Ervin Skela

Early career

Skela began playing football in his hometown of Vlorë, initially within the local sports school system, later joining the youth academy of Flamurtari Vlorë and gaining promotion at age 16 to the senior squad. He made his league debut during the 1992–93 Albanian championship and went on to register regular appearances in the top flight, playing 31 league matches and scoring 5 goals. In 1993, while still a teenager, he joined Tirana on a short loan spell, making 5 appearances before returning to Flamurtari later that season. Skela remained with Flamurtari until 1995, when he left Albania to pursue a professional career abroad.

Germany

In January 1995, Skela moved abroad to Germany and signed with 1. FC Union Berlin, then competing in the Regionalliga, the third tier of German football. During his three-year spell with the club, he made 57 league appearances and scored eight goals, helping Union Berlin achieve top-five finishes in the division. In July 1997, Skela joined Erzgebirge Aue and made his debut on 23 July in the opening round of the 1997–98 Regionalliga season, a 1–1 draw against VFC Plauen. He earned a place in the starting lineup by the fifth matchday and held the position for the remainder of the campaign. Skela scored his first goal for the club on 14 September in a 2–2 draw with Hansa Rostock II. The result lifted Aue into the upper half of the table. One week later, he registered a brace in a 4–1 away win over SV Babelsberg 03. Aue…

Skela represented the Albania under-16 team in the 1993 UEFA European Under-16 Championship qualifying. Skela was first included in the Albania senior team in early 2000 and was part of the squad that won the 2000 Malta Rothmans Tournament, although he did not appear in any match. He went on to play a total of 75 matches and score 13 goals. He also holds a unique record for the most appearances by an Albanian international in the FIFA World Cup qualification along Lorik Cana with 28 in overall. He made his senior debut on 15 August 2000 in a 0–0 friendly draw against Cyprus, where he played in last 11 minutes. He made his first competitive appearance one month later, coming on as a half-time substitute in the opening 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification match against Finland, which Albania lost 2–1. In his third consecutive appearance, one month later, Skela was named in the starting lineup for the following qualification match against Greece, which Albania won 2–0. He scored his first goal on 25 April 2001 in a 2–0 away victory against Turkey at the Kamil Ocak Stadium in Gaziantep. During 2001, Skela made several further substitute appearances in the qualifying campaign, featuring in the second half of each match. During 2002, he was included in Albania's squad lists by coach Sulejman Demollari on several occasions for friendly matches in preparatory for the UEFA Euro 2004 qualifying campaign. but did not make any on-field appearances that year. Skela was not used even in the…

In January 2016, Skela took charge of the U15 team at Hessen Dreieich. In May 2021, Eintracht Frankfurt announced that Skela would become the new head coach of their U17 squad for the 2021–22 season. In May 2022 he was appointed as the assistant coach of the under-19 team, which will compete in the 2022–23 UEFA Youth League season. In late January 2023, after the previous U19 head coach was released, Skela became interim head coach of Eintracht Frankfurt U19. On 7 July 2026, Skela was appointed first assistant coach of French Ligue 1 club Lens, winners of the 2025–26 Coupe de France on a two-year contract under head coach Dino Toppmöller, marking the first senior professional coaching role of his career; the pair previously were teammates together at Eintracht Frankfurt.

Skela usually operated as a central or attacking midfielder, noted for his versatility in both build-up play and set-pieces. He regularly took free kicks, corners and long-range shots for the national team and his clubs, contributing both goals and assists across his career. He was described as a tireless runner across the entire pitch, highlighting his work rate and all-action contributor.