Bekim Kuli
Bekim Kuli (born 19 September 1982 in Kavajë) is an Albanian retired footballer who has played for several teams in the Albanian Superliga.

Club career

Early career
Kuli began his career with the Tropikal Durrës youth team, where he played for two years before joining his hometown club Besa Kavajë in 1998. He was with the club for only a year before moving to Turkey to join Gençlerbirliği in the summer of 1999 along with fellow Albanian Bledar Mançaku. The pair both joined the club's youth team, and Kuli featured in two under-21 A2 Ligi games in his first season in Turkey, and he was part of the team that finished as runners-up in the 1999–2000 A2 Ligi. He was then transferred to Samsunspor in 2000 and again joined the club's under-21 side where he became an important player, scoring 11 goals in 22 games to once again finish as a runner-up in the A2 Ligi. He made his professional debut as a 19-year-old with Samsunspor on 12 December 2001 in a Turkish Cup game against Trabzonspor, where he came on as an 80th-minute substitute for Alfred Phiri in the 3–0 away loss.

He returned to Albania in January 2002 where he loaned out to Albanian Superliga side Partizani Tirana for the remainder of the 2001–2002 campaign in order to gain first team experience. He played 11 league games while he was on loan and he scored on goal which came on 30 March in a 2–1 loss to Shkumbini Peqin. Upon his return to Samsunspor, he went back to the under-21 side, and scored 7 goals in 11 games in the first half of the season before being sent out once again on loan to Partizani Tirana where he didn't score in 8 league appearances, but he did manage to find the net in the Albanian Cup against Bylis Ballsh.

He remained in the Albanian Superliga the following season as he joined his hometown club Besa Kavajë on a season long loan, where he scored 8 league goals in 25 league games, as well as a further 4 Albanian Cup goals to take his tally to 12 for the season. However, his goals could not save his side from being relegated after a disappointing season that saw them second to bottom and 12 points away from safety. They were also knocked out of the Albanian Cup by KF Tirana in the quarter-finals.

On 31 August 2014, Kuli returned to Besa Kavajë for the third time in his career. He made his debut in Albanian First Division for 2014–15 season on 27 September 2014, playing full 90 minutes in a 1–1 draw against Tërbuni Pukë. Later, on 22 October, he scored first goals of the season, helping the team to get a 2–2 draw against Veleçiku Koplik. He scored another twice, his time in a 3–2 win against Ada Velipojë on 29 November.

He left Besa Kavajë on 5 January 2015 as he had agreed terms to rejoin Teuta Durrës in the Albanian Superliga. He made his second debut for the club on 24 January 2015 in a league game against Flamurtari Vlorë, playing the first 63 minutes of the game before being substituted off for Ardit Peposhi in the 2–1 away loss.

During the summer of 2015, Kuli was repurchased from Bylis Ballsh of Albanian Superliga, signing a one-year deal and taking the vacant number 18 for 2015–16 season.

Honours
Dinamo Tirana
Albanian Superliga (1): 2009–10

Skënderbeu 
Albanian Superliga (1): 2012–13

References

External links

1982 births
Living people
Footballers from Kavajë
Albanian men's footballers
Men's association football midfielders
Albania men's under-21 international footballers
Albania men's youth international footballers
KF Besa Kavajë players
Gençlerbirliği S.K. footballers
Samsunspor footballers
FK Partizani Tirana players
KF Egnatia players
KF Lushnja players
KF Vllaznia Shkodër players
KF Teuta Durrës players
FC Dinamo City players
KF Shkumbini players
KF Skënderbeu Korçë players
KF Bylis players
Süper Lig players
Kategoria Superiore players
Kategoria e Parë players
Albanian expatriate men's footballers
Expatriate men's footballers in Turkey
Albanian expatriate sportspeople in Turkey
Albanian football managers
KF Besa Kavajë managers