TIRANA, March 28 – Gianni De Biasi, Albania’s Italian-born football coach since 2011, has been granted citizenship upon request, the Albanian president’s office has announced.
De Biasi, received Albanian citizenship officially las weekend, a day before the European championship qualifier against Armenia.
President Bujar Nishani gave the coach his citizenship document at a meeting with the team in the port city of Durres, where they are training.
De Biasi, 58, has been leading Albania, which is third in Group I, since December 2011.
He had earlier jokingly said he was married to an Albanian and thus deserved citizenship – meaning the national team. He had to clarify later that his actual wife is Italian.
In addition to taking pride in his new citizenship, tax experts told the Albanian media De Biasi’s tax bill is likely to decline by half since he will be now taxed as an Albanian citizen on his salary rather than as an Italian immigrant.
