From Uvil Zajmi
Memorie.al / Yes, his story is the life and career of Ali Mema, one of the legends of national football, from the beginning, debut, protagonist with the famous “November 17” of the 60s-70s, really rare …! In the role of the goalkeeper, when he saved the penalties in the final with “Besa” of Kavaja, formation player in the big draws with Ireland, West Germany, until the enigmatic transfer to Shkodër, as a footballer of “Vllaznia”. The rejection, the thunderbolts that erupted when he publicly refused to play against Tirana, then the meetings with “Kilmarnok”, “Standard”, “Ajax” and the absence in the challenge of life. The sensational and passionate love with Lisa, a “Cardinal Claudia” for the time and what was Ali Mema doing in the last years of his life, the one who drove the Turks crazy when they saw him for the fifth time in Istanbul? A unique representative of the capital club, that nostalgic and entertaining football, but which had a melancholic end!
Big and nostalgic image, what did Ali Mema represent?
There was no television, but packed stadiums and the weekend, pre-match and post-match was more than a city-wide sporting celebration. A beautiful, competitive football, full of quality, elegance, wit, ego, intelligence, sacrifice, honesty and bravery, whose performer was Ali Mema. With peripheral vision, game vision, organizer, assist man, Mema has been oxygen for the team even when it was in difficult moments.
Courageous, tireless with the extraordinary temperament that characterized him, he was a great impulse for his friends and fans, changing the outcome of the meeting in not a few cases. Every match has been a battle for Ali Mema, although 172 cm. tall, scored for all teams, scoring rare goals, headers, set pieces, even from any position.
Among the greatest midfielders in the history of Albanian football, a rare talent, he commanded respect. Very polite, never polemical and tough with opponents, not even problematic with referees.
He played with both feet, but his powerful weapon was the game in the air, because he was the complete master of the “sky” when he danced. He wore the 4th and 6th, but the symbol on Ali Mema’s shirt was no. 5. An authentic leader for the team and for the spirit of the competition that injected into everyone, like a real storm, whose cry sounded loudly, not only in matches, but also in training.
Ali Mema witnessed a time when football had great sporting, social and humanitarian values for families, fans, children, generations, etc. His game was more than a poem, full of art and passion…!
Dynasty, Arbana – Mema…!
A very important detail for the biggest sports family, a real Arbana-Mema dynasty. Known and descended from Arbana, a village south of the capital, after a decision by the government of King Zog, which ordered families not to use the name of the village, the cities where they lived or originated, the Arbana family, forced to change it llagapin, using that Mema, a small neighborhood, in the area of Arbana.
Then the transfer to Tirana, to “Zela” alley, then known as “Shqyqyri Bëxolli”. The Mems came out there: the brothers Haxhi, Beqir, Osman and Ali, as well as their children: Sulejman and Ardi. Osman Mema holds the record with 7 championship titles (may be the only one in Albania), 3 with “Partizan” and 4 with “17 November”.
A quick career of success
A career that started from the field of “Shallvares”, that of Agai, with the neighborhood and alleys team, at SHNUMI, (as Ali Mema had a house there), at the Spartakiads at the Pioneers’ Rest House in Plepat, Durrës. He was 13 years old; a student at the “Kostandin Kristoforidhi” school, when in 1957, on the day of the inauguration of the football field of the Palace of Pioneers, the youth match of “November 17” took place with the Palace, with which Ali was a starter, with a coach Removes Mece.
Seeing a talent, a jewel in his hands, the master Xhavit Demneri, approached him to his team and very soon, when he was only 17 years old, he would suddenly announce him to appear in the adults. This is where his excellent career started, during which he will have several coaches, undoubtedly Myslym Allan, but also Zyber Konçin, L.oro Boriçin with the National Team and Xhevdet Shaqiri with “Vllaznina” of Shkodra.
With the famous “November 17”.
Typical passionate and aggressive football player from the capital, with whom the great “November 17” of the 60s-70s periods was built and created. It is about when, in the period 1963-’64, players who were active with other clubs approached this team, such as Skënder Halili, Fatmir Frashëri, Osman Mema, Luigj Bytyçi, Pavllo Bukoviku, Justin Kazanxhi, Gëzim Kasmi and together with Niko Xhaçka, Bathoren, Gud Tafaj, Elin, Perikli Dhalesi, Nurishmi, Bari Ishka, Konomi, Tomorr Gjoka, Arben Çela, Nuri Bylykun etc., start the cycle of a group that has a different philosophy and dominates the football environment for a full 5 years Albanian bringing a new football, different from the one played until those years.
More spectacularly, rivaling and simultaneously breaking the several-year hegemony of the duo “Partizani” – “Dinamo”, Myslym Alla’s “17 November” shows a team composed entirely of footballers who were the product of the talents of the school with Tirana tradition.
Ali Mema also played with this team. Champion in 1964-’65, 1965-’66, 1968 and 1969-’70, until the last meeting, in 1972, when he ended his career after 12 years as a protagonist.
The penalties that gave him fame even as a goalkeeper…!
Right centre-back, centre-back, midfield, attack, everywhere. But also a goalkeeper. He saved 3 penalties in the unforgettable final with “Besa” of Kavaja. April 1963, the Republic Cup final, 3-2 for “Besa” in Tirana and after a week 1-0 for “17 November” in Kavajë.
The old field of the city of Kavaja, after 120 minutes of play, the numbers were tied, 3-3. The 5 decisive penalties would be executed, a very advanced formula for the time – devised by the well-known commentator, Anton Mazreku – never practiced before in Albania, not even in any other country, not even by FIFA and UEFA, in its official activities.
After Pavllo Bukoviku scored for Tirana, Ali Mema (replacing the injured Metani and Beli), put in the goal by coach Lym Alla, received three penalty kicks shot by T’habit Rexha, “Biti” as they called him, ( who, in addition to being a football player, was also a well-known singer of the city).
A few months later, the scene was repeated again: at the end of a friendly match, between the National Team and Besa on the Kavaja field, “Biti” proposed to Mema to stay in the goal as he was going to shoot once more from the penalty spot: “Biti” hits and Mema waits again.
Petri Dume likes it, trains at “Partizani”
Ali Mema has completed the Higher Institute of Physical Culture “Vojo Kushi”, after which he must complete the 6-month choir. As soon as the 1965-’66 season ended, “November 17” was declared champion, at the same time he is also a player of the Albanian national team at the peak of his form and fame.
“Partizani” senses the situation and has the opportunity to take him to his club as they have mobilized him near the military department in Laprakë, and he has even held several training sessions, where he finds Panajot Panon, with whom he played together in “17 November” of 1960, also in the National.
Lieutenant General Petrit Dume, the Chief of the General Staff of the Army in the Ministry of National Defense, known for his emblematic passion for sports and in particular for football he likes as a player, insists and proposes to stay at “Partizani”, but Mema has made it clear to him that she is against it, without his wish, it is impossible. Then they start in Shkodër.
From 6, they keep him as a soldier for 18 months, in the ward with Bujar Kapexhiu
The story of Ali Mema’s transfer to Shkodër is one of the “mechanisms” of the communist system. From a 6-month flight, he returned to military service, which lasted a full 18 months.
It started in the summer of 1966 and Ali Mema returned to Tirana at the beginning of 1968 (together with Foto Andoni of “Partizan”).
The motives are several: to weaken “November 17”; political-sporting reasons; according to some decisions for military athletes, announced by the government, etc. However, his long stay in Shkodër still remains a mystery today…! Actors Bujar Kapexhiu and Fatos Haxhiraj have also joined the Division, in the military unit 9001 of the Infantry, where they have assigned it. Even those for the 6-month choir…!
In fact, only Mema was allowed to keep his long hair and Kapexhiu a mustache, since “he plays in the movie” – said Qazim Kapisyzi, the famous general, commander of the Division.
As “King” in Shkodër and sheet-lightning, why did he refuse to play against “November 17”!
Ali Mema’s transfer to “Vllaznia” was received with enthusiasm and his sympathy and connection with the Sports Club, the city, fans, families, footballers, etc., has been and remains unique even today.
The whole environment has lived his arrival and, if there is a football player who was received and treated like a “King”, it is Ali Mema, when he was in Shkodër. It is 18 months, among the most beautiful of his career. In the Dedja family, Duria (Mendu Dedja’s mother) served him with everything.
An important fact is that in terms of sports at “Vllaznia”, Mema quickly adapted by injecting the ego, the spirit of sacrifice. But when the confrontations with “November 17” came, they were the most difficult moments during Ali Mema’s Shkodra career.
“Before a challenge, when it was said that Alija was in doubt as to whether he would play or not, Coach Xhod Shaqiri was called to the Party Committee”, remembers the football legend, Ramazan Rragami. “Why don’t you want to play with Mema tesh? – They ask him. – He is a starter and they should have me on the field”. As a strategist, Shaqiri judged that it is better not to activate him and so he did.
However, the next day, the uninformed, passionate sports citizens of Shkodër burst into a tirade against coach Shaqiri, but not the activation of Mema!
But also in another challenge “November 17” – “Vllaznia” (Republic Cup, second meeting), in the first half, Mema hits the crossbar of the northern gate of the capital city, which is defended by Gud Tafaj, but during the break, with sincerity that characterizes him, addressed the coach: “I can’t, I find it very difficult to play against Tirana”.
They are part of the sports memory, especially that of Shkodra, of the “Vllaznia” club, for which he played until the last second. “Alija, Alija dona goal!” shouted the “Vojo Kushi” stadium, when the long-awaited goal was called for. How many times has he returned there as an opponent, they have only applauded him.
Letter to the government and the minister, Beqir Balluku
Staying for many months after the end of the 6 months of the choir in Shkodër with “Vllaznina” forced Mema’s father to write a letter to the government, in which he asked for the return of Ali Mema to his home, near his family.
Such a request was also sent to Beqir Balluku, as the Minister of People’s Defense that he was. He was asked for the reason for his prolonged stay without reason and the return of Ali Mema to his family, as he was married with children. The letter was lost and there was never an official response from the department.
Mema stayed at “Vllaznia” even in the first months of the championship, in 1968, which took place over the course of a calendar year, winning the title of champion with Tirana in December, after a rivalry until the end with “Partizan”. .
Prenk Jakova closes the rehearsals of “Skënderbeu”.
A very exciting moment connects the career of Ali Mema with the famous artist and composer, Prenk Jakova, one of the great colossuses of Albanian music. Known for “Mrika”, as the first opera in the history of Albanian musical art, or “Margjelo”, even though decades have passed since the time when the composer Prenk Jakova wrote his works, the episode remains unique, when he was working in Tirana.
Conducting rehearsals with the orchestra of the Opera Theater, at the height of the work to stage his second opera “Skenderbeu”, he turned to the orchestra and in the voice of a musician, said: “We will close the rehearsals soon that I will leave for Shkodër, because today Alija tears for the last time”.
Absence in the dramatic match and the big challenges…!
Ali Mema was not present and did not play in the memorable meeting for the Club and the history of Albanian sports, such as the “November 17” – “Partizani” match at the end of June 1967. The match ended 2-1 for the Tirana team, but at the end of the challenge, in the corridor of “Qemal Stafa”, there is a fight between the players, which quickly died down.
But in the meetings that took place afterwards in the Federation, it was considered a foreign show and the teams were excluded from the continuation of the championship, although there were only 3 weeks left, and “November 17” was almost the champion. As a result, after a decision of the AFL, the title was given to “Dinamo”, which was in third place, without any chance to get the trophy…!
And precisely in this confrontation, Ali Mema was not present, as he was playing in Shkodër. While in the Champions Cup, there are some in which he was the protagonist: the double meetings with the Scots of “Kilmarnok”, then with the Belgians of Standart and in the great 2-2 draw with “Ajax” of Krujfi in Tirana, in September of 1970.
Then the Mema-Overat duel in the meeting between Albania and the Federal Republic of Germany, 0-0 in Tirana, but also the missed opportunity when alone in front of the goal with “Standard” of Liege (Belgium) he gave the ball to the goalkeeper, during a perfect combination of “Liverpool”, a well-known tactical scheme that, “November 17”, applied to penalty kicks.
A maneuver that surprised the Belgians and that would make him famous if he did it, while with such blows he had punished the teams in the Albanian championship.
Mema, a name that surprised the Turks
Rare is the fact that surprised the Turks, and especially the media, when they saw Ali Mema for the fifth time in their country with five different jerseys: Four times in the span of a few years, with the colors of “Dinamo”, “17 November”, “Partizani” and “Vllaznia”, all meetings for the Balkan Cup.
As reinforcement received from “Dinamo” in 1961 when he played with “17 November” and from “Partizani” when he was with “Vllaznina”, this match was contested until the end, which was won 3-2 in extra minutes by the Turks with an own goal. Then with “November 17” in 1964, with “Vllaznina” before leaving and in a friendly meeting with the representative of Tirana.
“Who is this Mema, who comes with five different jerseys to Turkey?”, they wrote, accompanied by photos of him with all the shirts he had played in there.
Together with Biz and Rragami
In Shkodër, Mema found: Dan, Fred Çapalik, Gjon, Mendu Dedje, Lekaj, Gjergji, Ismet Hoxha, Selami Dan, Puka, Selman, Lek Koçobashi, Qeraj, and especially with Sabah Biz, he played for a long time in ” Vllaznia” and a few months with Rragami, when he returned to Shkodër, at the beginning of ’68.
But the masters of the Albanian midfield would be united by the national team, even in some epoch-making, unforgettable challenges: In the 1-1 draw with Ireland in Tirana in November ’65, there are Rragami (“Partizani”), Ali Mema (“November 17”) and even Foto Andoni (“Partizani”).
While the three midfield masters will still be together in the following meetings, during 1967: In Dortmund, April: FRGJ-Albania 6-0, in the formation are: Ramazan Rragami (Partizani), Ali Mema (November 17) and Sabah Bizi ( “Brotherhood”). Then in Belgrade, Yugoslavia-Albania 4-0, November, again on the field: Rr. Ragami (“Partizani”), S. Bizi (“Brotherhood”) and A. Mema (17 Nent ori) .
While in the meeting of December 17, Albania- FRGJ 0-0, the middle section consists of: A. Mema (“Vllaznia”), R. Rragami (“Partizani”), S. Bizi (“Vllaznia”). With the representative team, Ali Mema played in 11 official and 1 friendly matches. The first on October 30 in Tirana, Albania-Denmark 1-0 and the last, against FRY, 0-0 in “Qemal Stafa”.
Relations with Lym Alla, like no other
No one, except Ali Mema, has had such a communication relationship with the strategist, the creator of the legendary “November 17”, the outstanding coach Myslym Alla, the only one to whom the very authoritarian man had created this privilege. In Kuçovo, the result is a draw, while the injured Mema remains on the bench. He asked him to activate it, but Alla’s decision is indisputable.
His persistence even when there were a few minutes left forced Lym Alla to activate him and immediately 3-0 for “17 November”. Never to give him tasks, to tell him where and how he would play, because in his schemes, Ali Mema was everywhere. Injuries, bandaged or bandaged knees, have accompanied most of his career. He has played in rain, mud, whatever terrain and natural conditions, even though conditioned by injuries.
Also in training, knowing his temperament, even though injured, Alla did not remove him, even activated him with the second team to create rivalry. In the same way, even when he was in the role of deputy coach years later, he was a coach and player in training alongside Fatmir Frashër, Enver Shehu, Sul Mema. He had intuition; he read the game very well.
But what is remembered about Ali Mema is related to the training sessions. On Thursday, when the team held a control game, Ali Mema played with the second team. The match turned into an attractive, competitive challenge and within the group it was developed with great ego. Ali Mema, although not at the age of footballers, played everywhere and against the best. He was a model in this regard as well, like no other.
Passionate love for Lisa
That of Ali Mema with Liza is one of the most sensational love stories of well-known Albanian athletes. It was and remained so until the end, and it is even a very important part of Ali Mema’s life and career.
Very beautiful, a “Cardinal Claudia” for the time, their acquaintance, their love began and exploded in the Technical College of Physical Culture, then in ILKF, (Higher Institute of Physical Culture “Vojo Kushi”, to be crowned when they were young, only 23 years old, with Alma, the first child. Luiza Filipi, a record-breaking javelin and discus athlete, has been a Physical Education teacher at the “Partizani” gymnasium for many years.
Ali Mema, you could never imagine without Lisa and vice versa, a very attractive copy. As a special type for the aesthetic lines she had, she attracted everyone’s attention, but also “this is Liza, Ali Mema’s wife”, were the accompanying words. They lived happily until the last moment when in 2004, very young, Liza passed away.
What did Ali Mema do after he left football?
Ali Mema left football in 1972, when, with an orientation of the Party Committee of Tirana, the cycle of “November 17” was considered closed and the team should be renewed. Many headliners left, among them Ali Mema, when he was only 29 years old, with a brilliant ten-year career.
Physical Education teacher at the “17 November” Polytechnic, where he retired, always with his favorite bicycle, although he was the victim of “several such thefts”, but they could not change his passion.
Never smoke or drink alcohol, regular in life and sports, very family oriented. Of the two children, the son Ardiani followed his father’s passion, as a football player, coach and teacher of Physical Education, but not to the height and fame of Ali Mema.
If there was an “Oscar”, or a “Golden Ball” for what he has demonstrated, as a true champion, a model for his friends, team, coaches, generations, not only Tirana football, for all those who have seen live, Ali Mema would be the undisputed winner.
A true leader, a “Ser” or “Signore”, would be the only summarizing word that gives you the full idea and synthesizes the extraordinary figure of Ali Mema, for the genius that that charming, elegant boy with his original football and masterful, transmitted to the playing fields where he gave his soul.
Until he passed away on March 26, 2019, (where he was escorted to his last residence with honors and official ceremonies) Ali Mema lived in an apartment in “Brryli”, where he had been alone for many years, without His Lisa. Memorie.al
