Albania broke all odds and finished on top of group E that included Czech Republic and Poland. 

South American Coaches led Albanian to EURO 2024. Brazilian coach led Albania to euro 2024 in an own-record breaking run by the Albania National team that only lost one game in the whole round.

It’s a dream come true for the team’s South American coaches.

“It’s unbelievable,” Brazilian head coach Sylvinho said Wednesday. “We’ve got everything around a moment. We did a great job. Everyone, together.”

When Sylvinho was hired in January, he brought in countryman Doriva and Argentinian Pablo Zabaleta as his assistants.

They assembled a 24-man squad from among 60 Albanian players from leagues in Italy, Spain, France, England, and elsewhere, not to mention local leagues.

Zabaleta will never forget the phone call from Sylvinho, a former Manchester City teammate with whom he has close familial links. They concluded that Albania had "a good generation of players."

“We want to build a team that we’re able to play good football. I mean, in the way we see football,” Zabaleta said.

“You are the first non-Albanian receiving the Golden Eagle not for what you have done but because you are an Albanian being born,” Rama told the Brazilian. “After the Golden Eagle very soon you should accept the Albanian citizenship too.”

Albania has only ever qualified for the European Championship, in 2016, under Italian coach Giovanni de Biasi.

Sylvinho has used his experiences playing for Pep Guardiola at Barcelona and former Brazil coach Tite to establish an Albanian team culture that emphasizes a "complex" and "collective" kind of soccer.

“Talent can win a game of football,” Zabaleta said. “But the squad, the spirit of a team, can achieve good things in football or win trophies.”

ALBANIA TALENTS GATHERED FORM ALL AROUND THE GLOBE FROM BRAZILIAN GENIUS 

They were looking for a left forward to play on the right side. That turned out to be Jasir Asani, a 28-year-old South Korean player for Gwangju who has scored several Messi-like goals.

They desired a left back who could move the ball quickly to the attack and integrate with the older players. Mario Mitaj, 20, of Lokomotiv Moscow, combines nicely with veteran Lazio winger Elseid Hysaj.

Albania's development into a formidable team for Euro 2024 and beyond remains a priority.

“If you have to be consistent,” said Sylvinho, who had previous coaching stints with Lyon in France and Corinthians in Brazil. “You have to grow day by day, ‘avash avash’ (‘slowly slowly’ in Albanian). That’s the challenge that you have now.”

Zabaleta added: “We are not afraid of anyone. We are a good team. We have good players, and the most important thing is we need to play 100 percent every game. That’s the spirit.”

Read our blog to be connecetd with real time news.

Follow us on our social networks for better updates Instagram; Facebook; X

 

---

SRC: Semini, L. (2023, November 22). South American coaches lead Albania to Euro 2024 spot. Sylvinho gets a medal from prime minister | AP News. AP News. https://apnews.com/article/brazilian-argentinian-coach-albania-euro-2024-632483c8669fa984aa7cfca59de2b2ef

image: AP

image : AFP