Gilman Lika

Lika came on as a substitute in the 46th minute and his goal came in the 86th minute.

During his years at Vllaznia Shkodër, Lika produced many great performances and in total he played 77 games and scored 14 goals in the Albanian Superliga.

Gilman Lika (born 31 January 1987) is an Albanian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Vllaznia Shkodër in the Albanian Superliga and the Albania national team.

Having started his career with Vllaznia Shkodër in 2004, he moved to Turkey in 2008 where he played for Hacettepe, Boluspor and Diyarbakırspor before returning to Albania to play for Tirana.

After years working up the ranks at the club, Lika finally made his breakthrough during the 2005–06 season at the age of just 18.

He made his debut in the Albanian Superliga against Lushnja on 18 September 2005 in a 1–3 win; he came on as a substitute on the 89th minute.

During that season Lika managed to play 28 games.

His first goal came against Dinamo Tirana on 29 April 2006.

A full international for Albania since 2008, Lika has earned over 15 caps for his country.

He has also represented U-19 and U-21 side.

Born in Shkodër, Lika started his playing career with Vllaznia Shkodër.

Along with fellow Vllaznia Shkodër players Admir Teli and Xhevahir Sukaj, he moved to the Turkish side Hacettepe Spor Kulübü on 4 August 2008.

After joining the club Lika managed to make it into the starting lineup.

During his time at Hacettepe, Lika played 24 matches and has scored two goals, being one of the valuable players of the team, which finished the 2008–09 season in the last position.

After leaving Hacettepe Spor Kulübü, Lika signed with fellow Turkish side Boluspor in August 2009.

He scored two goals in his debut match against Mersin İdmanyurdu on 23 August, helping the team to win match 2–1.

This was followed by another goal in the 2–1 away defeat to Çaykur Rizespor, which made temporarily him the TFF First League top goalscorer.

After a year at Boluspor, Lika was transferred to Diyarbakırspor.

Lika returned to Albania following a two and a half year absence in January 2011, signing a two-year contract with Tirana.

His Tirana debut came on 31 January 2011 against Dinamo Tirana in the Tirana derby, where Lika helped his side to a 2–1 win.

On 7 November 2012, in the returning leg of 2012–13 Albanian Cup's second round against Kukësi, Lika produced a Man of the Match performance by providing two assists and scoring a goal in an eventual 3–2 home win, which was not enough as Tirana was eliminated with the aggregate 6–3, losing the first leg 4–0.

However, after the match it was reported that Lika suffered an ankle injury in his left leg.

On 7 April 2013, Lika scored an amazing free kick against Skënderbeu Korçë, which proved to be the winner as Tirana won the match 1–0 at Qemal Stafa Stadium.

On 1 February 2014, Lika completed a transfer to Flamurtari Vlorë as a free agent by signing a four-month contract worth €50,000.

He made his competitive debut a day later in the goalless draw against Bylis Ballsh, playing the entire second half.

His first score-sheet contributions came in his fourth appearance for the club on 22 February, starting and scoring an opener in an eventual 2–3 away defeat at Kukësi.

During the match he was involved in an incident with the home crowd, provoking them after scoring the first goal of the match.

Lika defended himself by saying: "I understand that I might have exaggerated, but everything has a reason. I want to tell with the biggest sincerity that during the match Kukësi fans insolted me with the lowest insults ever. That's why I reacted like this after I scored the goal."

He scored his second goal of the season one month later exactly against the same opponent, in another away defeat, this time 4–2, as Lika scored the match's last goal.

He was also an important instrument in team's success in cup, making 5 appearances, including a full-90 minute in the final, as the team defeated Kukësi at Qemal Stafa Stadium to save the season, securing a spot in 2014–15 UEFA Europa League first qualifying round.

In June 2014, it was confirmed that Lika would stay at the club for the upcoming season.

He was included in the Europa League squad, and played his first match of the season on 3 July in the away tie against Sioni Bolnisi, scoring the winner in the last minute of added time to reward his team with a 3–2 win.

He also played in the returning leg as Flamurtari went through thanks to away goal rule.

Lika scored his first goal for Vllaznia after his return, and also his first goal of 2014–15 season, in a 2–0 home win over Apolonia Fier.

He then had a brief stint in Saudi Arabia with Al-Faisaly before returning to Albania once again to play for Flamurtari Vlorë and Vllaznia Shkodër, before returning to Tirana in July 2015.

On 5 January 2015, Lika terminated his contract with the club after 11 months, becoming a free agent in the process.

On 23 January 2015, Lika agreed terms with his first club Vllaznia Shkodër to return to his hometown club following a six-year absence, signing a six-month contract.

He made his debut one week later, starting and playing the full 90 minutes in a 2–1 upset against Teuta Durrës at Niko Dovana Stadium.

On 8 February, Lika played for the first time in Loro Boriçi Stadium as an Vllaznia player after six years absence, starting again and playing 90 minutes in another defeat, this time against his former employer Tirana.

Lika finished the second part of the season by making 16 league appearances, scoring twice in the process, as Flamurtari finished the season in the 7th position.