The glorious foot of Friedenreich!

 Artur Friedenreich!

In 1919 Brazil defeated Uruguay 1–0 and crowned itself champion of South America. People flooded the streets of Rio de Janeiro. Leading the celebration, raised aloft like a standard, was a muddy soccer boot with a little sign that proclaimed: “The glorious foot of Friedenreich.”

The next day that shoe, which had scored the winning goal, ended up in the display window of a downtown jewelry shop.

Artur Friedenreich, son of a German immigrant and a black washerwoman, played in the first division for twenty-six years and never earned a cent.

No one scored more goals than he in the history of football, not even that other great Brazilian artilleryman, Pelé, who remains professional
soccer’s leading scorer.

Friedenreich converted 1,329, Pelé 1,279.

This green-eyed mulatto founded the Brazilian style of play. He, or the devil who got into him through the soles of his feet, broke all the rules in the English manuals: to the solemn stadium of the whites Friedenreich brought the irreverence of brown boys who entertained themselves fighting
over a rag ball in the slums.

Thus, was born a style open to fantasy, one that prefers pleasure to results.
From Friedenreich onward, there have been no right angles in Brazilian soccer, just as there are none in the mountains of Rio de Janeiro or the buildings of Oscar Niemeyer.

Copyright by Eduardo Galeano
From his book: Soccer in the Sun and Shadow (Nations Books, New York) 2013

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Sports Vision + Plus / Champions Hour in activity since 2013

The Dutch Revolution of Total Football!

 Prologue!

Anyone who was young in the late 1960s and early 1970s was surely influenced by the myth of Dutch football, the great protagonist of that cultural revolution that in that period, up until the 1960s and especially the early 1970s, was also transmitted to football.

A cultural revolution of the young, of the new generations who want to change everything, from Mexico, to Chile, to the world of Ultras, many things are changing in Europe but also in Latin America and North America.

Slowly a new generation is taking hold at a political and social level and culturally this youth revolution is also transmitted to the world of football. And the best fusion between football and society in this area is realized in Holland. Dutch football, the great Holland, total football is the great protagonist of football in the early Seventies and obviously also of this article

Perhaps it would be more correct to speak of a rebirth of Dutch football according to some because in reality Holland had already created its own rather positive tradition in the world of football well before the seventies.

* * *

The Netherlands won three Olympic bronzes at the beginning of the twentieth century, in 1908, 1912 and 1920, and in 1924 they achieved fourth place, so we are talking about a nation that was very strong in football at the dawn of this sport when there was no World Cup yet and especially before Paris, the edition of the games in which football entered its modern phase and slowly became a mass sport.

 

Holland Team at the World Cup in 1934!

Even in the 1930s, Holland performed well in the first two editions of the World Cup, reaching the eighth finals in 1934 and 1938. They would participate again in the 1948 Olympics, the first after the Second World War, holding their own against the United Kingdom, losing only 4-3 in the first round. From then on, however, Holland disappeared from international football.

This first golden age of Dutch football is due above all to the influence of the British school, English in particular. Between 1908 and 1913, therefore at the time of the first two Olympic bronzes, the Dutch national team is coached by Edgar Chadwick. Subsequently, between 19 and 23, it is coached by Fred Warburton, another Englishman, and again his compatriot, William Townley, will lead the team to the 1924 Olympics.

Between 25 and 40, so for a long period, Holland was coached by Bob Glendening. Later, between 47 and 48, so at the time of the last Olympics in which they participated, on the bench sat one of the great masters of English football of the time, Jesse Carver, who then in the 50s would also coach Juventus and Inter in Italy.

These links between Holland and England are actually easily understood even outside the sporting context. Just look at the crating and then realize on a historical level that the ports of the Netherlands were a fundamental landing point for the English on a commercial level for continental Europe.

So right from the start there are cultural and economic ties between the two countries, which favor as we have seen many times, the transfer of football and its knowledge, the English know-how, which moves a bit all over the world following the trade routes. This British influence, however, fades in the post-war period, after the Second World War, and a small Eastern European influence slowly emerges.

In fact, between 1957 and 1964, Holland was coached by a Romanian, Elek Schwarz, and then, between 70 and 74, by a Czechoslovakian, Fram Tisek Fadronc. Despite all these external influences, Dutch football remained very conservative. At the beginning of the 60s, for example, all the teams in the local league still played the WM system, which was invented as we know in the 30s, so it is very ancient, very old and now outdated, practically in every part of the world.

Professionalism officially arrived only in 1954 and with many difficulties, especially because of the former president of the Football Association, the KNVB, who between 42 and 52 was Karel Lozzi. Lozzi was strongly opposed to professionalism, he believed that football, like the English tradition, should be an amateur sport for the predominantly upper classes.

This is indicative of the conservatism and cultural backwardness in Dutch football, because these thoughts that Lozzi had in the 1940s were by then outdated in England, as we know, by the end of the 19th century.

It should be added that Karel Lozzi was not only a conservative in sports, but also in political life. Only in the 70s, that is, after his death in 1959, it was incredibly discovered that during the Second World War he had been a collaborator of the Nazis during the military occupation of Holland and that he had participated in the arrest of some Jews who were then deported and killed in concentration camps. Lozzi was a Nazi and an anti-Semite.

As we were saying, football has been professionalized in Holland only since 1954 and this is at this time only on a formal level. In fact, professionalism still has to take hold over time. In previous years, however, this reform had become necessary due to the flight of many Dutch talents abroad in order to make a living from football.

 

Fas Wilkens in action 

The first, the most important, was the left midfielder of Xerces Rotterdam, Fas Wilkes. He was the first great champion of Dutch football. When in 1949 he left Rotterdam to move to Italy to play for Inter, his was a historical case.

He is the most important footballer to have made this move abroad, although not the first ever. Wilkes will become a star of Italian football, he will tour European football for a few years, but above all when he left Holland he was excluded from the national team because he was no longer an amateur footballer but a professional.

The crisis of Dutch football after the 40s can also be explained in this way here. Many great footballers decide to go abroad to become professionals because in the Netherlands it is not possible, but they are excluded from the national team which thus has a great drop in performance and disappears at an international level.

In addition to Wilkes, striker Bram Appel, one of the best Dutch footballers of the time, also moved abroad in 1949 to play in France at Stade Reims. At the same time, another striker, Bertus de Harder, also moved to Bordeaux.

 

Bram Appel

The following year, striker Andre Rosenborg would move to Fiorentina and at the same time, midfielder Kees Rivers would move to Saint-Étienne. In 1952, another Dutch star left the country, striker Bart Carlier, who moved to Cologne in Germany. In general, the entire Dutch society of this period was deeply conservative.

Since 1959, the Christian Democrats have been in power, especially the Catholic People's Party, but sometimes we also see the Anti-Revolutionary Party in government, a rather disturbing name for a party that is in fact Christian Democrat but Calvinist and not Catholic.

To give you an idea, Holland is so conservative at this stage that it even has two Christian Democrat parties for the two different religious confessions. Obviously, as has happened in other cases, it is from the Sixties that things begin to change, with the cultural revolution that comes precisely, obviously, from the United Kingdom.

The Dutch epicenter of this youth revolution is obviously the capital, Amsterdam, which is a culturally very lively city. The symbol of these new young people who want to change things is an anarchist movement, not actually explicitly politicized as it is in other countries.

They are called the Provos, or the provocateurs. They are in charge of carrying out forms of social, rather than political, provocation that are very over the top. As I said, they are not explicitly characterized by a left-wing political vocation, even if it is obvious that most young people in Holland at the moment are politicized towards the left.

The Provos, however, carry forward a social ideology that is against consumerism, non-violent, and therefore deeply pacifist, and also ecological. One of the symbols of their protest is in fact bicycles.

But they are only the most visible vanguard of a youth movement that is establishing itself as a revolutionary force, also in the Netherlands. In June 1966 there are very strong student protests in Amsterdam. This leads to an evident crisis of the Christian Democrat governments and to the decision of Dutch politics to respond to these youth protests in the most unthinkable way possible. That is, instead of repressing for once, we welcome.

Holland starts talking about new liberalizations, new youth policies. The population wants to change and then the government says okay, let's change, let's improve things, let's open up to the world, the country quickly becomes much less conservative than before.

 

Joopten Uyl - Dutch Prime Minister! 

It is a small phase of great social optimism that leads in 1972 to the election to government of Joopten Uyl and his Labour Party, a social democratic formation that at this stage of its history is characterized by a program that includes great promises of social reforms and the fight against inequalities, perhaps the most left-wing government in all of Dutch history.

And it is precisely at this moment, simultaneously and without any precise social or political connection between the two things, that in the same place there is also an incredible reflux of football. A new way of playing is established that has as its epicenter an important club, obviously, from Amsterdam, Ajax. Starting in 1965, on the bench of Ajax sits one day a coach named Rinus Michels.

His idea of football is deeply offensive, but above all it involves a great revolution in the concept of role and position on the field. The Dutch press renames Ajax's way of playing as Total Football, that is, total football. It consists in overcoming the rigid traditional division of labor between defenders and attackers, that is, the idea that the defender must only defend and the attacker must only attack.

Everyone must participate, in their own way, in the different phases of the game. How and why total football was born is still a matter of debate today and on which the final word has not yet been placed. Let's say that the tradition of offensive football in Ajax arrives as far back as the 1910s, thanks to a coach, obviously, English, named Jack Reynolds.

Reynolds is a supporter of that passing game. His idea is precisely to play a football based on passing and the search for offensive play, a new philosophy that renews the elementary football that was played at the time in Holland and above all brings to Ajax a new idea linked to the youth sector, that is, that the youth team should play in the same way as the senior team to facilitate the transition of the boys from the youth teams to the first team.

This attacking tradition of Ajax football, which derives from Scottish football, was renewed by Vic Buckingham, another English coach who arrived here in 1959 and coached Ajax until 1961 and then again between 1964 and 1965.

Michels is therefore the heir of this tradition, which in the meantime has spawned other children around the world, one obviously being the Wunderteam of Austria in the 30s, we talked about it in episode 34, and another being the Aranixapat, that is, the golden team of Hungary in the 50s, you can find out more about that story in episode 58.

But journalists, historians, sociologists have also identified other cultural influences that have influenced the birth of total football, which are typically Dutch. For example, the fact that total football is focused on the use, on the optimal management of space on the pitch.

And this would be, according to some, a derivation of the Dutch culture that is used to dealing with a very limited physical, geographical space. The Netherlands are mostly below sea level, so they were built, urbanized, planned, in order to fight against these limits of nature, precisely spatial limits. In addition, some point out that before total football there was total architecture.

The so-called Amsterdam school, that of Michael de Klerk, which at the beginning of the twentieth century changed the way of conceiving urban planning and city architecture. De Klerk argued that each single element of the city should not be conceived as a stand-alone, but as part of a broader concept, a total concept of the city. And this transposed to football a few decades later is in fact Total Football.

Added to this is the fact that, as we have anticipated, total Dutch football would not have been possible without the youth revolution of the 1960s and 1970s. The players of this new Holland, and of the X in particular, were marked by many breaches of convention, of the traditional rules of society and of football. For example, they wore long hair, something that had never been done before, and not only that, they wore numbers on their shirts that were not limited to one to eleven.

All these topics are well discussed in the book Brilliant Orange by David Wimmer. Wimmer presents many truly fascinating theses, on which, however,
I must admit, I am not entirely convinced, and I often find them a little forced, especially these connections between football, Dutch culture and art. There is, however, one aspect that should be underlined, that perhaps, rather than talking about the culture that inspires football, it would be interesting to do a reversal.

Football that inspires culture. As sociologist Frank Lechner says, Dutch football, in fact, becomes the first real form of self-representation of Holland as a society. A society that is reflected in football.

A company that from this moment on, from the early seventies, begins to perceive itself as a young and revolutionary company. A proactive company. In a more philosophical sense, Total Football is almost like a religion, because Rinus Michels wants total dedication from his players towards his ideas.

The fact of playing without fixed positions, focusing on passes, on technique, on the cohesion of the game, on the zone, on pressing, is above all an act of faith. And like every act of faith, like every religion, total football must have its prophet. Their prophet. His name is Johan Cruyff and he is the striker of this team. Officially he would be an attacking midfielder, but then on the field he is used by Michels mainly as a center forward. He is a withdrawn center forward.

He is the last heir of a tradition of atypical footballers that has already had among its main elements Matthias Zindler in Austria in the thirties and Nandori De Cuti in Hungary in the fifties. Cruyff comes from a very humble family, from a small neighborhood of Amsterdam. His parents had a fruit and vegetable shop, but he was orphaned by a panda at a very young age.

When the pander died, his mother had to sell the house and the fruit and vegetable shop. He had to abandon his studies to go to work, still very young, and help support the family. And at the same time he played football.

This very humble origin will be fundamental to understanding who Johan Cruyff will be in terms of football, but above all as a character, once he grows up. Because we are not just talking about an extraordinary footballer, an absolute champion who will win the Golden Ball three times in the seventies. The first footballer to win the title of best player in Europe three times.

We are also talking about a figure who revolutionizes the concept of a professional footballer. Cruyff will be the first footballer who is an entrepreneur of himself. For example, he goes to negotiate directly with the Ajax managers to get increases in his contract. His idea is if the team plays well, if the team wins, I am a protagonist in this team and I want to be paid more because I deserve it. Every time he and his team achieve success, he goes to the managers to collect money. And he doesn't do it alone.

He is accompanied by his father-in-law because Cruyff married a girl whose father is Core Coaster, that is, one of the most important and richest diamond traders in the world. In fact, we are talking about the first footballer who goes to negotiate salary increases with the club's directors, bringing along an agent. Not only that.

He also wants to get paid when you play for the national team because he says football is my job. I play and therefore I work. If football is my job I must be paid when I play for the club but also when I play for the national team because I am working there too.

And he will be one of the very first footballers to have a personal sponsor. In the 70s he made an agreement with Puma, a large German clothing company. This will also create a big scandal in view of the 1974 World Cup because at that World Cup Holland will show up with a shirt sponsored by Puma's great rival, Adidas.

At the time, it was not yet possible to put the logos of private companies on the shirts of national teams or even clubs. So Adidas found a very original idea to get its logo purchased on the Holland uniform for the World Cup. It did not put the logo itself, but it would put its three characteristic black stripes on the shoulders and sleeves of the Holland jersey.

But Cruyff already has an exclusive agreement with Puma and cannot wear the Adidas logo. He refuses to do so and threatens not to go to the World Cup. This will force Adidas and the Dutch Football Federation to find an incredible solution. Holland will play with the jersey with the three black stripes of Adidas. Cruyff will wear a different jersey, still orange but with only two black stripes. The impact of total football on European football is devastating.

In 1969 this revolution took place. Ajax reached the Champions Cup final against Milan. They lost but showed that something was changing. The following year, the other great Dutch team, Feyenoord, reached the Champions Cup final and beat Celtic, who had won the European title a few years earlier.

Between 1971 and 1973, Ajax won the European Cup three times in a row and more or less in the same period, as we have seen, Cruyff won three Ballon d'Ors. In 1974, just before the World Cup in West Germany, Feyenoord won another European title, the UEFA Cup.

Holland therefore presented itself at the 1974 World Cup as the big favorite. In reality, it must be said that in the qualification process the team coached by Frantisek Fadronc did not do very well, it dropped a little bit in terms of play and results. For this reason, the KNVB, the football federation, before the World Cup changed the coach, leaving the Czechoslovakian, and called Rinus Michels from Barcelona, where he had moved a few years earlier.

The maestro of total football must lead his team to win the most important title of all, the consecration of Holland as a football country, for the first time in its history. As you may have understood by now, when a team presents itself as the number 1 favorite in dispute to win a title, especially if we are talking about the World Cup, it almost always does not win.

And in fact the dream of the great Holland stops in the final against West Germany. The Dutch start very strong, destroy the Germans after a few minutes, penalty, score and take the lead. It seems like the beginning of a devastating victory for the Orange over the Home Pantones and instead Holland will not be able to make it 2-0. The Germans will regroup and win 2-1.

According to Dutch playwright John Timmers, the defeat in the 1974 final is the greatest trauma in Dutch history in the 20th century, after World War II and the flood of 1953. This is to make you understand how much Dutch society is shaken by this unexpected defeat. They thought they had fate on their side.

The youth, political, social and sporting revolution that arrives and consecrates itself and tells the world, here, things must change, and we will explain to you how the world must change. It is, according to David Wimmer, a sort of Dutch version of the myth of Camelot. The idea of a great revolution, of a great positive change for society that crashes right at the most beautiful moment.

Taking Timmers' words again, who also mentioned the Second World War, we must remember that this final is between the Dutch and the Germans, that although West Germany is obviously no longer Nazi Germany, it is still the country that occupied the Netherlands during the Second World War. There is an unresolved trauma here, in Dutch society. The German occupation, which began in 1940, was devastating.

It caused over 205,000 deaths and the highest death rate per capita in the Western countries occupied by the Nazis. More than half of these deaths were Jews, victims of the Holocaust. One of these was an Ajax footballer, his name was Eddie Hamel.

The Holocaust is one of the stories we mentioned in episode 45, about football and the Holocaust. In a broader sense, the defeat in the 1974 final will be the crisis of the optimistic dream of the Holland of the 60s. Quoting the historian Bastien Bommelier, the Dutch national team was the product of an era that had invested everything in young people and their promise, and in the idea that things would be better if a new generation was in power.

The year after the World Cup defeat, in 1975, the economic crisis began that hit the Social Democratic government of Joop den Uyl. A crisis that was obviously linked to the oil crisis that was hitting the world. The Netherlands was in fact one of the countries most affected by the OPEC boycott because of its support for Israel in the Yom Kippur War.

In addition, new internal scandals emerge, there is the case of the independence of Suriname, many things put together that create a political crisis that brings down the government of Den Uyl, forced to resign in 1977, after which the conservative Christian Democrats will return to power. This idealistic Dutch dream therefore slowly crumbles, and at the same time the great era of Ajax after three consecutive European titles also crumbles.

 

Stefan Kovacs

Michels had already left to coach Barcelona in 1971, but the cycle continued under the guidance of a Romanian coach, Stefan Kovacs, who was one of the great innovators of total football, perfecting Michels' work. However, in 1973 Kovacs also left and would go on to become the coach of France.

Georges Kneubel of MWV was hired in his place, but at the same time Johan Cruyff also left Ajax, who, having fallen out with the management, decided to join Michels at Barcelona, and there he would change the balance of Spanish football.

After the 1974 World Cup, the other great Ajax champion, midfielder Johan Neskens, also moved to Barcelona, forming the first great Dutch colony of the Blaugrana club. In 1975, three other pillars of the lancers left. Ari Haan went to Anderlecht, Horst Blankenburg to Hamburg and Johnny Repp to Valencia.

In 1976, Gary Myhren also left Holland and joined Betis. That summer, Holland, now under the guidance of George Knöbel, coach of Ajax, aimed to become European champions, presenting themselves as favorites at the European Championships, and instead, a real loser, they only finished third and the title went to Antonin Panenka's Czechoslovakia. The swan song of the great Holland was the 1978 World Cup.

The national team is now under the guidance of Austrian Ernst Appel, the coach of Feyenoord, European champion in 1970. However, Johan Cruyff is not there, having decided to leave the national team due to a lack of motivation. The Orange remain a great team and the big favorite for the world title this time too, and this time too they will surrender in the final against the hosts, Argentina.

From here a new period of crisis for Dutch football will begin. In fact, until 1988 when they finally win a title at the European Championships, but that's another story, Holland will never be truly competitive again. So the great Dutch fairy tale of the 70s ends here.

It's true, total football hasn't won any titles, yet it has changed world football. Zonal defence, pressing, no longer fixed roles on the pitch, all elements that Holland presents to the world and that from this moment on will become fundamental for all the tactical development of football in the following years.
Ultimately, however, Holland represents what the 70s were.

A brief, fascinating, exciting period of reforms, revolutions, youthful promises in great change, which perhaps did not achieve the results hoped for at the time, but which contributed to changing, in some ways for the better, in others unfortunately for the worse, the society of the following years.

Maybe it was not exactly the myth of Camelot, as David Wimmer said, but it certainly left its mark, melancholic but also concrete, in everyone's life, and not just in sports.

Pjerin Bj
New York: May 5, 2025

https://www.sportsvisionplus.com/the-dutch-revolution-of-total-football/

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Sports Vision + Plus / Champions Hour in activity since 2013

History through photos (1st Part)!

This is the section of this page titled "History through Photos" under the cover of Arian Muraj, started in March 2020 in Facebook Page "Sports Vision / Champions Hour".

The Top 10 of the First Part

Enjoy!!!

1.

Eduardo Galeano, the Uruguayan who was awarded the Nobel Prize for his book "The Open Veins of Latin America", is the author of the bestseller "Soccer in the Sun and Shadow". Despite the fact that such books are not translated in Albania, those who are lucky enough to know English or even Greek can download or buy it online.
It is a masterpiece of sports literature, especially football literature!

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2.
The Trio!

Vasillaq Zeri
I don't remember if I was in third or fourth grade. I don't remember exactly if it was 1978 or 1979. Also, I can't say for sure that I was a Dinamo fan, but I was definitely a fan of Llaqi, Vasillaq Zeri! That afternoon, my father took me to the stadium to watch Dinamo-Skenderbeu match.
Shortly before the end of the match, when with a goal from Zeri, Dinamo was already leading 1-0, Llaqi was found outside the area with a defender in front of him. He dodges it effortlessly, running away to the left, as if by magic. At the entrance to the area, the last defender intervenes. Again, as if by magic, he dodges it by running away from the right and after this mini slalom he finds himself facing Jani Kaci.

Jani, the national team's goalkeeper at the time, rushes to his feet but Llaqi passes the ball over his body and alone enters the goal with the whole ball! What would a child in Brazil feel if he saw Garrincha score a goal like that? What does a child feel today in Barcelona if Messi scores in such a way? Those feelings were exactly what electrified me, the child, back in "Qemal Stafa" Tirana...

Shyqyri Ballgjini
Cloudy afternoon. The "Qemal Stafa" stadium is packed. The return match, the final for the Balkan Cup Albania-Romania. The second final match. The defeat in Romania, 1-3, is sought. 
Shyqi, is team captain. Now, when the score has reached 6-1 for the U21 / called "Shpresat" of Albania, he has scored already and has served the others to do so. It is his match! Just before the end, outside the area, passing the ball over his head, he leaves the last defender behind and heads for the goal. The goalkeeper rushes out to stop him. The defender from behind, with both hands, with all his might, pulls Shyqi away from the body and his shirt. Before collapsing, Shyqyri Ballgjini manages to release a parable over the goalkeeper, sealing the Albania-Romania score 7-1! After the match, as captain of the team, now Balkan Champion, he receives the cup from the hands of Loro Boric! In the same temple, against the same opponent, from the hands of a legendary captain who is just as much a protagonist! Coincidences that are repeated are no longer called coincidences!

Ilir Pernaska

Dinamo-Flamurtari is playing. The end of the 70s again. The minute is '87. The score is 0-0. After a cross from the right, the goalkeeper comes out and punches the ball. Outside the area, the "killer" Ilir Pernaska, rises in the air. He stops the ball with his chest - (my father rises and shouts GOOOL) - and without letting it fall to the ground with a powerful and technical shot; he sends it straight into the triangle. I am in the so-called 20th stand of the "Qemal Stafa" national stadium, among the fans of a full stadium, without realizing that in that atheist state, I had to thank God (and my father, a Dinamo fan) that I was there again, in that temple where everything was allowed and every age had a reserved place. Where such puzzle pieces completed a chapter of brilliant football history.
A very special chapter in the history of national football signed by Vasillaq Zeri - Shyqyri Ballgjini - Ilir Pernaska. A chapter in the history of a decade of Dinamo with over 300 goals in 400 matches!

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3.
Perlat Musta
The photo shows Perlat Musta, the king of the goal, on the same level as his great counterparts in Europe and the world. The point is not about the level of play, of course the same as them, but about the appearance. Adidas!

This brand, so close but also so unattainable, this "forbidden apple" for the Albanian athlete. Well, in this photo taken from the famous West Germany - Albania match of 1984, it shows Perlat Musta in the "king's robe", complete with "adidas", as befits a great goalkeeper. 
Just like Perlati really was! Jersey, shorts, socks and "adidas" gloves. Shoes too. But...
The truth was completely different. In Albania, including the national team, they played with Albanian-made products. Cotton jerseys that lost their color after two washes, shoes produced by the "Hamid Shijaku" factory that barely lasted a year, and goalkeeper gloves were out of the question...

Goalkeepers, however, had an advantage. In international competitions, they could swap jerseys and use them (the goalkeeper's special attire, different from the other 10 players) or they could borrow the uniform of their opposing colleagues, including gloves. Someone else, after a thousand twists and turns, could even buy them abroad. Musta and Luarasi were "lucky" to visit the invisible "planet" that was called "Outside the State" in the Albanian language of that time!  Also, Jani Kaci with the national team in the early 80s and on loan with Vllaznia, for the European Cups, Halim Mersini with U21 (Shpresat) ,
17 Nentori, and Flamurtari, Artur Lekbello, the charming and beloved balded headed, the hero of Barcelona with Flamurtari, these and some others, stood out from the jerseys they used in the poor Albanian clothing national football. They should also think about their friends and colleagues in Albania.

Where was the difference between them?
Perlati! He was the "photo model"! In every one of his appearances, you enjoyed watching him! Of course, the "Puma" jersey of the Austrian Lindenberger or the "Uhlsport" one of the Greek Nikos Sarganis looked the same on his body and suited him, but Perlati with the "adidas" jerseys of the greats Jean Mary Pfaf and Harald "Tony" Schumaker, besides looking from afar that he was taller than anyone else in Albania, in Europe he demonstrated that he was not the "unimportant" goalkeeper of a small team or country but was one of the best in Europe! It seemed that in appearance, with his favorite "adidas" jerseys.

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4.
Panajot Pano

This photo, where Panajot Pano elegantly avoids Horst Dieter Hoetges, captain of the world runner-up, West Germany, is now a symbol that expresses what 11 hearts can achieve on the field and on the other hand, Germany, for the only time lying on the ground in its history of qualifying for European competitions. It was 1967.

It is the small stadium built by the Italian fascists in 1941, at the end of the grand boulevard built by them, at a time when the best urban engineers were trying to bring to life the idea that the capital of the small Italian protectorate state would develop and grow urbanistically with the same glamour as their capital, Rome!

It is a small stadium with 15,000 seats. The stadium that, ironically, would bear the name of a 22-year-old young man killed by fascist hands, Qemal Stafa, as always, at the end of the grand boulevard but, baptized by proud Albanians "Martyrs of the Nation", would become a temple for them for five decades!

From the first official European competition, the Balkan Cup for national teams in 1946, with Albania as the winner, to the victories with Belgium and Greece. There was something magical about this small stadium with 15,000 seats. On special days, it became as big as the match being played in it! Well, in that match, 28,000 people were in the stadium. It was Albanian great temple, within which there would always be a place for all its devout believers!

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5.
April 1981
"Qemal Stafa" National Albanian Stadium

World Cup qualifiers Spain 1982.
Again, Albania plays this time, against the European Champions, West Germany. In the photo, Horst Hrubesch, Jani Kaci and Safet Berisha in an aerial battle.

Again, the "Qemal Stafa" stadium. After the `60s, enlarged with 5,000 more seats, with its second floor. What the fans called "20ties stands" and with it, the capacity reaches 20,000 spectators. However, the stadium does not change its nature that, "magically" inflates according to the values ​​of the match.

In this match, where west German Bernd Schuster probably played the biggest match of his short career with Germany but also in other matches such as Albania vs W. Germany in March 1983.

In this stadium, Albania vs Italy, U21 teams (Shpresat) 1984,
Albania - Belgium 1984, "17 Nentori" - Flamurtari in 1986 and many others, the number of spectators increased reaching 30,000
Simply incredible!

6 . 
AS Roma!

(top from left) Toninho CERESO, Paulo Roberto FALCAO, Ubaldo RIGHETTI, Agostino DI BARTOLOMEI, Francesco GRAZIANI, Franco TANCREDI. (seated) Roberto PRUZZO, Bruno CONTI, Sebastiano NELA, Dario BONETTI, Michele NAPPI.

May 30, 1984
Roma at the forefront of Italian football successes. It is the decade of the 80s. A year that, as an auspicious sign for the clubs but perhaps as a disaster for the "Azzurra" National Team. Roma representing Italian club football in the grand final of the Champions Cup.

The pressure is great on them! * Italian clubs have been forgotten in the drawer of the 60s! Milan 1963, Inter 1964, Inter 1965 and again Milan 1969, are four trophies brought to Italy two decades ago and Roma, gives signs of a great revolution that is represented first by the colors yellow and red. 
* The final is in Rome.
Liverpool are at their best, with great experience after two cups in recent years, and Roma have no international experience in major club finals. They come only with the heart of a lion and with Bruno Conti, the engine of Italy's World Champions, Graziani, the man who paved the way for Italy to the title two years ago, Roberto Pruzzo, its goal man, Tancredi, the excellent goalkeeper, Brazilian stars Falcao and Cereso, the "rock" Di Bartolomei and Italy's great talent, Righetti.

In fact, today, "the soul cries" when you think of such a defeat!
....
After 120` of dramatic play, Roma, which after a foul in attack by O'Neal against its goalkeeper Tancredi, finds itself behind with a score of 0-1, fights for the impossible. They almost achieve it but... loses on penalties the great final, dreamed of. Conti and Graziani, each other miss from 11 meters. It is the evening of the "charlatan" Bruce Grobbelar, the goalkeeper of Liverpool.

Neal scores first for Liverpool while Pruzzo equalizes spectacularly with a header “La curva sud” the section reserved for the most ardent Roma fans ("i romanisti"), fully packed 8 hours before the start of the match. Falcao, due to muscular problems, has been withdrawn from the list of penalty takers.

Nine shots determine the winner: Liverpool! The experts win! 
The end belongs to the dark chronicle of a violent night. War between fan gangs in the city. English journalism accuses - "Your premeditated revenge"!

Liverpool has just written another bright page in history. Roma will also go down in history. It is the precursor of the successes of Italian football for the next 15 years. Like Italy itself, in Euro 1980 and World Cup 1990, Roma itself, will fail to lift a major title on its home turf and this will happen again, after the second final lost against Inter for the U.E.F.A. Cup. 

But it is precisely this evening in May 1984 that will give Roma a respected place and name in the history of Italian football and the memories of football fans.

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7.

Nadia Comăneci, the Romanian gymnast who made history in this sport, especially at the 1976 Olympic Games in Montreal with three gold medals at the age of 14 and as the first woman to receive the maximum score of 10.0, even six 10.0s in all events (apparatus) programmed in this sport.

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8. 

Manuel Francisco dos Santos! Initially known by his relatives by shortening his name from Manuel to "Manè". As tradition dictates in Brazil, he was "baptized" and later immortalized in football history as the "little bird" - Garrincha! The second most popular footballer in history in Brazil after Pele.

Coincidentally, the stadium named after him "Manè Garrincha" is the second largest in Brazil after "Maracana". However, Garrincha remains the first in the world of football for two things, his dribbling and low intelligence. According to tests, his IQ level corresponded to that of a first grader.

With one leg 7cm shorter than the other and a deformed "S" shaped spine, Garrincha was unpredictable for any defender. The king of dribbling, he played football for fun!

He did it with such passion that, after the final against Sweden, 5-2 and Brazil being declared world champion for the first time, he was upset because he didn't know that the matches ended after the final. His entertainment was the entertainment of the people, which is why he got another nickname "allegria de povo" - the joy of the poor!

 

Brazil never lost a single match when Pele and Garrincha played together. The best Brazilian player and scorer of the '62 World Cup. At that time, a newspaper headline went down in history for him with the title "What planet does this man come from?" while Garrincha himself, in that World Cup, scored the historic "banana" goal, a fake shot from 20 meters.

 

He died poor and an alcoholic at the age of 50. Everything else in his life, apart from football, was simply scandalous! We prefer not to talk about these...

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9. 
Ailton Correa de Arruda - "Manga"
He remains the most famous goalkeeper in Brazil today! He was so well-known that, in his honor, since 1976 when he was still active in football, his birthday, April 26, has been marked as Goalkeeper's Day in the Brazilian calendar!

He had become a myth, because of his deformed fingers! The goalkeeper of the "Selecao" national team in the 1966 World Cup in England, "hung up" his gloves at the age of 44!

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10.

Agustin Kola!
The symbol of the former "17 Nentori", more precisely, of Tirana!
The one who always scored in all possible ways. King of the game in the air who scored constantly with header but also by "bicycle", turns, with powerful shots from distance with his "bitter" left foot, in general a striker who, as much as you can believe he came from the English "Premiere League", or he was also a "Paolo Rossi" Albanian within the penalty area.

He came out bloody from the match but...also from training! Today, the man Agustin Kola! Always without hypocrisy, with words that often hit and for this, bravo to him.

The truth hurts but never kills! Precisely for this reason, Agustini is perhaps the only one who maintains the same dimension of the name of a great footballer even after retiring from playing football. Of course, as yesterday and today, he enjoys the status of a man respected by fans of other teams.

End of the 1st "Top 10" Part!

It was published for the first time in March-May 2020 in Facebook Page "Sports Vision / Champions Hour"

(C) Copyright By Arian Muraj.

https://www.sportsvisionplus.com/history-through-photos-1st-part/

 

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Sports Vision +Plus / Champions Hour in activity since 2013

Lev Yashin (1929-1990) | “Black Spider”, the Greatest Goalkeeper in the History of the Game!

 The story of the black spider is one of unwavering commitment to duty rather than to self, against a fluctuating backdrop of adversity and stardom.

On the morning of June 22, 1941, Vyacheslav Molotov made a radio broadcast to the Soviet people. His speech began with the chilling line: “Without a declaration of war, German forces attacked our country.”

Germany had launched Operation Barbarossa, the largest military invasion in history. Molotov called upon all Soviet citizens to unite in defence of their homeland, framing the conflict as a war for survival and the preservation of national independence.

Amidst the turmoil, a 12-year-old boy in Moscow was doing his bit for the war effort. Lev Yashin walked to a munitions factory where he worked producing the bombs and bullets that would rain down across Europe. Little did he know that this early, humble contribution would mirror his lifelong commitment to act as the last line of defence for his country.

On his way to the factory, Yashin would traverse a Moscow dominated by a harsh aesthetic. Rows of Khrushchyovka - nondescript, grey communal apartments - flanked the streets. These stark structures crammed families into small, shared spaces. Many buildings were old, worn, and soot-streaked, standing alongside newer industrial structures, signs of the city's rapid modernisation.

The skyline was punctuated by smoking chimneys from nearby factories, a reminder of the relentless push for production under Stalinism.
Workers, men and women, in plain, practical clothing, their hands calloused from hours of labour, bustled toward their shifts. They carried metal lunch tins, their faces betraying the weariness of long days spent assembling machinery or hammering steel.

Despite their fatigue, there was an air of camaraderie.
These early experiences likely shaped young Yashin’s worldview. As he walked through this bustling, struggling city, he would have seen people persevering, working together, and finding joy in small moments despite the challenges. This sense of collective effort and loyalty to one's comrades would later translate into his philosophy on the football field, where teamwork and selflessness defined a legendary career.

Today, where athletes like Messi and Ronaldo set seemingly unbreakable records, it raises the question: is perfection a prerequisite for greatness? Or is true greatness found in those who face adversity, fall, and then find the strength to rise again?

Perfection is especially elusive for goalkeepers. Mistakes are amplified and the pressure of an entire team’s fate can feel concentrated in the hands of one man. The goalkeeper stands alone, a solitary figure in a role defined by high stakes and inevitable blunders. Yashin understood this burden all too well.

As the cornerstone of the Soviet team, the country's greatest player, and a symbol of Soviet strength on the world stage, he embodied the intense weight of expectation. Yet, it wasn't his flawless performances that defined him but his ability to absorb the pressure, confront failure, and come back stronger each time. Yashin's greatness lay in his refusal to bow to the inevitable imperfections of the game and life itself.

Life in mid-20th century Soviet Russia could break or shape men into resilient figures, testing their limits and resolve. In 1962, Lev Yashin found himself thrust into the harsh spotlight after the Soviet Union's disappointing exit from the World Cup in Chile. Knocked out in the quarters by the host nation, the Soviet team suffered a 2-1 defeat. Yashin was blamed for two soft goals that contributed to the loss.

When the team returned to Moscow, the fury of the public was immediate and unforgiving. At the airport, fans held signs that read “Yashin retire” and “Time to get your pension.” The criticism didn’t stop there - Yashin’s home windows were smashed, insulting messages were scrawled on his car, and threatening letters filled his mailbox. He would later describe this time as the "most bitter" of his football life.

This was Yashin's rock bottom, yet it wasn’t the only time he’d been forced to confront adversity.

As a young man working in the factory, he played for the company’s ice hockey team, where his lightning-fast reflexes and agility soon caught the attention of scouts. His natural talent for goalkeeping translated easily into football, and he found himself playing regularly in both sports.

However, the turbulence of the times weighed heavily on the young Yashin. He was at a crossroads between adolescence and adulthood, caught in the storm of domestic and global unrest. The pressure became unbearable, and he quit everything - sport, work, life itself.

Reflecting on this period in his autobiography, Yashin recalled, “Was it depression? I don’t know. The fatigue accumulated over the years began to make itself felt, and something in me suddenly broke. At that time, I felt nothing except emptiness.” Disillusioned and broken, Yashin fell into a deep personal crisis, his passion for life and sport drained.

It took enlisting in the military to bring him back from the brink. Combining his duties with football reignited his spirit. Soon, scouts from Dynamo Moscow took notice, and in 1949, he was invited to join the club. It was a huge step for Yashin, but not everything went as planned. He played poorly in a friendly and only featured in two games that season before being demoted to the reserves.

An early test of his resilience, his path to the first team blocked a star in his own right, Alexei ‘Tiger’ Khomich. However, determination eventually worked in his favour - when Khomich retired in 1953, Yashin's opportunity to take the reins finally arrived.

Quickly, Yashin’s role at Dynamo began to take shape. His all-black kit, signature flat cap, and preternatural reflexes earned him the nickname "Black Spider." His limbs defied physics, capable of being in eight places at once. But Yashin was more than just a goalkeeper—he was a psychological weapon. His towering presence, coupled with his imposing attire, created a sense of intimidation, making opponents feel as though the goal had somehow shrunk in his shadow.

Goalkeeping in the 1950s was a largely passive affair. Goalkeepers were expected to stay on the line, react to shots, and nothing more.
Yashin shattered these conventions.

He commanded his box, charging out to punch crosses or intercept through-balls. This new proactive style effectively gave his team a sweeper behind the defence. As Franz Beckenbauer observed, Yashin “was the model for what the modern goalkeeper should be.”

Vocality was another hallmark. Constantly barking instructions to defenders, he acted as an on-field manager, another attribute that has become a staple of elite goalkeeping. Legendary goalkeeper Dino Zoff noted that Yashin “didn't just save shots; he organised and dominated his team’s defence.”

Yashin’s rise coincided with Dynamo Moscow’s dominance in Soviet football. Throughout the 1950s, he helped secure five Soviet Top League titles and three Soviet Cups. On the international stage, Yashin anchored the Soviet Union’s triumph in the 1956 Olympic Games and their victory in the inaugural European Championship in 1960.

His performance in the 1958 World Cup, where the Soviet Union reached the quarter-finals, solidified his reputation globally. Despite their exit, his standout saves (including a penalty stop against Pelé's Brazil) earned him widespread acclaim. Pelé himself described Yashin as “the best goalkeeper in the history of football.”

In 1960, his status was solidified with the Order of Lenin, and by 1962, Yashin was at the peak of his career. He had not only redefined goalkeeping but had become a worldwide icon. Yet, as always, the spectre of adversity lingered.
Despite Yashin’s towering legacy, doubts began to creep into the minds of Soviet football authorities. In the summer of 1961, Yashin was dropped for three matches. Lokomotiv Moscow’s Vladimir Maslachenko stepped in. By August, Yashin reclaimed his starting role, but whispers of decline persisted.

Heading into the 1962 World Cup in Chile, Yashin was 32, relatively advanced for a goalkeeper in that era. His reputation remained formidable, but age-related concerns hung heavy. These doubts seemed vindicated during the group stage match against Colombia, where Yashin made two uncharacteristic mistakes, including conceding directly from a corner. The match ended in a 4-4 draw, a rare blot on Yashin’s otherwise immaculate record.

The quarter-final against Chile was no kinder. Yashin’s aura of invincibility faltered again as La Roja struck twice. Yet, the most surreal moment came after Eladio Rojas scored the winner. Rojas, overcome with disbelief at beating Yashin, sprinted not to his teammates but Yashin himself, embracing him in what he later described as sheer awe. “Scoring past Yashin was like winning a trophy,” Rojas would reflect.

Unbeknownst to many at the time, Yashin had suffered a concussion in a collision earlier in the match. Still, for the Soviet press and public, excuses mattered little. Yashin became a scapegoat. Whistles and jeers greeted him upon his return to Moscow. According to his wife, Valentina, the relentless criticism cut deep. “He wanted to quit,” she recalled.

At what seemed like his lowest point, fate offered a chance at redemption. On October 23, 1963, Wembley Stadium hosted a match between England and a World XI to celebrate the centenary of the FA. Selected by Chilean manager Fernando Riera, many questioned the decision to include a perceived has-been.
Yashin, however, delivered a masterclass.

Save after save - including a jaw -dropping denial of a Jimmy Greaves strike - left the Wembley crowd gasping. The English press, notoriously harsh on foreign players, lavished praise on him, declaring that Yashin had “single-handedly defied England’s best.” It became Yashin’s rebirth. He later reflected that the night at Wembley prolonged his career and reignited his love for the game.

With his confidence and reputation restored, Yashin returned to Moscow determined to silence any lingering doubts. But what came next was beyond even his wildest dreams: the Ballon d’Or. To this day, Yashin remains the only goalkeeper to have ever won the award, a testament to his unparalleled impact on the game.

The award was officially presented to Yashin on May 27, 1964, before a sea of over 100,000 fans at Luzhniki Stadium, moments before the USSR’s European Championship quarter-final clash with Sweden. Standing tall in his iconic all-black kit, he held the Ballon d’Or aloft, a symbol of his unprecedented achievement.

But for Yashin, the moment was less about celebration than duty. His wife, Valentina, later revealed their Ballon d'Or celebrations were surprisingly understated. "Maybe we had a special dinner at home, but nothing too fancy," she admitted. Yashin’s focus was never on the accolades; his drive was fueled by something far deeper.

His motivation came from a profound sense of responsibility—not to himself, but to his team, his city, and his country. He didn’t play for glory; he played to protect, to serve, and to defend.

Yashin put it best himself: “What kind of goalkeeper is not tormented by a goal he has conceded? He must be tormented! And if he is calm, that means the end.”

It was this relentless pursuit of perfection - this self-imposed torment - that set Yashin apart from all others. Every goal conceded was a personal defeat; every save, a silent act of defiance. Resilience, rather than trophies, was the true measure of his greatness.
Lev Yashin’s story is not about triumphing over adversity for personal gain. It is about embracing the weight of responsibility and finding greatness in service to others. That unwavering commitment to duty, rather than self, is what makes him the greatest goalkeeper to ever play the game.

New York: April 26, 2025

https://www.sportsvisionplus.com/lev-yashin-1929-1990-black-spider-the-greatest-goalkeeper-in-the-history-of-the-game/

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Sports vision + Plus / Champions Hour in activity since 2025

Retrospective of 1978 | Vllaznia vs Austria Wien for the European Champions Cup!

 The Miracle of Shkodra Football, which surprised the European sports media of the time, who thought the result was a printing error!

The older generation of Shkodra, and those who witnessed this miracle, were left with the roar, the cheering for their team, as every citizen of Shkodra can remember, that great cheer, the echoes of the fans that came from the stadium, spreading to every street, neighborhood and entering every house of this ancient city, of art and sports enthusiasts, where almost every resident stood out for their sense of humor, the city after all where football itself, the "top kamba" game in Albania, had been born, especially on that day, when the extremely crowded steps of the stadium felt, along with the weight of time, that of the fans.

The rest of the others who were not lucky enough to be provided with a ticket for this match, remaining outside the stadium or on the city streets, without the possibility of having a radio nearby, could orient themselves very well according to the cheering, the booing when a goal was scored, when there were clear scoring chances, or even who was dominating the game.

This was Shkodra that day in early autumn 1978!

* * *

The most notable event in the history of the Vllaznia club will be that of September 13, 1978, when at the “Vojo Kushi” stadium for the 1978/79 Champions Cup, the Albanian champion took to the field in the presence of 14,000 ardent Shkodra fans, alongside the Austrian champion and one of the most popular teams in Europe at the time, Austria Wien. The Austrians were finalists of the 1978 Cup Winners' Cup and semi-finalists of the Champions Cup a year later, 1979.

A day before, the meteorological bulletin records heavy rainfall, in fact it is not something unusual in Shkoder where the rain does not stop most of the time during the 365 days of the year.

The situation, on the green field of the “Vojo Kushi” stadium, seems to have some similarity to that of the semi-final match FRG vs. Poland, so-called “water battle” because it took place on a difficult terrain!

However, a colossal work is being done to bring the terrain into a practical condition for the development of this very important competition for Albanian football.

It is the first match of the first round in this Trophy that has in its fold with an elimination system all the champion clubs of Europe!! The trio of judges headed by the Romanian Otto Anderco were led forward…….

Vllaznia, which apparently played this match with a 4-5-1 formation (with only Zhega in attack), revealed all its values, starting off briskly on the wings of the enthusiasm of the start that immediately led to Zhega's goal in the 8th minute and that continued throughout the match, seriously putting the Austrians, who have big names like Prohaska, Obermayer, Robert Sara and the one who would be best known of all, Walter Shakner, in a difficult position.

The Austrians show signs of nervousness, after failing to come out to their style of playing. Prohaska uses force to stop the momentum of the Shkodran team and in the 16th minute receives a yellow card.

The audience is excited and whistles! Everyone in one chorus shouts "Vllazni” , "Vllazni” (which it means in English “Brotherhood") accompanied by the rhythm of hand clapping.

Nothing seems to be able to stop the momentum of the Vllaznia players supported by an extremely passionate fan base. It is a beautifully woven ensemble, where the technique of Hafizi stands out in the midfield, the class of Bizi as a conductor, the technique of two players like Vukatana and Axhani, the intuition of Sh. Ballgjini to connect with the attack where maestro Zhega is located!

Without forgetting, the outstanding goalkeeper Jani Kaci, although few chances, knew how to show his skills, together with the defense composed of the center "pillars" Safet Berisha, e Suad Duraj, alongside with the wings, Sait Canga and Lutfi Basha, who are unbeatable!

In the second half again in the first minutes, goal.
Shyqyri Ballgjini !!
2 – 0!!
The score will not change until the end of this challenge!!
Austria Wien does not believe it.

“The Albanian team was very prepared. It played football, technical and modern with great mobility on the field” – Prohaska will say later!

 

Vllaznia`s action to deepen the result

The victory of Vllaznia, even though its composition included "foreign" players from another albanian clubs, such as Kaci, Berisha or Sh. Ballgjini, in no way diminishes the merit of the Shkodra team in this success.

With this sensational result, it is clear that to qualify for the second round of the Champions Cup, Austria has a very difficult time, it needs to win by three goals difference. However, the Austrians achieve this success, mainly by taking advantage of the "anemic" game of Vllaznia in the second match that was played by a completely different team, losing it 1-4, at a time when they could have lost at least with a narrower result and qualified for the next round.

Shkoder: November 3, 1978
“Vojo Kushi” Stadium
Vllaznia - Austra Wien 2-0 (1-0)
8` Zhega
56` Sh. Ballgjini

VLLAZNIA: Jani Kaçi - Suat Duraj; Seit Çanga; Safet Berisha; Lutfi Basha - Astrit Hafizi; Sabah Bizi; Shyqyri Ballgjini; Fatmir Axhani; Luan Vukatana - Medin Zhega;

AUSTRIA WIEN : Hubert Baumgartner - Erich Obermayer; Robert Sara'; Günther Pospischil - Herbert Prohaska; Felix Gasselich; Ernst Baumeister; Thomas Parits - Heinrich Horvath; Franz Weiss (78`Harald Gmauff); Walter Schachner;
Referee: Otto Anderco (Romania)

 

(C) Copyright Pjerin Bj
New York: April 25, 2025

https://www.sportsvisionplus.com/retrospective-of-1978-vllaznia-vs-austria-wien-for-the-european-champions-cup/
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Sport Vision + Plus / Champions Hour in activity since 2013

Albanian Football Champions | Roland Luçi, the Vlora guy who played with the Shkodra jerseys!

 Shkodra has always exchanged friendship and respect with all other cities, especially those in the south. Even in sports there is no way it could not be different. Roland Luci is one of the few examples.

Born on February 24, 1960.

He has always been active with "Vllaznia". The 1981-1982 season was probably the most brilliant, where he stood out with the Shkodra jerseys in the championship and “Republic Cup”. He is, National Champion with "Vllaznia" in the 1982-1983 season.

 

A good connoisseur of the penalty area, from where he often scores. Also he has especially had the ability to win penalties in favor of his team in most cases.

There have been two cases where Luci has been permanently banned from football and in both cases an amnesty has come to his aid. Thus in 1983, at the age of 23, he won amnesty after a year and in 1986 after only 5 months.

Luci has also been a player of Albania National Team where he has been capped several times. He has played in 2 matches in the red-black Albanian jersey. He made his debut on November 17, 1981, in a heavy defeat of Albania against the Germans 8-0, in the World Cup qualifiers `82, and then for the European qualifiers against Austria in Austria (0-5) on September 22, 1982.

As a result of a serious knee injury in 1987, he was forced to hang up his boots after just one year, on June 5, 1988, leaving his career as a player.

In 2009, Luci will coach Vllaznia for a short time. Dismissed from this position that same year after reaching this balance of 4 Wins, 3 Draws and 5 Losses. After the 90s, he emigrated to Austria, where he continues to live.

© Copyright
Pjerin Bj
New York April 25, 2025

https://www.sportsvisionplus.com/albanian-football-champions-roland-luci-the-vlora-guy-who-played-with-the-shkodra-jerseys/
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Sports Vision + Plus / Champions Hour in activity since 2013

Dedicated to the Legends of Albanian Goalkeepers!

 Legends of goalkeeping!

In terms of comparisons, a skilled goalkeeper is like a ninja, swift and silent in their movements. A wall, impenetrable and unyielding in their defense.
A maestro, orchestrating their team's defensive efforts with precision and flair

They possess, lightning-quick reflexes, able to leap into action in a split second.
Exceptional agility, swiftly moving laterally and vertically to cover the gate. Excellent judgment, anticipating shots and crosses with ease.

Strong communication skills, directing their teammates and organizing the defense. Unwavering focus, maintaining concentration throughout the match. A fearless attitude, willing to put their body on the line to make incredible saves.

The list of names of Albanian goalkeepers who stood out during the
period 1950 - 1980 is very long, and yet with these photos below, we are
making a dedication to all of them, even those who are not in the photo.

Harold Schumacher and Perlat Musta!

The most prominent Albanian goalkeepers in the years when Albanian football had a wide interest among the public, when the rivalry between teams complete with quality players attracted thousands and thousands of passionate, ardent fans to the stadiums of the districts every Sunday, who, among many other things, were exalted by the spectacular performance of these goalkeepers.

A beautiful performance by the Albanian goalkeeper Muhedini in the next match against West Germany in 1971

Acrobatic saves, leaping and diving to stop seemingly unstoppable shots.
Pinpoint accurate distribution, launching counterattacks with precise throws and kicks. Commanding presence, instilling confidence in their teammates and intimidating opponents!

From the Italian Giacomino POSELLI to Dode TAHIRI, Klani MARJANI, Qemal VOGLI, Sul MALIQATI, Pavlin NDOJA, Koco DINELLA, MUHEDINI; M. JANKU, without forgetting other names that contributed to Albanian Football, especially those before the War (not in the photo), names like: R. GURASHI, Niko DOVANA; A. STERMASI.

 

Perlat Musta, in one of the most prominent duels of his career!

1989 - Avenir Dani of Vllaznia

During the 80s, other names also appeared, goalkeepers who were also capable, good fit to modern football, who took up the baton and passed it on.
Jani KACI; Perlat MUSTA; Bujar GUGUNJA; Ilir LUARASI; Artur LEKBELLO; Halim MERSINI; Ahmet CUMAKU; Bujar SHARRA, to other equally prominent names such as Gezim Hasku of Beslidhja, Haki ARKAXHIU of Besa, STEFA of Apolonia and Fier, Nesti ARAPI of Flamurtari from Vlorë and undoubtedly continuing with others such as: Gjergj KUSHE from Korca who played for Vllaznia, Genc BOSHNJAKU and Isa SUKAJ from Shkodra; AJAZI of Lokomotiva, GURAJ of Naftetari, SEVO of Traktori.....

Goalkeeper Jani Kaci's aerial battle in the match against the West Germans in 1981

 

1989 - Albanian Mersini and Gary Lineker in the match Albania - England played in Tirana

Spectacular save by goalkeeper Artur Lekbello, hero of the Barcelona- Flamurtari match , played in "Camp Nou"

© Copyright
By Pjerin Bj
New York: April 16, 2025

https://www.sportsvisionplus.com/dedicated-to-the-legends-of-albanian-goalkeeping/#google_vignette

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Sports Vision +Plus / Champions Hour in activity since 2013