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Thomas Strakosha

Thomas Strakosha is a professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Super League Greece club AEK Athens and the Albania national team.

Club career
Early career Strakosha was born in Athens, Greece to Albanian parents. He showed an early interest in sports from around six years old, particularly football, and was supported by his parents in developing his skills. He joined the Panionios youth setup in 2011, before moving to Lazio the following year for a reported transfer fee of €75,000. He became a regular starter for the club's Primavera team and helped it win the Campionato Nazionale Primavera, defeating Atalanta Primavera 3–0 in the final. Lazio Following the departure of Lazio first-team starting goalkeeper Juan Pablo Carrizo to Inter Milan, in the second half of the 2012–13 season, Strakosha gained entry with the first team as third-choice goalkeeper, behind Federico Marchetti and Albano Bizzarri. He was member of the team that won 2012–13 Coppa Italia after defeating city rivals Roma 0–1 in the final on 26 May 2013. On 18 August 2013, Strakosha was again on the substitutes' bench as Lazio lost 4–0 to Juventus in the 2013 Supercoppa Italiana. On 2 September 2013, Lazio sold Bizzarri to Genoa and at the same time purchased fellow Albanian goalkeeper Etrit Berisha from Kalmar. This made Strakosha to stand still as a third choice and being only an unused substitute for the 2013–14 season behind the strong challenge for the starting place between Berisha and Marchetti. On 11 July 2014, Igli Tare, Lazio's sports director, announced that Strakosha's contract was extended until 2019. Strakosha was on the bench for the 2014–15 Coppa Italia final against Juventus on 21 May 2015 where Lazio lost 2–1 in extra-time following a 97th-minute goal by Alessandro Matri. Loan to Salernitana In July 2015, Lazio agreed to loan Strakosha to newly promoted Serie B side Salernitana. He was allocated squad number 12, and made his professional debut on 9 August 2015 in the 1–0 win against Pisa for the 2015–16 Coppa Italia second round. A week after his debut, Strakosha played another Coppa Italia match, making several decisive saves and keeping his goal intact for 120 minutes as Salernitana won 1–0 against Chievo Verona to progress to the next round. Strakosha made his league debut for Salernitana on 6 September in the opening 2015–16 Serie B match against Avellino where he managed to play the full 90-minutes match and his side won 3–1. He was an unused substitute in the next Coppa Italia game on 1 December 2015 against Spezia as the coach Vincenzo Torrente gave the starting place to Pietro Terracciano as Salernitana was eliminated from Coppa Italia, losing the game by 2–0. Return to Lazio and breakthrough into first-team in 2018. In July 2016, following the loan's end, Strakosha returned to Lazio. With the injury of Marchetti and the departure of Berisha to Atalanta, Strakosha was able to make his Lazio debut on 20 September in the league match against Milan. Despite the 2–0 defeat, Strakosha's performance was considered positive, being man of the match for Lazio. Five days later, Strakosha collected his first Serie A clean-sheet only in his second appearance in the 2–0 home win against Empoli, which led the 1982 FIFA World Cup-winner Dino Zoff to praise him by saying: "I can not judge him with only two matches played, but, according to me, he performed well in both matches." On 22 February 2017, Strakosha renewed his contract with Lazio until 2022. He went on to play as starter until the end of the season, collecting 1844 minutes on field, as Lazio finished the championship in 5th position. He also contributed with 4 matches in the Coppa Italia, including the final, as Lazio was defeated by Juventus 2–0. Strakosha started the 2017–18 season on 13 August 2017 by playing in the 2017 Supercoppa Italiana against Juventus, winning his maiden trophy as Lazio won 3–2 after a last-minute goal. Against the same opponent on 14 October, Strakosha saved Paulo Dybala's penalty in the 97th minute to rescue a 2–1 win for his team and to put Lazio in third position. It was Strakosha's first Serie A penalty save and Juventus' first Serie A home defeat since August 2015. Brentford On 14 July 2022, Strakosha signed a three-year contract with Premier League club Brentford. On 7 October 2023, he made his Premier League debut for Brentford in a 2–1 loss against Manchester United at Old Trafford. AEK Athens In July 2024, Strakosha moved to Super League Greece club AEK Athens on a free transfer. He signed a contract running until the summer of 2029, with an annual salary in the excess of €1.2 million per year. ==International career==
International career
Under-17 Strakosha was called up for the first time to Albania's U17 squad by coach Džemal Mustedanagić to participate in the 2012 UEFA European Under-17 Championship elite round. He was an unused substitute for all three matches, serving as second choice goalkeeper behind Aldo Teqja. Under-19 Strakosha was called up to the Albania national under-19 football team to participate in the 2013 UEFA European Under-19 Championship qualification, coached by his father, Foto Strakosha. Thomas played every minute of all three matches of the Group 7. Albania finished in the 4th place, with Strakosha conceding in total six goals, despite Albania beating top of the table Belgium 3–1 with goals from Enis Gavazaj, Elvis Kabashi and Lorenc Shehaj. In the 2014 UEFA European Under-19 Championship qualification, Strakosha again played every minute in all three matches of the Group 6, leaving behind youth Juventus goalkeeper, Entonjo Elezaj. Under-20 Strakosha was called up to the U20 team by coach Skënder Gega for the 2013 Mediterranean Games football tournament, which began on 19 June, in Mersin, Turkey. However, Strakosha didn't participate in any match of the tournament. Under-21 in 2014 Strakosha was selected for the Albania U21 side that took part in the 2015 UEFA Euro Under-21 qualification. He played in half of all Group 4 matches (four of eight), as the four other matches were played by fellow goalkeepers, Aldo Teqja and Orestis Menka, who each played two matches. In the 2017 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification he retained his starting place playing overall 7 out 10 games for full 90 minutes under coach Redi Jupi. He missed out the opening match due to the injury, the closing match due to engagement with Albania senior team and was left on the bench for 1 game against Portugal U21 as Jupi wanted to test Teqja. Following the engagement of Amir Rrahmani with Albania senior team and then his departure to Kosovo national team in September 2016, Strakosha became the under-21 team's captain playing for his six last games. Senior Strakosha received his first call-up to the senior Albania squad in August 2016 by coach Gianni De Biasi for a friendly match against Morocco on 31 August 2016, as well as for the opening match of the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification against Macedonia on 5 September 2016. Considered the fourth-choice goalkeeper behind Etrit Berisha, Orges Shehi, and Alban Hoxha, he was not included in the match protocols and did not make an appearance in either game. Strakosha continued to be part of the national team during the second half of the 2016–17 season. Following Etrit Berisha's two-match suspension from the previous qualification's match, Strakosha, who had established himself as the first-choice goalkeeper at Lazio, was selected ahead of Orges Shehi and Alban Hoxha to start in Albania's match against Italy on 24 March 2017, which ended in a 2–0 defeat. He retained his place in the following match, helping Albania secure a 3–0 victory over Israel on 11 June 2017. In the inaugural edition of the UEFA Nations League, Strakosha played in Albania's first three matches League C. He kept a clean sheet in the 1–0 victory over Israel on 7 September 2018, but then conceded twice in consecutive 0–2 defeats to Scotland and Israel. In the Euro 2020 qualifiers, Strakosha missed the opening matches due to Achilles heel problems. He returned under a new coach Edoardo Reja, playing four full matches between September and October 2019, in which Albania achieved two notable wins, 4–2 against Iceland and 4–0 against Moldova, but also suffered defeats to France (1–4) and Turkey (0–1). In the 2020–21 UEFA Nations League C, Strakosha featured only in the opening fixtures of September 2020. He played in the 2–0 away victory against Belarus and the 0–1 home defeat to Lithuania. During the 2022 World Cup qualifiers, Strakosha played in three of Albania's eight group matches, keeping clean sheets in the 5–0 win over San Marino and 1–0 win against Andorra, but conceding five goals in a 5–0 defeat to England. In the 2022–23 UEFA Nations League B, after his rival Etrit Berisha had played in the first two matches of the campaign, Strakosha played in the return fixtures against Israel and Iceland, with Albania suffering a 2–1 defeat and a 1–1 draw and finished bottom of the group. In the UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying Group E, Strakosha played in three of Albania's eight matches under new coach Sylvinho, managing two clean sheets, most notably in the 2–0 victory over Poland on 10 September 2023. On 17 October 2023 he was named captain for the first time in the friendly against Bulgaria, leading the team to a 2–0 win. He was included in Albania's 26-man squad for the final tournament in Germany. During the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification (UEFA) campaign, Strakosha was almost ever-present for Albania in Group K, missing only the final minutes of one match due to a minor injury; he kept five clean sheets, conceded five goals, and helped Albania record four wins and two draws, securing a play-off spot for the first time in their history one match before the end of the group; Albania ultimately finished second with 14 points, one ahead of third-placed Serbia. In the play-off round, Strakosha played the full match as Albania initially took the lead, but Poland came back to win 2–1, eliminating Albania from qualification. ==Personal life==
Personal life
Strakosha was born in Athens, Greece, to Albanian parents from Memaliaj and holds dual citizenship for Greece and Albania. His father, Foto Strakosha, was also a goalkeeper who played for clubs in Albania and Greece and represented the Albania national team between 1990 and 2005, while his mother, Adelina, is his long-time spouse. He also has an older brother Dhimitri who played football at an amateur level but did not pursue a professional career. ==Career statistics==
Career statistics
Club International ==Honours==
Honours
LazioCoppa Italia: 2012–13, 2018–19Supercoppa Italiana: 2017, 2019 ==References==
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