–2	2nd
				Ethnikos	2–0	3–4
1980–81	European Cup	1R		AFC Ajax	0–2	0–1	0–3
1981–82	UEFA Cup	1R		FC Carl Zeiss Jena	1–0	0–4	1–4
1982–83	European Cup Winners' Cup	1R		Aberdeen F.C.	0–0	0–1	0–1
1985–86	UEFA Cup	1R		Ħamrun Spartans	1–0	0–0	1–0
		2R		Sporting Clube de Portugal	0–0	0–1	0–1
1986–87	European Cup	1R		Beşiktaş JK	0–1	0–2	0–3
1987–88	Balkans Cup	Group B		Eskişehirspor	3–1	0–4	3rd
				Corvinul Hunedoara	1–1	0–2
1989–90	European Cup Winners' Cup	QR		PFC Chernomorets Burgas	4–0	1–3	5–3
		1R		FC Dinamo București	1–0	0–2	1–2
1990–91	European Cup	1R		Olympique Marseille	0–0	1–5	1–5
2001–02	UEFA Cup	1QR		FC Dinamo București	1–3	0–1	1–4
2002–03	UEFA Champions League	1QR		FBK Kaunas	0–0	3–2	3–2
		2QR		Brøndby IF	0–4	0–1	0–5
2003–04	UEFA Cup	QR		KSC Lokeren	0–4	1–3	1–7
2004–05	UEFA Cup	1QR		FC Oțelul Galați	1–4	0–4	1–8
2005	UEFA Intertoto Cup	1R		NK Varteks	2–1	1–4	3–5
2006–07	UEFA Cup	1QR		PFC CSKA Sofia	0–1	1–4	1–5
2008–09	UEFA Champions League	1QR		FK Modriča	0–2	1–2	1–4
2009–10	UEFA Europa League	1QR		FC Lahti	2–0	1–4	3–4
2010–11	UEFA Champions League	2QR		Sheriff Tiraspol	1–0	1–3	2–3

• QR = Qualifying Round
• 1R = 1st Round
• 2R = 2nd Round
• Clubs which ultimately won the tournament in that same season are indicated in bold

Last Season of Dinamo in Kategoria Superiore

Season	Division	Pos.	Pl.	W	D	L	GS	GA	P	Cup	Supercup	Europe		Top Scorer
2000–01	Kampionati Shqiptar	3rd	26	15	7	4	43	21	52	SR	—	—	—	Ilir Qorri 15
2001–02	Kampionati Shqiptar	1st	26	19	6	1	55	15	63	RU	—	UC	1QR	Daniel Xhafaj 10 Klodian Asllani 10
2002–03	Kampionati Shqiptar	6th	26	10	8	8	29	24	39	W	RU	UCL	2QR	January Zyambo 8
2003–04	Kategoria Superiore	2nd	36	21	8	7	68	39	71	RU	RU	UC	1QR	Ilir Qorri 15
2004–05	Kategoria Superiore	3rd	36	18	8	10	51	30	62	SR	—	UC	1QR	January Zyambo 13
2005–06	Kategoria Superiore	3rd	36	17	10	9	53	35	61	SF	—	UIC	1QR	El Hadji Goudjabi 15
2006–07	Kategoria Superiore	5th	33	14	5	14	41	39	57	QF	—	UC	1QR	Pero Pejić 9
2007–08	Kategoria Superiore	1st	33	21	7	5	56	14	70	SF	—	—	—	Pero Pejić 18
2008–09	Kategoria Superiore	3rd	33	14	10	9	48	34	52	QF	W	UCL	1QR	Sebino Plaku 17
2009–10	Kategoria Superiore	1st	33	19	4	10	56	41	61	THR	—	UEL	1QR	Elis Bakaj 16
2010–11	Kategoria Superiore	10th	33	10	9	14	46	50	39	RU	RU	UCL	2QR	Emiljano Vila 13
2011–12	Kategoria Superiore	↓14th	33	3	7	16	25	47	13	SR	—	—	—	Bekim Kuli 6
2021–22	Abissnet Superiore	↓9th	36	6	11	19	21	46	29	QF	—	—	—	Agim Ibraimi 8
2023–24	Abissnet Superiore	5th	19	6	4	9	22	28	22		—	—	—

Players

Current squad

As of 1 October 2023^[10]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 1 GK  ALB Edmir Sali 2 DF  COL Juan Camilo Mesa 3 DF  ALB Jorgo Meksi 4 MF  ALB Albion Marku 5 DF  ALB Rustem Hoxha (captain) 7 FW  CIV Mory Bamba 8 FW  KOS Veton Tusha 9 FW  ALB Luis Kaçorri 10 MF  BRA Denisson Silva 11 FW  ALB Patrik Bardhi 14 FW  KOS Ardit Tahiri 17 FW  GER Kilian Cuni 20 DF  CIV Jocelin Behiratche 21 DF  ALB Silvio Vokrri 22 MF  ALB Redon Danaj

No. Pos. Nation Player 23 MF  MKD Nijaz Jusufi 25 MF  ALB Erisildo Smaçi 27 DF  KOS Blend Krasniqi 28 MF  SEN Bakary Goudiaby 30 MF  ALB Dejvi Duro 33 DF  ALB Stivian Janku 40 GK  MKD Bekim Rexhepi 44 DF  ALB Alesio Mija 47 MF  BRA Lorran 64 MF  GRE Fatjon Andoni 71 MF  ALB Ilir Allmuça 77 FW  KOS Baton Zabërgja 88 MF  GAM Karamba Gassama 89 DF  ALB Aurel Marku 98 MF  ALB Lorenco Vila

Current staff

Position	Name
Head coach	Dritan Mehmeti
Assistant coach	Fatjon Tafaj
Goalkeeping coach	Ilir Bozhiqi
	Blendi Baholli
Fitness coach	Korrado Sacone
Team manager	Ergi Kasmi
Physio	Gledi Rexha
	Ramiz Reçi
President	Adrian Bardhi
General director	Ermal Barushi
Sports director	Haris Fakić

Top scorers (Golden Boot)

Season	Player	Goals
1955	Skënder Jareci	23
1958	Skënder Jareci	14
1960	Skënder Jareci	16
1970–71	Ilir Përnaska	19
1971–72	Ilir Përnaska	17
1972–73	Ilir Përnaska	12
1973–74	Ilir Përnaska	19
1974–75	Ilir Përnaska	17
1975–76	Ilir Përnaska	18

Historical list of coaches

Managerial records

^[11]

Name	Superliga	Albanian Cup	Supercup	Total
Zihni Gjinali	6	—	—	6
Skënder Jareci	2	—	—	2
Durim Shehu	2	—	—	2
Shkëlqim Muça	1	—	—	1
Stavri Lubonja	1	—	—	1
Fatmir Frashëri	1	—	—	1
Bejkush Birçe	1	—	—	1
Faruk Sejdini	1	—	—	1
Ilir Daja	1	—	—	1
Sabri Peqini	1	—	—	1
Zyber Konçi	1	—	—	1

References

External links

• Official website
• Dinamo Tirana at UEFA.COM
• Dinamo Tirana at EUFO.DE
• Dinamo Tirana at Football-Lineups.com
• Soccerpedia schedule Dinamo Tirana
• Albania-sport.com
• Albanian Soccer News
• Shqiperia-Futboll