Niko Bespalla
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Niko Bespalla | ||
| Date of birth | 1 January 1938 | ||
| Place of birth | Shijak, Durrës, Albania | ||
| Date of death | 28 March 2017 (aged 79) | ||
| Playing position | Forward | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Teuta Durrës | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1956–1957 | Teuta Durrës | ||
| 1957–1960 | Partizani Tirana | ||
| 1960 | Teuta Durrës | 0 | (0) |
| 1961–1962 | Dinamo Tirana | ||
| 1962–1963 | Erzeni | ||
| 1963–1967 | Teuta Durrës | ||
| 1964 | → Partizani Tirana (loan) | ||
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only | |||
Niko Bespalla (born 1938 in Durrës, Albania), was an Albanian footballer. He played for Teuta Durrës, Partizani Tirana, Dinamo Tirana and Erzeni Shijak in his career before being persecuted by the Communist regime in 1967.[1] His only surviving child Justin Bespalla was also a footballer who played for Teuta Durrës and Erzeni Shijak amongst others.
Early life
Bespalla was born in Durrës in 1938 into a Russian family who had moved to Albania in the 1920s, first living in Tiranë before settling in Durrës. His father, Spiridon Bespalov, married his mother Varvara in Podgorica, and then changed their last name from Bespalov to Bespalla.[2]
Club career
He grew up in Durrës along with parents and his two sisters, which is where he began playing football with the youth team of Teuta Durrës. He captained the Teuta Durrës under-19 side to the national championship before being promoted to the senior team by the coach Adem Karapici in 1957 at the age of 19.[2]
He died on 28 March 2017 aged 79.[3]
References
- ↑ "Bespalla, djali i një rusi, i cili u bë mit i futbollit shqiptar" [Bespalla, the son of a Russia, who become a myth of Albanian football] (in Albanian). Panorama Sport. 19 January 2015. Retrieved 21 September 2018.
- 1 2 "Veterani futbollit Niko Bespalla: Nuk bënim kurrë kompromise për të shitur e për të blerë ndeshje" [Football veteran Niko Bespalla: We never made compromises to sell and buy matches] (in Albanian). Bulevardi Online. 17 January 2014. Retrieved 21 September 2018.
- ↑ "Futbolli në zi, ndahet nga jeta Niko Bespalla" [Football is mourning, Niko Bespalla dies] (in Albanian). Panorama Sport. 29 March 2017. Retrieved 21 September 2018.