AND SO, the great and the good gathered at The Westbury Hotel, Mayfair (Game of the People has been doing well…) for this year’s awards. As the glasses clinked in the Polo Bar in Conduit Street, the cognoscenti decided upon the winners from a star-studded field. The GOTP awards do not necessarily hand plaudits to […]
Tag: Albania
The rise of Albania. Why?
NEXT YEAR’S European Championship is going to be a strange affair – Wales, Northern Ireland, Iceland and now Albania have all qualified, bringing a whole new perspective on the tournament. The sceptics will suggest that UEFA’s accountants must now be wondering who will turn up to watch some of the “dead-rubber” group games that will […]
How Albania was denied a hero: The sad tale of Geri Shatku
Albania is not a country that has had many footballing heroes. In fact, it has largely been viewed as a backwater of the game. The recent success of the national team owes much to a good crop of players that ply their trade across Europe. There is a name missing from the current squad – […]
Albania revive the days of Pano
No prizes for naming the biggest shock of the week in the European Championship qualifiers – Albania’s 1-0 win in Lisbon against a Ronaldo-less Portugal. Bekim Balaj, a 23 year-old forward who plies his trade with Slavia Prague, scored the only goal of the game. Portugal’s footballing establishment was stunned. It was Albania’s third win […]
