The Albanian Football Federation has reached an agreement with the coach Bledi Shkëmbi to take over the U-19 team National team.

The former player of of the National Team, who has started for years his career as a coach, will replace in this role Ervin Bulku, who will be part of the technical staff of coach Sylvinho at the National Team.

Bledi Shkëmbi is a well-known name in Albania, as he was one of the most prominent footballers of his generation.

He also counts 14 matches with the National Team A, while as a coach he has worked for clubs as Teuta and Dinamo in Albania, or Balkan and Liria in Kosova. Now his task will be to help grow the red and black talents.

In a statement for fshf.org, the Technical Director of the Albanian Football Federation (AFF), Fulvio Pea, explained the reasons for this alteration in the U-19 National team.

He appreciated the work done by coach Ervin Bulku, who will now have an even more important role, as part of the technical staff of the National Team and then added that the position of coach in the U-19 National team will be taken over by Bledi Shkëmbi .

“Before introducing the new coach, I want to talk a little about the one who is leaving the National U-19 team because he has been promoted to team A, so he officially becomes a full-time member of the National team, Ervin Bulku, who has been an excellent companion and he has shown exceptional human values. This makes us very proud because for these qualities he was also appreciated by the coach of our national team. The new coach of the U-19 National team is the its former player, Bledi Shkëmbi,” said the Technical Director of the AFF, Fulvio Pea.

Speaking to fshf.org, Bledi Shkëmbi said that leading the U-19 National team is a dream coming true.

“Leading a National Team is a pleasure, it’s a dream. To be honest, I’ve always had a dream, just any player has. We, coaches also have a dream, which is to coach the National team regardless of the age. I definitely want to thank the Technical Director who made me this offer and honestly fulfilled a dream that I hope will continue for a long time,” said Shkëmbi.

Furthermore, he appreciated the great change that the AFF and Albanian football have undergone, especially in the infrastructure, comparing the time when he represented the National team as a football player.

At the end of the speech, the new coach of the U-19 National team also appreciated the project undertaken by the Technical Directorate at the AFF, “Step by Step”, which gives the opportunity to the coaches of the National teams of different age groups to work every week in the premises of ” Football House” with the local players, who are part of Albanian clubs and academies.

/a.p./