Agustin Kola | The goal scorer with a troubled soul, a master of headers!

PROLOGUE
Agustin Kola: the rebellious maestro of Albanian football. In the 80s, he would tower over any opponent of “17 Nëntori”, heading in goals with reckless precision. The ball seemed to find his forehead like a magnet – even in impossible and extremely difficult positions.

But Kola’s talent came with a fuse. Betrayed by his nerves and quick to ignite, he would clash with opposing defenders, often earning a red card and leaving referees scratching their heads. Undisciplined, but unstoppable. A force of nature for the Albanian National Team.

Love him or hate him, Kola left his mark – with goals, drama and a legacy that still divides. The wild card of Albanian football

1.
Born on May 10, 1959, in Tirana. He had contact with the ball since he was a child, at the “Palace of Pioneers”, the place where he met the other “twin” of the “17Nentori” atomic attack of the 80s, Arben Minga. From there, Kola and Minga continued together with the “17 Nentori” junior teams and age groups, although Kola has been active for some time with “Shkendija”.

Kola and Minga would be inseparable from 1975 until 1990 when they continued their careers with teams outside Albania.

Kola and Minga was undoubtedly a combination and the most found attack duo not only for “17 Nentori” of Tirana but also of Albanian football in general.
During the 80s they were the “goal twins”, they were almost like Vialli and Mancini at Sampdoria. A pair of strikers that cannot be found in other teams from time to time, by their scoring ability in the first place, but also by other elements that distinguished them.

Finding each other at the right moments, during the match, their location and positioning at the right time and moment, the passes, crosses, decisive combinations and finishing, often left no way for the opponent to hinder them.
In every match, on every field and against every opponent, almost all the goals of “17 Nentori”, would be scored by this unparalleled pair of strikers.

Kola and Minga…
Yes, undoubtedly, they, together with Shkelqim Muca, were the success of “17 Nentori” and the three essential elements of the ensemble of this team found and built quite beautifully by the two coaches of that time Fatmir Frasheri and then after Enver Shehu.
Thus, Minga without Kola and vice versa, Kola without Minga had no meaning in the attack of “17 Nentori” which was like an equation with the common denominator of these two names.
In addition to the year of birth (1959), what was common and quite similar for both was their technical and tactical skills, the ability of scoring goals, headers and shots in the finalization of actions.

Therefore, they can be considered the “goal twins” in Albanian football, although in the activation with the Albanian representative, precisely this attack duo did not seem to show 100% of their skills as they did in the championship or Rrepublic Cup! Some consider them just as club players!

And if this is true, then again, we are not exaggerating here as we make the comparison with Vialli-Mancini of the 80s at Sampdoria, the “goal twins” of Serie “A”, but who with the great Azzurra National Team, they never reached that height level as they did at their club.

Kola and Minga!
However, there was something that made them stand out as different!
While one with a troubled soul (Kola), often fell into the trap of provocations, was more hot-blooded, the other (Minga) has been a model footballer. The fact that his entire career does not know a red card and only one yellow card, shows his fair play on the green field. Not in vain, Kola, from a disciplinary point of view, was the player most punished with red cards, although this did not take away his value as one of the best strikers in Albanian football.

2.
He spent his early childhood years at the “Tirana Circus” as an acrobat, and later, at the age of 13-14, he played as a goalkeeper with the youth teams of Tirana.

Kola as a footballer in the role of striker actually debuted with the jerseys of “Shkendija” in the 1977-1978 season. The following season he will wear the white-blue striped jerseys of “17 Nentori” for the first time but only for one season, to return to “Shkendija” (1979-1980).

Meanwhile, from the 1980-1981 season to the 1990-1991 season he will be an integral part of the “17 Nentori” team of Tirana, becoming the most prominent striker (along with Minga of course) of this club. Kola’s contribution to “17 Nentori” is undeniable.

4 times winner of the national champion title in the seasons:
1981-1982 / 1984-1985 / 1987-1988 / 1988-1989

Two times top scorer of the Championships:
1987-1988 with 13 goals / 1988-1989 with 18 goals.

He is the total scorer of 140 goals in the national championships.

3 times winner of the Republic Cup in: 1983, 1984, 1986,

After 1990, more precisely in 1991, he emigrated to Greece where he played for three seasons for the Greek team “Egaleo” 1991-1992 / 1992-1993 / 1993-1994.

In contrast to the high level of performance with the “17 Nentori” team and in the Albanian championships /cups, Kola with the National Team appears below the appropriate level to be himself in the international arena.

He made his debut for Kombetarja in a December 1980 FIFA World Cup match at home against Austria and earned a total of 22 caps, scoring just 1 goal. His final international was on September 1994, UEFA European Championship Qualification match against Wales. In 1985 he will have the greatest presence with the National Team, 4 matches!

After retiring from football as a player, Kola debuted as a coach in 1998 at “Shkumbini” Peqin team. In the 2008-2009 season he led his former beloved team SK Tirana, which would be the “highest” position in the management of a team. In the following years until 2015, Agustin Kola would lead teams such as “Kamza”; “Skrapari”; “Mamurasi” as well as the U17 and U19 teams of Tirana.

He holds the title “Merited Master of Sports”

© By Pjerin Bj
New York: 25 March 2026
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Sports Vision + Plus | Champions Hour in activity since 2013

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