Altin Lala

Altin Lala was born on the 18th November 1975 in Tirane. He is a former footballer from Albania. And he played the role of a midfielder for the national team of the country. He played the total of 79 games for the national team of the country. He spent all his club career in Germany. 

source of picture: www.spox.com

Early Life

Lala was born in Tirane, which was the capital city of the country to Pashke Lala and Dode Lala. He was raised in Tirane e Re neighborhood of the capital with the family; parents, brother and sister. It was there that he played football on the street like several other children that was staying in the region. His father wanted him to stay focused on his education and not sports, but finally he signed Lala with a local football club in the region Dinamo Tirana. 

He travelled to Germany when he was 15 with the Under-16 club in the year 1991, and they were in the training camp near the Port of Hamburg. Meanwhile, Lala with several of his teammates decided not to go back to the country and rather they sought asylum in Germany. Finally he settled in the refugee camp that was located in Fulda in Germany, and it was there that he joined the youth team local club side of the region of the country, Borrusia Fulda. As he could not speak any otyher language rather than Albanian, he relied on hand symbols to interact and communicate with the teammates and the coach of the club, though after two years in the youth team of the club, he got promoted into the senior team of the club. 

Club Career

The player that always play the role of a defensive midfielder started his career as a youth at SK Tirana before he made a move to Germany with the third flight side of the country, Borussia Fulda in January 1994.

On the 21st July 1998, he made a move to the newly promoted 2. Bundesliga club, Hannover 96. He played his first game for the club in the game that ended 1-0 played against Karlsruher SC. He helped the club to get promotion into the Bundesliga in the 2001/02 season and has played 149 Bundesliga games for the club since then, making him the longest serving footballer in the club. In all the time he has spent in the club, he scored just a goal for the club.

In the year 2004, he became the captain of the team and stayed there until the year 2008. In the 2007/08 season, he played 28 matched for the club without a goal. He never made any good start in the following season; he only tried to begin five games for the club and to come into the games of the cub as the substitute. The club never made any good start also as they managed to win just 10 games in that season. 

Though he planned to retire from playing footballer after the contract he has with Hannover expires in the summer of the year 2012, Bayern Munich II were on Lala in March about joining the club on a free transfer in the summer of the year. the idea was presented to Lala by the youth scout of the club, Michael Tarnat. Lala played three games for the reserve team of the club before he was forced to retire from playing football because of injury in October 2012. 

National Team Career

He also has has a long career in the national team of the country. He has played 79 games for the national team of the country since the year 1998, which the highest in the history of Albanian football. He has scored three goals for the national team of the country. His first goal for the country came in the match that was played against Russia in March 2003 in a European Qualifiers, he scored the goal in the 79th minute of the game. The game finished 3-1 in favor of Albania. His 2nd goal for the national team of the country came after three month of the first goal. It was in the match that was played against Switzerland, and the game finished 3-2 in favor of Switzerland. He has been the captain of the national team of the country since the Igli Tare stopped playing for the national team, of the country.

Coaching Career

On the 3rd March 2014, Lala was shown to be the assistant coach for the national tea of the country by the head coach of the team Gianni De Biasi.. he replaced the former assistant coach of the team, Angelo Pereni.

Honours

• Winner of 2. Bundesliga 2001–02 with Hannover 96