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| Altin Dodë Lala (Albanian pronunciation: ; born 18 November 1975) is an Albanian former professional footballer who played as a defensive midfielder and later worked as a football manager. He spent his entire professional club career in Germany, most notably with Hannover 96, and represented the Albania national team at international level.
Born and raised in Tirana, Lala began his football development with the youth academy of Dinamo Tirana before defecting to Germany in 1991 while on international duty with the Albania under-16 team. After adapting to life in Germany and playing for SpVgg Hosenfeld, he joined Borussia Fulda in 1994, where he became one of the club's standout players in the Regionalliga Süd. His consistent performances attracted interest from higher-division sides and ultimately led to his transfer to Hannover 96 in 1998.
During his fourteen-year spell with Hannover 96 (1998–2012), Lala grew into one of the club's most influential and longest-serving players, making more than 300 competitive appearances across all competitions. Renowned for his tireless work rate, aggressive yet fair tackling, and defensive discipline, he played a key role in the club's promotion to the Bundesliga in 2002 and went on to captain the team for several seasons. Under managers including Ralf Rangnick, Ewald Lienen and Peter Neururer, Lala became a symbol of leadership and determination at the club. Despite recurring injuries in his later years, he remained a central squad figure and made his European debut during the 2011–12 UEFA Europa League, helping Hannover reach the quarter-finals. His long tenure concluded in May 2012, when he received a standing ovation in his farewell appearance at the AWD-Arena. Wikipedia text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License - Full article |
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| Appearances, goals and cards for Lala
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