Introduction
Bledar Kola (born 1 August 1972) is an Albanian retired football player.
Early life
Kola comes from Mirdita, but grew up in the city of Lezhë. He was an exemplary student. He started his career at Besëlidhja Lezhë, and then moved to Partizani Tirana. Later he moved to Greece where his playing career took off.
Playing career
Club
Kola spent most of his career playing for various clubs in the Greek Super League, including Panathinaikos, Apollon Smyrnis, Panargiakos and AEK Athens . In January 2003, Kola was sacked by Kallithea after failing a doping test.
International
He made his debut for Albania in a December 1990 European Championship qualification match away against Spain and earned a total of 39 caps, scoring 6 goals. His final international was a March 2001 FIFA World Cup qualification against England in Tirana.
National team statistics
| Albania national team | ||
|---|---|---|
| Year | Apps | Goals |
| 1990 | 1 | 0 |
| 1991 | 1 | 0 |
| 1992 | 1 | 0 |
| 1993 | 0 | 0 |
| 1994 | 4 | 0 |
| 1995 | 3 | 0 |
| 1996 | 4 | 0 |
| 1997 | 5 | 2 |
| 1998 | 7 | 2 |
| 1999 | 6 | 1 |
| 2000 | 5 | 0 |
| 2001 | 2 | 1 |
| Total | 39 | 6 |
Managerial career
Kola took temporary charge at AEK Athens in August 2010 and was named full-time manager of Apollon Smyrni in July 2012. He also coached Panargiakos and was assistant at Panathinaikos and later to AEK manager Marinos Ouzounidis until they were both dismissed in 2019.
Honours
- AEK Athens
- Greek Cup: 2002