Albania's 'heart and quality' key to victory
Sunday, June 19, 2016
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Albania coach Gianni De Biasi is hopeful his team will stay at UEFA EURO 2016 to prove they can "cause even big teams trouble" while eliminated Romania were sorry to let down their fans.
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Arlind Ajeti, Albania defender and man of the match
The heart that we put into it – our Albanian hearts and our fighting spirit; what we do for each other; the fact that we fight for each other: that is what makes it special. We were really happy, we believed until the end that we could win at least one match in this tournament, and we did it.
Gianni De Biasi, Albania coach
I'm sure we gave huge joy to the Albanian fans. Not just the Albanians in Albania, but Albanians who live around the world. We got what we could've got in the first two games, but you need to score to get results. We contained a team that has quality and strength and that conceded just two goals in qualifying. We got there with heart and quality. We played with our heads and with mental strength.
We will have to prepare as if we'll be playing on Friday or Saturday, so we'll have five or six days. We'll watch the other games and get ready. If we stay, we can cause trouble for other teams – even big teams. I think we grew in confidence tonight. We needed the first two games to settle into the tournament. I hope we can stay. I'm a positive person and I think we deserve it.
Armando Sadiku, Albania forward
It is, of course, hugely emotional. We've already achieved our goal and for that we are very happy. I am very satisfied to score but the credit goes to the whole team. I can't describe [the moment I scored]. It was very emotional. A very happy moment to see all the Albanians, to make them happy and see them celebrating. For this I am very pleased.
Lorik Cana, Albania defender
It's an incredible feeling. The guys in the team have sacrificed so much in these three matches. They gave so much of themselves, and I believe we deserved it and we have earned this reward. Desire, the heart that we have, the sacrifice – that's something incredible in our team.
Anghel Iordănescu, Romania coach
A loss is a loss and we're really sorry for what happened. Because of a mistake in our defence, we conceded a goal. In the second half, we tried to impose our style of play and take possession. I think the Albanian supporters gave energy to their team and that helped them score.
Do I think we deserved to qualify? Yes and no. If you don't get a win, you don't deserve to qualify. I said yesterday that this was the game of a generation, and it's true: qualification would have been a reward for this generation. They did everything they could to qualify.
Nicolae Stanciu, Romania midfielder
I feel very, very disappointed. I can't find the words to express what I'm feeling right now and the fact we've disappointed millions of people who believed in us. I think we controlled the game but we didn't manage to create clear chances, we weren't decisive enough in front of goal. They scored at the end of the first half and that changed everything.