Spain, against two ‘Swiss Guard’ sentinels

Anyone, who will see the Spanish group, will think that the game where they will suffer more in the offensive aspect will be in Italy, even if for some time now the ‘catenaccio’ is not the only thing that lives in the Italian DNA .

however, Alvaro Morata or the forward that Luis de la Fuente bet on his place will experience himself that not only Calafiori and Cane They can make your night bitter. And if the performance of the centre-back pairs is to be referred to in this Euro Cup, few have performed at a higher level than the ‘Swiss Guards’ with Albania behind him.

It is nothing less than the tandem they form Arlind Ajeti and Berat Djimsiti. It is true that the choice of Sylvinho So far they have only one point after two days (the one they achieved against Croatia), but if in their previous games they have shown that they are capable of fighting until the last second of the game, it is mainly because in the role of their two center-backs.

In their flesh they lived it Giancula Scamacca (Italy) and Bruno Petkovic (Croatia), who suffered an uncomfortable match without any rest. The transalpine player has no choice but to try to play backwards, while the choice of Zlatko Dalic They win almost all disputes and, in those that don’t, there is some kind of engagement to make it as complicated as possible.

The sentinels of Albania They like their colors, although surprisingly they were both born in Switzerland. This is unusual in the national team he leads Sylvinhowhere up to nine footballers are from countries such as Macedonia, Russia or Kosovo, but none of them share the demarcation and responsibilities as Ajeti and Djimsiti.

And beyond the field, they even shared their fate. Born in 1993, the first in Basel and the second in Zurich, they came through the youth ranks of the Swiss national team, but in 2014 their future changed. It was then that the famous Euro 2016 qualifying match between Albania and Serbia was held in Belgrade. A match with a very tense geopolitical climate had to be delayed due to fans invading the field after Stefan Mitrovic hold a drone carrying the flag of ‘Greater Albania’ (which includes countries like Greece, North Macedonia, Kosovo and Serbia itself). The striker came under attack from Albanian fans in a dark stage, and the footballer Bekim Balaj He approached Mitrovic to take the flag from him, which provoked the Serbian fans, who invaded the field of play and returned the attack to some players of the Albanian team, then led by From Biasi.

That marked a new and then for many Albanians. Theirs, Ajeti (also his brother Adones) and Djimsiti, who decided to play for their parents’ country and not Switzerland, even though the possibility of doing so in Kosovo was not included. Ajeti was given his new nationality a month later, while Djimsiti had to wait until July 2015 to wear the Albanian shirt.

Almost ten years have passed since the battle in Belgrade. A conflict that changed the fate of Albania and those who are now its great bastion of defense, who know each other very well and complement each other after many years together. Spain must face them and the weight of history.