Sabien Lilaj

Early career

Lilaj was born in Maliq, Korçë County, but moved to the capital Tirana along with his family at the age of eight, where he began playing football at the Loro Boriçi sports mastery school at the age of ten, playing for the school's football team Shkëndija Tiranë.

Tirana

In the summer of 2008, he went on trial with KF Tirana, where he was spotted by the head coach Blaž Slišković, who was impressed with the 19-year-old and signed him ahead of the 2008–09 campaign. He made his league debut in the opening game of the 2008–09 Albanian Superliga against Vllaznia Shkodër, where he started the game in midfield in the goalless draw. He scored his first professional goal in a 3–2 away win over local rivals Dinamo Tirana, and in total he made 20 league appearances in his debut season, where he also won the Albanian Superliga for the first time. He also made two appearances in the club's Albanian Cup run, where they reached the final but eventually lost to Flamurtari Vlorë.

The following season, Lilaj made his European debut in the second qualifying round of the UEFA Champions League against Norwegian side Stabæk, a match which ended in a 1–1 draw. He also started the return leg that ended in a 4–0 loss to his side which send his side eliminated from Europe. He came on at half time for Blerti Hajdari in the 2009 Albanian Supercup as they defeated Flamurtari Vlorë 1–0, the side that beat them in the previous cup final. In the league, he made 23 appearances, most of which were off the bench as he struggled to establish himself in midfield in a season where his side failed to win the league where they finished third, or the cup where they reached the third round.

Lilaj began the 2010–11 season playing against Hungarian side Zalaegerszegi TE in the first qualifying round of the UEFA Europa League, where both legs finished in goalless draws, meaning that extra time was needed after the second leg in Zalaegerszeg, where KF Tirana won the tie through an Erando Karabeci free-kick in the 107th minute. His side were drawn against Dutch side FC Utrecht, where they lost the first leg 4–0 away at the Stadion Galgenwaard, but they held Utrecht to a 1–1 in the return leg at the Qemal Stafa Stadium but were ultimately knocked out of the competition. In the Albanian Superliga, his side struggled throughout the season and they finished in fifth place out of 12 teams, just two points above the relegation playoff places, but Lilaj still managed to show some good form as he made 24 appearances and scored one goal. His side did, however, have a successful Albanian Cup run as they defeated Dinamo Tirana on penalties in the final to win their first Albanian Cup since 2006. Lilaj scored once in the run up to the final, as well as featuring in six games, including both legs of the quarter- and semi-finals, respectively and the final, where he played the full 120 minutes as KF Tirana won on penalties to rescue their season. He was then allowed to leave the club at the end of the season, as did many other first team players, including Andi Lila, Jahmir Hyka, Tefik Osmani and Pero Pejić.

Lokomotiva

In the summer transfer window of 2011, Lilaj joined Croatian Prva HNL side NK Lokomotiva, where he struggled to compete with the likes of Mateo Poljak and Marcelo Brozović for a first team place. He made just 15 league appearances as his side finished in a respectable seventh place out of 16 teams; his side also did not qualify for the 2011–12 Croatian Football Cup, meaning he could not play any other games that season. Despite having a difficult personal season, his performances did attract the interest of Albania national team head coach Josip Kuže, who gave him his first senior international call up and cap. After one season in Croatia, he left Lokomotiva to return to Albania, where he was subject to interest from a host of Albanian Superliga sides in the summer of 2012.

Skënderbeu Korçë

Lilaj in action during a Europa League match against Lokomotiv Moscow.

He returned to his birthplace and signed a three-year contract with reigning Superliga champions Skënderbeu Korçë on 7 August 2012, where he once again teamed up with Ditmar Bicaj, Ivan Gvozdenović, Pero Pejić, Sebino Plaku and Daniel Xhafa, who had all been his teammates at KF Tirana. He made his debut for the club in the 2012 Albanian Supercup, where he started the game but was substituted off in the second half in the 2–1 defeat to his former side Tirana. He impressed in his first season at Skënderbeu Korçë, despite competition in the centre of midfield with captain Bledi Shkëmbi and Nurudeen Orelesi. On 3 October 2012, he scored his first goal in nearly 20 months against Olimpik in a 7–2 Albanian Cup win which also saw him receive a red card in the 85th minute. He scored in the very next game on 6 October in a Superliga match against Shkumbini Peqin. He featured in 20 league games and scored four league goals to help his side retain the Superliga title for a third consecutive season. In the Albanian Cup, he scored four goals in five appearances, including his side's only goal in the semi finals against Bylis Ballsh, who knocked out Skënderbeu Korçë after a 2–1 aggregate win over two legs. He scored 8 times in 30 games in all competitions in the 2012–13 season.

As Lilaj's side won the league the previous season, he began the 2013–14 campaign playing in the second qualifying round of the Champions League, where he played against Azerbaijani side Neftchi PFK, which Skënderbeu Korçë defeated 1–0 on aggregate after extra time, as both legs ended in goalless draws in regulation time. In the next round they faced Kazakh side Shakhter Karagandy, which defeated Skënderbeu Korçë 3–0 in the first leg, but Lilaj and his side showed resilience in the return leg as they went 3–0 up in the opening 29 minutes, only to concede twice either side of half time to win the game 3–2 as they ultimately lost the tie 5–3 on aggregate that saw them get knocked out of the Champions League. They did, however, qualify for the playoff round of the Europa League, where they were drawn against Ukrainian side Chornomorets Odesa, with the first leg in Ukraine ending in 1–0 loss for Skënderbeu. In the return leg in Albania, his side won the game 1–0 and took the tie to extra time, which did not produce any goals meaning the tie went to penalties for a spot in the group stage of the Europa League. Lilaj took his side's fifth penalty and successfully converted, but his teammates Nurudeen Orelesi and Bakary Nimaga missed the next two penalties as his side lost 7–6.

On 12 August 2014, Lilaj signed a two–year contract with Polish Ekstraklasa side Ruch Chorzów, where he even completed his medical and was presented to the media, only for the move to be annulled. He therefore returned to Skënderbeu Korçë for another season as the Albanian side claimed to have automatically renewed his contract at the end of the 2013–14 season for another year.

On 5 November 2015, Lilaj scored twice in just under 20 minutes as Skënderbeu recorded a 3–0 victory over Sporting CP in the 2015–16 UEFA Europa League group stage. His first goal was scored after teammates Peter Olayinka and Esquerdinha missed opportunities, but Lilaj netted in the rebound to put Skënderbeu ahead 1–0. His second came from the penalty spot as teammate Liridon Latifi was fouled by Sporting goalkeeper Rui Patrício, who was then sent off. Lilaj scored the resulting penalty past substitute goalkeeper Marcelo Boeck to put Skënderbeu 2–0 up at the Elbasan Arena. Skënderbeu eventually ran out 3–0 winners and recorded their first ever win in a major tournament.

On 28 December 2015, Lilaj was named Albanian Superliga Player of the Year.

Albania U20

Albania U21

Lilaj playing with Albania U21

Lilaj was first selected for the Albania national under-21 football team by coach Artan Bushati for a friendly match against neighbouring country Macedonia U21. He was picked in the 23-man squad that travelled to Macedonia for the friendly along with two other KF Tirana teammates, Enri Tafaj and Migen Metani. However, he was not been able to play the friendly in Ohrid on 19 November 2008 due to an injury incurred just days before the fixture. This meant that fellow Tirana teammate Metani took his place in the squad. He was again picked by Bushati in February 2009, this time preparation for the 2011 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification. He was picked in the squad once again with fellow club teammate Metani.

Lilaj participated with Albania U21 in the 2011 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification where he was a regular starter under coach Artan Bushati playing overall 7 matches as a starter completing 5 full 90-minutes. The only game which he missed out was due to yellow card suspension.

Albania senior team

Lilaj received his first Albania senior team call up by coach Josip Kuže for the last UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying matches against France and Romania on 7 and 11 October 2011 respectively. He made his senior international debut against France on 7 October 2011, coming on as a substitute in the 81st minute for Gilman Lika in a 3–0 loss. He played also four days later against Romania the full 90-minutes match which finished in a 1–1 draw.

Lilaj then played overall 11 friendly matches for Albania mading overall 13 appearances until 2015.

Club

As of 14 September 2017

International

As of 17 November 2015

International appearances and goals
#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Final Score	Goal	Result	Competition
2011
1	7 October 2011	Stade de France, Paris, France	France	3–0	0	Loss	UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying
2	11 October 2011	Qemal Stafa Stadium, Tirana, Albania	Romania	1–1	0	Draw	UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying
3	15 November 2011	Goce Delcev Stadium, Prilep, Macedonia	Macedonia	0–0	0	Draw	Friendly
2012
4	22 May 2012	Campo de Fútbol de Vallecas, Madrid, Spain	Qatar	1–2	0	Win	Friendly
5	27 May 2012	BJK İnönü Stadium, Istanbul, Turkey	Iran	0–1	0	Win	Friendly
6	14 November 2012	Stade de Genève, Geneva, Switzerland	Cameroon	0–0	0	Draw	Friendly
2013
7	26 March 2013	Qemal Stafa Stadium, Tirana, Albania	Lithuania	4–1	0	Win	Friendly
8	15 November 2013	Akdeniz University Stadium, Antalya, Turkey	Belarus	0–0	0	Draw	Friendly
2014
9	31 May 2014	Stade Municipal, Yverdon-les-Bains, Switzerland	Romania	0–1	0	Loss	Friendly
10	8 June 2014	San Marino Stadium, Serravalle, San Marino	San Marino	0–3	0	Win	Friendly

Club

KF Tirana

• Albanian Superliga (1): 2008–09
• Albanian Cup (1): 2010–11
• Albanian Supercup (1): 2009

Skënderbeu Korçë

• Albanian Superliga (3): 2012–13, 2013–14, 2014–15
• Albanian Supercup (2): 2013, 2014

Individual

• Albanian Superliga Player of the Month (1): October 2012
• Albanian Superliga Player of the Year (1): 2015