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Save the footballer Armando Broja!

2025-11-15 12:21:00, Sport Roland Qafoku

The 1-minute video showing Elseid Hysaj forcibly pulling Armando Broja from the bench, drowning in despair and tears, while the team was celebrating the greatest achievement in history, received more attention than even the winning goal scored by Kristjan Asllani. In those 60 seconds, we saw a star morally fallen, not to say on the verge of extinction. Sitting on the bench and with tears in his eyes, he was showing dissatisfaction and disappointment, as if the whole world had done him an injustice that he did not deserve. The situation seemed even more complicated when in another video it was seen that Broja passed by without shaking hands with the president of the Albanian Football Association, Armando Duka.

So what is happening to what we have called the phenomenon of Albanian football for years? Why, even when he doesn't deserve to be a starter, does he react negatively the moment the coach takes him out of the game and replaces him with someone else? Why does he show dissatisfaction and annoyance when in fact those who should be upset with him are first and foremost the coach himself and then the fans? Why has he turned into a pampered boy who demands attention even when he doesn't deserve it?

Save the footballer Armando Broja!

Armando Broja is without a doubt the most talented footballer Albania has ever had. With an extraordinary physique, extremely technical, very fast, with potential in the game and a scorer like him, our football has not seen and it cannot be predicted when such a one with the qualities he possesses can be repeated. He is also the Albanian footballer who has played with the most quoted club he has ever played, like Chelsea. All these qualities are expressed, not by one or two, but by many specialists, in Albania yes, but also in the international arena.

But his career, now at the age of 26, seems to be at a delicate point. This great talent risks one day being destroyed and turned into an equally great waste. There are several matches with the national team that Broja has shown that not only is he no longer the explosive footballer who single-handedly decided the match, but he has now become a problem for the team. He moves slowly, almost walks on the field and does not run when he does not have the ball. He does not dare to dribble. He no longer has that intuition of his past and most importantly, with the modest Burnley team where he plays in England, he has become a 10-minute reserve and has not scored a goal in two years.

We must say that although far from form and expectations, coach Sylvinho has included him in the starting lineup without reason. Did he do this to fulfill a whim? This is not believed. It is more believed that the national team coach has done it to give him a great opportunity so that he can feel important again as before and through the national team to reach maximum form. However, it has been noticed that every time Sylvinho has taken him off the field, Broja has shown a lack of respect and has made himself unhappy. He did the same thing in the last match with Andorra.

In fact, Broja's problems have not appeared in the last match. The first one started two years ago when his departure from the national team revealed that his talent and character are not the same thing. He left and was told that he had pain in his operated knee, while he started training at Chelsea. This did not convince anyone who listened to him, especially those who know more than the spectators. He did not stay with the team and did not even watch the match with the Czech Republic, at least not in the stands. He did the same with Bulgaria.

In this situation, Sylvinho, undoubtedly, had to make a difficult decision. But the most difficult is the decision that Broja himself will make in the future for these behaviors that he is manifesting. On the one hand, there is this team that without Broja we can say that there are no stars. But the truth is that this team has a spirit that has shown that every time they wear the jersey with the FSHF logo, they give more than their talent. The two incidents after the match with Andorra clearly show that Sylvinho is facing a very big dilemma: To give Armando Broja a place in the team and treat him as if the National Team will not succeed without him, or to sacrifice Armando Broja and save the group? So far, unlike Edoardo Reja who left him on the bench, Sylvinho has done the middle way. He has put him in as a starter and taken him out in the second half. However, Broja has expressed dissatisfaction.

But how to solve this situation? Broja really has it in his hands. But those who are close to him should help him. How? Advise him, put his feet on the ground. Show him that great talent is not enough to become a great footballer. That he needs to train and be humble. And someone should dare to tell him openly that if he does not manage this situation, he risks damaging and wasting the great talent he has.

The history of world football has known several similar examples. Let's take just two. Bernd Schuster, undoubtedly, remains one of the most talented footballers that German football has produced. Part of Barcelona and Real in the 80s as a midfielder, he began to clash with the coach and, faced with this, even refused to be part of the national team. He played only 21 matches with Germany and scored only 4 goals, one of them against Albania at the "Qemal Stafa" stadium. When he was at the peak of his form, he did not participate in a training camp that coincidentally was for the match against Albania, very modest at that time, in Germany, with the reason that at that time he became a father for the second time. So, he did not go to the training camp because he was waiting for his wife to give birth.

But Germany is Germany. The fact that he did not appear in the squad was considered the biggest scandal in the history of German football and the issue took on huge proportions. Legendary coach Jupp Derval and the German federation did not beg or bow to the talent of the one who called the "blonde angel" by publicly condemning the action. The conflict reached its most serious point when in this debate Schuster publicly announced his retirement from the national team. Think about it, he was 24 years old and played with the stars of Barcelona and Real, but this did not excite or complex either the coach or the federation. Germany played without this great talent and still won the World Cup and the European Championship. While all the footballers learned a lesson that above all, Germany is more than a problem or a family joy.

The second example is Mario Balotelli, who ended up not so badly. One of the greatest talents in Italian and world football. The footballer of Inter, Milan, Manchester City, he was at the peak of his career when he started having problems with coaches, managers and even with fans. Temperament, rude behavior, not at all connected to the team and always wanting attention. But, one day all this was multiplied by zero. He lost his sporting form and was no longer called up to the national team. Eventually, he played only 36 times with Italy and was relegated to playing at lower levels. Nobody today remembers Balotelli for his talent, but for his behavior on the field and the whims he displayed.

Both Bernd Schuster and Mario Balotelli were very talented, but not at all disciplined. No one was to blame. They were and remain the only ones to blame. It is not an exaggeration to say that it is very likely that Armando Broja will end up like Schuster or Balotelli. But at the same time, Armando Broja has a lot of chances that he will turn his talent into value for the National Team. Albania needs him, but he also needs Albania very much. Those who are close to him should advise him well and not blow him up like a balloon by telling him that he is great.

Albania really becomes bigger with Armando Broja, but football is a game played with 11 people on the field. He really gave us two victories with Hungary, one in Tirana and one in Budapest, but he didn't play tennis in that match, he played football. If the team had been weak and had conceded 2, 3, or 4 goals, the match would have ended 1-4. So, Broja is worth a lot, but the team is worth more. It seems that Sylvinho bases this on his work as a coach. As such, Broja must find the solution within himself.

Albania achieved the greatest success in history by reaching the play-off stage for the World Cup. The two matches in March are decisive for this objective. With a Broja in shape and humble, it is believed that this goal can be achieved. With a Broja not at all in shape and moreover capricious, this goal can be achieved, but with the spirit of the group. Broja cannot do without Albania, but Albania can do without Broja.

What is worth noting is that he is at a delicate moment. From a great talent, he risks turning into a small footballer. Therefore, in order not to lose him, someone, or several, must take him seriously. Otherwise, we will all lose him. But more than that, he will lose himself. Therefore, the call for the greatest Albanian talent of all time is: Save footballer Armando Broja!