[Qualification to Euro 2016-08/10/15] Albania - Serbia

[artan]

Agreed. If the first leg was played with some class and some decency maybe then this wouldn't be such a big deal. But when 30k fans shout death to Albanians the whole match, when hooligans storm the pitch and attack Albanian players with assistance of security, when security treats the Albanian players like animals and when Serbian politicians claim it was Albanian terrorism that provoked the incidents? It becomes more than a match.


And lol @ Michigian/Ohio State. They're a bunch of college athletes that can barely read and that's supposed to be some sort of rivalry! Although Harbaugh is the man..

PS, while many of the Serbian players were "professionals" some of them were rats who assisted with the hooligans in beating up our players and with their smirky smiles that the Albanians deserved their fate. You can't even make that argument.

[Dallku]

These American "rivalries" are a joke though. They are more of a celebration than a rivalry.

Albania-Serbia is not a sports rivalry either. It's more of a political thing that has passed down to soccer since it's the most popular sport in both countries.

A real sports rivalry is Tirana-Partizani, Real-Barca, Olympiakos-Panathinaikos and the list goes on. Serbia has a more "sports" rivalry with Croatia than Albania. However they hate Albanians more in the social/political aspect.

[Pjetër]

Albania-Serbia is not a sports rivalry either. It's more of a political thing that has passed down to soccer since it's the most popular sport in both countries.

You're exactly right.

imo For something to be a sports rivalry two teams have to play each other on an almost consistent basis in important games. Argentina/Brazil or Germany/Italy are examples of international football rivalries. Albania/Serbia isn't.

[Pjetër]

Here are some other great international football rivalries going by the logic of some of the people on this forum:

Armenia/Azerbaijan
Democratic Republic of Congo/Belgium
USA/Japan
Republika Srpska/Bosnia and Herzegovina
Sudan/South Sudan
Zimbabwe/Rhodesia

[Pjetër]

Damn, can't believe I didn't mention the Australia/Aboriginal Australia football rivalry. Who can forget that great 2004 OFC Nations Cup semi final match they had when Truganini Yunupingu scored in the 93rd minute to send the match into extra time. Absolute classic.

[Zemi]

Dude just stfu. You're lame


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[Plako]

I take it Andi Bushati grew up in the states as well? Since he pretty much hits the nail on the head with how ridiculous the whole situation is around a football game.

https://youtu.be/mBa_zRlgt-8?t=29m1s

I respect Bushati but I couldn't care less what his opinion is on this game. If this game to him it's just another football game then by all means he can treat like one.

[Plako]

Here are some other great international football rivalries going by the logic of some of the people on this forum:

Armenia/Azerbaijan
Democratic Republic of Congo/Belgium
USA/Japan
Republika Srpska/Bosnia and Herzegovina
Sudan/South Sudan
Zimbabwe/Rhodesia

You might want to read up on Armenia-Azerbaijan mathcups.

Palestine-israel is another one that comes to mind. They will have tea and biscuits at half-time to celebrate the beauty of sport if they ever get the chance to play each other.

[Plako]

Markovic and Matic were killing Albanians? Come on man. This type of mentality is exactly what caused the shitstorm in Yugoslavia during the 90s, and you still perpetuate it because of some idiots. If you think you're better than those people, then stop behaving like them. And America kicks ass at any sport they like. Maybe these other countries should treat sporting games like Michigan-Ohio if they want their teams to excel.

How did you make this logical leap that I meant Markovic and Matic were killing Albanians? Seriosuly dude. If to you this is just another match then by all means treat it like one.

If you think that sport and politics are not linked then you must be really naive dude. I can go back and cite countless of examples but it'd be pointless. As for Americans they still talk the Miracle on Ice over the Soviet Union and 98% of Americans don't give a shit about hockey. They're not any better than the rest. Enough with this inferiority complex. No one's calling for the murdering of the Serbian players in Elbasan, so please get off your high horse.

You have Russian fans in Moscow yelling "Kill Albanians" playing in a Europa league meaningless match and you don't think we should make it political. You and Pjeter are either completely clueless or just just trying to hard to be hipsters. Please stop.

[Aurora Bulkualis]

You have Russian fans in Moscow yelling "Kill Albanians" playing in a Europa league meaningless match and you don't think we should make it political.

The f***? Sometimes it seems that people here are more obsessed with Serbia than they are with Albania. I'm not saying you should like them and be friends with them, just stop overreacting and dramatizing everything. This is just a football game and only matters because of the points. Partizani and Tirana, USA and Soviet Unions, Ohio State and Michigan, have a long history of sporting rivalry and tradition for decades, sometimes over a century. Wtf do Serbia and Albania have, 42 half-assed minutes? We haven't even played a full game versus each other.

Like Cana said the result of this game doesn't matter on its own, as long as we make it to Euros. If there was a women's ping pong match between the two countries, it'd still be politicized. It doesn't mean it's worth anything. The Armenia match might be more important than this.