The coach of the Albanian National Team, Sylvinho and captain Berat Gjimshiti appeared this Friday afternoon at the official press conference on the eve of the debut match in Euro 2024 that Albania will play tomorrow against Italy. This meeting is scheduled to start at 21:00 at the Dortmund stadium.
Coach Sylvinho started the conference by saying that he is happy and honored to be in charge of Albania in the European Championship. The Brazilian coach then spoke about the group’s three opponents, stressing that he is aware of the difficulty. He underlined that the boys are ready to give their best to represent the country in the European Championship.
Sylvinho also praised the Italian team, stating that they are capable of winning the European Championship again. The coach of the national team added that Albania will fight and try to get points in every game.
The debut at Euro 2024, how do you feel? – First of all, I am happy to be here, we had a difficult competition during the qualifiers and it is an honor to be with Albania at Euro 2024. I am sorry that captain Gjimshiti did not play in 2016, but I am glad for the opportunity that he has now, which he deserves it. He represents us very well. We are in a very difficult group, it is a big competition. But we will go in to compete and fight for every point and have a great championship. It will be difficult against Italy, after training we will decide on the line up, although the line up is almost decided.
The presence of many Albanian fans in the stadium? – There are many Albanians all over the world. We know that there are Albanians in Germany, Italy, Switzerland, everywhere. It is a very big responsibility for us to represent these people who live all over. So it will be even better in a packed stadium, mostly with red and black colors.
Italy of Mancini and Spalletti? – There are many differences between the Italy of the past and the present. But Italy is a high level team, they have fast players and a great coach. Mancini has done a great job, Spalletti as well. They have experience, they are a “top” team. When they enter the field, they do it to win the competition. But we will also enter for points.
The atmosphere before the match will Italy? You know me very well; we discussed after the match with Moldova where we got the ticket for the European competition. Now 6 months later the feeling is the same. Our team is incredibly motivated. The boys are ready, and it will be a wonderful day to represent the nation. It will be the most exiting day, after the match with Moldova. We will enter the field to give our best.
I wanted to ask what Italy do you expect, Spalletti can play with three of four defenders? Who will play as a goalkeeper? From what we have seen, they can adapt to the 3-4-3 and 4-3-3 system, they can change the system depending on the opponent. They are hard to break. Italy have a strong side, defend very well, and keep the ball with consistent position. There are players who run a lot and have great skills. We have one more training session and then we will decide on the starting line-up.
In a group with big teams? – We know the competition we are on, we know how big the opponents are. We will go out on the field and fight for every point. It’s a tough match, but it’s fantastic. Anything can happen in a football match.
Dilemma for the starting line-up? – We have studied all three opponents, we have focused a lot on Italy as the first match. We worked for six or seven days, enough time to build a strategy. Then we thought about the other two matches. For Italy, our desire is to go on the field and play well.
Do you think that Mitaj and Daku can improve the team, or would you prefer them to play in another European country instead of Russia? – They are two very big, wonderful players. Daku is very good, they can improve in Russia. It is a physically strong league. Mitaj is a tactical player, I love him and I brought him when he was 19 years old. I saw him in the national team, I can help the national team a lot. He did a very good job. I like them both and I know they can improve a lot in Russia, but also in other countries.
Captain Gjimshiti highly appreciated the opponent, for the name and the footballers it has, as he emphasized that a good start to the European Championship is very important, to hope for a long journey for Albania in this competition.
Will the match with Italy be very important for progress in the European? – Of course, the three matches are very important, but if we start on a good foot, we can help and have more motivation to move forward. A positive result against Italy could be one more boost for the other matches.
You will have a duel with your teammate Scamacca. Have you spoken to him during this time and what can we expect on the pitch? – I know him very well, as we played together for a whole season. Since the party when we won the Europa League, we have not spoken together, but Gjimshiti-Scamacca will not be important, but the Albania-Italy match as a whole.
Italy has suffered quite a bit in the last friendlies. Is this one of their traps? – Of course, we have followed Italy’s last matches and the coach has shown us their strength, where we must be careful. Analysis is needed for tomorrow’s game and I believe we have prepared well to be ready.In this Albanian, what has from the Seria A and the Italian football? There is a lot form the Italian football not only because we are many players that play in Italy, but the trainer has important experiences in Seria A. We play there and we know our opponents well, but we know very well that against us we have Italy and the champion in power and its players in this kind of competition to win, that why we have to be careful.
Many of the Albanian players are children of emigrants that have been born and raised outside Albania, but represent their country? True. Many of us are born or raised outside but we are Albanian. In how homes it is spoken Albanian, and we are raised with the love for our county. We are happy to represent our country.
You also won the Europa League this season with Atalanta. What is the knowledge or emotions that you have gained in this competition and that you would like to pass on to your teammates? – The triumph in the Europa League was the result of a work process that started a long time ago. We are prepared to do our best to win every game. We are prepared to do our best and hope it goes well.
Can you tell us what the work of the coach has brought to you? His work has greatly improved us, more than a year since he arrived. We know how you work every day to help us. He was a great footballer and an incredible motivator. We are here coming through a tough group, and we have received many compliments, not only us, but also the staff and the coach.
