FLASH
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Croatia-Albania is the matchup of the losers of Group B, a match which will be played tomorrow at 15:00 in Hamburg.
Croatia was defeated in the first match by Spain with a score of 3-0, while Albania was defeated by Italy in the numbers 2-1. Xhemal Mustedanagiç, the legend of Dinamo Zagreb from 1982, knows Albanian football like the back of his hand. He landed in Albania in 2009, where he was an assistant to the then coach of Albania, Josip Kuzhe. But when Kuzhe left the bench, Mustedanagic stayed, first he was the coach of the U-17 national team, then the technical director of all national teams and then the chief scout. He worked for 12 years in Albanian football and in an interview for "jutarnilist" he broke down the red and black team before the match with Croatia, where he says that half of Albania's players passed through his hands.
Here is the Croatian media article with coach Xhemal Mustedanagič.
- " Half of these Albanian players who are playing in this European Championship in Germany were practically selected by me. By the way, my 12 years in Albania have no chance of being broken by anyone, they will remain a record", he said at the beginning Mustedanagiç says that he has had a great time in the country of eagles, where people are excellent, approachable and has done a great job, raising football to a higher level. We ask him, of course, how he sees it this Albania, which will face Croatia on Wednesday? - "Albania is a very dangerous national team. I would compare it to Vatren (the epithet of the Croatian national team) in 1998. Just as we had a big national load then, so they have today. In fact, I said it wrong, they always have the maximum national load, in every game they play, it doesn't matter if it was a friendly or let's say European. For them, playing for the national team is the highest thing that can be experienced. Yes, they are the same as us, the National Team is sacred to them. Before they were naive tactically, now they have grown a lot "
Past tense and change…
-" When Josip Kuzhe and I arrived in 2009, the fields were bad, but they skated, ran and fought on the fields as if their lives depended on training. I told Kuzhe at that time "we will be champions of Europe!", because until then I had never seen anyone fight and burn like the Albanian players in any training session". He says that in the match against Albania, Daliç's team must be very careful... that they can't hurt us. They still have no chance against Croatia. They are a real landmine. Many of their players have gained experience. Before they were tactically naive, now they are in line tactically". Before the arrival of coach Silvinho in January 2023, they did not look very good under the guidance of the Italian expert. - "True, but do you know why? Because Albania plays football attacking, attacking is in their genes, they have an attacking mentality. With Reja, and before with Xhani de Biaz, the game was more closed, a 'bunker'. The former selections played with five players at the back, Silvinho plays with four, they have wing forwards. The victories against the Czech Republic and Poland in their qualifying group for the European Championship showed that Albania can play well and be strong." What does the Albanian public really expect from the tournament in Germany, since in the group with Spain, Italy and Croatia they definitely have the status of non-favorites? – "They have such a mentality that they think they can beat anyone. They want to beat each other, to attack, that's why the non-selectors don't suit them, even though de Biazi took them to France's 'Euro 2016'. The public expects a lot from them, Albanians are like that, they think that their national team can win and become European champions" .
Red and black stars
- " When you ask him which players he would single out as the main stars of the Albanian national team, he says: - "Armando Broja is probably their best player. He is a striker who hides, steals the ball and leaves! He is a striker very dangerous. He is extremely fast, with and without the ball. He shines and hits like lightning. They have a very solid defense, who plays for Atalanta also the captain Elseid Hysaj, he is in charge, he constantly tries to take the initiative forward. I also like the young player of Lokomotiv Moscow. He reminds me the most of our Borna Sosa Rej Manaj from Turkish Sivaspor, who for example was in the Barcelona team, is also dangerous. On the other hand, Kristjan Asllani, who plays for Inter, is also out I also like Ernest Muçi from Beshiktashi, I once suggested it to Dinamo, but he was not interested. He is a midfielder similar to Martin Baturina". Who are the goalkeepers, Etrit Berisha of Empoli and Tomas Strakosha of Brentford? - "Berisha is the first goalkeeper, because he is more experienced and very rational. Strakosha does not exhaust much, he resembles our Livakovic. He is a really good goalkeeper." Can Arbër Hoxha get the right time from Dinamo? - "I think it can. So, Albania is really good, but when it comes to the next match against Croatia, I don't think they have anything to hope for, we are still better. Of course we have to be careful, but the three points must be ours " - concluded Xhemal Mustedanagiç.
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