Demollari dismissed by Albania
Thursday, April 18, 2002
Article summary
Albania have sacked coach Sulejman Demollari after the 2-0 defeat in Andorra.
Article body
Albania have sacked their coach Sulejman Demollari following last night’s surprise 2-0 international friendly defeat in Andorra.
Andorra's second win
The Andorrans recorded only the second win in their history against ten-man Albania prompting Armando Duka, the chairman of the Football Association of Albania (FSF), to sack the entire coaching staff.
'Shame on you'
According to the Albanian newspaper Sporti Shqiptar, Duka entered the dressing room after the match and said: “Shame on you for this result. All of you should be ashamed of what you have caused. From this moment all the staff is dismissed.”
Sending-off
Emiliano González gave the Andorrans the lead on the night from the penalty spot on 34 minutes after the Albania defender Arjan Xhumba was sent off for a foul on the home defender Ildefonso Lima. Manolo Jimenez then added a second in the 65th minute.
Failed to make an impact
Demollari, 37, took over from Medin Zhega as coach in July after Albania’s FIFA World Cup qualifying campaign was already off the rails. However, he has failed to make a significant impact with the EURO 2004™ qualifying campaign looming, achieving a goalless draw against Luxembourg in February and a narrow 1-0 win over Azerbaijan last month before last night's embarrassing loss.
