Cristian Shpendi

Cristian Shpendi (born 19 May 2003) is an Albanian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Italian club Cesena and the Albania national under-21 team.

Early life
Shpendi was born in Ancona, Italy, along with his twin, Stiven. He is the son of Albanian parents who originate from Pukë. The Shpendi family immigrated to Italy in 1997, thus Christian and Stiven both hold dual Italian and Albanian citizenship. Their first team was Real Metauro, from where they moved to Delfino Fano and then to San Marino Academy until they went to Cesena.

Early career - Cesena
The twins played their first competitive season for Cesena under-17 squad coached by Filippo Masolini in Allievi Nazionali U17 team, where the attacking duo made each 16 appearances, with Cristian scoring 14 goals and Stiven 11. They then played for Cesena Primavera under coach Giovanni Ceccarelli in Campionato Primavera 3 2020–21 with 15 goals for Cristian and 13 for Stiven. The duo helped the side to reach the final, losing only to Arezzo Primavera.

For the following season, 2021–22, at Primavera 2, Cristian scored 15 goals in 17 matches and was helped by 23 goals from Stiven in just 20 games - this made Stiven the league's top-scorer. Cesena won the Championship, gaining promotion to Primavera 1 and the Primavera Supercup against Udinese Primavera, beating them 4–1 with two goals from each twin. Meanwhile, the players were also promoted to the first team in the 2021–22 Serie C, where Cristian made his professional debut under coach William Viali on 25 September 2021 against Olbia, starting and playing for 57 minutes before being replaced by Salvatore Caturano. On 25 February 2022, the twins extended their contract with Cesena until 2025.

International career
Shpendi was called up to the Albania national under-19 team by coach Armando Cungu for several friendlies during 2021. He started five matches and scored two goals.

In November 2021, he was called to participate in the 2020 UEFA European Under-19 Championship qualification Group 7, where his side played against France, Serbia and North Macedonia. He made his competitive debut in the first match versus France, substituting in at halftime for his twin Stiven; his side was beaten 4–0. For the next game against Serbia three days later, Shpendi started from the bench and was brought in in the 72nd minute with Albania U19 down by a goal; Shpendi scored the equaliser to secure a draw that kept the Albanian team in contention for the next round. In the closing match against North Macedonia, he came on in the last few minutes with Albania U19 collecting a 3–1 victory. The team finished on 4 points, the same as Serbia U19 and failing to qualify due to the goal difference.

Both Cristian and Stiven Shpendi debuted with Albania under-21 under coach Alban Bushi on 16 November 2022, when they were included in the starting lineup.