Duke: National must challenge itself in Germany

Albanian Football Federation President Armand Duka was part of the Albanian “show” in RTSH, where she spoke of the 2023 successes in person and collective terms.

Choices like Z. President U n The EFA, which made a big fuss by becoming the first Albanian to reach such a high position in the European football hierarchy, and on the other hand, the fantastic red success, the first country in the E Group and the European qualifications “German 2024”, are the successes that have made it rated even as one of the characters of 2023.

The head of the Albanian football government succeeds as Z. President of UEFA viewed it as collective merit by praising all factors that made it possible. Furthermore, President Duka said 2023 was very good, but he wished 2024 would have more success and the red-red national tow everyone in Germany.

A very important 2023 year, especially for the National, with many challenges...

- 2023 has been a good year, or very good one, or one of the best stories of Albanian football in all perspectives, but mostly with the national team results and performance throughout the games. Everything's been great with the team's finish in first place. A great year, but I wish 2024 could pass.

What emotions does the year 2023 wear you with?

As I said before, it was a well - finalised year, but there have been events along the way that have not been in proper expectations. We started qualifying in Poland with losses in the first match, which somehow got us out of sight. But we made a positive presentation. Then we proceeded with results, winning Moldova and the Faroe Islands, accompanied by fantastic home matches against Poland and Czechia. So it's been generally a good journey, with positive emotions, but there's also been moments like the game of Poland or the Faroe Islands in the last game where expectations were to close with more points.

We did not risk our first position, but we could have enjoyed the audience more. But these results are no coincidence, they're the product of a whole F.F.S. staff job, coach Silvio and his staff, the football players who played in the field, who were motivated, connected to the fanella and did everything well. It's also the result of support. You can't get a score if you don't really have support, especially in football, which is a collective, emotional game, if you don't have the support of opinion in general, of ladder fans, on the street, in the media, everywhere, to create a positive, optimistic atmosphere to reach the target. I believe the second national achievement deserves 2023.

You've rightly mentioned that there are many actors who have their role in all this success and one of them is surely Coach Silvio. Has it taken you long to be convinced that he is the one?

Now, before making your choice, you're not sure about your decision. No doubt you leave and evaluate from the opinions of an interview meeting, from the candidate's CV, and in concrete cases Silvio was a candidate with a very rich football career. Very high-level footballer who has been activated in very important clubs in Europe, with a certain not too big experience as a coach. I met four or five very good-level candidates back then. But what convinced me of Silvio was his hunger for success and his belief, after he studied the team that we can achieve, we can achieve the target set by the FSF.

Fortunately it turned out that we were not wrong, his work was excellent. His contribution, as far as a coach is concerned, because football is a collective sport, you can't win it alone, not just players, but all together. But his job was very good, it was the best of all the former trainers. The way he organizes his work, stay all the time in Albania, motivate footballers, undoubtedly and tactical preparation of the team and psychological for the match. So there's a huge credit to Silvio and his entire staff”.

) A very challenging year awaits us, because the teams we're facing in the group are very strong. What are the expectations?

But always, the higher you go, the harder it is. The team must challenge themselves with the deck it has laid. We're going to Europe to another level of difficulties, with even better teams, but the lot has put us in front of teams that have a big name, such as Italy, Spain and Croatia. I said after lots, I'm not disappointed, I'm not upset with lots. I'm happy, because I take all the games in sports, but the names we're going to face in the football world are really big names and it's fun to play against them. After all, by playing against the big ones, you can become big, you can learn, or you can find a way to get big.

It's not easy, it's known that they're very good teams with the experience of final tours, winner of the World or European, but we also have a good team. We're at a good time, we've done well in qualifying, we've got quality footballers, they can afford Europeans and they can reach even more. No doubt the emotional and psychological state of such a tour is important. I call on the team to enjoy European and the outcome they have achieved without a huge psychological burden.

The psychological charge must be our opponents. If we do this, as we have done with Poland and Czechia, that were at the same level of sports as I thought, even Chekhia can be even better than these teams and we'll see that in the tournament, we'll get through the group. I'm pretty sure we'll do good, as I'm aware it's not easy.

In the meantime, you claimed to cross the group, but how difficult is it to make a prediction, what would be the biggest step we can take in this European?

In football it's very difficult to predict, it's not like in other sports, individual or handplay, it's more predictable in results. Soccer is very unpredictable. We have the opportunity to make all three results in all three matches, so I can't predict. The target is to cross the group, and if you cross the group, maybe it's even easier than the group, because in a match you can build a strategy like this where it's enough not to get a goal and wait for an opportunity or go toward a penalty, so you can go even further.

But even if we don't cross the group, we're really glad that we're part of this final tour and I don't at any point want to psychologically load the team with pressure from the European outcome, except to invite them to enjoy what they've accomplished. From an administrative point of view we've taken all measures, we create all the team conditions. We have created maximum conditions for the team to be quiet and target.

We expect new entrances to the Nationals this year?

Nationals like this, different from clubs. At the time of the match, he gets the best. The one in shape in June will be part of the team. There could be someone who wasn't present during the preliminary, because ultimately the final tour is not the reward for the preliminary, but it's a new challenge, with maximum contributions and with the best players of the moment.

So those who are more in shape at that moment will be part of the team. We've had two title shortages because of the damage, Marash Cubilla and Armando Broya. If they're fully recovered and I wish they're recovered because there's two quality football players, they're definitely going to be part of the team, or some other U21, or others that were before, they're not involved in the team, but they might be in shape in June.

So it's left to select technical staff. They will undoubtedly follow their journey in the past few months and at the time of the staff gathering, decide who can help the national team.

You are the first Albanian to take on an important post such as Z. The president of UEFA. What does Albanian football mean to you personally?

) I'm proud of U Vice President's position EFA, but in no case do I consider a personal merit, but a collective merit. Because you cannot be chosen in this position because of the personal relationships you create with colleagues or counterparts.

This results from your job and the results you have achieved in your country. These results are not achieved only, but with all colleagues, collaborators, footballers, staff and the FSHF administration. So I consider it pride of Albanian national football that has a place in the European football government.

You have co-operative projects on your planet for 2024?

Obviously, we're open and if we're going to arrive and I think that in 2023 we've managed to create a positive atmosphere, we're open to co-operate with all of the factors and actors in the country, with all of the media, especially with RTS to create a positive atmosphere of football.

A recent question has circulated many figures from the benefit of the European qualifying national. How true are these figures?

The participating teams, only for Euro-2024 participation, benefit 9.25m euros each. Later during the matches, there is the Premio -- for the equivalent of 500 thousand euros and 1m euros in victory.

Thank you very much for being with us in the Albanian “ ” and many future successes.

Thank you. I want to repeat once again the congratulations for you and all Albanians for a year as long as 2024, the healthier, the more soccer and results in Germany.