One weekend, three games, Worldwide. All the information.
The BabaGol weekend recap is here again, with all the matches you should watch and follow this weekend. You can be sure, they will be better than any matches you've planned to watch.
This time we will visit a hot Balkan derby, another crazy race for the title in a controversial Arab country and finally, we will travel all the way to South America for literally the ‘highest’ football rivalry in the world. Are you ready?
(All the times are in CET)
Saturday, 14:00, KF Tirana – Partizani (Albanian Superliga)
The Albanian league is not one of the best leagues in the Balkans, but it is still very popular among the locals, with thousands of people attending each game.
One of the major clashes in the country is the capital’s derby, KF Tirana against Partizani. Both teams need to gain points for the title race, as they want to put an end to Skënderbeu Korçë’s dynsty, who have won the last four consecutive titles.
KF Tirana is one of the oldest and most successful teams in Albanian football with 25 championships, 17 cups and an impressive record in continental competitions. At the moment, the club is ranked in 2nd place, one point behind the leaders. The coach is Gugash Magani, who was a well known player and who played until the age of 40, but as a coach, he has failed to win anything yet.
The players who are trying to lead the team to a first title since 2009 are Debatik Curri, who returned to his home nation after 9 years in the Ukraine and Turkey, Gjergji Muzaka, who was a part of last season’s title win for Skënderbeu, Ervin Bulku, who has played for the national team 56 times, and Selemani Ndikumana, the star of the Burundi national team.
While some KF Tirana players still remember their last title, there are Partizani players who weren’t even born when their club last won the championship back in 1993. This season they have great chance to make it, as they are in 4th place, just 4 points from top of the table.
The coach, Shpëtim Duro, was the coach who led Skënderbeu to their first title in 2011. Look out for Nderim Nexhipi, a Macedonian-Albanian player who has played in Germany and Belgium, Idriz Batha, one of the wonder kids of Albanian football, and Endrit Vrapi, who has returned to Partizani after playing for 7 Albanian teams in 12 years. Another interesting face is the Serbian player Stevan Račić, one of the leading scorers in the team, who despite the complex relations between the nations, preferred to play in Albania with Partizani, rather than in other ex-Yugoslav leagues.
This rivalry also involves a conflict between the two sets of fans. Partizani is known as ‘The People´s Team’, who identify with the famous Albanian Liberation Army and has a strong Ultras group that is famous all over the Balkans. KF Tirana fans are usually middle-class Tiranians, with more of a local orientation and less national identification.
The big rivalries of the Balkans are fights about football and social conflicts, only this time the teams will also be fighting for the Albanian title.
*Important Comment: Due to security and administration issues, on Friday 27.2.15 at 14:30, both clubs decided to delay the match to 12.3.15, in order to be able and host fans of both sides and create a better atmosphere in Albania’s most important match. Well, at least you enjoyed some good early pre-game information. BabaGol will update you before the game is 'really' played.
Saturday, 17:15, Al Sadd – Lekhwiya (Qatar Stars League)
In one of our last recaps, we checked out the leagues in Bahrain and Morocco. Now we will keep on tracking an Arabic scenario, in one of the world´s most controversial football countries, Qatar. Eight games are left until the end of the season, and Lekhwiya wants to win its fourth title in 5 years, while Al Sadd, the most decorated team in the country, wants to clinch another title. Al Sadd's season looks great so far. They finished in 3rd place last season, failed to qualify from their Asian Champions League group stage by single point and now they lead the table with just one defeat all season. The manager, Hussein Amotta, is the man who led Al Sadd to their last title in 2013. He also won the title with the club as a player in 2000.
Like every team in Qatar, Al Sadd has some players who have tasted the highest levels of football. Brazilian striker Grafite, one of the superstars in the German side, Wolfsburg, who were German champions in 2009, and Nadir Belhadj, who played for Algeria in the 2010 World Cup, are both familiar faces. There is also some Qatari talent like Khalfan Ibrahim, the club’s all-time leading scorer, Abdelkarim Hassan, who 4 years ago broke the record of the youngest player in the Asian Champions League, and Hassan Al Haidos, the Qatari footballer of the year in 2014. Lekhwiya won the titlelast year and are aiming for a repeat this year. This season they are ranked in second place, one point behind Al Sadd. The major reason for their success is their owner, Sheikh Abdullah al Thani. Being the owner of Málaga CF, he makes sure that money is not problem. Michael Laudrup is the manager and he has some big names such as Vladimír Weiss, who arrived last season from Olympiacos, Chico Flores, who came from Swansea, and Tunisian international, Youssef Msakni. Sebastián Soria, the Uruguayan who won 101 caps for the Qatari National Team, also plays there and some interesting local names, such as Ismaeel Mohammed and Khalid Muftah, are also key players for club and country.
With the questions surrounding the 2022 World Cup saga, it should be interesting to watch the Qatari League and try to understand what the local scene looks like. Or is it all about the money? The answer is out there somewhere.
Besides, our previous matches from the Arab world were definitely played at a high level and fast tempo, full of emotions and intervals. Would you dare to miss another match like that?
Sunday, 21:00, Bolívar – The Strongest (Liga de Fútbol Profesional Boliviano)
Hold your breath. It's not because you are suffering from altitude by standing in the highest football stadium in the world, it's because of our next match, El Clásico Paceño, the La Paz. Two of Bolivia’s biggest teams will meet on Sunday for a match that could turn the Bolivian League season upside down.
Bolívar are the current champions of Bolivia and the current league leaders, with 19 points from 8 matches. Unfortunately, they tasted their first defeat in the last game, which means they are in shaky form before the decisive match. The manager is Xabier Azkargorta, a Spaniard who was the manager of the Bolivian national team in the 1994 World Cup. Look out for Juan Carlos Arce, who has 44 caps for the national team, Carlos Tenorio, who was part of the Ecuador squad for the 2002 and 2006 World Cups, and Juanmi Callejón, the twin brother of Napoli player, José Callejón, and the team’s leading scorer this season.
The Strongest, which is a bit of a weird name for a football club, is the oldest team in Bolivia. They got their name in 1908, after their founders decided to call the team "The Strongest" and not just "The Strong", which was their original name. The team is ranked in 2nd place, 5 points behind Bolívar, but they have played two matches less than the leaders, so there is a chance to turn things around if they win the derby.
The players that should stand out are Pablo Escobar, a Paraguayan-born Bolivian player who has scored 87 goals in the last 4 season, Daniel Vaca, a 36 year-old veteran goalkeeper and Maximiliano Bajter, a Uruguayan player who has also played in Mexico and Norway.
This is one of the top rivalries in South America and only one team can get the 3 points. It could be a big step closer to the title for Bolívar, or The Strongest might close the gap. Stay tuned!