Lorik Cana

Early life

Lorik Cana was born in Pristina from parents originally from Gjakova. He is the son of Agim Cana, a former football player of FC Prishtina. Cana watched every match of Pristina, since he was five years old and describes himself as an avid fan of the team. Cana's father's experience in football inspired him to take up the sport. In 1992 the entire family moved in Switzerland due to the Kosovo War.

Early career

In 1997, Cana joined the local team Dardania Lausanne, an amateur football club founded by the Albanian community in Lausanne, coached by his father. He played at Dardania until 2000, when he was spotted and signed by French club Paris Saint-Germain.

Paris Saint-Germain

Cana had previously been invited to Arsenal at the age of 16 for a trial, but failed to attend because he was denied a British visa. At Paris Saint-Germain, he spent three years working through the ranks of the French club. Cana finally made the first team in 2003 and quickly became a main player. During the 2003–04 season, he played in 32 games and scored one goal as the team won the Coupe de France and finished second in the Ligue 1, proving to be one of the most successful seasons of his career so far. This was repeated the next season, when he also played 32 games for the Paris team and scored one goal. In his senior debut for PSG, he was awarded the Man of the Match.

Olympique de Marseille

At the beginning of the 2005–06 season, however, there was a change of coach at Paris Saint-Germain and Cana fell out of favour. This prompted him to move to the south of France to join Marseille. After joining OM, he cemented his place in the starting XI and scored the winning goal in the first match between his new club and his former club, PSG. He also became team captain after the departure of the former captain Habib Beye to Newcastle United during the summer of 2007.

Cana left the club for English Premier League side Sunderland in August 2009. However, during his four years in Southern France, he failed to win a single trophy. He was described as a very aggressive defender during that time and nowadays he mentions that Marseille was his favourite team of all time and he would go back if they gave him an offer.

Sunderland

Cana joined Sunderland on a four-year contract for a fee of around £5 million on 24 July 2009. He was soon handed the team's captaincy by manager Steve Bruce, although Bruce later stated a captain had yet to be appointed. On 15 August, Cana made his league debut for Sunderland and contributed with an impressive performance in a 1–0 win over Bolton Wanderers, becoming the first Albanian player to play in the Premier League. He was appointed as Sunderland's captain for the 2009–10 season on 3 September.

Galatasaray

Cana joined Galatasaray on 8 July 2010 for a €4.5 million transfer fee. He signed a four-year contract worth €2 million per season, plus bonuses based on appearances. His stay at the club was hampered by a back injury during mid-season. Because they were going through a crisis throughout the whole season, Cana failed to make too much impact, though he was still a favourite of the supporters because of his resilience on the pitch.

Lazio

On 3 July 2011, Cana signed for Italian Serie A club Lazio, becoming the club's fifth signing of the summer, following the arrivals of Miroslav Klose, Djibril Cissé, Senad Lulić and Abdoulay Konko. He was purchased as an exchange for 50% registration rights of goalkeeper Fernando Muslera going to Galatasaray with Lazio tagging them both for a peppercorn fee in the financial accounts. Galatasaray paid an additional €6.75 million to Montevideo Wanderers to acquire the other 50% registration rights of Muslera, made up of 50% rights that Lazio sold and the full rights of Cana that Lazio acquired which were also worth around €6.75 million at that time.

Cana made his debut for Lazio on 21 September in a 2–1 away victory over Cesena, coming on as a substitute in the 87th minute in place of Cristian Brocchi. He scored his first goal for Lazio on 10 December 2011 against Lecce in a 3–2 win after coming on as a substitute for Giuseppe Biava in the start of the second-half. After sustaining many niggling injuries throughout the season, on 31 January 2012, Lazio confirmed that Cana would miss six weeks due to a back injury sustained in training. After returning from injury, Cana started to quickly recover his form. With Lazio's players constantly being haunted with injuries and suspensions, Cana took his chance in the midfield. This resulted in his best performance in the 2011–12 season, where he scored a 25-yard goal on 6 May 2012 against Atalanta, thus keeping Lazio's UEFA Champions League hopes alive. He finished his first season at Lazio with 15 Serie A appearances as Lazio finished in fourth place.

2012–2013 season

Cana began the 2012–13 Serie A campaign under coach Vladimir Petković with the opening match against Atalanta on 26 August 2012, finished in the 1–0 victory for Lazio, in where Cana came on as a substitute in the 84th minute for Álvaro González. He played his first match of the season as a starter on 31 October, playing the full 90 minutes of a 1–1 draw against Torino. In start of 2013 Cana was switched to Centre-back by coach Petković. It was considered a correct choice by sporting media stating also that this move was such as a new signing for Lazio. On 23 February 2013, Cana was included in UEFA's best XI of the week for the 2012–13 Europa League round of 16 as he had excelled in a 2–0 victory over Borussia Mönchengladbach. He started in the remainder of matches in the second half of the season. He finished the 2012–13 season with a total of 24 league appearances, playing in five Coppa Italia matches and also nine matches in the UEFA Europa League.

2013–2014 season

In the 2013–14 season first-half, Cana was a regular starter under coach Vladimir Petković. On 24 November 2013, Cana scored his first domestic goal, which saved the team from losing against Sampdoria. He scored in the fourth minute of second-half stoppage time to ensure a 1–1 draw. Following arrival of coach Edy Reja things became difficult for Cana. He was an unused substitute in the first match of the 2014s year against Inter. He has became a bench player and went to play as a substitute or as a starter when fellow defenders were absent. He scored his second goal of the season on 2 March 2014 against Fiorentina in the fifth minute of the match, which finished with a 0–1 Lazio victory. With a spectacular bicycle kick, he scored the only goal in a crucial match and to give Lazio the three points, right after elimination from the 2013–14 UEFA Europa League. The hero of the match unquestionably Cana, not only scored but also defended his score by making truly spectacular intervention in defense. Also with this win, Lazio managed to get back in the fight for a place in the Europa League.

Cana finished the 2013–14 season with 26 appearances in Serie A with 24 played as a starter, one in Coppa Italia and six in the Europa League, the latter all as a starter and for the full 90 minutes. Cana was also included in the best Seria A defenders of 2013–14 season and was ranked as the fourth-best defender with 344 balls won in 16 matches, beating Emerson (fifth), Mehdi Benatia (sixth), Cristián Zapata (seventh), Federico Ceccherini (eighth), Stefan Savić (ninth) and Shkodran Mustafi (tenth).

2014–2015 season

On 23 August 2014, a few days before the start of the Serie A new season, some media analysists warned about a strong rivalry between Cana and two Lazio's new summer signings, Stefan de Vrij and Santiago Gentiletti, for two starting places in the centre-defence and about a possibility for Cana to become a third choice in the center-defense of the Biancocelesti. In the opening match of the 2014–15 season on 31 August 2014, Cana played the full 90 minutes, resigning Gentiletti to the bench and playing alongside De Vrij in a 3–1 loss to Milan. In the next fixture, on 14 September 2014, Cana was an unused substitute for the entire match against Cesena (3–0) behind De Vrij and Gentiletti. In the third matchweek, on 21 September, Cana came in as a substitute in the 69th minute in place of Gentiletti, who left the pitch due to an injury and also a minute after De Vrij received his second yellow card; ten-men Lazio lost the match 1–0. It was predicted Cana to play as a starter in the upcoming match of fourth matchweek on 26 September against Udinese, after both other central defenders were absent, whereas Gentiletti was rumored to be awaited by several weeks of absence until his complete recovery from the injury. Against Udinese, Cana started with another central defender, Diego Novaretti, and played the entire 90 minutes, which finished in a 1–0 loss. After an excellent performance in the 3–0 victory against Atalanta on 16 December 2014, Cana was included in the best XI of the Serie A week, alongside teammates Senad Lulić and Felipe Anderson.

Nantes

After four years in Italy with Lazio, on 31 August 2015, Cana returned to the French Ligue 1 after signing a two-year contract with Nantes. On 21 November 2015, he played his 200th Ligue 1 match during the 1–0 away loss against Monaco.

He left the club in the summer 2016.

International career

Cana is currently Albania's all-time most capped player with 93 appearances. He also holds the unique records for the most appearances by an Albanian international in the FIFA World Cup qualification along Ervin Skela with 28 in overall, for the most appearances at the UEFA European Championship final & qualifying phases counted together with 29 in overall and most appearances as national team captain with 41, being such from 2011 until his participation in the first major international competition for Albania, the 2016 UEFA European Championship held in France. He holds also the "negative" record for most yellow cards received with 26 in overall being a very warrior defender.

First engagement, debut and UEFA Euro 2004 qualifying

Cana was eligible to play for either Albania, Switzerland or France, as he held all three passports. Cana chosed Albania in early 2003 after receiving a call-up from the Albanian Football Association along with the coach Hans-Peter Briegel. After accepting the invitation, he made his international debut for Albania on 11 June 2003 at the age of just 19 against Switzerland in a Euro 2004 qualifying match, coming on as a substitute in the second half for Geri Çipi. The match finished in a 3–2 loss for Albania. Then Cana played as a starter in both next matches against Georgia

UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying

On 12 September 2007, he was sent off by referee Mike Riley in the 87th minute of Albania's home game against the Netherlands, after an altercation with Wesley Sneijder and Ruud van Nistelrooy.

UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying

Cana was given the captain's armband for the first time in a friendly match on 25 May 2010 against Montenegro, which finished in a 1–0 victory. He captained for the first time in an official match on 8 October 2010 in the match for UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying against Bosnia and Herzegovina which finished in a 1–1 draw. Then he captained another two matches both against the country where he played for many years, France, first on 2 September 2011 and then on 7 October 2011. After the end of the Euro 2012 qualification campaign in October 2011, Altin Lala and Ervin Skela retired from international football, and Cana became a regular captain of Albania.

2014 FIFA World Cup qualification

In the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification, Cana played every minute in nine out ten matches valid for the Group E, missing just the match against Norway on 7 June 2013 due to a suspension for accumulating yellow cards. Albania were eliminated from the competition as they ranked in the fifth out of six places, finishing with a record of 3–2–5.

Cana was included in the best XI of the players that missed out at the 2014 FIFA World Cup final stages because of failing to qualify with their national team.

UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying

Cana started the UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying campaign by playing the full 90 minutes in an historical 1–0 away victory against Portugal.

In the Serbia–Albania match, part of the UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying Group I, and played on 14 October 2014, Cana wrestled a Serbian fan to the ground. The fan, who had previously hit Bekim Balaj with a chair, bit Cana's finger and tried to cut it with his teeth. Cana reported that he got injured by it. After the match, Cana, along with Taulant Xhaka, were declared citizens of honour from the mayor of the city of Mitrovica, Kosovo, for the bravery shown in protecting national symbols. Cana received a similar award by the city of Bajram Curri in northern Albania.

UEFA Euro 2016 final phase

On 21 May 2016, Cana was named in Albania's preliminary 27-man squad for UEFA Euro 2016, and in Albania's final 23-man UEFA Euro 2016 squad on 31 May.

Cana captained Albania in their opening match of the UEFA Euro 2016 against Switzerland. He was booked early on for a foul on Blerim Džemaili before becoming the first player to be sent off in the tournament just before half-time, receiving his marching orders after handling the ball outside the box. He got returned to play as a substitute for Migjen Basha in the 83rd minute against Romania in an Albania's historical 1–0 win with a goal scored by Armando Sadiku. Albania finished the group in the third position with three points and with a goal difference –2, and was ranked last in the third-placed teams, which eventually eliminated them.

Cana announced his retirement from international football on 23 June 2016.

Personal life

Lorik Cana is the son of retired footballer Agim Cana. His father's career brought the family to Kosovo, but because of war in the region, Lorik and his family were forced to flee to Lausanne, Switzerland, where they stayed for nine years. He is a UNO-ambassador against poverty. In an interview, Cana stated that archeology is one of his biggest interests and that he plans to work in the Albanology field after his footballing career after pursuing a university degree in History. He married Monica Ercoli, an Italian, on 8 June 2014 and the ceremony took place on 27 June 2014. They also have a son named, Boiken. They currently reside in Tirana, Albania.

Club

International

International goals

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Individual