Albanians abroad

[artan]

We didn't get Ismajli until late 2018 while Rrahmani switched because he didn't make the Euro 2016 squad. We're lucky Gymcity wasn't eligible for Kosovo or we would have lost him too.

Ismajli was captain of Kosovo u21 until 2018 and switched over after being unhappy with a backup role for the senior team.

Should Rrahmani have been part of Albania at the time, Ismajli would have had a clear path to playing big minutes for them and would not have joined us.

Maybe but we were still playing with a back three at the time and Kumbulla was still a youth player at Verona. Ismajli would have had to battle Dermaku and an aging Mavraj for a starting spot which he would have probably won but knowing Reja maybe he'd start Dermaku over him whereas Kosovo was set with Rrahmani and Aliti as their starters.

[Plako]

Napoli #1 in Serie A and Rrahmani is a starting defender at this point.

Still can't believe De Biasi brought over Veseli and Ajeti over this dude. I mean ok, Ajeti did a good job, and no one could foresee the future, but this dude cost us a top defender.

Ajeti was a beast at the Euros. I was only mad we lost Rashica.

[Aurora Bulkualis]

Who cares about Ismajli? Napoli has conceded 3 goals. That's lowest amount conceded in Top 5 Leagues, tied only by Chelsea, Man City and Sevilla.

[Simboli i Diellit]

Who cares about Ismajli? Napoli has conceded 3 goals. That's lowest amount conceded in Top 5 Leagues, tied only by Chelsea, Man City and Sevilla.

Rrahmani was playing in Albania, who would’ve thought he would end up in Serie A let alone at a top club. De Biasi certainly had a role in exposing him to Serie A clubs because he continues to talk well for all Albanian players, just google “ de biasi rrahmani”

[artan]

Who cares about Ismajli? Napoli has conceded 3 goals. That's lowest amount conceded in Top 5 Leagues, tied only by Chelsea, Man City and Sevilla.

Rrahmani was playing in Albania, who would’ve thought he would end up in Serie A let alone at a top club. De Biasi certainly had a role in exposing him to Serie A clubs because he continues to talk well for all Albanian players, just google “ de biasi rrahmani”

Yep, Rrahmani was playing for Partizani at the time and no one would have knew he was going to be a top player. At the time Rrahmani simply wasn't good enough for that roster and he chose Kosovo due to the prospects of playing time which was a great move for him. In hindsight we would have dropped Veseli, Balaj, Aliji, etc, for the likes of Rrahmani, Rashica and Gymcity.

I still can't think about how disappointing that core was. Many of those players was supposed to be the leaders of this current team
Xhaka was 24 or 25 at the time of the 2016 Euros and was supposed to be a key player for us for years to come. He became a non-factor after the Euros with some performances here and there. Funny how Abrashi is still running strong for us when he was the lesser talent compared to Xhaka in 2015.
Kace was supposed to be the Albanian Xavi back in 2013 and we thought he would be what Bardhi is now. He peaked at 19 and now he's in the Superliga
Ajeti was a regular for Basel in 12/13 at 19 and playing a big role in a EL run. Had good performances for us and just disappeared. Now without a club at the ripe age of 28
Aliji was kind of overrated in hindsight looking at his club performances but he was young, passed the eye test (looked fast and good attacking option at LB) but peaked at 21. Was supposed to be the Agolli replacement. Now he's without a club at the ripe age of 27
Gashi was tearing up the Swiss League and even had 20+ league goals for Basel. Was always overrated for the NT because he was slow and didn't offer much besides goal poaching (which he missed sitters) but pretty much disappeared after 2015. Went from a top player at Basel to MLS reject in two season.
Balaj and Cikalleshi still suck ass to this day and didn't improve one bit
Rey Manaj didn't make the Euro team but he had some appearances in friendlies and was being hyped as the next big thing. Will be playing in the Turkish first division soon.
Ndoj, Grezda, etc, were post 2016 Euros but they flopped too.


What a failure of a generation. We had to rely on washed up players like Basha, Agolli, Memushaj, Lenjani to play big roles with the NT because these guys failed. Also led to some amateurish call ups of random players. Atleast it looks like this new core has promise for the future and some gems for our standards (Broja, Kumbulla, Broja)

[Princ]

Who cares about Ismajli? Napoli has conceded 3 goals. That's lowest amount conceded in Top 5 Leagues, tied only by Chelsea, Man City and Sevilla.

Albania has only eaten 1 goal in the last 4 matches due to mistake of Hysaj.

Ismajli is a beast and should not be underrated. If it is not broken, do not fix it!

[CanaYouDoIt]

Who cares about Ismajli? Napoli has conceded 3 goals. That's lowest amount conceded in Top 5 Leagues, tied only by Chelsea, Man City and Sevilla.

Albania has only eaten 1 goal in the last 4 matches due to mistake of Hysaj.

Ismajli is a beast and should not be underrated. If it is not broken, do not fix it!

Ismajli is not a beast nor is he anywhere near the level of Rrahmani

[Princ]

Ismajli is not a beast nor is he anywhere near the level of Rrahmani

Ismajli is a monster, and every fan of the Kosovo NT will admit they wish he never switched to Albania.

Had it not been for the super professional Hysaj, the dream of qualification is still alive today!

[Aurora Bulkualis]

What a failure of a generation. We had to rely on washed up players like Basha, Agolli, Memushaj, Lenjani to play big roles with the NT because these guys failed. Also led to some amateurish call ups of random players. Atleast it looks like this new core has promise for the future and some gems for our standards (Broja, Kumbulla, Broja)

Once you reach a certain level of technical ability and athleticism, the biggest factor is simply mentality. Mentality in working hard, having discipline, being motivated, and calm in big moments. Unfortunately, a lot of Albanians come from poorer backgrounds, and the second they make a good amount of money, they lose the fire that got them there.

It's not even really an "us" thing as it's pretty common in places like S. America or Eastern Europe, especially the Balkans. The bad part is that our bar is so much lower than those other places. We hail mid-table players as heroes. They think they've made it and are big shots, but in other countries they'd be irrelevant. This is why I rail on about "raising the bar" and would have liked Manaj to stay at Barca, just so we get more token Albos at top clubs. I couldn't care less about Manaj's development as a player because he will never be a top player. But him being a token Albo even with 1-2 minutes/game at Barca, raises expectations for what's "normal" and possible. Low expectations = Bad results.

[Dallku]

Had it not been for the super professional Hysaj, the dream of qualification is still alive today!

Hysaj didn't cost you qualification because a draw would've been pointless anyway. You can't 0-0 your way into the world cup.

What cost you qualification is only having 1 shot on target in 90 minutes and never looking like scoring in a must win game at home.

What cost you is benching all your attackers and in general opting for relationships over meritocracy.