Panajot Pano

Panajot Pano (7 March 1939 – 19 January 2010) was an Albanian football player. He started his career as a goalkeeper in the SK Tirana youth academy, but he became the most prolific centre-forward of their arch-rivals, Partizani Tirana. During his eighteen-year career he played 24 matches with the Albanian national football team and was awarded the Albanian UEFA Jubilee Award.

Early career

Pano was born in Durrës, to ethnic Greek parents (Greek: Παναγιώτης Πάνου Panagiotis Panou) that came from Lefterhor, Delvinë. He began his football career with SK Tirana in 1954 as a 14-year-old, joining their youth team which was coached by the former national team manager Adem Karapici initially and then Xhavit Shyqyri Demneri until the age of 16. He was handed his under-19s debut with SK Tirana by Demneri on 18 July 1956 in a youth national championship game against Korabi Peshkopi and he scored his first goal for the side on 5 August of the same year against FK Kukësi.

SK Tirana

Myslym Alla first called up Pano to the senior side in 1957 as an 18-year-old, which was when he was handed his professional debut in a Republic Cup game against Besa Kavajë. He remained a member of the under-19 team at the time and had to wait until the following season before he would establish himself as a first team member, and he made his league debut on 4 May 1958 in a Tirana derby match against Dinamo Tirana, where he also scored his first professional goal in the 4-0 win. He played his final game for SK Tirana on 9 December 1959 against Besa Kavajë in a game which ended in a 4-2 win for Pano's side.

Partizani

He played his first game for Partizani Tirana under Rexhep Spahiu on 14 February 1960, in a game against Dinamo Tirana, which is also when he would score his first goal for his new club in the 3–0 win.

He won four Albanian championships with Partizani Tirana, five Albanian Cups, and in 1970, the Balkans Cup. On the international front, he played 25 times (3 goals) for the Albania national football team.

In November 2003, to celebrate UEFA's Jubilee, he was selected as the Golden Player of Albania by the Football Association of Albania as their most outstanding player of the past 50 years.

On 6 March 2009, Pano received the order Honor of the Nation from the President of Albania, Bamir Topi. This was the first time in the history of Albania that a footballer was honored with the Honor of the Nation order.

He died at 70 in Jacksonville, (Florida, United States) on 19 January 2010 after suffering a heart attack.

His son Ledio Pano, became also a well known football player and played for the football clubs of Partizani, Luftëtari, Xanthi FC and Pas Ioannina. He was also capped several times with Albania.