FLASH
Shkruar nga Pamfleti
The president of the AFL, Armand Duka, was invited via a live link to the sports show "Europiani 3D" on Albanian Radio Television. The head of the Albanian football government spoke about Albania's journey to the European Championship "Germany 2024" as well as the future of coach Silvinjo. President Duka also commented on some other issues and added that the next objective is qualification for the 2026 World Cup.
"The future of coach Silvinho? - I don't believe it's true that Silvinho will go to Portugal. I don't believe it. We haven't made a new contract yet, but these days I believe we will make a new contract for two years When the contract is signed, it is not yet closed, but we are nearing the end.
Albania's European? - Maybe if we had another team in the group, we could have a better result. It's not that I regret the group we had, as it was very nice. It is really nice to play against the champions and if you are going to grow, you have to play against the champions, Albania did that too. Overall the team's performance was very good. For us it was a super success that we are part of a European team since we are only for the second time. We played three matches in a very good sporting sense. There was a fantastic Albanian presence in Germany in all three cities. We should be very happy, satisfied and proud that this team made us part of the European Championship and I wish you to repeat it again. Football never ends. For us, it is a very big achievement to be part of the European and to do a very good performance. I can say two and a half good matches, as the first half with Italy was not good. While the second half was good, the match against Croatia was fantastic and maybe luck did not help us deepen the result. The match against Spain was fantastic, the support, the party, the enjoyment of the people was very big and very good. The players, the staff, Silvinho and everyone else worked to qualify. In my opinion they worked very well. I have said since the beginning of the European Championship, we should be very proud to be part of it. I also told the team this during my stay in Germany.
The three European games, could we get something more? - We won the European Championship, as you said, with participation, performance, but we also won it with another fact that we were in the game until the end for the qualification. There are other teams that in the third match went for tourism, but we were not for tourism, but we fought until the end. We got emotions from the team until the end. I think that even against Italy we could get more, if we managed the first half better. If Manaj's shot went into the net, the match could end in a draw. Whereas with Croatia in all aspects except those 10 minutes that were not good for our team, in other minutes we were superior. We created chances in the first half and deserved to go 2-0. With Spain, maybe we should have been more aggressive, we shouldn't have respected them as a champion team.
When will a national anthem be created? – Vaçe Zela's song was very beautiful and all the other songs that were sung in the stadium. I think that the National team should have a song for each edition, a novelty. In this case, it was Vaçe Zela's song that for me was very beautiful. When we go to the World Cup, we will definitely choose another one from the entire archive of Albanian music. It is very difficult to choose, as there are many.
Is it a goal to qualify for the World Cup? - We have the objective of going to the World Cup. We have a real chance to go to the World Cup, but football does not always give you what you deserve. It takes preparation, work, performance and a little luck. Luck starts with the draw and I hope we have a good draw for the World Cup. I wish we have a good performance in the Nations League because it will affect the World Cup draw and we have as a target to be part of the World Cup 2026. We have gone to the Europeans twice with different coaches and we can go to the World Cup with the same coach. I want to go to the World Cup with the same coach. Football is a collective game and you can't play with a player or a coach, but all together. With the quality and performance of the team, it has nothing to do with individuals.
Is there a Broja issue in the National? - Broja is one of the greatest talents, not of the moment, for the entire history of Albanian football. Unfortunately, we did not have him in his best condition. He suffered a serious injury. With the best quality, I am sure that it will help Albania much more in the future. This is how the coach judged in this European, I can't say if he could get more minutes. Personally, I expected Broja to make the difference and take our team by his side to take it further. There is no other issue, only that he had a severe and serious injury.
What did we gain from this European? – The most important thing is experience to be more intelligent in such tournaments. Anything negative about the team is definitely not positive, whether it's a comment from a parent or fan. The more positive energy, the better it is for the team. The fact that we had 26 players, not only us but all the teams in Europe, for me is not good. It is not good from a managerial point of view, there are many discussions about why this or that was not a part. Undoubtedly, every footballer has the maximum desire and if he does not have it, it is not positive. Everyone who is in the team wants to play, but you have to maintain balance and not exceed the desire to play with the desire to win the team. I really feel sorry for the guys who didn't get minutes as they all deserve it. The differences are very small for those who are in the National Team, ultimately the coach decides.
Silvinho has positive marks for me. He is a very dedicated man and the success he has achieved has come as a result of his work and dedication. Undoubtedly, there were quality players in the composition. He is a good coach and the most difficult thing in our national team is motivation, creating a group and then other things. Silvinjo has done all this very well. Not only Uzuni, Bare or Cikalleshi, but also some other names like Muçolli, Veseli could all be part of the National Team. I don't know if they would have minutes or not and if they were on the field they would do better or not. I said it before, the differences in the National team are very small and everyone could be. Medon Berisha deserves positive marks for what he has given with the U-21 team, for what he is as a footballer and for what he gave in the European Championship. I am very sure that he will be one of the main football players in the coming years for Albania", said Duka.
Lini një Përgjigje