Lorik Cana with Nantes in 2015
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Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Full name | Lorik Agim Cana | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Date of birth | 27 July 1983 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Place of birth | Pristina, SFR Yugoslavia | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Height | 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Playing position |
Defender, Defensive midfielder, Central midfielder |
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Youth career | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1997–2000 | Dardania Lausanne | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2000–2001 | Paris Saint-Germain | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Senior career* | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2000–2003 | Paris Saint-Germain B | 39 | (2) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2002–2005 | Paris Saint-Germain | 69 | (2) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2005–2009 | Olympique de Marseille | 122 | (6) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2009–2010 | Sunderland | 31 | (0) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2010–2011 | Galatasaray | 24 | (1) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2011–2015 | Lazio | 82 | (4) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2015–2016 | Nantes | 21 | (0) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
National team‡ | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2003–2016 | Albania | 93 | (1) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Honours
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* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 9 April 2016. ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 19 June 2016 |
Lorik Agim Cana (Albanian pronunciation: [ˈlɔɾik ˈtsana]; born 27 July 1983) is an Albanian former professional footballer. He played for Paris Saint-Germain, Sunderland, Galatasaray, Lazio, FC Nantes and captained Olympique de Marseille as well as the Albanian national team for which he held the appearance record for Albania's most capped player of all time, with 93 caps since he made his debut in 2003 until his retirement in 2016. He used to play primarily as a defensive midfielder. Cana participated in the first major international competition for Albania; UEFA Euro 2016 held in France.
Lorik Cana played in the top divisions of France, England, Italy and Turkey, representing both rivals Paris Saint-Germain and Olympique de Marseille at the start of his career. At the age of 16, Cana had been invited to Arsenal for a trial, but failed to attend because he was denied a British visa. Cana began his senior club career playing for Paris Saint-Germain, before signing with Olympique de Marseille in 2004. In 2009, Cana made his league debut for Sunderland becoming the first player of Albanian origin to play in the Premier League. Later he joined Galatasaray, the most successful Turkish football club. Two years later, Cana signed for Italian Serie A club Lazio. At Lazio, he spent four years working through the ranks of the Italian club. In 2015, Lorik Cana returned back to France, where he started his carrer, signing a two-year contract with Nantes.