Serbian football players in Albania

The “Partizan” of Tirana has Albanians from Macedonia and Kosovo, and also from Serbia, who play together for the same team. If co-existence between these countries looks difficult in Balkan, in Albania it works very well.

“I feel very good. The fans have welcomed me. I am happy in Albania and everything has gone well with the club. I hope that I will be here for the next years. I didn’t expect to have such a good time in Albania. I was positively surprised that life here was like this. I played in many places and I have never felt this good”, says Stefan Racic, player with Tirana’s “Partizan”.

“I think that this is football. We play together with “Partizan” and everything is going fine. We don’t have to get involved in politics. We have never discussed it. We have done what is expected from us in football and I believe that this is the key to success”, says Astrit Fazlliu, an Albanian player from Kosovo.

Fazlliu thinks that politics should not get involved with football. He says that Serbian players have no problems in Albania, while it would be impossible for an Albanian to play in Serbia today.

Another Serbian player, Ivan Gvozdenovich, is playing for his fifth season in Kukes. The Serbian player talks about the positive experience with Albania.

“I have played for one year with Tirana, and I never had any problem with the Fanatics fans. They have been very correct. Then I played for three years with Korca, and I didn’t have any problem there either. Korca is a city with culture and very correct fans. Now I am playing with Kukes. No difference even here. I respect them and they respect me”, says Ivan Gvozdenovic.

When asked about the Serbia-Albania match, Gvozdenovic is very clear.

“I even sent an SMS before the match, in which I said that the most important thing is to play the match and nothing else. I was disappointed. It was a shame what happened there”, he says.

Three other Serbian players are found in Fier, with Apolonia. One of them is the 21-year-old Marko Rajkovic.

“The Albanian people is very good. I like the mentality of Albanians. If everything goes well, I would like to stay. I have never had problems. Albanians are a good people who love football, and I love this”, says Marko Rajkovic.

Vilson Cakovic, a former player of the Serbian National team U-21, plays his third season in Fier.

“The mentality of the people here is good. They like football and they like Serbian people too. I have many friends. I have traveled to Tirana and I feel good. I felt strange after the match with Serbia, because we were looking forward to it and you saw what happened. But I have no problems. The boys understand me and I understand them. We’re focused on football, not politics”, says Vilson Cakovic.

The third Serbian player of Apolonia has the same stance. He has arrived from a Belgrade team, Sindelic.

“I feel good in Fier. The people are good with us from Serbia. For me, everything is like home. The people have welcomed us. They like football, like in Serbia. I feel home”, says Djorde Djordevic.

Another Serb plays with Vllaznia in Shkoder. Same as Djordevic, he feels home.

“I had heard that Shkodra had many fans. I didn’t have any problem as soon as I arrived. When we played the first match with Kukes, the stadium was full. Shkoder has very dedicated and correct fans. I have never thought of having problems in Albania or anywhere else. I am here to play for the team and I have no kind of hesitation. I feel good and I will give my best”, says Ersin Mehmedovic of Vllaznia.

There are other Macedonian, Bulgarian, Montenegrin and Croatian players in Albania who have never felt prejudiced.

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