Albanian National Team [General topic]

[Simboli i Diellit]

Sylvinho: " Armando Broja? Është një lojtar që ka ardhur nga një dëmtim i rëndë. I është dashur 9 muaj të kthehet në fushë. Një ndeshje para se të vinte te ne ka luajtur 45 minuta. U zëvendësua sepse kishte probleme fizike. Ai bëri kontrolle fizike te Chelsea. Erdhi këtu dhe kishte një shqetësim. U ulëm dhe biseduam. Ishte e qartë që nuk ishte në gjendje për të luajtur. Bashkë me lojtarin dhe me klubin vendosëm që ai të kthehet për t’u rikuperuar."

https://www.youtube.com/live/bOcYGkJe9D ... 9cP_dRR58-

Minute 16:00

He was limping on his left knee when he came out of Chelsea games. Note: He had surgery on his right knee, this means he's been overusing/streessing the left knee so it's normal to be cautious in these cases until he returns to optimal conditions.
This picture is from two days before the Czech match, look at his knee.

[artan]

I have a feeling that Panucci would have done good if he has lasted as well.

At least better than Reja. The only problem with him was that he had the status not to take shit from anyone and as an Italian was familiar with Albanian way of doing things and was too confrontational

I remember he had us get some good results and some good goals.

We can't rate Panucci because he was given such a shit roster and full of expectations coming fresh from that 2016 qualification. Guys who were rated highly by us and were on the younger side like Xhaka, Ajeti, Aliji, Kace, Gashi, Balaj, etc, completely fell of the face of the earth and practically all became amateurs. He had to tinker with the lineup and go to the depths of Europe to find new players like that left back from Sweden whose name escapes me, or Kamer Qaka who was a poor mans abrashi and even was playing a guy like Gavazaj. The corpses of Mergim Mavraj, Basha, Ansi Agolli and Andi Lila were still given big roles. He also lost the locker room because apparently not calling up Cikaleshi (after he missed training) deserves a mutiny lol.

Sylvinho wouldn't have succeeded with that roster as well. It's why I can't critique Panucci as much as Reja as Reja was given a much better team and would bench his top players (Broja, Bajrami, Balliu, etc).

[Princ]

Albania 13-2 goal differential last 6 matches! Truly believe we can beat anyone!

It feels so unreal that a country with such a poor domestic league can have such a world beater NT. Take in that many current players have come out of/played in Superliga..

Can it be sustainable long-term?

[Dallku]

Can it be sustainable long-term?

Of course it can as long as Albania continues fielding super professionals. (Asllani, Bajrami, etc).

That's what we were complaining about during Reja era and we were proven right. Top leaguers guarantee results.

[Plako]

Albania 13-2 goal differential last 6 matches! Truly believe we can beat anyone!

It feels so unreal that a country with such a poor domestic league can have such a world beater NT. Take in that many current players have come out of/played in Superliga..

Can it be sustainable long-term?

The majority of our payers are diaspora and not domestic. The league has nothing to do with the success of the NT.

[Princ]

The majority of our payers are diaspora and not domestic. The league has nothing to do with the success of the NT.

Usual pattern goes..

Poor domestic league ——> Poor NT
Good domestic league ——> Good NT

Poor domestic league ——> Good NT is an extreme outlier. How long can it be sustainable for?

[Princ]

Of course it can as long as Albania continues fielding super professionals. (Asllani, Bajrami, etc).

That's what we were complaining about during Reja era and we were proven right. Top leaguers guarantee results.

Relying on other countries to produce your talents does not seem like a good strategy long-term..

Do you remember how quickly it flamed out after De Biasi era?

[IndritFieri]

The majority of our payers are diaspora and not domestic. The league has nothing to do with the success of the NT.

Usual pattern goes..

Poor domestic league ——> Poor NT
Good domestic league ——> Good NT

Poor domestic league ——> Good NT is an extreme outlier. How long can it be sustainable for?

Perfect case scenario is Bosnia! Once they got their independence they had a golden generation of diaspora players with Dzeko, Ibsevic etc. coming from top leagues. They even made it to the World Cup.

Where are they now? Their domestic league is crap and so is ther national team. Pjanic is the last of the dying diaspora breed.

[Plako]

Perfect case scenario is Bosnia! Once they got their independence they had a golden generation of diaspora players with Dzeko, Ibsevic etc. coming from top leagues. They even made it to the World Cup.

Where are they now? Their domestic league is crap and so is ther national team. Pjanic is the last of the dying diaspora breed.

We have a much larger diaspora than Bosnia and we have expanded our pool to include all ethnic Albanians which has led to increase of the representation from Albanians from Macedonia. Today someone like Bardhi and Alioski would probably choose Albanian over Macedonia.

This is a very inclusive national team and I would say our case is more like Algeria and Morocco than Bosnia. Success will breed success and more and more players who are on the fence (Gruda?) will choose us over other options. This current group could legit qualify for the WC26 if we get in the right qualifying group.

[Dallku]

Relying on other countries to produce your talents does not seem like a good strategy long-term..

Do you remember how quickly it flamed out after De Biasi era?

It flamed out because there was no talent. We all know that De Biasi team overachieved and as soon as they lost a bit of motivation they showed their true level. That's why De Biasi suffered after the euros and Panucci suffered right after.

The super professionals came after Panucci so he was unlucky.

I don't know what happens 50 years from now (and don't really care tbh) but this current core guarantees at least 10 more years of professionalism so I don't see the point of worrying about that.