Albania had an incredible run in the playoffs, which was all the more surprising as it emerged from one of the worst years in its football history, winning one of eleven matches. Their fate changed immediately when Sylvinho was named in January and the team went through an unsmacken streak of eight matches, which included victories over Poland and the Czech Republic, where the “reds and blacks” won Group E, qualifying only for their second European Championship final.
Players such as Armando Broja, Marash Kumbulla and Rey Manaj were supposed to play a central role, but were absent due to injuries. The Brazilian coach had the audacity to bring such players as Jasir Asani, Mario mitaj, Mirlind Daku and Arbnor Muja, who had never played international football before, into the lineup, and all of them turned out to be decisive for the result, although sometimes the performances were not particularly brilliant.
Form will be a problem at the euros, as several important players arrive this season with a lack of minutes. These include the two goalkeepers Etrit Berisha from Empoli and Thomas Strakosha from Brentford as well as the decisive long-distance goalscorer Asani, who has only played eight minutes of club football so far in due to contract disputes with his South Korean team Gwangju.
Another problem concerned Sylvinho’s last team selection, which suddenly left out regulars such as Sokol cikalleshi, Myrto Uzuni and Keidi Nus, offering inconsistent explanations for why “my criteria for the squad was not playing time with their teams” and “the team was not based on what happened in the qualifiers” until “I changed the squad three days ago”.
The selection put pressure on the Brazilian, who was not there before, and now he has to prove to everyone that he was right. Cikalleshi, who turns 34 after this summer, immediately left international football after this omission.
Albania won at least its first preliminary match against Liechtenstein 3-0, and the FA said there was an agreement that Sylvinho would continue to lead the team.
The manager likes a 4-3-3 setup and knows he needs his entire team in top form to be a part of it. “Players who do not run will not join us,” was Sylvinho’s quick response after two mediocre performances in the friendly matches in March, which lost 3-0 to Chile and 1-0 to Sweden. Double pivot in midfield requires rude players to be directly involved in defensive tasks.
This will certainly be the matter in a Euro group with matches against Italy, Croatia and Spain, where the defense will be tested to the limit. The counteraction is the weapon that Albania has used so many times, and it depends, in particular, on the speed and technical skills of the wingers. This will not change against opponents of such caliber in group B.