Cristian Shpendi
Personal information
Date of birth (2003-05-19) 19 May 2003
Place of birth Ancona, Italy
Height 1.81 m (5 ft 11 in)
Position(s) Forward
Team information
Current team
 Cesena
Number 32
Youth career
Real Metauro
Delfino Fano
–2019 San Marino
2019–2021 Cesena
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2021– Cesena 38 (11)
International career‡
2021 Albania U19 8 (3)
2022– Albania U21 1 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 16 January 2024
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 16 November 2022

Cristian Shpendi (born 19 May 2003) is an Albanian professional footballer who plays as a forward for the Italian club Cesena and the Albania national under-21 team.

Club career

Early Life

Shpendi was born in Ancona, Italy, along with his twin, Stiven. He is the son of Albanian parents who originate from Pukë. The Shpendi family immigrated to Italy in 1997, thus Christian and Stiven both hold dual Italian and Albanian citizenship.[1] Their first team was Real Metauro, from where they moved to Delfino Fano and then to San Marino Academy until they went to Cesena.[2]

Early career - Cesena

The twins played their first competitive season for Cesena under-17 squad coached by Filippo Masolini in Allievi Nazionali U17, where the attacking duo made each 16 appearances, with Cristian scoring 14 goals and Stiven 11. They then played for Cesena Primavera under coach Giovanni Ceccarelli in Campionato Primavera 3 2020–21 with 15 goals for Cristian and 13 for Stiven. The duo helped the side to reach the final, losing only to Arezzo Primavera.[3]

For the following season, 2021–22, promoted already at Primavera 2, Cristian scored 15 goals in 17 matches and was helped by 23 goals from Stiven in just 20 games - this made Stiven the league's top-scorer. Cesena won the Championship, gaining promotion to Primavera 1 and the Primavera Supercup against Udinese Primavera, beating them 4–1 with two goals from each twin.[4] Meanwhile, the players were also promoted to the first team in the 2021–22 Serie C, where Cristian made his professional debut under coach William Viali on 25 September 2021 against Olbia, starting and playing for 57 minutes before being replaced by Salvatore Caturano.[5] On 25 February 2022, the twins extended their contract with Cesena until 2025.[3]

International career

Shpendi was called up to the Albania national under-19 team by coach Armando Cungu for several friendlies during 2021. He started five matches and scored two goals.[4]

In November 2021, he was called to participate in the 2020 UEFA European Under-19 Championship qualification Group 7, where his side played against France, Serbia and North Macedonia.[6] He made his competitive debut in the first match versus France, substituting in at halftime for his twin Stiven; his side was beaten 4–0.[7] For the next game against Serbia three days later, Shpendi started from the bench and was brought in in the 72nd minute with Albania U19 down by a goal; Shpendi scored the equaliser to secure a draw that kept the Albanian team in contention for the next round.[8] In the closing match against North Macedonia, he came on in the last few minutes with Albania U19 collecting a 3–1 victory. The team finished on 4 points, the same as Serbia U19 and failing to qualify due to the goal difference.[9]

Both Cristian and Stiven Shpendi debuted with Albania under-21 under coach Alban Bushi on 16 November 2022, when they were included in the starting lineup.[10]

Career statistics

Club

As of 17 December 2022 [11][4]
Club statistics
Club Season League Cup Europe[lower-alpha 1] Other[lower-alpha 2] Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Cesena 2021–22 Serie C 5020——70
2022–2316120—3090
Total 21140—30281
Career total 21140—30281
  1. ↑ Including continental competitions, such as UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League
  2. ↑ Including other competitions, such as Supercups

References

  1. ↑ "Binjakët nga Puka nënshkruajnë deri në vitin 2025 me ekipin e njohur italian Cezena" [Twins from Pukë sing until year 2025 with wellknown italian team] (in Albanian). SHKODRA SPORT. 26 February 2022. Retrieved 5 January 2023. Sulmuesit e vitlindjes 2003 qe jane me origjine nga Puka, prej disa sezonesh janë pjesë e skuadrës italiane, ndërsa forma e tyre ka bërë që të vijë edhe rinovimi me tre vite.
  2. ↑ "IO E CRISTIAN, INSIEME AL MANUZZI" [Me and Cristian, together at Manuzzi] (PDF) (in Italian). Cesena F.C. Retrieved 3 January 2023. La mia famiglia è in Italia dal 1997, infatti siamo nati ad Ancona e abbiamo vissuto a Fano, abbiamo la doppia cittadinanza. La nostra prima squadra è stata la Real Metauro, poi siamo stati alla Delfino Fano, al San Marino e infine al Cesena. È il nostro terzo anno qui, ci siamo sempre trasferiti insieme».
  3. 1 2 "ZYRTARE/ Kontratë deri në 2025, binjakët e Kombëtares rinovojnë me ekipin italian" [OFFICIAL/ Contract until 2025, twins of national team renewing with italian team] (in Albanian). Newsport.al. 25 February 2022. Retrieved 4 January 2023.
  4. 1 2 3 "Profile of Stiven Shpendi: Info, news, matches and statistics". BeSoccer. Retrieved 5 January 2023.
  5. ↑ "Olbia vs. Cesena". Soccerway. 25 September 2021. Retrieved 4 January 2023.
  6. ↑ "U-19/ Europiani U-19/ Trajneri Cungu zbardh listën me 22 lojtarët e grumbulluar" [European U-19/ Coach Cungu clear up the list with 22 footballers gathered] (in Albanian). Albanian Football Association. 6 November 2021. Retrieved 5 January 2023.
  7. ↑ "France-Albania - Under-19 2022". UEFA. 10 November 2021. Retrieved 5 January 2023.
  8. ↑ "Serbia-Albania - Under-19 2022". UEFA. 13 November 2021. Retrieved 5 January 2023.
  9. ↑ "U-19/ Shqipëria mbyll kualifikueset me fitore ndaj Maqedonisë së Veriut" [U-19/ Albania concluded qualifiers with a win against North Macedonia] (in Albanian). Albanian Football Association. 16 November 2021. Retrieved 5 January 2023.
  10. ↑ "Shpresat, 3 gola në pjesën e parë mjaftojnë për fitoren në San Marino" [Hopes, 3 goals in the first half enough for the victory in San Marino] (in Albanian). AlbanianSport.net. 16 November 2022. Retrieved 6 January 2023.
  11. ↑ Cristian Shpendi at Soccerway
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