Full name: Riza Lushta
Date of birth 22 January 1916
Place of birth: Mitrovica, Kosovo
Date of death: 6 February 1997 (aged 81)
Place of death: Torino, Italy
Height: 1.72 m (5 ft 8 in)
Playing position: Centre forward
Kosovo’s football federation has only been recognized for four years, making it the youngest national team in the world together with Gibraltar. Even though the country has a short history of competing as a nation, it has not lacked in footballing talent.
The likes of Albania, Switzerland,Sweden,Germany, Norway, Finland and now even Malaysia has been blessed with Kosovo-Albanians in their national teams in the likes of Lorik Cana, Granit Xhaka,Xherdan Shaqiri, Emir Bajrami, Leon Dajaku, Veton Berisha, Perparim Hetemaj & Liridon Krasniqi. However, it is not only in recent times that we have seen Kosovo-Albanians on the biggest footballing stages around the world. In fact, one of the biggest exports the country has seen was born hundred years prior to the country being accepted to FIFA. I’m talking about Riza Lushta.
Riza was born in Mitrovica 22 January of 1916. He took his first footballing in Rudari Trepca (later FK Trepca), before moving to Tirana in 1934 to enable studies at the Technical School ‘Harry Fultz’ in Tirana. While in Tirana, Riza joined then two-times Albanian champions SK Tirana (later KF Tirana) where he would develop into a notorious goal-scorer, scoring 39 times in 69 games. He would lead Tirana four four league titles & one domestic cup, between 1934-1939.
As Riza’s career was on the rise, Italy began its occupation of Albania in 1939. One of the less anticipated benefits of this was the huge football interest the Italians brought with them. The rumors of the Albanian goal-scoring machine spread beyond the Adriatic, finally reaching Bari, which would become Riza’s first Serie A club.
His first season in with Bari in Serie A did not stand out in any way, as he managed to score 3 times in 19 appearances. It was however enough to attract interest from Italian giants Juventus who brought him into their squad in 1940. It was at Juventus where he would really make a name for himself as a notorious goal-scorer. After an average first season with the ‘Old lady’, Riza scored 9 times on 26 occasions in the league. It was though in his second season in which Riza would come to explode by scoring 16 times in 28 games in the league, become the best scoring foreigner in the league. He would be mostly remembered for his hattrick in the Coppa-Italia final against AC Milan in 1942, which led to Juventus second Coppa Italia title. Lushta also became the top scorer in the Coppa Italia that year, with 8 goals in 6 games.
The following season, 1942-43, Lushta would continue his great goal-scoring run, by banging in 18 goals in 28 games. His last year at Juventus would be somewhat of a mystery as he was only used for 5 games, scoring equally many goals. At the end of the 1944-1945 season, Riza Lushta left north Italy, to join Napoli in the south. He did thought not impress the directors at Napoli, and after one season and six goals at Napoli, Riza was shipped to France and AS Cannes. His stay at Cannes would be short lived as he returned to Italy after just one year in the French Riviera. In Italy, he would find himself back to his scoring days, by scoring 17 times, before he stepped down in minor clubs such as Siena,Forli & Rapallo Ruentes. He put his shoes on the shelf in 1954, at 39 of ages. In total, he played 170 games in Italy, netting 68 times.
According to Albanian legendary journalist Besnik Dizdari, Riza Lushta was one of the eleven founders of the Albanian national team in 1936, under the guidance of Hungarian coach Samo Singer. It is rumoured that Lushta played 35 games for Albania, netting 30 times. There are though no official data backing this up, since most games at that time were unofficial friendlies. He is thus not mentioned in any official transcript and these numbers remain unofficial.
Dizdari also mentions that Lushta was invited to a preparation game together with the legendary Italian national team in 1940. What’s remarkable about this is that Italy were the reigning World Champions of 1938.
Overall, Lushta is considered as one of the best foreigners in Italian football. He was also the first Albanian footballing export to reach the tops of world football, and thus paved the way for other Albanians such as Naim Kryeziu and Loro Boriçi. He is also still today, almost 70 years years past his retirement, the best Albanian goalscorer in one of the top 5 leagues in the world, with his 68 goals.
In later years, Riza continued to live his life in Torino, the city he spent the most successful part of his career. According to several articles, Lushta lived a quiet life post retirement, with few friends and family, until his death in 1997.
Today, his city of birth, Mitrovica, have honored him by naming the Riza Lushta stadium, in which Trepca 89’ plays in, after him.