After a long journey, the ninth edition of the UEFA Pro-level coaching licensing course concluded yesterday with a graduation ceremony, where 21 participants received their diplomas.
Some of them spoke to fshf.org after the ceremony. National team assistant coach Pablo Zabaleta emphasized that it was a fantastic experience and praised the Albanian Football Association for the well-organized course and the progress made over the years.
“It has been difficult and a long period, over a year and a few months. We’ve shared many experiences with the course participants, who come from different countries and have played in different nations, and this is precisely the beauty of the training course, as you have the opportunity to reconnect with people who share with you the experience of coaching in various countries. The course was very good, intensive. All the instructors were excellent.
I would like to congratulate the Football Association for all the work done and the progress achieved over the years. In the two years i’ve been working here, i can see how much things have improved on a large scale: the training courses, the infrastructure, everything has been very impressive,” said Pablo Zabaleta.
The UEFA Pro-level coaching course was also successfully completed by former players of the Albanian national team. Armend Dallku thanked the Football Association and President Duka for the opportunity provided. He added that he hopes the participants of this edition will make significant strides in their careers.
“First of all, I would like to thank the Football Association, led by President Armand Duka, for the opportunity given. I want to thank all the participants because we really did an extraordinary job here. Considering that we had both practical and theoretical lessons, we learned many things. I hope this will be useful for our experience as well.
It’s an extraordinary experience, especially considering that in this course, we, the participants, have worked more than the mentors. We had various experiences, with guests from abroad, from England, Italy, and we exchanged many ideas. I hope it will be very useful for us,” said Armend Dallku.
This edition of the course also included Albina Rrahmani, former player of the Albanian national team and coach of the Kosovo U-19 Women’s National Team. Albina said it was a long process, but very valuable. She added that the exchange of experiences with elite guests from both within and outside the country was very important, and she hopes that in the future, everyone will achieve their goals.
“It was quite a long process, but we found it very important. Throughout this year, we made many visits to clubs. We tried to make our lessons as realistic as possible in relation to the field of play. Most importantly, I believe, was the exchange of experiences among the participants.
I hope many doors will open for all of us. It is an achievement, as there was a lot of competition to become part of the course. A special thanks goes to UEFA, which has supported me in every way, like every other girl, for the development of women’s football in general,” said Albina Rrahmani.
Ledian Memushaj, the former player of the national team, expressed that it was a very beautiful experience and praised the course, as during the edition, the participants received lessons from big names such as Fabio Cannavaro and Francesco Troise.
“The UEFA Pro course is an extraordinary experience. It lasted more than a year and was a combination of practice and theory. We conducted training sessions and observed the top league teams. It was a very beautiful experience. We also received lessons from big names like Fabio Cannavaro and Francesco Troise. Now we have our diplomas, and we hope to find a team, start slowly, and move up as high as possible,” said Ledian Memushaj.
