Kamer Qaka

Kamer Qaka (born 11 April 1995) is an Albanian professional footballer who plays mainly as a defensive midfielder for the Albania national team.

Kamer Qaka
Personal information
Full name Kamer Qaka
Date of birth (1995-04-11) 11 April 1995
Place of birth Peć, FR Yugoslavia
Height 1.70 m (5 ft 7 in)
Position(s) Midfielder
Club information
Current team
 Kongsvinger
Number 92
Youth career
2006–2009 Brandbu IF
2010–2011 Vålerenga
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2010–2012 Vålerenga 10 (0)
2013 Raufoss 14 (0)
2014 Hønefoss 12 (0)
2015 Sarpsborg 08 12 (0)
2016–2017 Kristiansund 33 (0)
2017–2018 Politehnica Iași 28 (0)
2018 FCSB 5 (0)
2018–2019 Politehnica Iași 24 (0)
2019–2020 Universitatea Craiova 12 (0)
2020– Kongsvinger 8 (0)
National team‡
2011–2012 Norway U17 6 (0)
2012–2013 Norway U18 8 (0)
2014–2015 Norway U19 3 (0)
2017– Albania 4 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 21 December 2020
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 28 March 2018

He started his senior career in Norway with Vålerenga at age 15, going on to represent Raufoss, Hønefoss, Sarpsborg 08 and Kristiansund in the country. In 2017, he joined Romanian team Politehnica Iași.

A youth international for Norway, Qaka chose to represent Albania at senior level and earned his first cap in November 2017.

Club career

Early years / Norway

Qaka was born in Peć, modern-day Kosovo,[1] but when he was two years old his family moved to Norway and settled in Brandbu. In 2010, while still attending lower secondary school, he signed his first professional contract for Norwegian Eliteserien side Vålerenga.[2]

In a May 2010 cup game against Oppsal IF, as Qaka made his professional debut, he became Vålerenga's youngest goalscorer ever.[3] He made his league debut in 2011.[4]

In 2013, he signed for fellow Norwegian club Raufoss. He made his debut on 15 April 2013 against Odd 2 as they won the game 2-1.[5] In January 2014, he joined Hønefoss BK,[6] and a year later he went on to Sarpsborg 08 FF.[7]

In 2016 he tried his luck with Kristiansund BK.[8] His performances paid off when Qaka helped his team get promoted to the Eliteserien, as well as being awarded the trophy for the best player in the league.[9]

Politehnica Iași

On 17 July 2017, after terminating his contract with Kristiansund, Qaka put pen to paper on a two-year deal with Romanian team Politehnica Iași.[10] A week later, he made his competitive debut in a 0–0 Liga I draw with Gaz Metan Mediaș, coming on as a half-time substitute for Dan Spătaru.[11] From the following matchday, Qaka established himself as a starter under head coach Flavius Stoican.

In November 2017, after his international debut for Albania, it was reported that fellow league teams FCSB, CFR Cluj and Universitatea Craiova, as well as Portuguese side Braga, were interested in acquiring the player.[12]

Universitatea Craiova

On 3 June 2019 he signed a 4-years contract with CS Universitatea Craiova.[13]

International career

Despite having played for Norway under-15, under-17, under-18 and under-19 football teams,[14] he accepted the invitation from the Albania national team by coach Christian Panucci for the friendly match against Turkey on 13 November 2017 as a replacement for the injured Amir Abrashi.[15] He debuted for Albania against Turkey as a 67th minute substitute for Odise Roshi in a 2–3 away win for his side.[16]

Career statistics

Club
As of 21 December 2020[17]
Club statistics
Club Season League Cup Europe Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Vålerenga 2010 Eliteserien 0011——11
2011 2000——20
2012 8010——90
Total 10021——121
Raufoss 2013 2. Divisjon 14020——160
Total 14020——160
Hønefoss 2014 OBOS-Ligaen 12020——140
Total 12020——140
Sarpsborg 08 2015 Eliteserien 12041——161
Total 12041——161
Kristiansund 2016 OBOS-Ligaen 24010——250
2017 Eliteserien 9010——100
Total 33020——350
Politehnica Iași 2017–18 Liga I 28020——300
2018–19 24010——250
Total 52030——550
FCSB 2018–19 Liga I 500020—70
Total 500020—70
Universitatea Craiova 2019–20 Liga I 1202050—190
Total 1202050—190
Kongsvinger 2020 OBOS-ligaen 800000—80
Total 800000—80
Career total 158017270—1822

International
As of 27 July 2018[18]
National teamYearAppsGoals
Albania
201710
201830
Total40

Honours

Club
Sarpsborg 08
Kristiansund

References
  1. Erjon Halili (10 November 2017). "Qaka: Shqipëria një ëndërr, qava kur mora ftesën" (in Albanian). SuperSport Albania. Retrieved 10 November 2017. Jam nga Peja, por ëndrra ime ka qenë Shqipëria.
  2. "Supertalentet fra Vålerenga bodde på gata i Oslo". nettavisen.no (in Norwegian). 20 March 2017. Retrieved 25 July 2017.
  3. Bakkehaug, Wegard (15 May 2010). "Kamer (15) søvnløs før drømmedebuten". VG (in Norwegian). Retrieved 25 February 2014.
  4. "Kamer Qaka". altomfotball.no (in Norwegian). TV 2. Retrieved 10 July 2013.
  5. "Kamer Qaka er årets beste spiller" (in Norwegian). www.oa.no. Retrieved 10 July 2013.
  6. Losnegård, Aleksander (28 February 2014). "Tidligere Vålerenga-talent skal gjenopplive karrieren i Hønefoss". Fotballsonen. Archived from the original on 4 May 2014. Retrieved 4 May 2014.
  7. "Qaka får kontrakt med 08". Sarpsborg 08 FF (in Norwegian). 28 January 2015. Archived from the original on 2 February 2015. Retrieved 28 January 2015.
  8. "Kamer Qaka a semnat cu trupa moldavă". ProSport (in Romanian). 17 July 2017. Retrieved 25 July 2017.
  9. "Kamer Qaka er årets beste spiller" (in Norwegian). 31 October 2016.
  10. "Cu cine a semnat CSM Politehnica Iaşi". fanatik.ro (in Romanian). 17 July 2017. Retrieved 25 July 2017.
  11. "Egal fără goluri în Iași - Gaz Metan". Gazeta Sporturilor (in Romanian). 23 July 2017. Retrieved 25 July 2017.
  12. "Concurenţă acerbă pentru Becali" [Tough competition for Becali] (in Romanian). ProSport. 20 November 2017. Retrieved 22 November 2017.
  13. "#BunVenitKamer / Qaka întărește mijlocul Științei" [#WelcomeKamer / Qaka strengthens Știința's midfield line] (in Romanian). ucv1948.ro. 3 June 2019. Retrieved 4 June 2019.
  14. "Nga një fshat peshkatarësh te një tjetër, Qaka ndjek historinë e Berishës!" (in Albanian). Albsport.al. 7 November 2017. Retrieved 7 November 2017.
  15. "KOMBËTARJA NË TURQI/ABRASHI NUK REKUPERON VIJON TERAPINË, PANUCCI THËRRET KAMER QAKËN!" (in Albanian). FSHF.org. 6 November 2017. Archived from the original on 7 November 2017. Retrieved 7 November 2017.
  16. "Turkey national football team lost to Albania 2:3, 13 November 2017". eu-football.info. EU-Football. Retrieved 15 November 2017.
  17. Kamer Qaka at Soccerway. Retrieved 17 December 2017.
  18. "Kamer Qaka". European Football. Retrieved 20 November 2017.
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