On the eve of the match against Serbia, the President of the Albanian Football Association, Armand Duka, spoke in an interview with Klan News journalist Viola Spiro about the successful conclusion of the U-17 European Championship held in Albania and the upcoming World Cup qualifying challenges for the National Team.
FULL INTERVIEW:
Achievements of this year – On such an important day, before such a crucial match like this one against Serbia, it is difficult to talk about anything else. We have just finished a European Championship for 17-year-olds, which was important and successful from every perspective, except for the result of our national team, which did not manage to be at the level of the other 7 competitors. From an organizational, logistical standpoint and also from the number of fans in the stadiums, it was truly beautiful. We were close to records, because in the history of organizing European U-17 championships, only once before in Germany have there been more spectators. At the European Championship held in Albania, we had an average of 4,500 fans per match. Everyone — players, staff, scouts, specialists who visited Albania — left with positive impressions. It was a successful event. But today, I am emotional, focused, and charged up for this important match.
Emotions of today – Every National Team match has emotions and pressure, with different expectations depending on the opponent and conditions. But today’s match against Serbia is a bit different, more sensitive, and it is important for this qualifying phase because we are two teams competing to finish second in the group. The result of today’s match could determine the continuation of securing second place and a playoff spot for the World Cup. Besides this, it is well known how sensitive this match is due to the rivalry, history, politics, etc., which I hope won’t emotionally overload the team. I wish that everyone in the stadium follows the game and that the fans push the team toward victory.
How do you experience the match as President? – Everyone has emotions before a National Team match. A leader has even more, because besides the feeling and being a fan, there is also the responsibility for the entire complexity of organizing an event of such special importance like today’s. I am a little more emotional than other times, due to all the circumstances and reasons. But mostly for the sporting result, as well as the smooth running of the match, safety, organization, and everything to close it successfully. What really gives a happy ending to this match is a positive result.
Is success in this challenge worth as much as the entire World Cup? – Not as much as the entire World Cup, but the joy I would feel from today’s result would be equal to the joy I would feel from Albania qualifying for the World Cup.
Qualifying for the World Cup – The World Cup is something we have never achieved. At one point, we dreamed of the European Championship — a utopia, realizable or not. Then qualifying for the second time made it more normal or a duty. We have never tasted the World Cup; it is something different. Qualifying for the World Cup is harder, although it can be achieved with all the components together. If we had a somewhat better draw, without England — which has made few or no mistakes in qualifying — maybe a different draw like the one we had in the European qualifiers could have helped us even reach first place. Now the only path left is through the playoffs, which is again very difficult, especially with the opponent we have today. They have quality, football history, successes, participation in World Cup final tournaments, while in the European Championship they have less success than us. We have participated twice; Serbia only once. They remain a very strong team with quality. It’s a very difficult match; I hope we have a positive performance, that the boys are not overwhelmed, and that they show what they know. I hope and wish for a positive result.
Problems inside the Serbian team – The level of the Serbian team and staff is high. Despite external appearances of conflicts, I hope their unity is not broken. Before a national team match, especially one so important in this journey, I believe they forget these problems. I am happy that we do not have such problems; the team is united with the staff and all the public, and I hope we all smile and celebrate.
Demand to attend the match in the stadium – Interest in following the national team has increased, not only for this derby, if I may call it that. It is a Balkan derby, but also because of our position in the table that we are fighting for. Even in other matches of a different level, there is a lot of demand to watch the national team. We had not anticipated so much demand or the need for an even bigger stadium. We are forced to accept criticism that we cannot satisfy all ticket requests, which I believe would not be met even in a stadium bigger than this one.
The U-21 European Championship – What matters to us today is this match that will be played tonight. After this, we will have time to talk about other things. The European Championship we expect to host in 2027 with Serbia is a historic and important event for us. We have already proven and gained the necessary experience to organize such events. I am convinced we will do well and have a model European Championship, and why not see other events organized in the future.
