Egnatia won the 3rd championship title in the Superiore, showing once again that they remain the best in Albania. Despite their efforts, Elbasani and Vllaznia did not succeed, leaving behind many shadows of disappointment and dilemmas. At the beginning of June, coach Maran will debut on the red and black bench, in the friendly match against Israel. The well-known technician, Ardi Mema, spoke about these topics, in a conversation with Trevisa Tufa, on Sport News on News 24.

Mema, were you expecting Egnatia's confirmation? Considering the ups and downs of the regular season, the change of coach just before the "Final4", details that didn't make him a favorite...

Egnatia has maintained the group, has made small changes. I had made a bet with myself that Egnatia would be a contender to win the championship, it might even win the championship. Dinamo achieved what it wanted.

 

 

It had been since the time of Skanderbeg that a team had not won 3 titles in a row, what makes Egnatian different, what is the strength of this team?

Tirana has also won 3 titles. These have, if you look at them, these teams also have a cycle. Egnatia has the quality inside, however, not that the other teams were without quality. Egnatia showed that it was a team.

Totally dominated the "FINAL4" phase, 3 wins, 8 goals scored and only 1 conceded. Was Egnatia too strong, or did Elbasan and Vllaznia not do the math right?

The end comes and teams have oscillations, players are tired, they have gone through a tiring period. All of this changes.

The Dede effect, that is, the change of coach. Was it a well-thought-out move, or was it one of those moves that turned out for the better? I don't think it's easy for a coach to change a team in such a short time...

Any coach would choose to be Egnatia's coach. He didn't change much for 3 games. It's the work of a year, changing coach from coach to coach has effects both good and bad. This time, he did well.

Is now the big test for Egnatia's adventure in Europe, we aim for the group stage, said President Demrozi and Dede, at least the Conference League. Is it possible?

Every time the season ends, an analysis is done. Now the finances are good, since going to Europe gives you money. I think we need to do a proper calculation and analysis. Things are not that simple.

Why in these years have we not been able to make Balkan, Drita, Shkëndija or many other teams in the region, what are we missing??

Apart from Skënderbeg, we are bad in the European part. For Europe you have to prepare yourself well. You have to work hard, especially in management. It is not easy to lead a team, as you need money.

They didn't manage to win the title, but Vllaznia and Elbasan renewed with Martini and Gvozdenovic. How do you see these two moves?

There are two professional moves, as they have confidence in the coach. It is worth noting the agreement of Elbasan, before the match, they have created confidence in the coach. This is a joint work, the group more.

Unlike the four "Final4" teams, including Dinamo, Tirana and Partizan are in the air. There is talk of a non-confirmation of Shehi, while Partizan is still without a coach. Is this a big minus? The impression is that we will have another chaotic season for these two emblematic teams...

It's over with Shehi because he signed with Pristina.

There is skepticism, because they started with coaches but then they removed them. I didn't understand Partizan with Krnaja, he got more points. As long as he is successful, leave it there because it doesn't matter. They are late because the coach needs to come as soon as possible.

Let's talk a little about the National Team, which plays its first friendly test against Israel on June 3. First of all, Mema, how should you choose Maran to succeed Sylvinho?

We will remove two parallels. The group is what it is, there is no new arrival. Sylvinho sent us to the European, I think he will do the same because he has his own philosophy. Let's wait and see.

Were you surprised by the list? Only 2 new ones, Hasa and Pano Qirko, if you can call it that. Did you expect more from Maran's first list?

I'm not too surprised, the biggest surprise will be what happens on the pitch. I won't act like a person who likes things on paper.

One of Sylvinho's mistakes is that in the friendly he wanted the result and didn't watch the game.

Mema, we have a not-so-young group, some of the players are at the end of their careers. Do you think Maran can refresh the team, will this transition be difficult?

Media-wise, we don't know the players who promise for the future. More or less, 90 percent of the team will be players who have been there before. I would be willing to change something, but there must be a contract with the President of the Albanian Football Association if I am going to make radical changes.