TIRANA, April 13 – Albania’s Italian-born coach Gianni De Biasi has been linked to a move to the Italian national team after managing to take Albania to a major tournament such as the Euro 2016.
Italian media have placed De Biasi as one of the top favourites to take over the Italian national side after Italy’s Euro 2016 campaign and replace current coach Antonio Conte who will quit to lead Premier League club Chelsea in the 2016-2017 season.
Italy’s SportMediaSet reports De Biasi is the top candidate for the head of the Italian football association Carlo Tavecchio at the moment.
“The 59-year-old only worked with smaller clubs in Serie A, but this year he managed to take Albania to their first-ever major tournament, Euro 2016,” writes the Football Italia portal.
Reacting to Italian media reports, De Biasi said the Italy job would be fascinating, also revealing the Albanian football association would let him go if there’s a great opportunity.
“It would be fascinating, but there isn’t anything concrete,” De Biasi told Quotidiano Sportivo.
“Do I feel ready for an experience like this? Who wouldn’t be? I have a contract until 2017 but I also have an agreement with the President of the Federation: in the event of a great opportunity he would let me go,” he was quoted as saying.
Reacting to the coach’s comments, the president of the Albanian Football Association, Armand Duka said De Biasi is currently under contract with Albania and there is a penalty clause for the unilateral breach of contract. He said De Biasi’s selection as Italy’s coach would be an honour even for Albania which has a lot of Italian fans, but expressed concern that contacts by the Italian association at this stage when Albania is preparing for its debut Euro participation were unethical.
“There is a contract which has a penalty clause for a unilateral breach. I don’t think he is also thinking about this. There is only one life and he achieved the European championship at 60. I don’t think he will have the chance again to misuse what he currently has,” said Duka, now in his fourth term as the head of the country’s football association.
Last March, the former Torino and Udinese boss was given the Special Golden Bench award by the Italian Football Association for his historic achievement of taking Albania to the Euro 2016. De Biasi, who has been in charge of the Albanian national team since 2011, had also been awarded a Silver Bench award back in 2002 for promoting Modena to top Italian Serie A league. The Italian coach has turned into a national hero in Albania following the national side’s first ever qualification to a major football competition in late 2015.
De Biasi, who turns 60 this year, was given the award for his international achievement and promoting the Italian football school.
Speaking to Italian media after the award, De Biazi said the low pressure on Albania to qualify from the group stage will be positive for the team as happened in the Euro 2016 qualifying campaign when Denmark and Serbia were favorites over Albania.
“We will play the same as we have done until now although we lag behind in ranking. Playing the group matches will be something amazing for us,” he says.
Albania lost 2-1 to Austria and beat modest Luxembourg 2-0 in the first two Euro 2016 warm-up friendlies, in two matches which showed Albania still has a lot to improve ahead of its historic European championship debut next June especially when it comes to defense which was one of its strengths in the Euro qualifying campaign.
Albania will face hosts France, Switzerland and Romania in Group A of the Euro 2016 in a bid to make another surprise campaign after a historic qualification as an outsider.
Albania will make its first-ever appearance in a major football competition on June 11, 2016 against Switzerland in what is considered a derby as the Albanian side features as many as seven Swiss-born players while five of the Swiss internationals have Albanian roots.
