2021 European Club Campaign

[Princ]

Missed the matches but happy to see all Superliga clubs qualify for the next stage today.. all three of the teams have experienced being bounced out early the last few years so it’s nice to see them making forward progress. A bit of the success should be credited to only having to play a single leg but a win is a win.

I do not believe that Skenderbeu was bringing the quality of Albanian football down. On the contrary, I side with Dallku that Skenderbeu gave the league an example of what can be done with hard work, self belief and determination. All of these Albanian clubs had the privilege of competing against Skenderbeu regularly and the experience gained has been crucial to their own improvement, as well as to the overall improvement of the league.

[artan]

Missed the matches but happy to see all Superliga clubs qualify for the next stage today.. all three of the teams have experienced being bounced out early the last few years so it’s nice to see them making forward progress. A bit of the success should be credited to only having to play a single leg but a win is a win.

I do not believe that Skenderbeu was bringing the quality of Albanian football down. On the contrary, I side with Dallku that Skenderbeu gave the league an example of what can be done with hard work, self belief and determination. All of these Albanian clubs had the privilege of competing against Skenderbeu regularly and the experience gained has been crucial to their own improvement, as well as to the overall improvement of the league.

With all match fixing issues aside which they should have been relegated to the third division and Takaj banned from Albanian football, I agree with you.

Skenderbeu set a good model of finding cheap young talent and turning them into quality players that became their core. Berisha, olayinka, Latifi, jashanica, etc. They believed in consistency and had the same core and staff for years. This is how you become successful in European completions. You can’t just sack your coach every season and have half of your squad leaving every season and expect to qualify. They had a quality core and would integrate players in that core to replace the aging players or players sold. They raised the competition in Albanian football and set the bar higher.

It’s why Kukesi always falls short despite coming somewhat close. It’s why Partizani absolutely fucked up a good situation by letting go of Gega and dismantling the core. It’s why Laci pushes above their weight despite being from such a small town and having a small budget. And forget about the other teams like Vllaznia or Flamurtarti which have no semblance of professionalism. Maybe Tirana sticks with Egbo and lets him do his work.

[Plako]

I do not believe that Skenderbeu was bringing the quality of Albanian football down. On the contrary, I side with Dallku that Skenderbeu gave the league an example of what can be done with hard work, self belief and determination. All of these Albanian clubs had the privilege of competing against Skenderbeu regularly and the experience gained has been crucial to their own improvement, as well as to the overall improvement of the league.

Well on the flip side all of these teams did not do well when they were competing directly against Skenderbeu when the league was rigged in their favor. It is now that the competition is wide open (4 different champions in the last 4 years) that the level is raised.

It is now that Skenderbeu got sanctioned that they realized the "Skenderbeu way" is not the way to do things since they risk getting banned.

[Dallku]

Well on the flip side all of these teams did not do well when they were competing directly against Skenderbeu when the league was rigged in their favor. It is now that the competition is wide open (4 different champions in the last 4 years) that the level is raised.

It is now that Skenderbeu got sanctioned that they realized the "Skenderbeu way" is not the way to do things since they risk getting banned.

Of course they couldn't compete with them when they had by far the highest quality. It's not only rigging. Skenderbeu was eliminating Dinamo Zagreb and beating Sporting Lisbon 3-0. What other Albanian team can compete with that?

Eliminating the best team so others can have a more even playing field does not raise quality. That's like saying Bundesliga would be much stronger without Bayern or Serie a without Juventus, or Croatian league without DZ. It doesn't work like that. lol

Albanian league was a black hole before Skenderbeu. Skenderbeu came, gave it a spark and showed everyone that it's POSSIBLE to win in Europe.

Skenderbeu was the best thing to ever happen to Albanian football and it's not even close.

[Plako]

Of course they couldn't compete with them when they had by far the highest quality. It's not only rigging. Skenderbeu was eliminating Dinamo Zagreb and beating Sporting Lisbon 3-0. What other Albanian team can compete with that?

Eliminating the best team so others can have a more even playing field does not raise quality. That's like saying Bundesliga would be much stronger without Bayern or Serie a without Juventus, or Croatian league without DZ. It doesn't work like that. lol

Albanian league was a black hole before Skenderbeu. Skenderbeu came, gave it a spark and showed everyone that it's POSSIBLE to win in Europe.

Skenderbeu was the best thing to ever happen to Albanian football and it's not even close.

I take it you're from Korca bro but please spare me the analogies. Skenderbeu are NO Bayern. And Juve did get relegated for their shenanigans, meanwhile Skenderbeu didn't even get a slap in the wrist when they were handed the most severe ban in European football history for math-fixing.

I will repeat this again: Skenderbeu are an organized crime operation. Not many people remember how they came out to be so good but it was basically FSHF dismantling the previous year winners, Dinamo (who by the way won 2 of the previous 3 titles), for political reasons and shipped all of the Dinamo players to Skenderbeu. The year before they won their first title Skenderbeu was on the brink of relegation and was saved the very last day. When they did win in 2011 they fucked over Flamurtari big time. It was blatant theft and anybody who follows Albanian football knows this very well.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EgF2egAcqAo

You guys may not remember or choose to overlook these little things that got them to the top of the Albanian football but we don't forget. Below is a list of all the Superliga teams that got relegated while Duka was in power and Skenderbeu reached its "glory":
Partizani
Dinamo
Tirana
Besa
Elabasani
Vllaznia
Flamurtari

All of them, with the exception of Besa, are former titleholders.

This is Skenderbeu. We are supposed to be looking up to this mediocre team with zero football history whose best player to ever produce is Kristi Vangjeli as the model of the Albanian football? You either have to be a fool or blind to believe this.

[ZenMaster]

Well on the flip side all of these teams did not do well when they were competing directly against Skenderbeu when the league was rigged in their favor. It is now that the competition is wide open (4 different champions in the last 4 years) that the level is raised.

It is now that Skenderbeu got sanctioned that they realized the "Skenderbeu way" is not the way to do things since they risk getting banned.

Of course they couldn't compete with them when they had by far the highest quality. It's not only rigging. Skenderbeu was eliminating Dinamo Zagreb and beating Sporting Lisbon 3-0. What other Albanian team can compete with that?

Eliminating the best team so others can have a more even playing field does not raise quality. That's like saying Bundesliga would be much stronger without Bayern or Serie a without Juventus, or Croatian league without DZ. It doesn't work like that. lol

Albanian league was a black hole before Skenderbeu. Skenderbeu came, gave it a spark and showed everyone that it's POSSIBLE to win in Europe.

Skenderbeu was the best thing to ever happen to Albanian football and it's not even close.

Commenting on the Skenderbeu fixed matches it is same like commenting on Hysen Pulaku World Record on the Olympics warm up or Lance Amstrong titles on Tour de France.

[Dallku]

I take it you're from Korca bro but please spare me the analogies. Skenderbeu are NO Bayern. And Juve did get relegated for their shenanigans, meanwhile Skenderbeu didn't even get a slap in the wrist when they were handed the most severe ban in European football history for math-fixing.

I will repeat this again: Skenderbeu are an organized crime operation. Not many people remember how they came out to be so good but it was basically FSHF dismantling the previous year winners, Dinamo (who by the way won 2 of the previous 3 titles), for political reasons and shipped all of the Dinamo players to Skenderbeu. The year before they won their first title Skenderbeu was on the brink of relegation and was saved the very last day. When they did win in 2011 they fucked over Flamurtari big time. It was blatant theft and anybody who follows Albanian football knows this very well.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EgF2egAcqAo

You guys may not remember or choose to overlook these little things that got them to the top of the Albanian football but we don't forget. Below is a list of all the Superliga teams that got relegated while Duka was in power and Skenderbeu reached its "glory":
Partizani
Dinamo
Tirana
Besa
Elabasani
Vllaznia
Flamurtari

All of them, with the exception of Besa, are former titleholders.

This is Skenderbeu. We are supposed to be looking up to this mediocre team with zero football history whose best player to ever produce is Kristi Vangjeli as the model of the Albanian football? You either have to be a fool or blind to believe this.

No, I'm not from Korca and nobody said Skenderbeu is Bayern -- that's why I gave multiple examples. The point is that a team that's head and shoulders above the rest(and them chasing it) is better for a league than a bunch of mediocre ones lumped together. This is proven. It doesn't better if multiple teams are fighting for a title if they are all trash. The goal is to compete against others(Europe in this case) not your little brothers.

Btw I know we are all excited that Albanian teams passed the first round but they still have LONG ways to go. Skenderbeu would've washed that Zvezda team Tirana played. Let's not get it twisted.

You mention all those teams that got relegated but who gives a shit about them?? Those teams have historically disgraced Albania in front of the world. Are we supposed to feel sorry for them?

- Partizani has won 4 out of 30 European ties.
- Dinamo has won 3 out of 20 ties.
- Tirana has won 11 out of 38 ties. (not as bad as Partizani but still)

These are world records that even Luxembourg clubs would be ashamed of but here you are acting like these are some legendary clubs that we should be proud of. They are an embarrassment.

Btw, let's not act like Skenderbeu invented match fixing in Albania. All those clubs you mentioned were match fixing AND LOSING every match in the process.

You might be salty that in 5 years Skenderbeu had more success than all those clubs COMBINED had IN 50 YEARS.

[Simboli i Diellit]

Lol your last phrase is a masterpiece trolling
Just admit that you’d make compromisses with the devil unlike some of us that match fixing goes against our moral principles.

[Dallku]

Lol your last phrase is a masterpiece trolling

Yeah but it's sad that it's true.

My family are all fans of those Tirana clubs. I wish they had success and it also would be better for Albania if the capital city had a powerhouse team. It's sad that they have historically sucked balls and always embarrassed Albania.

[Plako]

I take it you're from Korca bro but please spare me the analogies. Skenderbeu are NO Bayern. And Juve did get relegated for their shenanigans, meanwhile Skenderbeu didn't even get a slap in the wrist when they were handed the most severe ban in European football history for math-fixing.

I will repeat this again: Skenderbeu are an organized crime operation. Not many people remember how they came out to be so good but it was basically FSHF dismantling the previous year winners, Dinamo (who by the way won 2 of the previous 3 titles), for political reasons and shipped all of the Dinamo players to Skenderbeu. The year before they won their first title Skenderbeu was on the brink of relegation and was saved the very last day. When they did win in 2011 they fucked over Flamurtari big time. It was blatant theft and anybody who follows Albanian football knows this very well.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EgF2egAcqAo

You guys may not remember or choose to overlook these little things that got them to the top of the Albanian football but we don't forget. Below is a list of all the Superliga teams that got relegated while Duka was in power and Skenderbeu reached its "glory":
Partizani
Dinamo
Tirana
Besa
Elabasani
Vllaznia
Flamurtari

All of them, with the exception of Besa, are former titleholders.

This is Skenderbeu. We are supposed to be looking up to this mediocre team with zero football history whose best player to ever produce is Kristi Vangjeli as the model of the Albanian football? You either have to be a fool or blind to believe this.

No, I'm not from Korca and nobody said Skenderbeu is Bayern -- that's why I gave multiple examples. The point is that a team that's head and shoulders above the rest(and them chasing it) is better for a league than a bunch of mediocre ones lumped together. This is proven. It doesn't better if multiple teams are fighting for a title if they are all trash. The goal is to compete against others(Europe in this case) not your little brothers.

Btw I know we are all excited that Albanian teams passed the first round but they still have LONG ways to go. Skenderbeu would've washed that Zvezda team Tirana played. Let's not get it twisted.

You mention all those teams that got relegated but who gives a shit about them?? Those teams have historically disgraced Albania in front of the world. Are we supposed to feel sorry for them?

- Partizani has won 4 out of 30 European ties.
- Dinamo has won 3 out of 20 ties.
- Tirana has won 11 out of 38 ties. (not as bad as Partizani but still)

These are world records that even Luxembourg clubs would be ashamed of but here you are acting like these are some legendary clubs that we should be proud of. They are an embarrassment.

Btw, let's not act like Skenderbeu invented match fixing in Albania. All those clubs you mentioned were match fixing AND LOSING every match in the process.

You might be salty that in 5 years Skenderbeu had more success than all those clubs COMBINED had IN 50 YEARS.

Lol I'm not mad at their success, I'm mad how they achieved that success and what that did to Albanian football. You forget one thing in your analysis of their success: Skenderbeu was not banned for fixing domestic matches but for fixing their European ties.

Here's a summary from the Guardian in case you forgot:
https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2018/ ... eport-ban

The Tirana teams played European football at a very different time and you didn't often get the chance to play semi amateur sides like Skenderbeu had the pleasure of playing. In their most successful CL campaign in 2015 they beat the Crusaders (semi amateur side from Northern Ireland ) and some village team from Moldova. Then they got demolished by DZ. Compare that to Partizani who the following year took Skenderbeu's place and eliminated Hungarian side Ferencvaros away on PKs in the second round and then got eliminated by Red Bull Salzburg. If SKenderbeu achieved the same you'd be screaming from the rooftops how great they were. This is a Partizani side that had not played CL football in 30 years.

When Albanian football was on the rise in the 1980s there were 5 different champions (3 Tirana clubs along with Vllaznia and Elbasani) and Flamurtari that was runner up 4 times had the best campaign of any Albanian team ever. I'm supposed to call Skenderbeu's reign a success because they eliminated Dinamo Zagreb once. Gimme a break please. This is what happens when you grow up watching Greek football and you think Albanian football started with Skenderbeu and Ergys Kace is the Albanian Messi