The legendary goalkeeper, Perlat Musta!

The column of the page “Albanian football stars” starts with the legend of the Albanian goalkeepr, Perlat Musta!

Over the years, Albanian football has had an excellent tradition as far as the most defensive department is concerned, and undoubtedly one of the most prominent names in the goal has been Perlat Musta, or as he is known by everyone, the “guardian” of the red and black goal.

Musta has been part of the Partizani team for more than two decades and is one of the greatest goalkeepers in the history of our national football. There are thousands of fans of Partizan and the generation of the 80’s who still nostalgically remember Perlat Musten defending the goal, his excellent receptions in hundreds of matches in the championship and also with the national team.

The great Albanian goalkeeper Musta, who was characterized by lightning reflexes and throws, was born in Vlora on October 15, 1958 in a family that was not actually known for “close connections” with sports, but still this did not prevent him from being “conquered” from the great passion for football from a very young age.

The legend of the Albanian goal has made unforgettable appearances with the Albanian National Team, among which the wonderful matches against Germany, Poland and the unforgettable meeting against Belgium are engraved in the minds of the fans of that period.

He will be remembered as the lifelong goalkeeper of Partizan, who never betrayed the club even in the most difficult moments. He continues to stay close to football, although not with little difficulty, because apart from the moral reward, Perlati does not seem to have received anything else in return. It is a purely individual issue, which belongs to a whole generation of footballers of that generation who sacrificed a lot and made the name of Albania heard in the international arena, in those difficult times, apart from spiritual satisfaction, they did not try any other “luxury” during and after their careers.

In childhood he showed a tendency to play sports, especially football. At the age of 10, he only thought about football, but unlike his friends who preferred to play in attack, Musta liked the goalkeeper position. After finishing school in his hometown, he wants to enroll in the “School of Sports Mastery”. Here there are problems with the norms, which are the reason for not accepting Perlati. The parents then, who for the sake of the truth did not want him to do sports, suggested him to go to the “Skënderbeg” school anyway.

Fortunately, Perlat Musta here finds a very favorable ground to pursue his passion, as it is known in those years the “Skenderbej” School was a kind of  workshop that supplied footballers to the Partizan team. So Musta’s connection with the Partizan club seems to have been marked since that year. Later, in this school, he pays special attention to sports and especially to football, training with regularity, persistence and passion.

His first coach was Sheriff Çiçiku. The close ties that the school had with the Partizan club certainly favored the elements that stood out, as team leaders often came there to see closely those who had the inclination. So that’s where Musta caught the eye and in 1976, when he was 17 years old, he became active with the youth of Partizan for one football phase. Then he moved to the first team in 1979.

That year, Partizan was declared champion, after a long period of absence of the trophy in the red house. From that period, (with the exception of a small separation during the time when he debuted in Romania with Dinamo Bucharest) until 1997, Perlati has defended the colors of the Partizan team with great dignity.

The period of activation in the ranks of the great Partizan has left indelible impressions, so much so that it is difficult to separate the seasons from each other.

With the legendary Partizan, he won 4 championships and 3 Republic Cups, which means that he really got a lot of satisfaction. The public has constantly supported him and of course still remembers with nostalgia the steps of full stadiums, where you could not see an empty seat. The rivalry between the teams in those years was really great and the level of football made people follow this sport everywhere, even though the economic conditions were very unfavorable. Even today, when Perlat Musta meets different people on the street, they express their considerations to him and this is the maximum, the fruit of a goalkeeper who was full of mouth for the years he was active was definitely the absolute best.

Perlat Musta was the goalkeeper of the U21 “Shpresa” team, with which he won two Balkan Champion titles in 1978 and 1981. It was a very good complex of players, which most of them after has joined the adult team “Kombetarja”.

He debuted with the national jersey on September 2, 1981, in a match against Finland, and then he was part of the National Team for many years. With the red and black jersey, he played 23 international matches, which can be qualified a lot, considering that since then Albania did not participate in various competitions for political reasons.

The representative gave him a lot of emotions, especially in those famous matches against Germany, Poland with which they drew 2-2, and of course the match against Belgium of the great Schifo, where Albania won 2-0, remains unforgettable.

However, there were also difficult moments, such as the case of the punishment of non-activation in international competitions for a period of 5 years. But what disappointed our champion even more was the silence of the federation here in Albania, which furthered this unjust punishment, leaving him out of football fields for 1 year. That absurd sentence was never understood, but the time was such that you could not find justice.

After 1990, he had an experience in Romania. Albania had just left the communist system, and like every Albanian, Musta tried his luck and experience abroad. So he decided to leave for Dinamo Bucharest, because the offer was very good for the time. Dinamo was a professional team and Sulejman Demollari was also there.

However, Musta’s age when he arrived in Romania was not ideal, but in general it was a very good, positive experience even though in financial terms it was not that was it. He also won a championship with Dinamo Bucharest, while also participating in the European Cups. After two seasons there, in 1994 he returned to Albania, again to his Partizan, where he is not only the goalkeeper of the team but also the coach.

The situation was difficult, as the problems of the time were many and people did not think much about football. Perlat this time here will launch a new goalkeeper Arjan Beqaj, who with his characteristics convinces him that he would become a good goalkeeper. It was the period when he thought of leaving football.

It is 1997, 39-year-old Musta knew that he would not have much time available to play, but he wanted to leave to make way for a talent, namely Arjan Beqaj, who was ready to take the baton to protect the Partisan goal the more dignity.

In a match in the 1996-1997 season, Musta was injured, staying more than two months away from the fields. Here, even after recovering from a leg injury, he thinks it was the right moment to retire, to make way for another goalkeeper who promised a lot.

Perlat Musta without any ceremony leaves the green field, it was simply time for the new generation to take all the spaces that belong to them.

He is not finally released, so he remains in the team’s technical staff, where he holds the role of vice-coach. In 1998, he was elected Secretary of the FSHF, and took the position of team technician at Partizan.

Then he became the manager of “Kamze” until 2011.

FILE:
Date of birth: 15 – 10 – 1958
Role: Goalkeeper
Teams:
from the age of 17 with the youth of Partizan after 1978-1979
PARTIZANI 1979-1980  / 1980-1981  / 1981 -1982  / 1982-1983  / 1983-1984  / 1985-1986  / 1986-1987 / 1988-1989 / 1989-1990 / 1990-1991 / 1991-1992 
DINAMO BUCHAREST 1992-1993 / 1993 -1994 / 1994-1995
PROGRESUL 1995-1996
PARTIZANI 1996-1997
National Team (Kombetare ): 23
Matches Representation: on September 2, 1981, in a match against Finland.
Winner: 4 National Championships in Albania and 1 Championship in Romania.
3 Republic Cups in Albania.

January 2021

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Sport Vision + / Hour of Champions

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