Arben Minga

Arben Minga

Personal information
Full name	Arben Minga
Date of birth	16 March 1959
Place of birth	Tirana, Albania
Date of death	31 January 2007(2007-01-31) (aged 47)
Place of death	Windsor, Canada
Height	1.87 m (6 ft 2 in)
Position(s)	Striker
Youth career
1973–1975	17 Nëntori Tirana
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1975–1991	17 Nëntori Tirana	?	(102)
1991–1992	FC Braşov	17	(1)
1992–1993	Dacia Unirea Brăila	25	(3)
1993–1994	Acvila Giurgiu
1994–1996	KF Tirana	55	(3)
International career
1980–1989	Albania	28	(2)
Medal record Dacia Unirea Brăila Runner-up Romanian Cup 1993
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Arben Minga (16 March 1959 in Tirana – 31 January 2007 in Windsor, Canada) was an Albanian footballer, who played as a centre-forward and a central defender.

He was known as Beni i madh (Big Ben). He was a six-time Albanian title winner.

Career

He began his career in Albanian Championship with KF Tirana, then known as 17 Nëntori, becoming well established by the 1977/78 season. Along with Agustin Kola, Mirel Josa, Sulejman Mema, Shkelqim Muca, Bedri Omuri and Millan Baçi, Minga was a member of the Tirana side of the 1980s that won four national championships and three national cups. In the early 1990s, Minga moved abroad to play in Romania in the 1992–1994, but came back to KF Tirana in the last two years.

International career

Capped 28 times by Albania, he played 20 games in European competition. He had represented his country in 12 FIFA World Cup qualification matches

International goals

Scores and results list Albania's goal tally first.

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1.	22 December 1984	Qemal Stafa Stadium, Tirana, Albania	Belgium	2–0	2–0	1986 FIFA World Cup qualification
2.	18 January 1989	Qemal Stafa Stadium, Tirana, Albania	Greece	1–0	1–1	Friendly match

Personal life and death

He subsequently went to Canada with his wife Nora Goxhi, a former professional basketballer, where they raised two sons, Grid and Jon . It was there that he was diagnosed with a terminal illness. Minga died on 31 January 2007 of pancreatic cancer. Players in the 18th round of the 2006–07 Albanian Superliga games wore black armbands in his memory.

Ben Minga in memoriam video on YouTube

Memories of colleagues and coaches

His friend and fellow footballer Mirel Josa remembered that he had his Tirana debut in 1981 because Minga was suspended. Josa discovered he had no boots to play in, but recalled that "Beni gave me his boots and said 'put them on and be careful because they never stop running'."

Shyqyri Rreli, his coach at KF Tirana called Minga: "The best captain and leader I ever had." Team-mate Millan Baçi added: "His shot was like a bullet." Meanwhile, his former colleague on the national side, Skënder Gega, labelled him "the hardest forward to defend against and the best person to have in your team". His one-time youth coach Fatmir Frasheri said: "I never heard him say 'I'm tired'. He would always be the first in for training and would give everything he had in every game."

Goals in Albanian Championship

Season	Team	Goals
1976–77	KF Tirana	1
1977–78	KF Tirana	1
1978–79	KF Tirana	3
1979–80	KF Tirana	1
1980–81	KF Tirana	7
1981–82	KF Tirana	3
1982–83	KF Tirana	4
1983–84	KF Tirana	8
1984–85	KF Tirana	13
1985–86	KF Tirana	16
1986–87	KF Tirana	11
1987–88	KF Tirana	16
1988–89	KF Tirana	9
1989–90	KF Tirana	6
1990–91	KF Tirana	3
1990–91	FC Braşov
1992–93	Dacia Unirea Brăila
1993–94	ASA Acvila Giurgiu
1994–95	KF Tirana	2
1995–96	KF Tirana	1
TOTAL		105

Honours

Clubs

KF Tirana

• Albanian Superliga (6): 1981–82, 1984–85, 1987–88, 1994–95, 1995–96
• Albanian Cup (4): 1982–83, 1983–84, 1985–86, 1995–96
• Albanian Supercup (1): 1994 ;

ACS Dacia Unirea Brăila

• Romanian Cup finalist : once (1992-93)

Individual

• Top scorer of Albanian Superliga (1): 13 goals in 1984–85 season

External links

• Arben Minga at National-Football-Teams.com