The strong points, the weak points, the stars and the surprises of the Albanian national team coached by Sylvinho
There is a reason why Gianluigi Donnarumma, in a press conference, declared that “the match against Albania represents various pitfalls. They are quick on the counterattack and play well, we cannot give 70-80 percent, we know we can win even in the 90th minute.” He said it because it is true, and it is good to know it in advance: the first match will be the most difficult and perhaps the most blocked, if something doesn’t happen immediately. In fact, prolonged inertia would work in favor of the team in the red jersey; and then there is the pride of representing the many fans who have emigrated to Germany: more so than the Azzurri given the expatriation, there will apparently be many more Eagles fans in the stands of Dortmund. As in New York in 1994, when many Italians preferred to sell their tickets to the Irish, consequently leaving an almost entirely green stadium to push Ireland to victory. .
Similarities of debuts (and much more), which Luciano Spalletti could hope to replicate with the final: but now he certainly cannot put his signature on them, if even half a misstep were to occur against a team that has nothing to lose. Everything could go well for Italy, of course: but as with the policies to combat Covid, this is by no means a given, nor does it mean putting one’s hands forward in the face of uncertainties in the formation, in the interpreters, even in those called up by the coach from Certaldo and of many other commissioners before him. Superstitious people remember that even three years ago, in the traveling European Championship, the considerations on the eve of the match were not unanimously flattering towards the choices of Roberto Mancini, even though he had just returned from dozens of matches without failure. Then Ciro Immobile and Lorenzo Insigne swept away Turkey, Manuel Locatelli ruled Switzerland, and the happy epilogue is well known.
The fact is that about twenty years ago it would have been unthinkable to see Albania qualify for the final phase of such an important event: it then went to France for the first time in 2016, leaving without any demerits. The growth of football in Tirana and its surroundings passes, in the globalized world, from the teachings that Italian coaches such as Edoardo Reja and Gianni de Biasi brought to federal centres, summoning the children of the diaspora of the nineties, wherever they were: today the Albanian eleven includes among the possible starters at least five exponents rooted in Serie A, plus a couple who have left after having played there for a few years. Athletes who therefore know their opponents perfectly, their selector’s way of playing, how to lose their bearings and clarity by trusting in the time factor.
The rest is provided by Sylvinho Mendes de Campos, former left-back for Arsenal and Barcelona, especially in Mancini’s staff at Inter: perhaps an atypical Brazilian (one would have said once, but no longer), who deploys a compact structure capable of oscillating between 4-2-3-1 and 4-3-3 without changing the interpreters. First, don’t take them, of course, thanks to Berat Djimsiti’s block, fresh from winning the Europa League with Atalanta; then the ball goes to the balancing duo, namely Kristjan Asllani of Inter and Ylber Ramadani of Lecce, playmakers who rarely waste a ball in midfield. So predictable long balls for the side of Armando Broja, Chelsea star, to call into question the insertions of Nedin Bajrami (Empoli) and the star of the qualifiers Jasir Asani, the last chance to demonstrate his mysterious skills even away from South Korean football , where he was confined at the age of twenty-eight.
The coach could surprise by choosing to rely on Medon Berisha, of whom everyone in Lecce speaks highly after the Primavera title: after all, the motto “when in trouble, go big” should apply to football as much as to Emmanuel Macron. By game changer with the match underway, moreover, the Adriatic bench doesn’t have many: unless you throw Rey Manaj into the mix, who intermittently yearns for the Italian championship but gives his best to Sivasspor in Turkey (22 goals this year ).
If there is one aspect to seriously consider, it is the way in which the Illyrians reached the final phase, first in the group – equal on points with the Czech Republic – the result of just one defeat and just four goals conceded, the third least beaten defense after Portugal and France. They also had the certainly not weak Poland in front of them, who had to rely on the play-offs to get through: a mission therefore perhaps not impossible, but which on paper could easily have gone differently.
Another discussion from the draw for the summer matches with Italy, Spain and Croatia: but today Albanian football is no longer a Cinderella and is not afraid of anyone. Should he get the first useful result, then he will enjoy it: and with this fire, going through even as third would not be a mirage.
