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| Armando Duka |
From Dossena to Edi Reja the Italian coaching dynasty at the head of the Albanian national team is continuing.
Italian coaches are successful everywhere, history has shown this. I started trusting Dossna but he left little traces. The second was De Biasi, who sent us to the European Championship for the first time. For this he obtained Albanian citizenship, he is considered a hero for us. Panucci came after him, he was the only one that disappointed me a little.
Too much money to close the cooperation with Panuchi.
Has been not created a good climate. I decided to choose him as Albania's coach for the strong character he has shown on the pitch, I have admired him since I saw him on television. He had no experience as a coach, but I did not condition him. I thought he wanted to help Albania. When I met him he said, 'President, if you decide to leave me, I won't ask for anything.' And now we have received a claim for post rewards. Lawyers are dealing with the case. It's not a question of money, but I feel sorry.
Concerning the future objectives of the Albanian national team, Football
Albanian Federation President Armand Duke shows his ambition and that of the national team. He aims for Albania to qualify for the 2024 European Championship while finding it extremely difficult to qualify for a world championship.
What do you intend to achieve with Reja?
New is an experienced coach. We have a prospective project with him and his technical staff. Qualifying in the World Cup is difficult, we aim to qualify for EURO 2024. This is my dream.
President Duka, Kumbulla is the new jewel of Albanian football and is wanted by big clubs (Naples and Lazio). Do you think he is ready for this career step?
Kumbulla is a very promising Albanian player. He's 19, doing a lot for Verona, is growing up and being called by Reja, where he played for a few minutes. He's on the road to becoming a big player. He is technically and physically fit and has good character. In Verona is also Rrahmani. He has played with us before but decided to represent Kosovo.
With him are Lazio's Strakosha, Naples's Hysaj, and Atalanta's Gjimshiti.
Hysaj is our captain, he is the most experienced player, I hope to regain Napoli's space again. Has played a little with Ancelotti. Gjimshiti is a good player, he plays in the Champions League and this is not a little thing for us. Strakosha and Berisha are capable, Reja find it difficult to choose the first goalkeeper. In the Series we have Veseli.
The November 26 earthquake destroyed the festive atmosphere after the inauguration of the new national stadium, a symbol of rebirth.
The new stadium is the most beautiful thing in Albania at the moment, it is very important for us. There are now tents in the stadiums of cities affected by the earthquake. All players from our national team have paid for the renovations along with many other football federations. President of the Italian Football Federation Gabriele Gravina reacted immediately. Rejacontributed with Lazio. With the money raised, we will be building new homes for people affected by the earthquake. On January 10th we will be playing a charity match between the veterans of Albania with those of Italy, Greece, and Turkey. The money raised from this match will go to charity.