Albanians abroad

[Albanian Damien]

For me how a guy plays at a club is not even more than 50% of what should go into the decision making process of a national team. Look at a guy like Miroslav Klose for example. He played on terrible clubs but was a consistent starter/killer for one of the best teams in the world.

If Balaj works hard in practice, and he can finish the pieces we set up for him then he should play. It doesn't matter if he doesn't get a second of play time in the Croatia league because so much of sports is political anyway wether people like to admit or not.

[AlMadman]

For me how a guy plays at a club is not even more than 50% of what should go into the decision making process of a national team. Look at a guy like Miroslav Klose for example. He played on terrible clubs but was a consistent starter/killer for one of the best teams in the world.

If Balaj works hard in practice, and he can finish the pieces we set up for him then he should play. It doesn't matter if he doesn't get a second of play time in the Croatia league because so much of sports is political anyway wether people like to admit or not.

This is a first.

I can sleep easy tonight knowing Balaj is a top player, but its just these god damn politics keeping him from fulfilling his potential.

[KF.KORAB]

For me how a guy plays at a club is not even more than 50% of what should go into the decision making process of a national team. Look at a guy like Miroslav Klose for example. He played on terrible clubs but was a consistent starter/killer for one of the best teams in the world.

If Balaj works hard in practice, and he can finish the pieces we set up for him then he should play. It doesn't matter if he doesn't get a second of play time in the Croatia league because so much of sports is political anyway wether people like to admit or not.

This is a first.

I can sleep easy tonight knowing Balaj is a top player, but its just these god damn politics keeping him from fulfilling his potential.

Well i remember some Albanians like Kristi Vangjeli or Elis Bakaj complained about Ukraine and racism towrads Albanians but i really doubt Croatia is like that...

[Albanian Damien]

haha guys I didn't mean national politics. I meant social politics. I.E. personal relationship with the coaching staff, boss etc.

[Albo_eagle]

Out of the three strikers Balaj is the most talented. He is the most natural finisher.

We really need a young striker to come through.

[Dallku]

Balaj is one of my least favorite NT players EVER. Hell I'd take Kapllani and Salihi over him in a heartbeat. He scored that fluke goal for the NT 2+ years ago. Ok it was probably the most important goal of the qualifiers but man even a broken clock is right twice a day. At club level he has always been a benchwarmer everywhere he went... from Czech Republic, to Poland and now Croatia. Shitty leagues too.

[artan]

Balaj isn't very good and we must accept this reality. He's 25 and at this point he'll never develop into anything worthwhile. The fact he can't start regularly in a league like Croatia is worrisome as it's not a very good league. Balaj doesn't deserve to be called up and he's still living off the Portugal goal. You can talk about Roshi too but his performances for the NT have been better compared to Balaj. That goal may have hurt his career as he became somewhat of a celebrity after the goal and the Serbia incident which may have got to his head, he probably thinks he's Zlatan.

Cikaleshi may be a backup as well but atleast it's in a better club/league. Cika also is a more complete player too. He scored today as well.

I'd rather see Avdijaj or Manaj get called up instead of Balaj.

[Erik]

Balaj isn't very good and we must accept this reality. He's 25 and at this point he'll never develop into anything worthwhile. The fact he can't start regularly in a league like Croatia is worrisome as it's not a very good league. Balaj doesn't deserve to be called up and he's still living off the Portugal goal. You can talk about Roshi too but his performances for the NT have been better compared to Balaj. That goal may have hurt his career as he became somewhat of a celebrity after the goal and the Serbia incident which may have got to his head, he probably thinks he's Zlatan.

Cikaleshi may be a backup as well but atleast it's in a better club/league. Cika also is a more complete player too. He scored today as well.

I'd rather see Avdijaj or Manaj get called up instead of Balaj.

Okay Balaj isn't great but he's still in our top 3 strikers. We seem to forget that he has 18 goals for Rijeka in only around 30 starts and a few sub appearances.

If we seriously think someone like Manaj who has like 40 minutes total Serie A action all season would benefit us more than Balaj then we are delusional.

[Albo_eagle]

None of the three strikers we have are 'very good', but Balaj for me is the best of them. He scores when he plays, his goal yesterday was a great finish. Cikaleshi scored a awsome goal today aswell.

Our striker situation is the reason i really wanted Tarashaj. Avdijaj can play upfront though, and maybe Manaj will be getting regular game time next season so he can start.

[artan]

Balaj isn't very good and we must accept this reality. He's 25 and at this point he'll never develop into anything worthwhile. The fact he can't start regularly in a league like Croatia is worrisome as it's not a very good league. Balaj doesn't deserve to be called up and he's still living off the Portugal goal. You can talk about Roshi too but his performances for the NT have been better compared to Balaj. That goal may have hurt his career as he became somewhat of a celebrity after the goal and the Serbia incident which may have got to his head, he probably thinks he's Zlatan.

Cikaleshi may be a backup as well but atleast it's in a better club/league. Cika also is a more complete player too. He scored today as well.

I'd rather see Avdijaj or Manaj get called up instead of Balaj.

Okay Balaj isn't great but he's still in our top 3 strikers. We seem to forget that he has 18 goals for Rijeka in only around 30 starts and a few sub appearances.

If we seriously think someone like Manaj who has like 40 minutes total Serie A action all season would benefit us more than Balaj then we are delusional.

Balaj has 9 goals in 29 appearances and is average a goal every 178th minute this season for Rijeka(all competitions). I used to be a big fan of Balaj but he hasn't done anything to prove his worth. Every year we say he needs a chance or he's gonna breakout but it's the same deal every season. I do think he has talent but maybe he's not impressing the coaches hard enough in practice? IDK. But I do suppose he's one of our top 3 strikers considering Cika, Salihi and Sadiku aren't world beaters...

As for Manaj I do agree it's delusional but playing a guy like Balaj on a consistent basis who never performs for the NT is delusional as well. Atleast with Manaj you never know what he'll bringand it's the same with other guys. Maybe give Gashi a chance in the striker role or maybe even Rashica, just to see if they can be better than what we have currently.