Re: Albanian National Team [General topic]
Posted: Tue Jun 25, 2024 9:38 am
+1 Aurora for template.
Goalkeeper
Strakosha - Brilliant. Only flaw is his distribution really sucks. A lot of times we lost the ball due to him just missing easy passes, he really can't kick the ball, but great shot stopper and so calm under pressure too, especially playing against top attackers. Sad his saves didn't win more points for us. 7/10
Defender
Hysaj - Is what it is. It is hard to defend him anymore when basically every campaign he is making crucial errors that cost us possible qualifications. Balliu being invisible was better and that says a lot, with Hysaj you were hoping he wasn't involved in a conceded goal every game. I don't think it is necessarily age because he is still competent at club level but he just isn't mentally ready to play for us anymore. 3/10
Ajeti - Great tournament. No real mistakes and a lot of great interceptions. It baffles me how Ajeti never achieved better things at club level because he is always very professional and solid whenever he plays for Albania. 6.5/10
Djimsiti - Could have been better. Not awful but also below what I expect from a player of his quality, he had to lead the defense better and he lost his marker fairly frequently across the tournament. Ajeti was better. 5/10
Mitaj - Meh tournament. You can clearly see his talent but he still needs to put it together and add the tactical/defensive side to his game. Great going forward but still get the feeling he isn't fully top5 league level yet, he needs to iron out wrinkles in his game. On ball ability is gifted but needs to complete his game. 5.5/10
Balliu - Was solid coming in against Spain. Nothing amazing but didn't make any major mistake either, though it's hard to judge off just one game, would need to look closer, however, it seems clear that we should try and get one more campaign out of him as a starter. He has played almost 3000 minutes each season for the last three seasons for Rayo, which could indicate he is still in great physical shape but also maybe spell the start of a burnout. 6/10
Midfield
Ramadani - Didn't really do much but also wasn't all his fault as he wasn't getting the ball back in great positions, he was more of a recycler. Contributed well to that great first half against Croatia which I'm sure came partly as a result of his fighting play in midfield. 5.5/10
Laci - Great. Other than scoring the goal, he looked far more composed on the ball than he has previously for us. He also looks more positionally disciplined and not just ball chasing as he would do sometimes. Looks a lot more professional as a player, wouldn't be surprised if he will return to the top5 leagues. He has the physical conditioning and technical ability but his problem was always game intelligence mostly. 7/10
Asllani - He was decent but I don't think he was as good as people are claiming, from what we expect of him and his talent. He disappointed me somewhat in some positions missing good opportunities to pass, instead shooting or missing the open man. However he rarely lost the ball and that is very important against top sides that press you. 6/10
Bajrami (played as winger sometimes) - Hard to say because he is very much a moments player. He has the quality to pull off some great goals but then is very invisible for the rest, which is just the nature of his play. Scored a great goal against Italy which really we should have made massively better use of. I am sure the discussion would be different on him if we managed points from Italy. His goal could have qualified us but we managed the game poorly, so it will be forgotten about, but I still value that goal very highly, not easy to score a great goal like that against a top team like Italy in the Euros. We should have done better with it. His performance in the other two games was subpar but clearly was also out of position, he did not have the ability to take the defender on outside and kept having to cut back in, and given Asani also gave the team no width he was struggling also more. 6.5/10
Gjasula - Obviously was not up to the level physically or technically but did alright in his sub appearance, I suppose, scored a tough own goal but then was able to keep his head cool in the 95th minute and score with a great finish. However it was obvious he was not good enough to keep playing or play on a regular basis and looked quite far off the level. Only judging from his contribution in that game though, he did score a very crucial goal with a good finish, so his overall contribution to this tournament wasn't terrible. 6/10 (if he had played more would surely be worse rating)
Berisha - I didn't like him against Spain. He looked like he takes too long on the ball and is a bit clumsy, making the wrong decisions. However he is very young, didn't play much and entered in a difficult moment so it's hard to tell what kind of talents he has or if that is an accurate reflector at all of any of his ability, which it might not be. Let's see more of him in friendlies and in the easier WCQ games to judge if he's ready to contribute. N/A
Forward
Asani - Bad. Got an assist against Croatia but that was about the only positive thing about his tournament. Teams clearly planned for him a bit and on top he was clearly not in top shape after not playing for several months in Korea. He was so zoned out of the game that he didn't even have the chance to make any mistakes as he was never able to actually receive the ball in attacking areas. Marked out of every game practically. He rarely managed to shoot, which is his best quality. Hoxha was better in all of his sub appearances. You sort of understand why Sylvinho played him even for the first 2 games given his qualifiers but maybe against Spain he should have been dropped. However, a player not playing for several months at club level should always be a concern. 4/10
Manaj - In general, despite some decent moments, he just suffers from the same problem we've always seen which is that he can't run or is just incredibly lazy. Had some positive moments but was also really trash against Spain which put a real stain on his tournament. It seems that he lacks the physical level to be able to play high intensity games and disappears if the game is very fast or intense. And of course the stupid diving. However he wasn't terrible in all the games so not the worst on this list, his first half against Croatia was decent with good holdup play and movement and decent sub appearance against Italy. In spite of that he also missed 2 good chances that could have qualified us against Italy and Croatia (in particular, he really should do better with the Croatia header). 4.5/10
Broja - `People will complain a lot that he didn't start all the games and maybe it's justified but he also was poor this tournament. Ghost against Italy in what was a very important game and team got better after he was subbed off. Inexplicably didn't play against Croatia when it seemed his characteristics suited the game, so maybe the image we have of him is unfair, he could have played against Croatia. He doesn't seem quite as good as he was before his injury, he still has the athleticism but also looks like he is lacking sharpness. A lot of his passes were misplaced, his movement was confusing at times and his touch was poor. In essence, still the same player we knew from years ago, who is really athletic and good in certain 1v1 dribble situations, but lacks some important technical and tactical nuances. However, he had a good sub appearance vs Spain where the team instantly gained more attacking threat with his entry (though he did again, like our other forwards, miss 2 good chances which could have given us hope). Not the worst tournament but not great either. 5/10 (perhaps would be better if he had got minutes vs Croats?)
`Hoxha - Can't ask anymore from the minutes he was given. Had a spark plug effect every time he was subbed in, he has great speed and dribbling and in fact created many dangerous opportunities in every game he played just through his ball-carrying qualities. He was regularly able to take fullbacks on and get the team into attacking areas, the 2-2 against Croatia also comes from his feet. I wonder if he would be better or worse as a starter given he maybe is better against tired legs. However what is clear is he is likely better than Asani and has the physical level to cope against good teams. Difficult to mark him out of the game like Asani. 7/10
Seferi - Mmm, I mean, not absolutely awful, but also clearly flawed and struggled with contributing offensively in some games. Unlike Manaj or Asani though it was obvious he did have the physical capabilities to play at this level, he is good at pressing, winning the ball, strong, actually quite fast and generally physical, but just isn't very good at football. His speed is not what limits him offensively but just the fact he simply isn't very technical. It's kind of confusing he ever became a forward because it seems like he could be a much better midfielder as a pitbull or perhaps a true fullback. He doesn't have many strong attacking qualities but he is decent defensively. Regardless, he played in a more attacking role this tournament and therefore was a disappointment if we were expecting attacking contribution from him. He made many poor decisions with the ball, including failing to pass to open teammates vs Croatia that led to the loss of the ball and subsequently conceding. He also isn't very good at dribbling or creating, and his movement is not great, however as mentioned he is a good defensive contributor so wasn't all bad. 4.5/10
Daku - Barely played but had some positive minutes vs Croatia. Perhaps his physicality and activity could have helped us more had he played. Unfortunately due partly to his own stupidity he couldn't help us vs Spain. N/A
Muci - Barely played minutes. N/A
Goalkeeper
Strakosha - Brilliant. Only flaw is his distribution really sucks. A lot of times we lost the ball due to him just missing easy passes, he really can't kick the ball, but great shot stopper and so calm under pressure too, especially playing against top attackers. Sad his saves didn't win more points for us. 7/10
Defender
Hysaj - Is what it is. It is hard to defend him anymore when basically every campaign he is making crucial errors that cost us possible qualifications. Balliu being invisible was better and that says a lot, with Hysaj you were hoping he wasn't involved in a conceded goal every game. I don't think it is necessarily age because he is still competent at club level but he just isn't mentally ready to play for us anymore. 3/10
Ajeti - Great tournament. No real mistakes and a lot of great interceptions. It baffles me how Ajeti never achieved better things at club level because he is always very professional and solid whenever he plays for Albania. 6.5/10
Djimsiti - Could have been better. Not awful but also below what I expect from a player of his quality, he had to lead the defense better and he lost his marker fairly frequently across the tournament. Ajeti was better. 5/10
Mitaj - Meh tournament. You can clearly see his talent but he still needs to put it together and add the tactical/defensive side to his game. Great going forward but still get the feeling he isn't fully top5 league level yet, he needs to iron out wrinkles in his game. On ball ability is gifted but needs to complete his game. 5.5/10
Balliu - Was solid coming in against Spain. Nothing amazing but didn't make any major mistake either, though it's hard to judge off just one game, would need to look closer, however, it seems clear that we should try and get one more campaign out of him as a starter. He has played almost 3000 minutes each season for the last three seasons for Rayo, which could indicate he is still in great physical shape but also maybe spell the start of a burnout. 6/10
Midfield
Ramadani - Didn't really do much but also wasn't all his fault as he wasn't getting the ball back in great positions, he was more of a recycler. Contributed well to that great first half against Croatia which I'm sure came partly as a result of his fighting play in midfield. 5.5/10
Laci - Great. Other than scoring the goal, he looked far more composed on the ball than he has previously for us. He also looks more positionally disciplined and not just ball chasing as he would do sometimes. Looks a lot more professional as a player, wouldn't be surprised if he will return to the top5 leagues. He has the physical conditioning and technical ability but his problem was always game intelligence mostly. 7/10
Asllani - He was decent but I don't think he was as good as people are claiming, from what we expect of him and his talent. He disappointed me somewhat in some positions missing good opportunities to pass, instead shooting or missing the open man. However he rarely lost the ball and that is very important against top sides that press you. 6/10
Bajrami (played as winger sometimes) - Hard to say because he is very much a moments player. He has the quality to pull off some great goals but then is very invisible for the rest, which is just the nature of his play. Scored a great goal against Italy which really we should have made massively better use of. I am sure the discussion would be different on him if we managed points from Italy. His goal could have qualified us but we managed the game poorly, so it will be forgotten about, but I still value that goal very highly, not easy to score a great goal like that against a top team like Italy in the Euros. We should have done better with it. His performance in the other two games was subpar but clearly was also out of position, he did not have the ability to take the defender on outside and kept having to cut back in, and given Asani also gave the team no width he was struggling also more. 6.5/10
Gjasula - Obviously was not up to the level physically or technically but did alright in his sub appearance, I suppose, scored a tough own goal but then was able to keep his head cool in the 95th minute and score with a great finish. However it was obvious he was not good enough to keep playing or play on a regular basis and looked quite far off the level. Only judging from his contribution in that game though, he did score a very crucial goal with a good finish, so his overall contribution to this tournament wasn't terrible. 6/10 (if he had played more would surely be worse rating)
Berisha - I didn't like him against Spain. He looked like he takes too long on the ball and is a bit clumsy, making the wrong decisions. However he is very young, didn't play much and entered in a difficult moment so it's hard to tell what kind of talents he has or if that is an accurate reflector at all of any of his ability, which it might not be. Let's see more of him in friendlies and in the easier WCQ games to judge if he's ready to contribute. N/A
Forward
Asani - Bad. Got an assist against Croatia but that was about the only positive thing about his tournament. Teams clearly planned for him a bit and on top he was clearly not in top shape after not playing for several months in Korea. He was so zoned out of the game that he didn't even have the chance to make any mistakes as he was never able to actually receive the ball in attacking areas. Marked out of every game practically. He rarely managed to shoot, which is his best quality. Hoxha was better in all of his sub appearances. You sort of understand why Sylvinho played him even for the first 2 games given his qualifiers but maybe against Spain he should have been dropped. However, a player not playing for several months at club level should always be a concern. 4/10
Manaj - In general, despite some decent moments, he just suffers from the same problem we've always seen which is that he can't run or is just incredibly lazy. Had some positive moments but was also really trash against Spain which put a real stain on his tournament. It seems that he lacks the physical level to be able to play high intensity games and disappears if the game is very fast or intense. And of course the stupid diving. However he wasn't terrible in all the games so not the worst on this list, his first half against Croatia was decent with good holdup play and movement and decent sub appearance against Italy. In spite of that he also missed 2 good chances that could have qualified us against Italy and Croatia (in particular, he really should do better with the Croatia header). 4.5/10
Broja - `People will complain a lot that he didn't start all the games and maybe it's justified but he also was poor this tournament. Ghost against Italy in what was a very important game and team got better after he was subbed off. Inexplicably didn't play against Croatia when it seemed his characteristics suited the game, so maybe the image we have of him is unfair, he could have played against Croatia. He doesn't seem quite as good as he was before his injury, he still has the athleticism but also looks like he is lacking sharpness. A lot of his passes were misplaced, his movement was confusing at times and his touch was poor. In essence, still the same player we knew from years ago, who is really athletic and good in certain 1v1 dribble situations, but lacks some important technical and tactical nuances. However, he had a good sub appearance vs Spain where the team instantly gained more attacking threat with his entry (though he did again, like our other forwards, miss 2 good chances which could have given us hope). Not the worst tournament but not great either. 5/10 (perhaps would be better if he had got minutes vs Croats?)
`Hoxha - Can't ask anymore from the minutes he was given. Had a spark plug effect every time he was subbed in, he has great speed and dribbling and in fact created many dangerous opportunities in every game he played just through his ball-carrying qualities. He was regularly able to take fullbacks on and get the team into attacking areas, the 2-2 against Croatia also comes from his feet. I wonder if he would be better or worse as a starter given he maybe is better against tired legs. However what is clear is he is likely better than Asani and has the physical level to cope against good teams. Difficult to mark him out of the game like Asani. 7/10
Seferi - Mmm, I mean, not absolutely awful, but also clearly flawed and struggled with contributing offensively in some games. Unlike Manaj or Asani though it was obvious he did have the physical capabilities to play at this level, he is good at pressing, winning the ball, strong, actually quite fast and generally physical, but just isn't very good at football. His speed is not what limits him offensively but just the fact he simply isn't very technical. It's kind of confusing he ever became a forward because it seems like he could be a much better midfielder as a pitbull or perhaps a true fullback. He doesn't have many strong attacking qualities but he is decent defensively. Regardless, he played in a more attacking role this tournament and therefore was a disappointment if we were expecting attacking contribution from him. He made many poor decisions with the ball, including failing to pass to open teammates vs Croatia that led to the loss of the ball and subsequently conceding. He also isn't very good at dribbling or creating, and his movement is not great, however as mentioned he is a good defensive contributor so wasn't all bad. 4.5/10
Daku - Barely played but had some positive minutes vs Croatia. Perhaps his physicality and activity could have helped us more had he played. Unfortunately due partly to his own stupidity he couldn't help us vs Spain. N/A
Muci - Barely played minutes. N/A
