| Nickname(s) | Kuq e Zinjtë (Red and Blacks) Shqiponjat (Eagles) |
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|---|---|---|---|
| Association | Federata Shqiptare e Futbollit | ||
| Confederation | UEFA (Europe) | ||
| Head coach | Gianni De Biasi | ||
| Captain | Lorik Cana | ||
| Most caps | Altin Lala (79) | ||
| Top scorer | Erjon Bogdani (15) | ||
| Home stadium | Qemal Stafa | ||
| FIFA code | ALB | ||
| FIFA ranking | 74[1][2] | ||
| Highest FIFA ranking | 50 (April 2011[3]) | ||
| Lowest FIFA ranking | 124 (August 1997[3]) | ||
| Elo ranking | 97 [4] | ||
| Highest Elo ranking | 76 (4 September 2004 [4]) | ||
| Lowest Elo ranking | 127 (December 1994 [4]) | ||
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| First international | |||
| Albania 2–3 Yugoslavia (Tirana, Albania; October 7, 1946)[5] |
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| Biggest win | |||
| Albania 6–1 Cyprus (Tirana, Albania August 12, 2009)[5] |
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| Biggest defeat | |||
| Hungary 12–0 Albania (Budapest, Hungary; September 24, 1950)[5] |
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| European Championship | |||
| Appearances | 1 (First in 1964) | ||
| Best result | Round of 16, 1964 | ||
The Albania national association football team is the national association football team of Albania and is controlled by the Football Association of Albania. Although not considered as one of the strongest footballing sides in Europe, Albanians are passionate about their football and the national team has occasionally managed to perform well against more illustrious opponents.
Founded on June 6, 1930, Albania had to wait 16 years to play the first international match, debuting against Yugoslavia in 1946. In 1932, Albania had already joined FIFA (during the congress June 12 — June 16) and in 1954, it was one of the founding members of UEFA. Albania had been invited to play in 1934 World Cup, but owing to organizing difficulties, it didn't take part.
Football arrived in Albania at the beginning of the 20th century. The first recorded match was between students at a Christian mission in Shkodër. The game increased in popularity and by 1919 the first club, KS Vllaznia Shkodër had been founded. In 1920 SK Tirana was also founded, other towns and cities followed suit and on 6 June 1930 the Football Association of Albania (FSF) was established. The association became a member of football's governing body FIFA in 1932, and joined the UEFA in 1954 as a founding member. A domestic championship began in 1930 with 6 teams. KF Tirana were the inaugural winners. They, together with such sides are KS Dinamo Tirana, Vllaznia Shkodër and FK Partizani, have continued to dominate the Albanian scene until the present day. The years following World War II saw a new political order, with the introduction of a communist system which had a positive impact as far as the game's appeal was concerned. Football became popularised. Its infrastructure grew stronger as the game was organised and developed in state enterprises, schools, villages and towns. New institutional clubs were founded such as Partizani Tirana (1946) and Dinamo Tirana (1950) (governed respectively by Ministry of Defence and Ministry of Internal Affairs). Until 1990 they were privileged in relation to the other clubs as they were able to get players from other teams. From 1991, there were crucial political and economic changes that had a tremendous effect on the nation, as the centralised economy and political system came to an end. The result for the country's footballers was an opportunity to play their trade on foreign fields. Neighbouring Greece and the Balkan states were popular destinations for players who were good enough to go abroad.
In December 2007, Football Association of Albania's president, Armand Duka, announced Arie Haan would replace Croatia's Otto Barić as Albania's head coach. Haan signed a two-year contract on January 4, 2008.[6]
Albania started their 2010 FIFA World Cup Qualifying campaign against Sweden on September 6, 2008. They have been drawn in Group 1 with Sweden, Portugal, Denmark, Hungary and Malta.
On March 14, 2008, Albania was suspended from international football (FIFA and UEFA), due to heavy political interference in the Football Association. The suspension lasted 46 days.[7][8][9]
Albania kicked the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification off to a good start with a 0–0 tie against Sweden. Four days later, the Albanians defeated Malta by a score of 3–0 with 2 of the goals coming from Erion Bogdani Armend Dallku and another from Klodian Duro. On October 11 however, the Albanians lost to Hungary 2–0 in Budapest. But surprised the world by drawing 0–0 with Portugal in Braga. On February 11, Albania were only able to draw with Malta who fought hard at Ta'Qali. Albania then lost to Hungary at home 1–0 on March 28. And on April 1, Albania suffered a heavy blow to Denmark 3–0. In the home leg against Portugal, Hugo Almeida scored early for Portugal, but Albania quickly equalised with a goal from Erjon Bogdani. However, with just a few seconds left in the game, Bruno Alves scored the winner for Portugal, eliminating Albania. The last memorable result was a 1–1 tie with Denmark, drawing the game after being behind. Albania ended the campaign with a disappointing 4–1 loss against Sweden.
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The draw for the qualifying rounds of UEFA Euro 2012 was held on 7 February 2010 in Congress Hall of Palace of Culture and Science, Warsaw, with matches set to begin on 3–4 September 2010.[10] Seedings were based on the UEFA national team coefficient ranking.[11][12] Albania was drawn in Group D along with France, Romania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Belarus, and Luxembourg.
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Group D fixtures were negotiated between the participants at a meeting in Luxembourg on 19 February 2010.[13]
| 3 September 2010 21:00 UTC+3 |
Romania | 1 – 1 | Albania | Stadionul Ceahlăul, Piatra Neamţ Attendance: 13,000 Referee: Robert Schörgenhofer (Austria) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stancu 80' | Report | Muzaka 87' |
| 7 September 2010 20:15 UTC+2 |
Albania | 1 – 0 | Luxembourg | Qemal Stafa, Tirana Attendance: 11,800 Referee: Richard Trutz (Slovakia) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Salihi 37' | Report |
| 8 October 2010 20:30 UTC+2 |
Albania | 1 – 1 | Bosnia and Herzegovina | Qemal Stafa, Tirana Attendance: 19,600 Referee: Kristinn Jakobsson (Iceland) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Duro 45+2' | Report | Ibišević 21' |
| 12 October 2010 20:30 UTC+3 |
Belarus | 2 – 0 | Albania | Dinamo Stadium, Minsk Attendance: 7,000 Referee: Peter Rasmussen (Denmark) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rodionov 10' Krivets 77' |
Report |
| 26 March 2011 20:00 UTC+2 |
Albania | 1 – 0 | Belarus | Qemal Stafa, Tirana Attendance: 18,000 Referee: Markus Strömbergsson (Sweden) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Salihi 62' | Report |
| 7 June 2011 20:15 UTC+2 |
Bosnia and Herzegovina | 2 – 0 | Albania | Bilino Polje, Zenica Attendance: 9,000 Referee: Kevin Blom (Netherlands) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Medunjanin 67' Maletić 90+1' |
Report |
| 2 September 2011 21:00 UTC+2 |
Albania | 1 – 2 | France | Qemal Stafa, Tirana Attendance: 20'000 Referee: Aleksei Nikolaev (Russia) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bogdani 46' | Report | Benzema 11' M'Vila 18' |
| 6 September 2011 20:15 UTC+2 |
Luxembourg | 2 – 1 | Albania | Stade Josy Barthel, Luxembourg City Attendance: 2'300 Referee: Petteri Kari (Finland) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bettmer 27' Joachim 78' |
Report | Bogdani 64' |
| 7 October 2011 21:00 UTC+2 |
France | 3 – 0 | Albania | Stade de France, Saint-Denis Attendance: 67,000 Referee: Michael Koukoulakis (Greece) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Malouda 11' Rémy 37' Réveillère 66' |
Report |
| 11 October 2011 20:00 UTC+2 |
Albania | 1 – 1 | Romania | Qemal Stafa, Tirana Attendance: 6'500 Referee: Gediminas Mažeika (Lithuania) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Salihi 24' | Report | Luchin 77' |
| 15 November 2011 13:00 UTC+2 |
Macedonia | 0 – 0 | Albania | Goce Delcev Stadium, Prilep Attendance: 3'000 Referee: Slavko Vincic (Slovenia) |
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| 11 November 2011 20:00 UTC+2 |
Albania | 0 – 1 | Azerbaijan | Qemal Stafa, Tirana Attendance: 1'540 Referee: Paolo Silvio Mazzoleni (Italy) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aliyev 22' |
| 9 February 2011 20:00 UTC+2 |
Albania | 1 – 2 | Slovenia | Qemal Stafa, Tirana Attendance: 7'500 Referee: Michael Koukoulakis (Greece) |
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| Bulku 62' | Novakovič 24' Dedič 90+2' |
| 20 june 2011 23:10 UTC+3 |
Argentina | 4 – 0 | Albania | El Monumental, Argentina Attendance: 31'000 Referee: Jorge Larrionda (Uruguay) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lavezzi 6' Messi 43' Agüero 75' Tévez 90' |
| 10 August 2011 20:00 UTC+2 |
Albania | 3 – 2 | Montenegro | Loro Boriçi, Shkodër Attendance: 7'000 Referee: Anton Genov (Bulgaria) |
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| Bogdani 33' Hyka 64' Salihi 69' |
Savić 40' Savić 47' |
Players called up for Friendly matches against Azerbaijan on 11 November 2011, and Macedonia on 15 November 2011.
Caps and goals as of 16 November 2011.
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The following players have been called up in the last 12 months.
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According to the FSHF website, the following is the current coaching staff:[14]
| Head Coach | Gianni De Biasi |
| Assistant Coach | Džemal Mustedanagić |
| Goalkeeping Coach | Ilir Bozhiqi |
| National Team Manager | Denis Bastari |
| Team Doctor | Arben Celiku |
| Physios | Achim Bullinger |
| Ylli Mihali |
The Qemal Stafa Stadium (Albanian: Stadiumi Qemal Stafa), named after Qemal Stafa, a World War II hero, is a national stadium and the largest football stadium in Tirana, Albania. Construction started in 1939 and the stadium was inaugurated in 1946 for the Balkan Cup, which was won by the Albania national football team. The stadium has been used for football matches of the Albanian Superliga and the national team, for athletic events, and for the six Albanian Spartakiads. Although it was enlarged in 1974 to accommodate up to 35,000 spectators, in the 1990s it became an all-seater stadium, and its capacity was reduced to the current 19,600. Plans to demolish the current stadium and begin construction of a new one right after the Qualifiers for Euro 2012 have already been approved by the Football Association of Albania and the Albanian government, which will divide the property rights to the stadium between them; the football association will hold 75% rights and the government 25%. A new stadium with a capacity of over 33,000 spectators will be built at a cost of €60 million. The new stadium will be football-only; the athletics track will be eliminated. It will have the shape of the map of Albania, and its outside will be black and red, the colours of the Albanian flag. The outside shape will be rugged to harmonise with the mountainous skyline of Tirana. The stadium is expected to meet the highest UEFA category.
In January 2010, after the death of notable Albanian player Panajot Pano, an official request from the Partizani Tirana club and from the Albanian Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports was addressed to the Albanian government, that the stadium be renamed for the famous footballer.
Tifozat Kuq e Zi (English: Red and Black Fans, also known as the Albania National Football Team Supporters Club) is a non-profit football supporters' association for the Albania national football team and various national team sportive activities. It was founded on December 25, 2003. In cooperation with FSHF, it organises trips for football fans to visit games, and develops and sells merchandise to support itself and fund sporting related projects. Tifozat Kuq e Zi stands firm in the political view that Albanians should share only one national team and have continuous aspirations to join in one state. In this sense, TKZ is joined by different supporters' associations throughout Albanian-speaking regions mainly in Kosovo (Plisat-Dardanët of Pristina etc.), Republic of Macedonia (Ballistët of Tetovo, Sokolat of Debar, Ilirët of Kumanovo, etc.) and in Albania itself. The ongoing dispute between the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports and the Football Association of Albania has been seen as a political intrusion by FIFA and UEFA, which led to the banning of Albania from international sportive activities.
The Albanian Uniform has been mostly red and black with small changes through years.
This is a chronological list of the 22 managers who have guided Albania since 1946 (note that Bejkush Birçe and Agron Sulaj have had the job twice):[15]
Below is a list of the 10 players with the most appearances for Albania, as of November 16, 2011 (* denotes players still available for selection):[16]
| No | Name | Matches | Goals | First game (age) | Last game (age) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Altin Lala* | 79 | 3 | 1998 | 11-10-2011 (35) |
| 2 | Klodian Duro* | 77 | 6 | 2001 (23) | 07-10-2011 (33) |
| 3 | Ervin Skela* | 75 | 13 | 2000 (22) | 06-09-2011 (34) |
| 4 | Foto Strakosha | 73 | 0 | 5-30-1990 | 08-13-2004 (39) |
| 5 | Igli Tare | 68 | 10 | 1997 | 07-02-2007 (33) |
| 5 | Alban Bushi | 68 | 14 | 1995 | 17-11-2007 (34) |
| 7 | Altin Haxhi | 67 | 3 | 1995 | 14-11-2009 (32) |
| 8 | Erion Bogdani* | 65 | 15 | 1996 | 11-11-2011 (34) |
| 9 | Altin Rraklli | 63 | 11 | 1992 | 30-03-2005 (34) |
| 10 | Rudi Vata | 59 | 5 | 30-5-1990 (21) | 01-09-2001 (32) |
Below is a list of the 10 players with the most goals for Albania, as of November 16, 2011 (* denotes players still available for selection):[17]
| No | Name | First game | Last game | Goals | Caps | Goals per Match |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Erion Bogdani* | 1996 | 2011 | 15 | 65 | 0.22 |
| 2 | Alban Bushi | 1995 | 2007 | 14 | 68 | 0.21 |
| 3 | Ervin Skela* | 2000 | 2011 | 13 | 75 | 0.17 |
| 4 | Altin Rraklli | 1992 | 2005 | 11 | 61 | 0.17 |
| 5 | Sokol Kushta | 1987 | 1996 | 10 | 31 | 0.32 |
| 5 | Igli Tare | 1997 | 2007 | 10 | 68 | 0.15 |
| 7 | Hamdi Salihi* | 2006 | 2011 | 9 | 37 | 0.24 |
| 8 | Adrian Aliaj | 2002 | 2006 | 8 | 29 | 0.28 |
| 9 | Bledar Kola | 1994 | 2007 | 6 | 39 | 0.15 |
| 9 | Klodian Duro* | 2001 | 2011 | 6 | 77 | 0.08 |
| 10 | Edmond Kapllani* | 2004 | 2011 | 6 | 36 | 0.17 |
| Opponent | Games | Wins | Draws | Losses | Goals For | Goals Against | Goal Differential |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Algeria | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | +3 |
| Andorra | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 2 | +2 |
| Argentina | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | -1 |
| Armenia | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | -4 |
| Austria | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 17 | -16 |
| Azerbaijan | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 3 | +2 |
| Bahrain | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | -3 |
| Belarus | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 8 | -3 |
| Belgium | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 3 | =0 |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 3 | =0 |
| Bulgaria | 11 | 2 | 4 | 5 | 8 | 15 | -7 |
| China PR | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | =0 |
| Cuba | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | =0 |
| Cyprus | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 3 | +4 |
| Czech Republic | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 10 | -4 |
| Denmark | 8 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 3 | 18 | -15 |
| England | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 12 | -11 |
| Estonia | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 1 | +2 |
| Finland | 7 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 6 | 8 | -2 |
| France | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 11 | -10 |
| Georgia | 11 | 3 | 2 | 6 | 9 | 17 | -8 |
| Germany | 14 | 0 | 1 | 13 | 10 | 38 | -28 |
| Greece | 14 | 5 | 3 | 6 | 13 | 13 | =0 |
| Hungary | 5 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 18 | -18 |
| Iceland | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 3 | =0 |
| Kazakhstan | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | +2 |
| Latvia | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 6 | 6 | =0 |
| Liechtenstein | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | +2 |
| Lithuania | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 5 | -2 |
| Luxembourg | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 2 | +5 |
| Malta | 7 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 12 | 3 | +9 |
| Mexico | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | -4 |
| Macedonia | 8 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 10 | -6 |
| Moldova | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 2 | +4 |
| Netherlands | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 7 | -6 |
| Northern Ireland | 8 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 4 | 13 | -9 |
| Norway | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 3 | -1 |
| Poland | 11 | 1 | 3 | 7 | 7 | 14 | -7 |
| Portugal | 5 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 12 | -8 |
| Republic of Ireland | 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 6 | -4 |
| Romania | 15 | 2 | 3 | 10 | 9 | 40 | -31 |
| Russia | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 5 | -1 |
| San Marino | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | +3 |
| Scotland | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | =0 |
| Yugoslavia | 5 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 13 | -9 |
| Slovenia | 5 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 5 | -4 |
| Spain | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 24 | -22 |
| Sweden | 5 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 10 | -5 |
| Switzerland | 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 7 | -4 |
| Turkey | 9 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 11 | 8 | +3 |
| Ukraine | 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 6 | -4 |
| Uzbekistan | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | +1 |
| Vietnam | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | +5 |
| Wales | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | -2 |
| 53 Countries | 251 | 55 | 53 | 143 | 210 | 424 | −214 |
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