Introduction
Franc Veliu (born 11 November 1988 in Vlorë) is an Albanian football player who currently plays for Flamurtari in the Albanian Superliga. His natural position is left back but he has also played as a left midfielder and even as a central defender.
He only played for one club team at professional level between 2006 and 2015, before joining Kukësi in 2015. He has only ever won two trophies in his career so far, two times Albanian Cup in 2009 and 2014 after winning in the final against KF Tirana and against current club Kukësi in 2009 and 2014 respectively.
Interest has been shown by many British teams including Portsmouth, Aston Villa and Celtic.
Club career
Flamurtari Vlorë
He made his debut for Flamurtari Vlorë in 2006 and since then has cemented his place in his hometown club's first team. He has spent most of his career in the left back position but he has also played as a left midfielder and most recently as a central defender as well. On 29 October 2008, he scored his first hat-trick, an unusual achievement for a defender, in a 1–6 away win against Naftëtari Kuçovë valid for the first leg of the first round of 2008–09 Albanian Cup.
He was voted Flamurtari's player of the year for 2014 by the club's fans, beating Bruno Telushi and Ardit Shehaj who came second and third respectively.
Kukësi
After making 263 appearances for Flamurtari between 2006 and 2015, Veliu left to join fellow Albanian Superliga club Kukësi.
Partizani Tirana
On 1 February 2016, Veliu joined Partizani Tirana where he signed a contract until the end of the season with an option to extend it for a further year.
Return to Flamurtari Vlorë
On 22 July 2016, Veliu officially returned to Flamurtari Vlorë by joining as a free agent. He was allocated his old squad number 11, and made his return debut on 7 September in the opening league match of the season, a 2–1 away defeat to Skënderbeu Korçë.
International career
Veliu was selected by Josip Kuže for a friendly against Argentina on 20 June 2011. He was in the starting line up on his debut in a game which ended in a 4–0 loss.
Personal life
Veliu was arrested on 25 October 2015 for driving his car while he was drunk, and his was confiscated. For making of this penal act, Veliu was jailed for one month.
Career statistics
Club
- As of 1 February 2016
| Club performance | League | Cup | Continental | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Club | League | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| Flamurtari Vlorë | League | Albanian Cup | Europe | Other | Total | |||||||
| 2006–06 | Flamurtari Vlorë | Albanian Superliga | 8 | 1 | ? | ? | – | 0 | 0 | 8 | 1 | |
| 2008–08 | 24 | 2 | ? | ? | — | — | 24 | 2 | ||||
| 2008–09 | 29 | 2 | 7 | 3 | — | — | 36 | 5 | ||||
| 2009–10 | 32 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 35 | 3 | ||
| 2010–11 | 30 | 1 | 4 | 0 | — | — | 34 | 1 | ||||
| 2011–12 | 24 | 3 | 12 | 3 | 4 | 0 | — | 40 | 6 | |||
| 2012–13 | 24 | 1 | 8 | 3 | 2 | 0 | — | 34 | 4 | |||
| 2013–14 | 21 | 1 | 5 | 0 | — | — | 26 | 1 | ||||
| 2014–15 | 18 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 26 | 1 | ||
| Total | Flamurtari Vlorë | 210 | 14 | 40 | 9 | 11 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 263 | 24 | |
| Kukësi | League | Albanian Cup | Europe | Other | Total | |||||||
| 2015–16 | Kukësi | Albanian Superliga | 8 | 0 | 4 | 0 | — | — | 12 | 0 | ||
| Total | Kukësi | 8 | 0 | 4 | 0 | — | — | 12 | 0 | |||
| Career total | 218 | 14 | 44 | 9 | 11 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 275 | 24 | ||
International
- As of 1 February 2016
| Albania national team | ||
|---|---|---|
| Year | Apps | Goals |
| 2011 | 3 | 0 |
| 2012 | 3 | 0 |
| 2013 | 1 | 0 |
| Total | 7 | 0 |
Honours
Club
- Flamurtari Vlorë
- Albanian Cup: 2008–09, 2013–14
Individual
- Albanian Superliga Player of the Month: November 2010
- "Franc Veliu i Flamurtarit lojtari i muajit nentor" (in Albanian). Arkiva e Lajmeve. 12 December 2010. Retrieved 7 July 2015.