“We are on the map.” This is the most important sentence as far as the Kosovo team is concerned, because the very participation in the biggest sports competitions in the world is critical to the national consciousness. It is not only the “youngest” country in Europe, which declared independence in 2008. She even has to fight for the very recognition of her. Serbia considers Kosovo an integral part of it and only in 2014 did FIFA approve the Kosovars to play under their flag.
This happened thanks to the recognition of the Olympic Committee which paved the way and the successful athletes from Kosovo became the most important ambassadors of the nation. It is difficult to describe in words the public excitement when Melinda Kalamendi won the European Judo Championship held in 2016 in Kazan, forcing the Russians – the most important allies of the Serbs – to perform the Kosovo anthem on their soil.
Therefore, the motivation of the team’s players is always extremely high. In other national teams, there are sometimes stars who see the national uniform mainly as a springboard, or alternatively as a burden. In Kosovo this cannot happen, what’s more, reaching the national team is the main bridge that connects the footballers to their homeland. The brutal war caused many to seek refuge far from home in the 1990s – therefore most of the team’s players were born in different European countries or immigrated to them with their families when they were small children. They could have represented Germany, Switzerland, Sweden and Norway, but followed their hearts and chose Kosovo. In the first official games, players cried during the playing of the national anthem, and this is not unusual even now.
Qualifying for a major tournament would be a major milestone for the country, and in Kosovo’s first European Championship qualifying campaign the chances of that seem quite high at one point. Kosovo gained only one point in the 2018 World Cup qualifiers, but in the Euro 2020 campaign it was a completely different opera. 2:3 in Bulgaria a dramatic goal deep in injury time instilled a lot of faith and 1:2 against the Czech Republic jumped the Kosovans to second place at home after England.
The euphoria was great, and many fans already saw the team going to the tournament, but a surprising victory of the Czechs over the English spoiled the cards. Later, Kosovo lost in Prague, and the Czech Republic finished safely in the long-awaited second place. The Kosovars went to the playoffs of the Nations League, where they succumbed to neighboring North Macedonia in the semi-finals – and it was Goran Pandev’s team that went to the Euros in the end.
It was the heyday of Kosovar football with the Swiss coach Bernard Schaland. He ended his career after a much less successful campaign in the 2022 World Cup qualifiers, in which Kosovo finished last at home with five points against Spain, Sweden, Greece and Georgia. After his departure, the association bet on the veteran Frenchman Alain Giers – a legendary figure as a superstar in the 80s alongside Michel Platini, Jean Tigana and Luis Fernandez, but much less successful as a coach. Performances in the Nations League last season were unimpressive, and most journalists now believe that Giers’ cautious style does not really suit his squad.
Along with the disappointment from Jires, there is an evident dissatisfaction with the way the association is managed. Kosovo has not recovered, and probably will not recover for many years, from the tragic death of its greatest symbol. Padil Vokri, the only Kosovar who played regularly in the national team of Yugoslavia in the 1980s, was appointed president of the association immediately after gaining independence in 2008 and served with great success for a decade. He passed away in 2018 after suffering a sudden heart attack, and his absence is felt every moment. The national stadium is named after him, but that’s not quite enough.
The association functions improperly, journalists criticize it for the lack of any strategy, and corruption is a major problem. The arrest of the current president Agim Adami by the police on suspicion of tax evasion a few days before the match against Israel does not add peace to the national team to say the least.
This scandal only intensifies the pessimism that stems from the poor fitness of a significant part of the players on the roster, even if the two main stars are coming in swing. The stopper Amir Rahmani is on the way to winning the Italian championship with Napoli, in which he enjoys the full backing of coach Luciano Spalletti and regularly starts in the lineup both in the domestic arena and in the Champions League.
Central striker Wedt Morici is excelling in the Spanish league for Mallorca after failing completely at Lazio last year. He has already scored 10 goals this season in the Spanish league – and they make up almost half of the crop of all Mallorca who scored only 22 times. They are also the captain and vice-captain, so they will lead the team in all possible ways. Her success in the campaign in general, and in the meeting with Israel in particular, depends a lot on them.
Beyond that, the creative players who at the time were considered stars with high potential faded and got lost, although they still have a place of honor in the team. Valon Berisha was once a key player for Salzburg and was signed by Lazio in 2018, but failed miserably and currently plays for Melbourne City in Australia. Bresant Celina was an outstanding trainee in Manchester City’s academy, but did not even qualify for talent, and is now gone to Stoke City on loan from Dijon.
Milot Rashitsa ignited the imagination in the Bundesliga with Bremen, but the move to Norwich City turned out to be a mistake, and he is currently in rotation at Galatasaray. Arber Zanli was a very promising winger, but two serious knee ligament injuries ruined his career. Adon Zhagrova, the trickster on the wing, was good in Basel, but disappeared on the bench at Lille.
According to the estimates in the Kosovar media, Celina, Rashica, Barisha and Zagreb may be in the lineup against Israel, and one of them may even excel, but in principle, disappointment with them is evident – and this affects the general mood. It must be said that after the lottery in October, the Kosovars expressed considerable hopes, and the president of the association Adami set first place as a possible goal. the journalist Erlind Sadiko Stated: “It’s too optimistic, but second place is realistic.” Today the commentators express greater caution, but they must not be underestimated in any way.
Because when talented players strive to put their homeland on the map and their motivation knows no bounds, they are able in certain scenarios to overcome all obstacles and achieve extremely ambitious goals. For anyone who steps on the grass in Bloomfield in a Kosovo shirt, it will be one of the most important games of the year personally – and that’s worth quite a bit.