Panajot Pano

Panajot Pano (7 March 1939 – 19 January 2010) was an Albanian football player. He started his career as a goalkeeper in the SK Tirana youth academy, but he became the most prolific centre-forward of their arch-rivals, Partizani Tirana. During his eighteen-year career he played 24 matches with the Albanian national football team and was awarded the Albanian UEFA Jubilee Award.

Career

Early career

Pano was born in Durrës, to ethnic Greek parents (Greek: Παναγιώτης Πάνου Panagiotis Panou) that came from Lefterhor, Delvinë. He began his football career with SK Tirana in 1954 as a 14-year-old, joining their youth team which was coached by the former national team manager Adem Karapici initially and then Xhavit Shyqyri Demneri until the age of 16. He was handed his under-19s debut with SK Tirana by Demneri on 18 July 1956 in a youth national championship game against Korabi Peshkopi and he scored his first goal for the side on 5 August of the same year against FK Kukësi.

SK Tirana

Myslym Alla first called up Pano to the senior side in 1957 as an 18-year-old, which was when he was handed his professional debut in a Republic Cup game against Besa Kavajë. He remained a member of the under-19 team at the time and had to wait until the following season before he would establish himself as a first team member, and he made his league debut on 4 May 1958 in a Tirana derby match against Dinamo Tirana, where he also scored his first professional goal in the 4-0 win. He played his final game for SK Tirana on 9 December 1959 against Besa Kavajë in a game which ended in a 4-2 win for Pano's side.