Albania play Serbia, Armenia in last qualifiers in bid to secure first ever direct qualification for major competition

Tirana Times
By Tirana Times October 5, 2015 11:09

By Ervin Lisaku

RSI SOCCER-EURO/SERBIA-BRAWL S SPO SOC SER

A drone incident in Belgrade in Oct. 2014 marred the first qualifier between Serbia and Albania

TIRANA, Oct. 5 - Having already secured a historic place in the play-offs of the Euro 2016 qualifying campaign, Albania will play its last two group matches at home to Serbia and away to Armenia this week in a bid to secure a first ever direct qualification in major football tournament.

All eyes this week will be on Thursday's qualifier with Serbia, with tight security  measures already  taken to prevent a possible incident that would mar Albania's dream.

The first qualifier with Serbia in October 2014 was abandoned after a drone carrying a banner depicting Albanian nationalistic and patriotic symbols sparked violence on the pitch which saw Albanian players running for the dressing room and hit with objects thrown from the stadium where Albanian fans had been banned to attend.

Last July, Switzerland-based Court of Arbitration for Sport gave Albania a 3-0 victory for the abandoned match away to Serbia in a final decision ending a legal battle which reversed a previous ruling by Europe’s football governing body in favour of Serbia.

Only a few dozen Serbian fans have been invited to support their team in the key Oct. 8 qualifier at the Elbasan Arena stadium.

"On October 8, Football must be the only key message at the Elbasan Arena. Don't touch the pitch! Say no to racism and respect the national anthems. Don't get provoked and don't create incident but strongly support the Red and Blacks!" says an awareness video in an appeal to Albanian football fans.

Albania's national side has already started training ahead of the two key qualifiers with Italian coach Gianni De Biasi optimistic of  the team's chances to qualify directly.

"We know the importance of these two matches and are aware of the degree of their difficulty. The team is concentrated and aware to give their maximum. We are not afraid of anybody," De Biasi told journalists in a press conference on Saturday.

Tomislav Karadzic, the president of Serbia's Football Association, has said Albania plays a historic match and is very close to its qualification and it will be difficult for Serbia to stop them.

"It would be a great surprise if they go to France," Karadzic is quoted as saying by local Albanian media.

U.S.-based prestigious sports network ESPN has dubbed the qualifier as the "Balkan Match" and is reported to be shooting a documentary on the Albania-Serbia match.

Prime Minister Edi Rama, who has also invited his Serbian counterpart Aleksandar Vucic to watch the match at the Elbasan Arena Stadium, has described the match against Serbia as a key qualifier and appealed to players and fans to show respect for Serbia.
"Just play, have fun, enjoy the game," said Rama quoting former NBA star Michael Jordan.

With two games to go before the Euro qualifier close, Albania currently rank third in Group I with 11 point, four less than leaders Portugal and one point less compared to second-placed Denmark who have only one game left away to Portugal on Oct. 8.

Armenia and Serbia are hopeless in the group with 2 points and 1 point respectively.

Albania's hopes for a direct qualification received a blow last September when a stoppage-time winner by Portugal avenged their shock defeat in the opening Euro 2016 qualifiers last year.

Albania's qualifying campaign will close on Oct. 11 when they play away to Armenia which they beat 2-1 last March.

The top two group teams and the best third-placed side in the nine groups qualify directly for the final tournament of the Euro 2016. The eight remaining third-placed teams will contest play-offs to determine the last four qualifiers.

Tirana Times
By Tirana Times October 5, 2015 11:09