Shehi: I work quietly at Partizan, I don't know how the fans of Tirana will receive me

2024-02-15 13:17:10, Sport CNA

This Friday, reserves one of the showcases of Albanian football, such as the derby of the capital, between Partizan and Tirana.

Coach Orges Shehi spoke on the eve of this match. The helmsman of the reds will face his former team, Tirana, from which he left a few months ago for the first time, as the next day he will look for the 3 points against the white and blue.

"The confrontation with Tirana? I don't think it's my personal challenge. I think it is a challenge between two clubs that have a historical rivalry. So when we ask the players not to have a big emotional dose, of course we at the staff will treat it as an important match, but not decisive. In my career I have been through many derbies. Since I was part of Partizan as a player, there may have been 10-12 derbies, but also another 10 when I was the coach of Tirana. So we guarantee you that we have the experience not to be carried away by the emotional dose.

You have driven Tirana before, do you think you know it well enough? I can know the players individually, but I am not separated from Tirana today. I am disconnected after 4 weeks of the championship. I don't know how many weeks have been played, so Tirana has had a different coach for many weeks. Every coach wants to implement his own way of playing. I can know the players individually, but what we have seen these days, like every opponent we have, we try to analyze. Every team has individuals because of the specifics and qualities they have. I do not seek to single out or focus on particular individuals of the adversary.

How is the derby match at Partizani prepared? I can mention it very briefly, it is much quieter here than in Tirana.

The state of the team? Keko is known to be missing for weeks and is not with the team. Maget has trained these two days with the team and today is the final test to decide if he can be tomorrow or not. But that remains to be seen. Bintsuka's condition is not optimal. We had the match against Dinamo on the bench to be close to the team, but he is not ready for the match. Others are normal and trained. I saw in the eyes of the players desire and commitment to do better in tomorrow's game.

In addition to 3 points, the derby also has a big psychological bonus? We are convinced that we did not walk with the pace of a champion, because in six games we do not have the pace of a champion team, but we have an average pace and the team wants to improve. We took out the mistakes we made, because the two games we lost, we lost in the last moments. With Laçi, we dominated all the time, and yet the concentration fell at the last moment and we suffered the first defeat. whereas in the second loss we did not produce much, but the goal could have been avoidable. These two defeats are to learn and focus, not to put all the bad things in the players' heads. Tomorrow's derby is known to have a psychological bonus, because the derby is not only played for yourself, but also for the fans. This is what we will ask for tomorrow, to first of all play to satisfy all our football-loving public and then to get the best of the match.

Pressure points? I think we should not burden the players too much and not put them in front of the responsibility. When the results are not positive, I think the first culprit is the coach, then the players. So the players have to be more relaxed to do their best. A team that gets 5 wins and a draw after six weeks starts to rise again, like Vllaznia is even close to us. The important thing is to return to the victory, to the full group and enthusiasm. A good win brings enthusiasm and confidence to the team. We are in a not very good moment, but we must never lose faith and self-confidence. Because these are two things close to each other, but they also have a collective meaning.

Recent derbies have been settled with close results...? The derby, if you catch it all over the world, but even more so here, it's not like the results are great. For another detail, there is very little effective play in the derby. The derby consists of great emotions, of ball recoveries, of duels, of the emotional dose of the fans, so effective play is scarce and when effective play is scarce in most cases each team seeks to solve it through episodes, showing careful, taking advantage of the other's mistakes, because that's what derby is.

Tirana is one of the teams that has conceded many goals...? Now I don't think about the opposing team. I will say for my team, that we should have scored more goals than we scored.

How do you expect the reaction of Tirana fans tomorrow? I don't know whether to speak for others, or for the fans of Tirana. I know that I have a correct relationship with the entire football opinion in Albania with all the fans. So I have respect for fans wherever they are. I think that tomorrow will also be the fans' derby, because it is known what atmosphere the fans bring. The derby is not only played for us, but also for the fans. We always want to win."