Albin Pelak Explained

Albin Pelak
Fullname:Albin Pelak
Birth Date:9 April 1981
Birth Place:Novi Pazar, SR Serbia, SFR Yugoslavia
Height:1.830NaN0
Position:Midfielder
Years1:1991–1997
Years2:1997–2003
Years3:2003
Years4:2003–2004
Years5:2004–2005
Years6:2006–2007
Years7:2007
Years8:2007–2009
Years9:2009–2010
Clubs9:Olimpik
Caps1:3
Goals1:1
Caps2:107
Goals2:21
Caps3:3
Goals3:1
Caps4:0
Goals4:0
Caps5:52
Goals5:14
Caps6:19
Goals6:7
Caps7:6
Goals7:0
Caps8:23
Goals8:6
Caps9:13
Goals9:1
Totalcaps:226
Totalgoals:51
Nationalyears1:2002
Nationalteam1:Bosnia U-21
Nationalcaps1:12
Nationalgoals1:1
Nationalyears2:2002–2005
Nationalteam2:Bosnia and Herzegovina
Nationalcaps2:2
Nationalgoals2:0

Albin Pelak (born 9 April 1981) is a Bosnian retired football player.

Club career

Pelak is most famous in Bosnian and Sarajevo circles for signing with Željezničar after making an explicit promise to FK Sarajevo supporters that he would never play there.

Prior to signing with Željezničar, Pelak was one of the most popular players for Sarajevo, earning the praise of the press as well supporters for his high work rate and leadership ability. He was a key part of Sarajevo's exceptionally talented youth squad composed of players born in 1981/1982 that was one of the most talented squads in Bosnia and Herzegovina's history. Many players from that generation such as Alen Škoro, Džemal Berberović, Damir Mirvić went on to have relatively successful careers in Europe.

Pelak himself also made several tries, albeit unsuccessful at playing abroad, going to Cerezo Osaka of Japan in 2002 and Dinamo Zagreb of neighboring Croatia in 2003. While he did not stay at either club for very long, it was reported that he had been paid handsomely for his failed bids abroad; his deal with Cerzo Osaka reportedly netted him €1 million. On 4 April 2009, Pelak ended his contract with Željezničar and joined Olimpik, playing in the Bosnian Premier League.

International career

He made his debut for Bosnia and Herzegovina in an August 2002 friendly match against Serbia and Montenegro and has earned a total of 2 caps, scoring no goals. His second and final international was an October 2005 World Cup qualification match against San Marino.[1]

Club statistics

Club performanceLeague
SeasonClubLeagueAppsGoals
Bosnia and HerzegovinaLeague
1999/00SarajevoPremier League80
2000/013510
2001/02241
2002/03177
JapanLeague
2003Cerezo OsakaJ1 League31
Bosnia and HerzegovinaLeague
2003/04SarajevoPremier League204
2004/05113
2005/06124
2005/06Željezničar SarajevoPremier League62
2006/07135
RussiaLeague
2007Zvezda IrkutskFirst Division60
Bosnia and HerzegovinaLeague
2007/08Željezničar SarajevoPremier League113
2008/09123
2009/10Olimpik SarajevoPremier League
Country Bosnia and Herzegovina12937
Japan31
Russia60
Total13838

National team statistics

Bosnia and Herzegovina national team
YearAppsGoals
200210
200300
200400
200510
Total20

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Player Database. eu-football.info. 2021-04-25.