Sylvinho received Albanian citizenship on Monday as a show of gratitude for qualifying the small country where he is the men’s soccer coach for the 2024 Euro Cup in Germany. a contest in whose group stage they will have Spain, Italy and Croatia as rivals.
The first Minister Edi Rama the president invited Bajram Begaj and Sylvinho on the stage of the ‘Best of 2023’ gala organized by the Albanian Football Federation to hold the ceremony.
“Today, together and thanks to the president, we declare you a citizen of Albania,” said Rama. “I am signing a legal contract (with Sylvinho) to legalize him as an Albanian,” Begaj said before handing him a passport.
He recalled his time at Barça and Celta
An emotional Sylvinho recalled his journey from Sao Paulo, where he started his career as a right back at Corinthians, to London (Arsenal), then to Spain (Celta and FC Barcelona), back to Great Britain (Manchester City ), then in Italy. (he is assistant to Roberto Mancini in Inter) before “landing in Tirana, a beautiful land, a beautiful country.”
Spanish passport is also included
In 2004, Sylvinho got a Spanish passport after completing a three-year stay as a Celta player since 2001. In the same 2004 he signed for Barça.
After qualifying for the European Championship for the second time in its history, beating the first team in the group ahead of the Czech Republic and Poland, Albania hopes to retain Sylvinho as coach in an attempt to debut at a World Cup in the next edition of 2026. His contract expires after the European Championship next summer.
Albania He also granted citizenship to Italian coach Giovanni de Biasi after he led his team to Euro 2016.
Also Zabaleta and Doriva
Rama said today that De Biasi, who was present at the event, showed that reaching the final stage of the Euro Cup is not an impossible dream. All members of the national team also received diplomatic passports “as ambassadors of the Albanian State,” Rama added. Among them is the Argentine Pablo Zabaleta (former Spanish and Manchester City player) and the Brazilian Doriva (formerly Celta), Sylvinho’s assistants.
Source: La Verdad
I’m Rose Herman and I work as an author for Today Times Live. My expertise lies in writing about sports, a passion of mine that has been with me since childhood. As part of my job, I provide comprehensive coverage on everything from football to tennis to golf.
