Igli Tare (; born 25 July 1973) is an Albanian football executive and former professional footballer who played as a forward. He was most recently the sporting director of Serie A club Milan.
Tare spent most of his professional career in Germany and Italy. He began his senior career with Partizani Tirana before moving to Germany in 1994, where he played for VfR Mannheim, Südwest Ludwigshafen, Karlsruher SC, Fortuna Düsseldorf and 1. FC Kaiserslautern, making appearances in the Bundesliga and 2. Bundesliga. In 2001, he transferred to Italy, representing Brescia, Bologna and Lazio, competing in Serie A until his retirement in 2008.
At international level, Tare represented the Albania between 1997 and 2007, earning 68 caps and scoring 10 goals. He captained the national team in several matches, becoming one of Albania’s most capped players of his generation.
After retiring, Tare became a football executive. He served as sporting director of Lazio from 2008 to 2023.
Early life Tare joined Partizani Tirana at age 9 in 1982 and made his senior debut as a 15-year-old in 1988. He made 14 appearances and scored 2 goals during the first half of the 1991–92 Albanian National Championship season.
After his top-flight experience with Partizani, Tare left Albania in early 1992, traveling first to Greece and then to Germany to pursue professional football opportunities. In Germany, he applied for political asylum and worked as a gardener.
Tare continued his career with Südwest Ludwigshafen in the third-tier Oberliga Südwest, making 18 appearances and scoring 3 goals in the 1992–93 Oberliga Südwest season. He then played for VfR Mannheim, recording 9 appearances and 1 goal in the 1993–94 Oberliga Baden-Württemberg. In 1994, he joined Waldhof Mannheim, making 23 appearances and scoring 5 goals in the 1994–95 Oberliga Südwest season. In 1995, Tare returned to Südwest Ludwigshafen for the 1995–96 Oberliga Südwest season, making 21 appearances and scoring 5 goals.
Club career Karlsruher In 1996, Tare joined Bundesliga club Karlsruher SC, initially playing for the club's reserve team. He made his Bundesliga debut on 17 September 1996 in a 0–2 loss against VfB Stuttgart on matchday 2 of the 1996–97 Bundesliga season, coming on as a substitute for the final 15 minutes. As part of the reserves, he played regularly in the 1996–97 Regionalliga, making 23 appearances and scoring four goals as Karlsruher SC II narrowly avoided relegation to the fourth tier. During the 1996–97 DFB-Pokal, Tare featured for both the reserve side and the first team, making three consecutive starts in the first three rounds with the reserves, including a full 90 minutes and a full 120 minutes, and subsequently featuring once for the senior team in the semi-finals of the competition, coming on as a substitute and playing 31 minutes against Energie Cottbus in a 3–0 defeat. Tare went on to make several further appearances in the Bundesliga during the second half of the season, mostly as a substitute, totalling eight league matches.
Fortuna Düsseldorf In 1997, he signed for Fortuna Düsseldorf in the 2. Bundesliga, scoring 24 goals in 63 league appearances across two seasons. He made his debut on 25 July 1997 in the opening matchday of the 1997–98 2. Bundesliga season against Eintracht Frankfurt, coming on as a substitute for the final six minutes in a 3–2 loss. After initially appearing as a substitute in the first five matches of the season, Tare soon established himself as a regular starter, going on to feature in every remaining league match of the campaign and frequently playing the full 90 minutes. He scored his first goal on 31 August 1997 against SpVgg Greuther Fürth on matchday 5, coming on as a substitute in the 70th minute and scoring the equaliser in the 90th minute in a 2–2 draw. On 4 October 1997, Tare played the full 90 minutes and scored his first brace against Fortuna Köln on matchday 9 in a 3–0 away win, scoring in the 72nd and 81st minutes.
On 23 November 1997, Tare scored the winning goal in a 1–0 away victory against 1. FC Nürnberg. On 1 March 1998, Tare scored twice against SV Meppen in a 4–3 win. On 15 May 1998, he again scored the winning goal against 1. FC Nürnberg for the second time that season, netting in the 84th minute in a 2–1 victory. On 7 June 1998, on the final matchday of the league season against Carl Zeiss Jena, Tare scored in the 47th minute as Fortuna Düsseldorf came from 3–0 down to win 4–3 away. During the whole season, Tare scored 13 league goals as Fortuna Düsseldorf finished 7th in the table.
On 9 August 1998, Tare scored his first goal of the 1998–99 2. Bundesliga season in the 5th minute in a 3–1 win against FC Gütersloh. He scored again in the following match against Uerdingen 05 four days later, netting the equaliser in the 76th minute in a 2–2 draw. In the 1998–99 DFB-Pokal, Tare scored a brace in a 7–4 first-round win against SV Straelen and netted the winning goal in a 2–1 victory over 1860 Munich in the second round to send Fortuna Düsseldorf into the round of 16, where they were eliminated by Werder Bremen. On 9 September 1998, Tare scored twice against TeBe Berlin in a 2–2 draw. On 27 November 1998, Tare scored the winning goal in a 1–0 away victory against Energie Cottbus. By the end of the first half of the season, Tare had scored 10 league goals, including three penalties. During the second half of the season, he added one further league goal, taking his tally to 11 league goals in 29 appearances as Fortuna Düsseldorf finished bottom of the table and were relegated to the Regionalliga.
Kaiserslautern After Fortuna were relegated to the third tier, Tare returned to the Bundesliga in summer 1999 by joining 1. FC Kaiserslautern. He made his debut on 10 July 1999 in the 1999 DFB‑Ligapokal preliminary round against Bayer Leverkusen, coming on as a half‑time substitute in a 3–1 loss that resulted in elimination from the competition. He faced strong competition in attack from players such as Olaf Marschall, Youri Djorkaeff, and the emerging Miroslav Klose. He made his Bundesliga debut on 14 August 1999 against Borussia Dortmund in the opening matchday of the 1999–2000 Bundesliga season, coming on as a substitute for the final two minutes in a 1–0 win. On 4 November 1999, Tare made his European competition debut in the 1999–2000 UEFA Cup second-round match against Tottenham Hotspur, coming on as an 83rd-minute substitute for Michael Schjønberg as his side scored twice in the 90th minute to secure a 2–0 victory. He scored his first goal in his 17th league appearance on 8 April 2000 on matchday 28 against Schalke 04 in a 2–1 away win, starting the match, playing 86 minutes and scoring the opening goal in the 5th minute. Later that month, Tare played the full 90 minutes and scored a hat-trick against Ulm 1846 in a 6–2 win. In total, he made 22 Bundesliga appearances, often as a substitute, and scored four goals.
In the following season, he fell further down the pecking order. He started the season by scoring in the 1999 DFB‑Ligapokal preliminary round on 27 July 2000 against 1860 Munich, netting in the eighth minute to open the scoring in a 2–0 win. In the next round, Tare played the full 90 minutes against Bayern Munich on 30 July 2000 as Kaiserslautern were defeated 4–1 in the semi-final. On 11 September 2000, Tare scored his first European goal in the 2000–01 UEFA Cup first-round match against Bohemians, netting in the 79th minute after coming on as a substitute in a 3–1 away victory. During the first months of the 2000–01 Bundesliga season, Tare made four appearances, including one start, before moving to Italy during the winter transfer window.
Brescia In January 2001, Tare joined Serie A club Brescia, managed by Carlo Mazzone. He made his Serie A debut on 28 January 2001 in a 1–1 draw against Milan, coming on as an 84th-minute substitute for Andrea Pirlo. The following week, he scored his first Serie A goal, opening the scoring in the 37th minute in a 3–1 away win against Bari. After missing two matches shortly after his arrival, Tare featured regularly for Brescia for the remainder of the 2000–01 Serie A season, alternating between substitute appearances and occasional starts, mainly serving as a backup to Dario Hübner in attack while partnering regularly with Roberto Baggio. On 8 April 2001, he played the full match against Reggina and scored his second Serie A goal in a 4–0 win. On 17 June 2001, in the final matchday of the Serie A season, Tare played the full 90 minutes against Bari and scored twice, helping Brescia come from behind to win 3–1. Tare finished the season with a total of 17 appearances and four goals. Brescia finished eighth in the league.
At the start of the following season, on 1 August 2001, Tare scored in a 2–2 draw against Chmel Blšany in the semi-finals of the 2001 UEFA Intertoto Cup, with Brescia advancing to the final 4–3 on aggregate. In the two-legged final, Tare appeared in both matches against Paris Saint-Germain, including 23 minutes as a substitute in the first leg on 7 August 2001 in a 0–0 draw and playing the full match in the second leg a week later in a 1–1 draw, with the French side winning the tie on away goals.
Following the departure of Dario Hübner, Tare established himself as a regular starter for Brescia in the 2001–02 Serie A season, appearing in every league match during the 2001 calendar year, including six consecutive full matches at the start. He started the league season on 26 August 2001 by scoring twice in the first half against Milan, although the visitors equalised in the second half for a 2–2 draw. The following week, on 9 September 2001, he scored another brace in a 3–1 away win against Torino. Despite his prolific start to the season, Tare did not score again in the league until 9 December 2001, when he scored in a 3–1 home defeat against Inter in the 14th round of the league. During the second half of the season in 2002, Tare lost his regular starting place, falling behind Luca Toni in the attacking hierarchy, making only nine appearances in 18 league rounds, including three starts, failing to score any goals. Brescia finished 13th in the league with 40 points, narrowly avoiding relegation.
In the 2001–02 Coppa Italia round of 16 second leg on 28 November 2001, Tare scored the only goal in a 1–0 win after extra time against Como, playing the full 120 minutes as Brescia advanced 6–5 on penalties. Overall, Tare made five appearances during the campaign, featuring in both legs of the semi-finals against Parma as Brescia were eliminated 3–2 on aggregate.
Ahead of the 2002–03 Serie A season, Luca Toni sustained an injury during pre-season, missing several months after undergoing knee ligament surgery, allowing Tare to return as a regular starter alongside Roberto Baggio, starting all matches of the first half of the campaign and playing the majority of available minutes, during which he scored five goals. He scored his first goal of the season on 22 September 2002 on matchday 3 in a 2–1 away win against Chievo Verona. On 2 November 2002, Tare scored the opening goal in a 2–0 away win against Torino on matchday eight. On 8 December 2002, on matchday 13, Tare scored in a 2–0 home win against Juventus, the eventual champions. The following week, Tare followed up with a brace in a 3–1 home win against Perugia.