Introduction
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
- Arbën Minga Archived 6 October 2009 at the Wayback Machine. - RSSSF