Fabio Sakaj (born 2 February 1998) is an Italian-born Albanian professional footballer who plays as a central midfielder for Serie D club Progresso. He represented the Albania national under-19 team.

Fabio Sakaj
Personal information
Date of birth (1998-02-02) 2 February 1998 (age 26)
Place of birth Alatri, Frosinone, Italy
Height 1.81 m (5 ft 11 in)
Position(s) Midfielder
Team information
Current team
Progresso
Youth career
Virtus Pavullese
0000–2016 Modena
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2014–2017 Modena 11 (0)
2017–2018 Racing Fondi 4 (0)
2018–2019 Pianese 17 (0)
2019–2020 Vis Artena 24 (0)
2021 Sestri Levante 11 (0)
2022 Cattolica 13 (0)
2023 Bagnolese 5 (0)
2023– Progresso 3 (0)
International career
2016 Albania U19 1 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 8 October 2023

Early life and youth career

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Sakaj was born in Alatri, a comune of province of Frosinone in the Italian region of the Lazio, to Albanian parents originally from Lezhë, Albania.[1] He started his football at the Virtus Pavullese, a small football team in the town of Pavullo Nel Frignano, in the Italian province of Modena.[2] He moved at Modena academy and in 2014 became part of the Primavera team under coach Simone Barone.[3]

Club career

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Modena

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Sakaj gained entry with the first team of Modena F.C. as he was included in the team by the coach Simone Pavan to participate in the match against Brescia on 3 March 2015.[4] Then he continued to participate regularly in 6 another matches, until he managed to make its debut against Virtus Entella on 11 April 2015 by coming on as a substitute in the stoppage time 90'+2 minute in place of Pablo Granoche.[5]

On 5 November 2017, Modena declared bankrupt after failing to pay player wages or stadium bills which brought about a player strike and a stadium lockout.[6] The club had not attended the previous three Serie C matches, including not attending the match against Santarcangelo Calcio; with a total of four matches not attended, the club were officially excluded from "Lega Pro" on 6 November.[7]

Fondi

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On 11 December 2017, he signed with Racing Fondi as a free agent.[8]

International career

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Sakaj received his first call up to the Albania national under-19 team by coach Arjan Bellaj for the friendly tournament Roma Caput Mundi from 29 February–4 March 2016.[9]

Sakaj received his first call up at Albania national under-21 football team by coach Alban Bushi for a gathering in Durrës, Albania from 18 to 25 January 2017.[10]

He received his first call up for the Albania under-20 side by coach Alban Bushi for the double friendly match against Azerbaijan U-21 on 21 & 26 January 2018.[11]

Career statistics

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Club

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As of 17 December 2017 [12]
Club statistics
Club Season League Cup Europe[a] Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Modena 2014–15 Serie B 4 0 2 0 6 0
2015–16 4 0 1 0 5 0
2016–17 Serie C 1 0 1 0 2 0
2017–18 0 0
Total 9 0 2 0 2 0 13 0
Racing Fondi 2017–18 Serie C 0 0 0 0
Career total 9 0 2 0 2 0 13 0
  1. ^ Including continental competitions, such as UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League

References

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  1. ^ "Juve, në gjurmët e talentit shqiptar Sakaj" (in Albanian). SuperSport. 23 October 2017. Retrieved 23 October 2017.
  2. ^ "Talenti Fabio Sakaj, udhëhoqi Modenan në debutimin e tij të parë në Serie B" (in Albanian). Gazeta KNN. 23 October 2017. Retrieved 23 October 2017.
  3. ^ Anton Cicani (7 November 2017). ""Zhduket" Modena, talenti shqiptar mbetet në mes të rrugës!" (in Albanian). Sport Ekspres. Retrieved 8 November 2017. Dhe, pikërisht në Emilia nis aventura e Sakajt me topin, duke luajtur me Pavulezen, përpara se të kalojë te të rinjtë e Modenës, aty ku fërgohet nga Hernan Krespo, te Primavera, dhe më pas kalon te ekipi i parë.
  4. ^ "Brescia vs. Modena - 3 March 2015". int.soccerway.com. Soccerway. Retrieved 23 October 2017.
  5. ^ Fabio Sakaj matches Soccerway
  6. ^ "Modena declared bankrupt". football-italia.net. 5 November 2017. Retrieved 8 November 2017.
  7. ^ "Official: Modena excluded from Lega Pro". Football Italia. 6 November 2017.
  8. ^ "Arriva Fabio Sakaj" [Fabio Sakaj arrives] (in Italian). Racing Fondi. 11 December 2017. Retrieved 12 December 2017.
  9. ^ "Kombëtarja U-19, në turneun "Roma Caput Mundi"" [The U-19 national team, in the tournament “Roma Caput Mundi”] (in Albanian). FSHF.org. 28 February 2016. Archived from the original on 22 October 2017. Retrieved 25 November 2017.
  10. ^ "Alban Bushi: Ja emrat për grumbullimin e parë në Durrës" (in Albanian). FSHF. 17 January 2017. Archived from the original on 19 January 2017. Retrieved 23 October 2017.
  11. ^ "KOMBËTARJA U-20, DY NDESHJE MIQËSORE ME AZERBAJXHANIN, TRAJNERI ALBAN BUSHI SHPALL LISTËN!" [U-20 NATIONAL TEAM, TWO FRIENDLIES WITH AZERBAIJAN, COACH ALBAN BUSHI ANNOUNCES THE LIST!] (in Albanian). FSHF.org. 18 January 2018. Retrieved 22 January 2018.
  12. ^ Fabio Sakaj at Soccerway. Retrieved 17 December 2017.
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