Albania coach Sylvinho on his all-star backroom staff, his young talents and his side's EURO 2024 prospects – interview
Tuesday, June 4, 2024
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"We're South Americans, but very European too," says ex-Arsenal and Barcelona defender Sylvinho as he talks through his coaching team's journey to EURO 2024 with Albania.
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Former Brazil left-back Sylvinho made an unexpected move when he took the Albania national team job in January 2023, but he has had no reason to regret his decision.
After leading his side to UEFA EURO 2024, the former Arsenal, Barcelona and Manchester City player was given a formal decoration by the President of Albania. He explained how he and his well-travelled team (including ex-City right-back Pablo Zabaleta and one-time Brazil midfielder Doriva) have earned their spurs in Tirana.
On taking the Albania job
It was a marriage, mutual from both sides. The project interested me a lot, and they were interested in us as a technical team, with Doriva, Zabaleta: young people who really want to do well. In Albania they speak a lot of Italian. I realised that between Italian and English, I could get by at work. [Albanians appreciate] a technical kind of football, with players that like tricks. They like to play good football, so this also gave me the feeling that: 'Yes, here I can work very well.'
We're South Americans, but very European too. Pablo spent ten years in the Premier League. I played in the Premier League a bit, in Spain for a long time; in Italy I was working with Roberto Mancini. Doriva played in Italy, he played in Portugal. Our technical team is very multicultural.
On leading by example
Doriva, Pablo and I are all people who fight a lot in our lives. As footballers, to get to where we three have got to, to do everything we've done. The players recognise it. This mentality is very important.
We're humble in the sense that we recognise the fact that we've stopped playing football. The players are the protagonists, and it's [them] who play. However, there's something we can pass to them, and that's the mentality. "Boys, you have to train well, seriously. We can't lose [in] a training session." You have to get this into the players' [heads], and they'll say: "I don't come to training to train, I come to training to win."
On what Albania and São Paulo have in common
I was born in São Paulo and lived there in the 1980s and 1990s. I played football in the street there. It was really difficult, really physical. The biggest [thing that] Tirana and São Paulo [have in common] is the people in Brazil and Albania. We're all about hugging people; relationships are really warm, and people say: "Sit down and have a meal with me. The doors to my house are open." That's something which both countries have in common.
On Kristjan Asllani and Jasir Asani
Kristjan is a technically gifted player who's great with both feet. He's capable of playing on both sides. He's technical, young and forging his path. He has a lot to learn still like any 21 or 22-year-old player. He's really strong in terms of his technical ability and is blessed with a lot of personality. He's a top player.
Asani is a player we picked out in [South] Korea. He's a left-footed player who plays on the right and cuts in, which we like. He scores important and great goals, like the ones against Poland and Moldova. He's a great player with top quality, who's got a great long shot on him. He's really coming into his own in the national team.
On ambitions for the finals
To be honest it's great. All of us together as one have done a great job. Apart from Pablo and Doriva, there are many members of the coaching staff, as well as people at the federation working hard. We do all of this together and understand what we're all after. We've achieved things, we've made it to the EURO: that's some feat. The overriding feeling is enthusiasm and happiness. People are really happy.
We've got this far, we know our size, we're improving. It's set to be a real challenge. However, we'll knuckle down to work. The games will be fantastic but hard, and if we're able to overcome our opponents, we want to keep going. We're doing well but if we can take another step forward, then even better.
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