Albanian National Team [General topic]

[Simboli i Diellit]

Finally Lala speaking about the NT:
http://www.panorama.com.al/sport/eksklu ... topin-por/

[Dallku]

^ Finally someone mentions that Lithuania's tactics(pressuring Gjasula) made the difference. At that point you needed another midfielder who's comfortable on the ball... Reja had no one.

All these other "analysts", media and fans focus on bullshit outside factors: Fixing, underestimating opponent, Hysaj(for some reason he gets most of the blame every time Albania loses).

No one is mentioning that we had 6-7 players in the starting lineup who are no better or straight up worse than Lithuania's.

They act like Sadiku who couldn't make it in the Polish league is world class but underestimated Lithuania... please.

[artan]

^ Finally someone mentions that Lithuania's tactics(pressuring Gjasula) made the difference. At that point you needed another midfielder who's comfortable on the ball... Reja had no one.

All these other "analysts", media and fans focus on bullshit outside factors: Fixing, underestimating opponent, Hysaj(for some reason he gets most of the blame every time Albania loses).

No one is mentioning that we had 6-7 players in the starting lineup who are no better or straight up worse than Lithuania's.

They act like Sadiku who couldn't make it in the Polish league is world class but underestimated Lithuania... please.

It's a combination of things. There's no width or pace on the wings which gives the team no balance and spacing. The strikers are camped in the box and don't really step in the midfield to help with the possession, not like they have the skill for that either. The midfielders we have don't have the ability to break down the defense nor could they since the spacing is terrible (wingbacks not bombing forward, forwards camping, etc). What normally happens is a long ball to one of the strikers.

It seems like wingbacks are the most crucial position in a 3 man backline. Wingbacks who bomb forward and run the entire game. I like Hysaj as I think he's a solid defender but he's not really the ideal wingback. Trashi at LWB is obviously not the answer. Maybe if we had a more technical midfield and attacking third then Hysaj would be fine but usually attacking through the wings is something crucial and we have none of that.

If we want to continue with this formation Reja will need to have to do a 3-5-3 with two attacking wingers. That way we have width and pace on the wings. I would think a lineup like this could work.

----------Uzuini-Striker-Roshi
Hysaj----Gjasula-----Bare------Balliu
---------Gym--Kumb--Ismaijli
-----------------Strakosa

Or something like that. Lenjani can be a LWB (Hysaj slot at RWB).

[Princ]

The main job of the coach is to put the players in a position where they will not fail.. Reja has failed to do that with Hysaj(among others) and the latter is now receiving so much hate from fans, it is unreal.

Reja needs to pack his bags!

[artan]

The main job of the coach is to put the players in a position where they will not fail.. Reja has failed to do that with Hysaj(among others) and the latter is now receiving so much hate from fans, it is unreal.

Reja needs to pack his bags!

Most fans see that Hysaj plays at Napoli and expects him to carry the team. They don't understand what kind of player he is (defensive, hardworking and versatile) and put lofty expectations on him. And it's ironic because they'll never criticize someone like Balaj or Roshi. They'll even blame Hysaj for Lithuania's goal despite the fact it was Gjasula's terrible pass and Strakosha sprinting to midfield..

[Klejdi1023]

The main job of the coach is to put the players in a position where they will not fail.. Reja has failed to do that with Hysaj(among others) and the latter is now receiving so much hate from fans, it is unreal.

Reja needs to pack his bags!

The issue is that Reja has never coached a NT before. It's different when you coach a club and can buy the players that fit your system. We've already spent 12 games in this formation and it has not worked. It's stupid to keep wasting more time until we find the wingbacks for this formation and alienate Roshi, Uzuni, Grezda and other talented wingers we have.

[Aurora Bulkualis]

It's quite simple. Our offence is dogshit, and Reja is turning into it ratshit. You can make the argument that you can't polish a turd, but Reja certainly isn't helping.

3-5-2 with 2 limited strikers and no creative midfielders. Lithuania had a better offence. It's crazy to say but it's true. Superliga teams would do better offensively than that lineup with those players.

will need to have to do a 3-5-3 with two attacking wingers.

3-5-3 would certainly solve all our problems, but we can only field so many players

The issue is that if you have a 2 man midfield those guys need to be excellent in both attack and offence. Sadly, we don't have those players. You can take a hit and just say let defence handle it, which is what we should do imo.

Atalanta actually plays Djimsiti pretty high up, so he acts like a defensive mid. Not a solution, but better than 3-5-2.



(He was a lot higher than even that ^, but vid didn't have other CBs in the shot.)

[Princ]

I’ve been thinking about that too.. we’ve got such an influx of center backs and such a weak midfield that I believe we should try to convert one to a defensive mid, and one to a full back. Ismajli seems the better candidate for fullback and either Djimsiti or Kumbulla(if he doesn’t end up switching) to CDM.

How effective will that be? Who knows.. I don’t like playing players out of position either but we have nothing to lose and it should give our team a more defensive identity.

Anti-footballing 4-5-1:

—————Strakosha
Hysaj dermaku kumbulla Ismajli
——Gjasula Djimsiti Abrashi
Roshi ———Cikalleshi ———Uzuni

Subs(players to try in near future): Kallaku, Broja, Mihaj

This is a lineup we can work with for the time being.. there is great height, good defensive ability, and pace on the wings. A player like Andi Lila would come in super handy here as I’d actually be in favor of slotting him in Roshi’s spot to further solidify the defense(Uzuni is already a pretty good anti-footballer on the other side).

[Aurora Bulkualis]

I’ve been thinking about that too.. we’ve got such an influx of center backs and such a weak midfield that I believe we should try to convert one to a defensive mid, and one to a full back. Ismajli seems the better candidate for fullback and either Djimsiti or Kumbulla(if he doesn’t end up switching) to CDM.

How effective will that be? Who knows.. I don’t like playing players out of position either but we have nothing to lose and it should give our team a more defensive identity.

Anti-footballing 4-5-1:

—————Strakosha
Hysaj dermaku kumbulla Ismajli
——Gjasula Djimsiti Abrashi
Roshi ———Striker ———Uzuni

Subs(players to try in near future): Kallaku, Grezda, Broja, Mihaj

This is a lineup we can work with for the time being.. there is great height, good defensive ability, and pace on the wings. A player like Andi Lila would come in super handy here as I’d actually be in favor of slotting him in Roshi’s spot to further solidify the defense(Uzuni is already a pretty good anti-footballer on the other side).

Doesn't have to be a permanent DM. Just have the middle CB move up the field during attack, and drop back to back 3 when defending. This allows the 2 CMs to be more playmakers, than Abrashi/Xhaka types. Essentially, 4-3-3 in attack, and 3-4-3 in defence.

That way we can just play 2 central midfield creative players, and use 3-4-3. I would go with Bare/Kallaku. Gjasula is decent passer, but he offers 0 offence.

[Princ]

Doesn't have to be a permanent DM. Just have the middle CB move up the field during attack, and drop back to back 3 when defending. This allows the 2 CMs to be more playmakers, than Abrashi/Xhaka types. Essentially, 4-3-3 in attack, and 3-4-3 in defence.

That way we can just play 2 central midfield creative players, and use 3-4-3. I would go with Bare/Kallaku. Gjasula is decent passer, but he offers 0 offence.

I want Djimsiti ahead of the back line.. he will be in the role of Kukeli, shielding the two center backs. I want to avoid the 3 center back formation at all costs.

Let’s not kid ourselves, there is no midfielder we currently have that is better than Djimsiti both defensively and on the ball. This move will add much needed size to our team that will be noticeable immediately. I believe it should without a doubt improve our team defense, which has been absolute rubbish the last few years.

I want to see Albania fielding a tall team with the size advantage on the opponent, not the other way around anymore. We do not have a technical advantage over anyone with this current group.. it’s time to start playing to our strengths again.