Work ahead for Demollari's Albania

By his own admission Sulejman Demollari has a long way to go before Albania put up a serious challenge to the wealthier football nations of Europe.

The deep end 
The 37-year-old was thrown in at the deep end for his first coaching role back in July with yet another FIFA World Cup campaign already in tatters. Under former coach Medin Zhega, Albania had taken up their customary position at the foot of their qualification group after a run of five defeats from six games.

‘Some problems’ 
Indeed, Albania have finished bottom of their group in each of their last three World Cup qualifying tournaments. Demollari’s only two games at the helm so far have resulted in 2-0 defeats against Finland and England. “We have some problems at the moment,'' he said. “At the moment my players are not sure what they are doing and I must change that.''

Unlucky to lose 
But it should not be all doom and gloom for Demollari. Albania beat Greece 2-0 at home early in the tournament, were unlucky to lose 2-1 in Germany to a late Miroslav Klose strike. And, trailing 2-1 at home to England, in the dying minutes they had an equaliser ruled out for offside before eventually falling 3-1.

Commands respect 
While Demollari has no coaching experience to speak of, he does command huge respect from fans and players alike, after representing his country 46 times at international level. The midfielder achieved great standing in Albania during a ten-year spell, between 1981 and 1991, with KS Dinamo Tirana, who he helped win two league titles, in 1986 and 1990.

Moved abroad
From there he moved abroad to spend three years with FC Dinamo Bucuresti in Romania, followed by a year apiece with Panionios GS in Greece and Raba-Eto in Hungary. He then moved into semi-retirement, playing with some amateur clubs in Italy while also completing his UEFA coaching certificates.

Challenge ahead
The challenge for him now is to build on the foundations laid by Zhega, and to help Albania step up a level in European football.