Gjergji Muzaka

Early career

Born in Tirana to the noble Muzaka family. Muzaka began his playing career with local side Partizani Tirana when he was just a teenager. He played for the Partizani U17s where he attracted the interest of several foreign clubs with his performances on the right hand side of midfield. One of these foreign clubs was French giants Paris Saint-Germain, who in 2000 offered Muzaka a contract at the club. Muzaka accepted and left Partizani at the age of just 16, joining the PSG youth team. However, after just one year in France, Muzaka moved back to Albania and back to Partizani before the beginning of the 2001–02 season.

Partizani Tirana

After returning to Albania, Muzaka was placed into the first team of Partizani. In the 2001–02 season he played 8 league match where he scored a goal with Partizani who finished the league in the 3rd place qualifying for the 2002–03 UEFA Cup qualifying round. He made his UEFA competition debut appearing in the two legged game for the 2002–03 UEFA Cup qualifying round against Hapoel Tel Aviv in August 2002 where Partizani got eliminated losing both matches on aggregate 5–1. In the entire 2002–03 season Muzaka earned 20 overall appearances scoring 4 goals with team ending the season again in the 3rd place. He established himself as a starter in the 2003–04 season under coach Sulejman Mema playing 33 matches and scoring 10 goals winning his first trophy of career, the 2003–04 Albanian Cup and finishing 4th in the…

Muzaka was first approached to the national team in September 2002 for three 2003 UEFA European Under-19 Championship first qualifying round matches against Russia, France and Luxembourg. It was a start to forget for Muzaka, despite playing in all three matches as starter, as Albania lost all of them with hammering results and finished last in Group 9. Some times later, Muzaka joined Albania under-21 squad in their 2004 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification campaign. He earned his first cap on 29 March 2003 in the 4–1 home defeat to Russia. Following that, he continued to play in every match as a starter and replacement and also scored his first goal in the last matchday against Georgia which paved way to a 3–0 win. The team concluded Group 10 in third place with 10 points from 8 matches. Muzaka made his senior debut on 19 November 2008 in the friendly against Azerbaijan by appearing in the last moments of a 1–1 away draw. After appearing in numerous friendlies, Muzaka was called up by coach Josip Kuže for the first two UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying matches against Romania and Luxembourg in September 2010. His competitive debut occurred on 3 September away against Romania where he came on the field in the 81st minute, just one minute after Romania had taken the lead. He made an immediate impact and in the 87th minute he managed to find a head onto Ansi Agolli's free kick which he guided past the Romanian goalkeeper, which levelled the tie at 1–1 and earned Albania a…

In his youth, Muzaka was noted for his speed, technique, ball control and dribbling skills, also earning comparisons to Cristiano Ronaldo. Muzaka's natural position is right winger, but he also can play as an attacking midfielder. He is also known for his crossing and playmaking abilities but he is also an able goalscorer. From July 2017, under manager Ilir Daja at Skënderbeu Korçë, Muzaka begun utilised as a central midfielder. He was named in coach Ernest Gjoka's greatest career XI, who described Muzaka as "an elegant, smart and energetic midfielder".

Club

As of 16 December 2018

International

As of match played 6 February 2013

As of match played 6 February 2013. Albania score listed first, score column indicates score after each Muzaka goal.