“I took the last plane shortly before the start of the civil war” | Relief

The adventures and misadventures of Albanian football, against which Spain is playing today in the third match of the European Cup, could well become the plot of a national literary bestseller, especially now that the country has gone crazy with the presence of its national team in Germany in 2024. To the point that the sessions of Kuvendi, as its parliament is called, were suspended. Causes? Most of its 140 deputies have confirmed travel to German states to attend their team’s matches.. If Albania had pulled off a surprise and beaten Spain to reach the round of 16, the country would have been virtually paralyzed for two weeks for political reasons.

Delving into the history of Albanian football, whose federation was founded in 1930 and registered with FIFA two years later, one finds that Its present has always been united by the political, economic and social situation of the country itself.. He played his first match only on August 7, 1946 against Yugoslavia in the Balkan Cup. Semi-professionalism did not reach Albanian clubs until they emerged from communist rule in 1991, and their federation registered with UEFA in 1992, allowing clubs and national teams to compete in continental competitions.

His gait was slow, snail-like, like that of the country, in all the tournaments he played in, but from time to time news of significant events that had occurred came to try to take giant steps, Similar to what happened in December 1996 when it was announced, with subsequent international excitement, that Mario Alberto Kempes, world champion with Argentina in 1978, would become the first foreign coach of recognized prestige to lead a club. Albanian. It all happened a few months after the legislative elections, which were won by Sali Berisha’s Democratic Party and which led the country to financial collapse caused by pyramidal systems protected by the government.

Ignoring this, since he spoke only Spanish and a few words of Italian to talk to his driver, Kempes landed in Tirana as he was and continues to be a football idol on a universal scale. The Argentine has been immersed in a football adventure without borders for ten years. After his last experience in Spain, with Hercules (85-86), he hit the road and left. Almost six years in Austria (First Vienna Club, St. Pölten, Kremser) to return to his country and, in theory, hang up his boots. He put them on again to do a favor for a friend and help save Arturo Fernandez Vial, Chile’s second division club, from relegation. He scored five goals in 11 games. He was 42 years old and lived between Mendoza and Concepcion, the club’s Chilean city.

Nothing to do with your next destination: Indonesia. Pelita Jaya’s player-coach (1996), the last step before landing in Tirana. The club that chose Kempes among hundreds of European and South American coaches was not from the capital, it was KS Lushnja, owned by the Xhaferri family. Rrapush, the father, and Pellunmb, the son who contacted Marito through an intermediary. The Xhaferri family was one of the strongest companies in the country, close to the newly elected government president and seeking an international sporting image to be associated with their leading company in the pyramidal credit system. The economic offer was good. Two-year contract at $250,000 per season. He arrived accompanied by his brother Sergio, who was offered $50,000.

Arrival with honors and express escape

Nothing foreshadowed what happened almost immediately after that. The transfer from Tirana to Lushnja was carried out in a late model Mercedes with a driver who, like them, spoke four words of Italian. Not one more. Neither English nor German. And he did not learn this during the almost six years he spent in Austria. On the day of the presentation, the Abdurrahman Rosa Haksid Stadium was full. Explode. Plus five thousand fans. Next, an evening was organized in his honor, which was attended by all the living forces of the city and even the capital.

“His passion for football was palpable. We noticed this during the few weeks we were there. We played a League match against Librazhd, which we won, and an Albanian Cup match against Teuta. The championship was suspended due to the political and economic situation in which the country found itself. What also caught my attention was that despite the problems in Tirana, its capital, there was no poverty on the streets and there were many people. When I asked if they were unemployed, they said no, that they had all invested their money at incredible rates of interest, which in some cases earned them triple the amount they invested. Who would have thought about work then! All this prosperity was lost with the bankruptcy of financial companies, one of which belonged to the father of the president of the club he led. “They were arrested, and a popular movement similar to a civil war broke out in the streets.”

This is how Kempes described his situation when he arrived in Argentina. Albania went bankrupt. The situation received international recognition as Cancellation of the lottery. People invested all their money in these financial institutions that offered better terms than the official banks and were left with nothing. Like Mario. Overnight he found himself without a job, receiving the minimum amount under the contract, and his brother – nothing. Moreover, the club secretary’s warning was sharp: “Leave the country now when you can. Fewer and fewer planes will be sent to Europe.” The Kempes instantly packed their “suitcases” and headed to the airport, which had already been captured by the army. “We were told there was only one Alitalia flight to Rome and we took it. Passport control seemed like an eternity. They checked everything. How should I know! There was no other way out. Many decided to go out on boats, some of them were made of plastic, and they sank close to the shore. A few hours later we were able to leave for Rome, and from there to Buenos Aires. “We fled the civil war.”

As it is. The Albanian people took to the streets. The government could not compensate for all the money injected into financial institutions, followed by an overthrow. An estimated two thousand Albanians died in street clashes. The new government requested international assistance to try to restore order in the country, and the UN Security Council approved the decision. sending 7,000 soldiers to maintain public order and control the distribution of humanitarian aid. It took years for the national economy to see the light of day… and Albanian football continued its slow march. Only in 2016 did he take part seriously for the first time in the final stage of a major competition – the European Cup. Eight years later, he repeated it with an entire city dedicated to an all-pro team, selected from a database that searched for players who might have been born in the country or have a family history.

Mario Kempes also continued on his way. From Albania to Venezuela, a stopover for his subsequent transition to Bolivian football, where he won the final championship with Strongest. New stage in Costa Rica; return to Bolivia; time in San Fernando in the Spanish Second B (2002) and triple experience in the third and fourth categories of Italian football… But as in Albania, there is nothing incomparable.