FLASH
Shkruar nga Pamfleti
Franc Beckenbauer has visited Albania three times. As a player in 1971, but also later as a sports journalist and as an official of a club. The last time he set foot in Tirana was when he was sports director of Olympique de Marseille. One year after he was declared world champion with Germany as a coach in "Mexico 1990".
Agim Canaj and some of Dinamo's players from the 1990-1991 season are among the few Albanians who have seen the room where the "Kaizer" slept in one of the most luxurious yachts in France and Europe. "We were drawn with Marseille in 1990 in the Champions League and the sports director of that team was Franc Beckenbauer. I admired him since he was a player", says Agim Canaj in an interview for "Sport News".
What do you remember from Beckenbauer?
I have admired him since he was a footballer. Elegant on the field and an undeniable personality. But when you saw it up close you were convinced that it was special. Unique.
Why?
It was a colossus. As a tall and thin shoot, dressed in a black suit and a black collar. Uncompromising elegance on and off the field. I have never seen any athlete with such an attractive appearance. It had an effect on everyone, not only because it had the halo of a football legend, but also a coach who had just won the World Cup in 1990.
Have you had contact with him?
No, but I had the opportunity to see the room where he slept, on one of the most luxurious yachts in France and Europe.
How is it possible?
Look, when Dinamo traveled to play Marseille in the latter's field, its former president, Bernard Tapia, invited the entire Albanian team and staff to his luxury yacht. There they explained to us where the players, the staff, the guests slept and where Beckenbauer slept, who at that time was the sports director and somewhat co-coach of Marseille.
What was Beckenbauer's room like?
It was the most luxurious suite. Even Bernard Tapia himself laughed when it was the turn of the "Kaizer" room. "This is special for the most special man we have," he said with some boasting and joking. And he was right. Beckenbauer was magnificent.
How did the match end?
We won 5-1. But it was known how it would go. There, everyone was thinking of running away... (laughs).
You mean to escape?
Exactly. It was just an opportunity for them to run away and one of them who ran away was Pjerin Noga if I'm not mistaken.
And you, why don't you run away?
I also ran away and ended up in Romania….(laughs). Difficult times, when little thought was given to the field. Even coach Bejkush Birçe knew this and asked us before the match: "Guys, I know you are thinking of running away, but run away after the match, not before it." What the hell happened that a few months later the national team was playing against France. Many players left there too.
What was Beckenbauer to you and your generation?
A myth. An inspiration. We grew up with him and the more time passed, the more important he became. This does not happen often after leaving football. But he was in every sense of the word: colossus.
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