Refik Resmja

Refik Shaban Resmja (1 January 1931 – 6 September 1997) was an Albanian professional footballer.

He started his career with Tirana, but shortly after signed with Partizani Tirana where he established himself as one of the greatest players of all time, setting several records and winning 9 trophies. He has also been an Albanian international, winning six caps between 1952 and 1963. During his career, Resmja held only one squad number, 11. and started to play the game at a very young age along with his friends at "Xhamija Sherif" street (modern-day "Ali Demi Street"). He also used to go with his friends at Shallvare ground, playing and watching his club Tirana play. This happened during a training session with his teammate where Resmja preferred to play as a forward, surprising everyone with his moves, which eventually made him left the position as goalkeeper. He also scored 10 hat-tricks, setting the record for most hat-tricks scored in the history of Albanian Superliga, a record which still stands. Resmja also become the only player in the history of Albanian football to score six and seven goals in one match; the striker reached the feat in the matches versus Puna Berat (14–0), Puna Fier (11–0), Spartaku Qyteti Stalin (9–0) and Puna Gjirokastër (8–0). He won his first championship in the 1954 season, scoring 13 goals which were instrumental for the team which topped the league 7 points ahead of Dinamo Tirana.

Resmja was named captain in 1957. Resmja was decisive for the team throughout the campaign, netting a brace in the 5–1 win over Vietnam's The Cong Hanoi and a goal in extra-time against Dukla Prague.

International career Despite having great individual and collective success at club level, Resmja's international career was tepid as he collected only six appearances and scored once. He earned his first cap on 29 November 1952 in the 3–2 friendly win versus Czechoslovakia. He scored his first goal in his third cap, netting the second of a 2–0 home win over Poland. Resmja earned his final cap on 2 June 1963 in a 1–0 home loss to Bulgaria for the 1964 Summer Olympics qualifying phase which was also his first competitive match.

Managerial career Resmja's managerial career begun with Partizani Tirana Youth in 1967 as he liked to work with the younger players. Resmja is known to have scored most of his goals with it, some of them from outside the penalty area. In 2016, he was decorated with the Honor of Nation Order by president Bujar Nishani for his contributions to Albanian football. He also hold numerous awards and accolades, such as Naim Frashëri Gold Medal, Naim Frashëri Order, Ylli i Kuq Order (sq.) and Medalje e Punës (Medal of Work) etc.

Records Top goalscorer in the history of Partizani Tirana: 180 goals Top goalscorer in the capital derby: 14 goals Most goals scored in one season in the Albanian Superliga: 59 goals in 1951 Most hat-tricks scored in one season in the Albanian Superliga: 10 hat-tricks in 1951 Most hat-tricks scored in the history of Albanian Superliga: 10 hat-tricks Highest goal-per-game ratio in a season: 2,57 The player with the most top goalscorer awards of Albanian Superliga: 6