Ervin Skela

Ervin Skela (born 17 November 1976 in Vlore) is an Albanian footballer who currently plays for FC Hanau 93 in the Kreisoberliga Hanau, the 8th tier of German football. He played the majority of his career in Germany, but he also played in Albania as well as Italy and Poland briefly. He is third most capped Albanian international with 75 appearances as well being the third highest goalscorer in the country's history with 13 goals.

Albania

Skela started his playing career in Albania, from a young age he was involved in football. He started his professional career with his local team KS Flamurtari Vlorë, who at the time were one of the best teams in Albania. He was at the Vlorë based club for three years from 1992–95, during his time there he was loaned out to SK Tirana in 1993 but returned soon after.

Germany

After three years in Albanian football Skela decided it was time to broaden his horizons and so moved to Germany to play for Union Berlin. After spending three years at the Berlin club he had made over 57 appearances and scored a total of eight goals. He then moved to FC Erzgebirge Aue in 1997. In his two seasons there he made over 47 appearances and scored seven goals. in 1999 Skela moved to Chemnitzer FC where he played over 50 games and scored 11 goals. In the 2000 January transfer window he moved to SV Waldhof Mannheim who were the club who missed out on promotion that season by only a single point. But after spending only half a year at the club and making only 15 appearances he moved to Eintracht Frankfurt. After a total of three years at the club he made 92 appearances and scored 26 goals. Then Skela moved to DSC Arminia Bielefeld where after only one season and 32 matches he hs left the club to join 1. FC Kaiserslautern in 2005. In his only season at the club he played 34 matches and scored four goals. But after a disappointing 2005–06 season which saw the club getting relegated to the Second Bundesliga), Ervin Skela was released from his current contract with Kaiserslautern, and subsequently joined Italian side Ascoli Calcio 1898 on a free transfer in 2006.

He signed a one-year deal at the Italian club and made his debut with Ascoli on 9 September 2006. However, Skela did not manage to make his breakthrough in the starting lineup and was released for free soon after. During his only season in Italian football he made only seven appearances and never managed to score a single goal.

Energie Cottbus

During the January 2007 transfer window, Skela returned to Germany on 29 January 2007, with Energie Cottbus on a two and a half year contract. During his time so far at Energie Cottbus he has become a crowd favourite and one of their key players. In the 2007–08 season he played 34 matches and scored seven goals, his goals and magnificent displays in an Energie Cottbus jersey saved the club from relegation that same season. At the end of the season he had made 137 appearances in the Bundesliga and scored 21 goals in Germany's top division.

On 22 November 2008, Skela scored an historical goal in his career at Bundesliga against the giants of Bayern Munich, a match valid for the 14th week of the 2008–09 season, finished with a 4–1 lose at Allianz Arena, becoming the first and only player Albanian player to score against Bayern Munich. After two years with FC Energie Cottbus Skela left the club on 30 June 2009.

Koblenz

After four months without a club he signed on 14 October 2009 a two-year contract with TuS Koblenz, taking the number 28. Skela made his debut in week 9 of 2009–10 season against Rot Weiss Ahlen, playing full-90 minutes in a 1–1 home draw. After the match, the coach of the team Rapolder was frustrated with the rest of the players, saying that "Skela alone cannot decide the matches" and that he expected more from the players like Shefki Kuqi, Matej Mavric, Benjamin Lense and Melinho. Skela would appear in further 17 matches with Koblenz who ended the season in 17th place, relegated from the league.

Windeck

On 1 February 2011, Skela joined FC Germania Windeck.

Arka Gdynia

On 4 March 2011, Skela left Germania Windeck and signed with Arka Gdynia. Skela debuted for the first time in Polish top league on 11 March 2011, playing in the last minutes of the 2–2 away draw against Górnik Zabrze. His time with the Polish side was short lived, as he left the club in June 2011. He appeared in only five matches, which three of them as a starter.

FC Hanau 93

Having not played professional football since leaving Arka Gdynia in 2011, Skela came out of retirement and signed with 8th tier German side FC Hanau 93 on 29 January 2014 at the age of 37.

During the 2014–15 season, Skela was the second top goalscorer of the team behind Kahraman Damar with 18 league goals, helping the team to achieve the promotion to Gruppenliga Frankfurt Ost (VII).

On 16 January 2016, Hanau confirmed via their Facebook page that Skela has extended his contract with the club for another season.

Ervin Skela was first included in the Albania national football team in 2000, and since then has played a total of 75 games and scored 13 goals for his country. He has established himself in the first team for many years now and is now one of Albania's most important players in years. On 7 June 2013, a few minutes before the start of the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifying match against Norway at Qemal Stafa Stadium, he and his longtime partner Altin Lala were honored by Albanian Football Association for they contributions to the national team. They received a 'plaque of appreciation' by the Albanian Football Association Armando Duka for they services to Albania national team.

International goals

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1.	25 April 2001	Gaziantep Kamil Ocak Stadium, Gaziantep, Turkey	Turkey	0–2	0–2	Friendly match
2.	7 June 2003	Lansdowne Road, Dublin, Republic of Ireland	Republic of Ireland	1–1	1–2	UEFA Euro 2004 qualifying
3.	11 June 2003	Stade de Genève, Geneve, Switzerland	Switzerland	3–2	3–2	UEFA Euro 2004 qualifying
4.	20 August 2003	Stadion Goce Delčev, Prilep, Macedonia	Macedonia	3–2	3–2	Friendly match
5.	18 February 2004	Qemal Stafa Stadium, Tirana, Albania	Sweden	1–1	2–1	Friendly match
6.	4 June 2005	Qemal Stafa Stadium, Tirana, Albania	Georgia	2–0	3–2	2006 FIFA World Cup qualification
7.	16 August 2006	Stadio Olimpico, Serravalle, San Marino	San Marino	0–2	0–3	Friendly match
8.	16 August 2006	Dinamo Stadium, Minsk, Belarus	Belarus	1–1	2–2	UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying
9.	6 June 2007	Stade Josy Barthel, Luxembourg, Luxembourg	Luxembourg	0–1	0–3	UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying
10.	19 November 2008	Tofiq Bahramov Stadium, Baku, Azerbaijan	Azerbaijan	1–1	1–1	Friendly match
11	12 August 2009	Qemal Stafa Stadium, Tirana, Albania	Cyprus	1–0	6–1	Friendly match
12				2–1
13.	3 March 2010	Qemal Stafa Stadium, Tirana, Albania	Northern Ireland	1–0	1–0	Friendly match

As of his last match on 6 September 2011

Clubs

• Kreisoberliga Hanau (VIII) (1): 2014–15

Individual

• Albanian Footballer of the Year (1): 2007