How Sylvinho and Zabaleta transformed Albania: “Several Saturdays, we watched their matches at 9 a.m. because of the delay”

It was in October 2019. After having been for eight years in turn the assistant mainly to Roberto Mancini at Inter and to Tite in the Brazilian national team, was Sylvinho cut out for the sometimes narrow role of head coach? ? His second experience at Corinthians in May 2021, where he only lasted eight months, seemed to answer in the negative.

And then, Armando Duka, the president of the Albanian federation, contacted him at the end of 2022 for a dinner in Milan. “I said to myself: ‘Why not?’”, confides the former Arsenal and Manchester City defender who was little in demand at the time. For this last chance challenge, Sylvinho decides to take Pablo Zabaleta with him. The Argentinian, inactive since his retirement in the summer of 2020, knew the Brazilian very well during their two years together at City.

Despite an inaugural defeat against Poland, the only one to date in an official match, the duo works and innovates. “They did a good job bringing rigor and organizing the team well, tells us Rudi Vata, the former sports director of Mouscron and legend in Albania. Above all, they were creative in finding players who would make the difference.”

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Sylvinho and Zabaleta have been creative in finding players.

This is where the contrast with his predecessor Edoardo Reja lies. From the start of his mandate, Sylvinho prospected throughout Europe to qualitatively increase the Shqiponjat (the Eagles) reservoir. “Zabaleta played in England for a long time, so there are still his contacts and he gave us information about Anis Mehmeti who was then playing for Wycombe in League One,” remembers the coach.

When he decides to swap his 3-5-2 for a 4-3-3, the one who saw the light of day in São Paulo believes that he needs a left-hander to play on the right wing. A rare profile, which he unearths in the person of Jasir Asani, the star of Gwangju FC in the South Korean championship. “He had everything we were looking for so several Saturdays in a row we had to go to the office at nine in the morning to watch his games because of the time difference.”

Efforts that will pay off will have to be improved this Saturday against Italy in the group of death. To strike a blow. This time in the hearts of the adversaries.