Albanians abroad

[artan]

Broja and Kumbulla got very unlucky with horrible injuries, hardly anyone comes fully back in football after tearing their ACL. The others have made bad career choices, but their still very young and can turn their careers around.

It's all about mentality. Some athletes have bounced back even from multiple ACLs.

Kumbulla deserves props because he bounced back well from his ACL and played a full successful season for Espanyol. Now he's injured again though... but at least he showed tough mentality to come back.

Broja is the one who the injury completely ruined. He was never the toughest mentally even before the ACL, so it happening to him specifically was a killer.

Forget about the injuries, when was the last time Broja played reguarly? 21 - 22? He's essentially lost 4 years of development and is probably worse than he was 4 years ago. He's done being a top flight player. Maybe he can have some moments with the NT in the future as with National Teams as you only need to show up a few games a year.

Same with Kumbulla but less extreme. He moved to Roma and rotted on the bench for 3 years or so. He should be the backbone of our defense but yet Ajeti has always out played him. Usually I'm pissed when the amateurs are starting over the professionals but in this case the 2nd division Turkish player is actually better than the professional.


All wasted their prime years rotting on the bench. Combine that with some injuries and it's a bleak outlook.

[RedFootballs]

Broja and Kumbulla got very unlucky with horrible injuries, hardly anyone comes fully back in football after tearing their ACL. The others have made bad career choices, but their still very young and can turn their careers around.

It's all about mentality. Some athletes have bounced back even from multiple ACLs.

Kumbulla deserves props because he bounced back well from his ACL and played a full successful season for Espanyol. Now he's injured again though... but at least he showed tough mentality to come back.

Broja is the one who the injury completely ruined. He was never the toughest mentally even before the ACL, so it happening to him specifically was a killer.

Forget about the injuries, when was the last time Broja played reguarly? 21 - 22? He's essentially lost 4 years of development and is probably worse than he was 4 years ago. He's done being a top flight player. Maybe he can have some moments with the NT in the future as with National Teams as you only need to show up a few games a year.

Same with Kumbulla but less extreme. He moved to Roma and rotted on the bench for 3 years or so. He should be the backbone of our defense but yet Ajeti has always out played him. Usually I'm pissed when the amateurs are starting over the professionals but in this case the 2nd division Turkish player is actually better than the professional.


All wasted their prime years rotting on the bench. Combine that with some injuries and it's a bleak outlook.

This is correct, yes Broja got a serious injury but the problem isn't only there, the problem is that he has preferred to stay in the Premier League and become completely inactive for more than 3 years rather than moving to a team which matches his current level, where he can get regular playing time and develop himself further.

He has essentially thrown 3 years of his career into the bin by insisting to stay in a league which he isn't yet good enough for. And yes, that is the reality, he isn't at the moment, even his best season is 6 goals with Southampton, and in fact, his best season in general is the first one with his career with Vitesse.

He has shown nothing for the NT since Hungary 4 years ago and the fans need to be harsher on him. He is a talented player but he gets away with being lazy and unfocused for literally 3 years now, and every season, I wrote here the same thing, he needs to move to a club that can give him minutes and not stay in the Prem. Albanian fans are absurdly permissive with how stupid this guy has been with his career choices.

When he chose Everton, with them having Calvert Lewin, I knew immediately it will be another empty season, now Burnley, again, another empty season, just go to a B tier league *for now* where you can develop and actually gain some fucking minutes! What kind of a football player thinks they can go straight into Premier League full starting seasons after 3 years of inactivity? Even world-class players can't do that, and he is nowhere near good enough to do that.

Him and his idiot dad need to start making the right decisions for him. Start new and go to a club where he can play and build his resume, Holland, Belgium, Turkey, maybe the Championship, somewhere where he can restart his career.

[RedFootballs]

because his game is not based on speed and explosivity like Broja’s is..

This is the problem, Broja has hardly developed the tactical aspects of his game at all, for a striker, his tactical awareness and movement are very low level compared to his other attributes. He leans very heavily on his speed and power, and he isn't particularly technical either.

To the point where taking away his athleticism there is very little there. Which is a recipe for disaster, because athleticism can wax and wane, and it can also become very predictable once your opponents understand your main threat is kick and run.

Broja needs to work on everything football-wise first. His football understanding is very sub par for the player he should be, and he really, really needs to learn the ropes at a lower level to understand how to play as a forward.

[RedFootballs]

failed golden generation

I’m not sure that they failed..

Topped the group and qualified for EURO which is a big deal for Albania.

Did they have longevity?

No.. but still made history.

Are they the ones that made that happen though? Broja didn't contribute, Muci didn't either, Kumbulla neither. Bajrami somewhat then fell off a cliff.

The only ones from that list who made a major contribution are Asllani and Mitaj, and the two of them are still playing at a good level. Asllani also did the right thing and went to a team which matches his level better, which Broja must do if he wants to avoid falling out of football.

[RedFootballs]

Mitaj is probably making 3x more in Saudi Arabia than he would be earning in whatever league is his level in Europe (Netherlands, Fringe Serie A team, Good Serie B Team, etc).

Unfortunately, what's best for your development/career is not what's best for you financially. Can't say I blame him because I think most players would do the same. Add another player to the failed golden generation of Albania that could have been special (Broja, Asllani, Kumbulla, Mitaj, Muci, Bajrami, etc)

Broja and Kumbulla got very unlucky with horrible injuries, hardly anyone comes fully back in football after tearing their ACL. The others have made bad career choices, but their still very young and can turn their careers around.

Sure they can and they can still be productive players for the NT. But it seemed like the potential of some of these guys were supposed to be really high and something Albania has never had before. Regardless, someone like Kumbulla starting for a fringe La Liga team still makes him better than 80% of the defenders Albania has ever had so in a sense we should still be thankful we have some professional players. Someone like Asllani even if he isn't a Champions League player is still a very quality player and probably Albania's best player.

But that being said Albania needs to restart it's recruiting cycle. They need to start poaching up some players as the Under 21 list is not impressive at all. Try to poach Vata, see what Ibrahimovic has, etc. You can't be expecting guys like Maldin Kaccuri to be the new Gymcity.

This is really true. Based on their club trajectory they should have been adding much more, but in reality there isn't much differentiating them from the other players.

However it's important to note that this is why you need a deep squad. Some players despite their club level just aren't a good fit and it happens with many other NTs to. You also need to raise the level of the team generally so those guys can show their ability better.

I would say Djimsiti is clearly out best player and has been for a very long time. The guy has been rock solid consistent as long as he's played for us almost. He is the only guy you can rely on from any of these not to f*** up.