| Luljan Gjeloshi |
 Luljan Gjeloshi was born on Monday, 1st April, 1974, in Lezhë. The 6' 4 (14st 11lbs) goalkeeper joined John Lambie's Thistle for a trial period in July, 2000, having most recently been with Hemel Hempstead Town. Aged 26, he made his debut appearance on Saturday, 22nd July, 2000, in a 0-0 friendly draw away to Derry City. In doing so, Luljan joined the goalies' clean-sheet debutant's club. He kept his second and last clean-sheet on Wednesday, 26th July, 2000, in a 0-0 friendly draw at home to Peterborough United. That was actually the last of his 2 games for the club, so he left with a 100% clean-sheet record! Luljan's club-list included Besëlidhja Lezhë, Flamurtari Vlorë, Partizani Tiranë, Vllaznia Shkodër, Hemel Hempstead Town, Partick Thistle, Hendon, Atromitos, Proodeftiki Neolea, Tarpeda Minsk, Apollon Smyrnis and Laçi. |
| Luljan Gjeloshi's Summary Totals |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
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| League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Competitive | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| All Games | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
 A ‘keeper with a giant presence – 6'4 and 14st 11 lbs – who, as a 26-year-old, spent the entire month of July 2000 at Firhill as a trialist. Albanian-born Luljan (known as Julian in English) arrived in England in September 1999, seeking political asylum from the war in Kosovo, and duly attained a work permit. He played for Hemel Hempstead Town and played 15 games with them en route to their winning Division Two of the Isthmian League. With the departure of Kevin Budinauckas in May 2000, Lambie was keen on finding someone to put pressure on Kenny Arthur. Getting wind of this, it was Rudi Vata who got in touch with Thistle and organised a trial period for his fellow countryman. Vata, who was experimenting with a sideline as a sports agent, was a well-respected figure in the Scottish game, after his successful spell at Celtic in the mid-90s. Luljan’s CV looked promising – at the time he could claim 10 caps at under-21 level, three call-ups to the Albanian international squad and he had also played for the under-16s and under-18s. Early on Lambie commented: “Don't ask me to pronounce the name of the goalie from Albania. I call him Lulu, and he doesn't take any offence at that. Maybe he doesn't know her! He came on the recommendation of his good mate Rudi Vata. I haven't signed Lulu but I'm taking a close look at him and he certainly looks the part.” Luljan played in a closed door friendly against Motherwell which ended in a 3-3 draw, before making his official debut in a 0-0 draw at Derry City on 22 July 2000. Luljan put in a second appearance four days later, replacing Kenny Arthur late on in a 0-0 draw at home to Peterborough. The Daily Record noted: “Partick introduced their trialist Albanian keeper Luljan Gjeloshi with 20 minutes to go and he received the biggest cheer of the night when he pulled a cross out of the air.” Luljan was not included in the "Taggart" friendly vs. Chesterfield a few days later again - Kenny Arthur and Michael Brown were the two. Terms had been discussed with the big feller, but Luljan’s expectations could not be matched and Lambie’s interest cooled, as he turned to Motherwell where the services of the aforementioned Michael Brown were soon permanently procured on a free transfer basis. Ironically, Luljan also tried out for Motherwell before returning down South for a short spell with non-League Hendon FC, before departing these shores for a new future in Greece. Luljan won his one and only full cap for his country in January 2002, when he was involved with the squad who played in a 4 nation tournament in Bahrain. He appeared for the second half of the match against the host nation, which Albania lost by 3 goals to 0, Luljan conceding 2. The big man goes down proudly in the Thistle history books though, with 2 clean sheets in 2 appearances – who can ask for any more than that from a goalie? Luljan is included in our feature piece, The Definitive Who's Who Of The Partick Thistle Internationalists → |
| (WS) |
1 cap, 0 clean-sheets
retired