Gjergji Muzaka

In championship, he made 29 appearances and scored two goals, helping Tirana to win its 24th championship in history.

In cup, he scored once in nine appearances as Tirana was defeated in final by Flamurtari Vlorë.

Gjergji Muzaka (born 26 September 1984) is an Albanian former professional footballer who plays as a midfielder.

A product of Partizani Tirana academy, Muzaka begun his career as a talented youth player, which prompted Paris Saint-Germain to sign him in 2000.

His spell in France was short-lived, however, as he returned at Partizani one year later and commenced his professional career as 17-year-old.

One of these foreign clubs was French giants Paris Saint-Germain, who in 2000 offered Muzaka a contract at the club.

Muzaka accepted and left Partizani at the age of just 16, joining the PSG youth team.

However, after just one year in France, Muzaka moved back to Albania and back to Partizani before the beginning of the 2001–02 season.

After returning to Albania, Muzaka was placed into the first team of Partizani.

In the 2001–02 season he played 8 league match where he scored a goal with Partizani who finished the league in the 3rd place qualifying for the 2002–03 UEFA Cup qualifying round.

He made his UEFA competition debut appearing in the two legged game for the 2002–03 UEFA Cup qualifying round against Hapoel Tel Aviv in August 2002 where Partizani got eliminated losing both matches on aggregate 5–1.

In the entire 2002–03 season Muzaka earned 20 overall appearances scoring 4 goals with team ending the season again in the 3rd place.

He established himself as a starter in the 2003–04 season under coach Sulejman Mema playing 33 matches and scoring 10 goals winning his first trophy of career, the 2003–04 Albanian Cup and finishing 4th in the league.

Muzaka played for eight years for The Red Bulls, notably winning the Albanian Cup title and also having a brief spell in Greece with Iraklis as a loanee in 2004.

In July 2004.

Muzaka was sent on loan to Greek team Iraklis Thessaloniki for the 2004–05 Alpha Ethniki until 31 December 2004.

He made only 3 league appearances prior returning to Partizani for the second half of the 2004–05 Albanian Superliga where he went on to play 11 league games and to score 2 goals with Partizani ranking in the 8th place to avoid relegation.

In the summer of 2006, he missed a trial at SpVgg Unterhaching due to injury, and also missed the team's UEFA Intertoto Cup matches against Ethnikos Achna.

Partizani begun the 2006–07 Albanian Superliga season by winning 3–2 at home against Apolonia Fier, with Muzaka making history by netting inside 10 seconds make it the fastest ever goal scored in the history of Albanian Superliga.

His record was broken three years later by Migen Memelli.

In 2008, he switched clubs, joining Partizani's fierce rivals, KF Tirana.

He earned his first cap for the Albania national team in 2008, and since then, has made 23 appearances.

Born in Tiranë, Muzaka began his playing career with local side Partizani Tirana when he was just a teenager.

He played for the Partizani U17s where he attracted the interest of several foreign clubs with his performances on the right hand side of midfield.

In August 2008, the president of Tirana, Refik Halili paid a total of €70,000 to buy Muzaka from their fierce rivals Partizani.

He missed the opening two league matches due to injury, and returned in action in September, making his competitive debut against his former team Partizani in the Capital derby; he came as a second-half substitute in place of Sabjen Lilaj and assisted Andi Lila last-minute winner for a 2–1 win.

He made his first start in the following week, playing for 52 minutes in another league win, this time against Apolonia Fier (2–0).

In his first season, Muzaka played 38 matches between league and cup.

Muzaka played his 200th match in Albanian Superliga on 30 October 2009 against Vllaznia Shkodër, marking off the occasion by scoring the match's only goal in the first half.

Muzaka signed a three-year contract with the 2009–10 champions Dinamo Tirana on 16 June 2010.

The transfer was managed by the FIFA licensed agent Elton Marini, of 'M&M Management Agency'.

The contact was worth a total of €210,000, with Muzaka earning €70,000 a season with Dinamo.

Muzaka was named in Dinamo UEFA Champions League squad, and made his competitive debut on 14 July 2010 in the first leg of second qualifying round against FC Sheriff Tiraspol ended in a 3–1 away defeat.

Six days later, in the returning leg, despite losing his father and attending his funeral early that day, Muzaka decided to play and assisted Emiljano Vila's header via e set piece in an eventual 1–0 win which was not enough as Dinamo got eliminated 2–3 on aggregate.

For this he received "Fair Play" Award at the end of the season by association "Sporti na Bashkon".

In the following years, he also represented Dinamo Tirana, Flamurtari Vlorë (twice) and Skënderbeu Korçë (twice), achieving a great success with the latter, winning three Albanian Superliga titles between 2011 and 2014.

In January 2015, Muzaka returned to Tirana, but his second spell was marred by consistent injuries and off-field problems, including with club president Refik Halili.

He left the club in controversial fashion in January 2017, accusing Halili of not paying him accordingly during his time there; Muzaka filled an appeal at the Conflict Resolution Room of AFA and won, but is yet to take is wages.

He returned to Skënderbeu for a second time, and after a slow start, he aided the club to win the championship title in 2017–18 season.

Prior to making his senior debut, Muzaka represented Albania at under-19 and -21 levels.