It started the night of September 7th 2014 in ‘Estadio Municipal de Aveiro’ when Bekim Balaj’s volley shocked Portugal. Albania won the game by a single goal and returned home with the three points. Four days later, it was Denmark that found it tough. That game subsequently finished 1-1. With 4 points in the first two games, Albania were top of their group and the dream of qualification was alive.
The Eagles were centre of international attention following their meeting with rivals Serbia in Belgrade. Several incidents before half-time caused the match to be interrupted. Serbian fans reacted adversely to a drone flown above the pitch, carrying a flag with a map of ‘Greater Albania’ for all to see. The Court of Arbitration for Sport awarded a 3-0 victory in favour of Albania, in a reversal of UEFA’s decision that initially gave the 3 points to Serbia. An away victory in Armenia in their last game finally secured them 2nd place in their group and more importantly, qualification for the Euros.
Albania facts:
Fixtures:
Population: 3.2+ million (2016)
Switzerland Stade Bollaert-Delelis, Lens, 11th June, 14:00.
FIFA international ranking: 45th (April ‘16)
Player to Watch:
Highest ranked team in UEFA co-efficient: KF Skënderbeu 198th (April ‘16)
Lorik Cana The captain, the leader, the legend. To put it simply: Lorik Cana led Albania to the Euros. Cana is an experienced and physically strong defender, who is also able to play as defensive midfielder. The 25-year old currently has the most Albanian caps and he is one of three players that played in all his nation’s qualifying matches for this tournament. Starting his professional career at PSG, which included winning the French Cup, he then moved to Marseille where he spent a further 4 seasons. Since then, he has gone onto play for Sunderland, Galatasaray, Lazio (which included a Coppa Italia triumph) and Nantes. With Cana famili ar with football in France, his experience will be invaluable for Albania. In the build-up to the tournament De Biasi praised the player, stating: “Cana is the leader of our team both in the pitch and in the locker room, he helps us a lot”.
Group A
France Stade Vélodrome, Marseille, 15th June, 20:00. Romania Stade de Lyon, Lyon, 19th June, 20:00.
The Manager:
Albania
Road to Qualification:
Gianni De Biasi The 59-year old Italian will forever be remembered in Albanian history as the man to guide the national team to their first major tournament. De Biasi, who has been in charge since December 2011, has been able to bring consistency to the team. On March 2015, before their Euro qualifying game against Armenia he was granted Albanian citizenship. In the past he has managed teams including Brescia, Torino and Udinese in Italy, as well as Levante in Spain. De Biasi has developed an Italian football philosophy, with the side becoming very solid defensively conceding a megre 5 goals in the qualifiers for this tournament.
Expectations and Predictions:
Likely/Best XI:
4-1-4-1
The fact that Albania made it to France 2016 is a huge achievement to begin with. They are debutants in the Euros and this is their first major tournament. There are no substantial expectations and the pressure is expected to be off the players.
Prediction: Group stages
Extras:
Breakthrough Star:
In the first match of group A, Taulant Xhaka will face his younger brother Granit Xhaka who represents Switzerland.
Taulant Xhaka The 24-year old defensive midfielder has every component to be the breakthrough star for Albania in this tournament. Xhaka’s high work rate, strength and passion are the attributes that spring to mind when describing the FC Basel player. The four-time Swiss Super League champion made his debut for the National team in September 2014 and he has gone on to become one of the most important players for his nation. Don’t be surprised if Xhaka is the player who covers the most ground for Albania during the tournament; he will be seen helping out the team both defensively and offensively. If Xhaka is able to perform at the same level as he did in the qualification games, he will no doubt catch the eye of scouts from some of Europe’s top leagues.
Favourite Euro Memory: Oliver Bierhoff coming off the bench to score the equalizer and the Golden goal in extra time to give Germany the Euro 1996 final victory against Czech Republic.
Author Information: Armando Danga - Argentina Primera Division Analyst. Twitter: @FRFutbolArmando
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