[ALBSA-Info] Gjermani - Shqiperi

[Agron Alibali]

SUNDAY TELEGRAPH(LONDON) 


March 25, 2001, Sunday 

Pg. 04 



Albania serve early warning to England 

By Roy Collins in Leverkusen 


Germany2 

Albania1 

ALBANIA'S courageous performance should convince
England that of all the basic necessities they will
find lacking in impoverished Tirana this week,
bananas, and more crucially, their skins, may not be
among them. 

Germany, the most sure-footed qualifiers in World Cup
history, were two minutes from slipping humiliatingly
on one when they pulled themselves upright with a
debut goal from substitute Miroslav Klose that somehow
escaped an offside flag. 

Germany had been reduced to such desperation that five
minutes earlier, Klose had been booked for diving in
the area. But Albania, who have expunged much of the
naivety which once made them the Bradford of
international football, played well enough to convince
themselves that, against England, they can recover
from the loss of a deserved point here. 

Albania will be dangerous not just because they are a
neat, tidy side with outstanding individuals in Biedar
Kola and Igli Tare but because they still believe that
they can upset England's expectations in the group,
which now realistically stretch to no more than
runners-up spot. 

Albania will leap over England into second spot if
they win. And if they can reproduce the form they
displayed here in Leverkusen's Bay Arena, they will
certainly have an important say in the outcome of a
group in which the only certainty would seem to be
Germany's advancement to the 2002 World Cup. 

Kola, 28, who plays for AEK Athens, capped a
dominating midfield performance by scoring the
65th-minute goal which appeared to have rescued a
point for his country. That in itself was spectacular,
a left-foot volley which struck the ground and bounced
over the helpless goalkeeper Oliver Kahn. 

Striker Tare, who plays for Italian side Brescia, said
beforehand that he believed his country were capable
of competing with Germany. But even given the decline
in German standards - "like England before Eriksson"
joked a journalist at half-time - it was remarkable
that they could do so for the full 90 minutes. 

Afterwards, Tare said: "We are all disappointed
because we thought the winning goal was offside. It
always seems to be the same for us. It always seems to
go for the big nations against the small nations. I
don't know whether it is experience or just luck. 

"We will try to be even more offensive against England
but it will be difficult for us because I saw their
game and it is clear they are motivated under their
new coach." 

Coach Mehdi Zhega's face was as long as a bloodhound's
as he said: "We are all very, very sad. We were sure
the last goal would be ruled out for offside." 

The tall, muscular Tare was a threat to the Germans
all night, as was winger Edvin Murati, who forced more
acrobatics from Kahn, who could not have imagined he
would have been so fully employed. 

But England will believe they can exploit Albania down
the right wing, where Arjan Xhumba occasionally looked
like Phil Neville in disguise, which will welcome news
to David Beckham. And England will surely also attempt
to develop a higher tempo than the often metronomic
Germans. 

Germany scored their first goal in the 49th minute, a
long-range effort from Sebastien Deisler which Foto
Strakosha was furious not to save after getting within
glove-waving distance of it. The Germans only improved
after taking off skipper Oliver Bierhoff at half-time.


German coach Rudi Voller praised the patriotic spirit
of the Albanians: "They would fight to the end for
their country." They demonstrated their togetherness
by high-fiving each other seconds before the game
kicked off. And had there been any justice, they would
have been celebrating more spectacularly at the end. 


__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Get email at your own domain with Yahoo! Mail. 
http://personal.mail.yahoo.com/