Sulejman Demollari

Dinamo Tirana

Demollari played his entire career in Albania for Dinamo Tirana, alongside fellow internationals Genc Ibro, Eduard Abazi and Agim Canaj. His first performance was winning the 1985–86 title under coach Fatmir Frashëri. In the same season, he helped the club get past Hamrun Spartans in the first round of the 1985–86 UEFA Cup, being eliminated by Sporting Lisbon in the second round. In the following season, Demollari played in both legs of the 3–0 aggregate loss to Beşiktaş in the first round of the 1986–87 European Cup. Afterwards he won the 1988–89 Albanian Cup with Dinamo, scoring a brace in the 3–1 win over Partizani in the final. Dinamo started the following season by winning the 1989 Albanian Supercup, with Demollari netting a penalty in the 84th minute for a 2–0 victory against 17 Nëntori. Then he scored two goals in the preliminary round of the 1989–90 European Cup Winners' Cup, as his side eliminated Chernomorets Burgas with 5–3 on aggregate, but were defeated in the following round by Dinamo București. They finished the season by winning The Double and Demollari contributed with 14 goals in the 33 league matches that coach Bejkush Birçe used him. Subsequently, he helped them win the 1990 Albanian Supercup by scoring in the 83rd minute for a 3–3 draw against Flamurtari Vlorë, leading to extra time and an eventual penalty shoot-out victory. Then he played in both matches of the 5–1 aggregate loss to Olympique Marseille in the first round of the…

Demollari represented Albania's under-18 national team in the 1982 European Championship, playing three games as his side failed to progress from their group. He was also part of Albania's under-21 generation that finished first in the 1984 European Championship qualification group, above West Germany U21, against whom he scored once in a 1–1 draw. The team reached the quarter-finals where they were eliminated by Italy U21 after a double 1–0 loss. Demollari played 45 matches and scored one goal for Albania, making his debut on 27 April 1983 under coach Shyqyri Rreli in a 1–0 loss to Northern Ireland during the Euro 1984 qualifiers. He played six games in the 1986 World Cup qualifiers, including a 2–0 victory against Belgium. Demollari went on to play six games during the Euro 1988 qualifiers, another six in the 1990 World Cup qualifiers and five during the Euro 1992 qualifiers, but with the exception of a 1–0 win over Iceland, all the other matches were losses. Subsequently, he made nine appearances in which he scored his only goal for the national team in a 3–1 loss to Lithuania in the 1994 World Cup qualifiers. His last nine matches for the national team were during the Euro 1996 qualifiers, with the last one taking place on 7 October 1995 in a 3–0 loss to Bulgaria. Of his 45 caps, only three were friendlies, in 41 he was in the starting XI and he was captain in 18 matches. In 2021, the International Federation of Football History & Statistics (IFFHS) included Demollari in…

Demollari started his coaching career at Albania's national team, making his debut on 1 September 2001 in a 2–0 loss to Finland in the 2002 World Cup qualifiers. Four days later he led the team in another 2–0 loss to England in the same qualifiers. On 27 March 2002, Albania defeated Azerbaijan 1–0 in a friendly. Demollari's last match at the national team was a 2–0 friendly loss to Andorra, having a total of 9 games (1 victory, 3 draws, 5 losses). Subsequently, he coached the club at which he began his playing career, Dinamo Tirana during the 2003–04 season. Then he worked for Lushnja on two occasions, Shkumbini and had a second spell at Dinamo Tirana in 2006. In 2009, Demollari became the first coach of Albania's under-15 national team. He led them during the 2010 Summer Youth Olympics qualifiers, where after defeating Liechtenstein 2–0, they lost 2–1 to Montenegro, thus failing to qualify. From 2011 to 2012, Demollari worked as a scout for Dinamo București, bringing Elis Bakaj to the club. Afterwards he worked as an assistant coach for Albania U19 between 2015 and 2024.

Demollari was born on 15 May 1964 in Albania's capital Tirana, where he completed his primary education at the Qemal Stafa High School. From a young age he was part of the 'KF Vojo Kushi' sports institution. Despite still being in school, Demollari had impressed many football specialists and was quickly picked to play for Dinamo Tirana's youth team where he managed to become one of its best players. At just the age of 15 he was called up to play for Dinamo's senior team, alongside fellow midfield legends such as Ilir Përnaska, Shyqyri Ballgjini and Muhedin Targaj.