De Biasi collects Albania’s players for friendlies

TIRANA, May 20 – Albania’s national soccer team coach, Gianni de Biasi, announced the names of 21 Albanian players that will gather for the three friendlies to be held in the next weeks ahead of the World Cup in Brazil.
Albania will play against Romania May 31, Hungary June 4 and San Marino June 8.
Etrit Berisha and Lorik Cana who play in Italy will be present at the friendlies.
Though not included in the list Albanians also learnt that one of their important players of the recent matches, Mergim Mavraj has signed a three-year contract with Cologne. He has been playing with Greuther Fuerth, a club that failed to return to Bundesliga after losing the last playoff with Hamburger SV. Mavraj, born in Germany, has played 15 times for Albania.
In other sports news, Adnan Januzaj, the international football star of ethnic Albanian descent, has chosen to play for his native Belgium’s national team following several months of suspense, with several national teams courting him, including Albania.
The Manchester United player spoke at a press conference Monday, where he explained his decision to play with the Belgian national team in the future.
He said he would not play for Kosovo, where his parents were born, even if it is officially recognized by FIFA as a national team.
“I was born here, I went to school here. My future is also here,” he said. “I will stay Ševen if Kosovo is recognized by FIFA.”
Januzaj will be one of several players of Albanian heritage playing in the Brazil FIFA World Cup competition next month.