The Tirana team was confirmed last weekend as the winner of the Superior Category, the highest level of national football for men. In football, the cup is always common and all team members have their contribution, but this time, a special merit belongs to the coach of Tirana, Ndubisi Emmanuel Egbo.
The former goalkeeper is being described in the media as the man who made history by being the first African coach to lead a European team in a championship title.
Egbo has previously played for various teams in Nigeria, South Africa and Egypt, KF Tirana and Bylis (Ballsh). He joined the Tirana team in 2001 and has worked as a deputy coach and goalkeeping coach. His first match at the head of the team was a match in December, against Partizan, which Tirana had not been able to beat in six years. "Everyone thought they would lose. Maybe 5-0, "Egbo told ESPN. But, Tirana won 2-1, won in two other matches under his leadership, which certainly increased the team's hopes.
Egbo told ESPN that "he had to work hard with the psychology of the Tirana players", who "had lost the spirit of the race".
Despite all the colossal work, on the other hand, Ndubisi Egbo has had to face difficulties, such as distrust within the team, but mostly, racism. In an interview with BBC Sport, he confessed that he was attacked because of his color.
"There are people who do not want me to win because of my color. There is racism. During a match, I was thrown bananas. They spat on me. The officials of the Albanian Football Federation did nothing because it happened during the match. Police and security team were there, but no one did anything. They were afraid of the fans. Neither could I do anything. I just had to accept it. "
Egbo told the BBC that he sometimes hears things people say to him, with the idea that he does not understand Albanian.
“Një herë, hipa në një autobus me çantë shpine dhe dy njerëz nga mbrapa thanë: ‘Ky duhet të jetë nga Al Qaeda’. Iu thashë [në shqip]: ‘A mbaruat?’. Nuk e donin veten.”
Arritja e tij po cilësohet si rasti i Obama-s, kur për herë të parë në historinë e SHBA, një njeri afro-amerikan u shpall president. “Ne ishim 15 pikë larg nga ekipi i vendit të parë. Por në 23 ndeshje, fituam 20. Nuk mund ta imagjinoni sa e vështirë ishte,” tha ai.
“Afrikanët e mi më kanë thënë se nuk e kam idenë se çfarë kam bërë për ta duke fituar këtë kampionat. Ishte njësoj si kur u shpall Obama president në Amerikë. Kështu ndihen.”
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Nga tifozët e Tiranës, Egbo njihet me pseudonimin “profesori”. Nëpër komente, njerëzit shkruajnë: “Tani që fitoi kampionatin, i kërkoj profesorit të hapë një kurs se si fitohet kampionati në Shqipëri”, “Arkitekti”, “Nuk duam trajner tjetër. Duam vetëm Emmanuel Egbo”, “Baba i trajnimit” etj.
Në vitin 2017, Egbo, i cili ka edhe nënshtetësi shqiptare, u rimartua me partneren e tij filipinase, Fabia Egbo, në një ceremoni tipike shqiptare.
"A lot of money has been spent, as we are used to in Nigeria. I made the wedding according to the Albanian tradition because it resembles the Nigerian one. There were about 170 guests. We did not party because we wanted a simple wedding, but we blew the trumpet when we got the bride. The dance was taken in turn, as is done in Albania. We also fired guns. "I spent half my life here, I am Albanian by citizenship, so I had no other way of doing the wedding," he said in "Wake Up".
