AS ROMA NEWS – Marash Kumbulla, a defender owned by Roma but on loan at Espanyol, spoke about his experience in Spain, the differences with Serie A, De Rossi and Juric, and the future. These are his words to the website Flashscore.it.
Last summer you moved from Roma to Espanyol, albeit on loan. How did this operation come about?
“I was sought out by both the sporting director and the coach here at Espanyol. I had a great desire to play and to find continuity and consistency. From the phone call I received I felt so much confidence. And the Spanish adventure is going well, I am very happy with the choice I made. I am in a beautiful league that is seen by the whole world, with very strong teams.”
What differences do you find with Serie A?
“That even in the less emblazoned teams there are important players. You can also see it from the relegation zone, from the points that the teams fighting not to relegate have now. It’s a complicated league.”
Being a less tactical league, did you benefit from it coming from Serie A?
“Definitely it is a less tactical tournament, but there are more technical and faster players. I benefited from the Italian background, especially in terms of positioning and body postures. Here then you play a lot starting from the bottom.”
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Was that triumph the most important game of your career?
“Definitely in the top five because to have won against those players, against Real Madrid, I don’t think it happens all the time.”
What about the Conference League final you won with Roma in ‘your’ Tirana?
“That too of course. There then there was a whole country cheering for us also because I was there. To win a trophy with Roma in Tirana, I think there could not have been anything better for me. And even the next day was spectacular with those celebrations in Rome.”
It didn’t go so well at Roma partly because of the serious knee injury. How did you come out of it?
“My family helped me a lot, standing by me. Then I got help from a specialist, a mental coach, who allowed me to go beyond the first obstacle, which was the first month, in which I had to metabolize the injury and everything else. Then also some of my teammates, like Spinazzola or Karsdorp, who also suffered this injury, supported me by telling me to mentally prepare myself for what could happen or the discomfort I would have.”
Roma is a team you left temporarily and to which you could return.
“Now I don’t think about it too much because the goal I have now is too much more important. I think we should fight to the last to save ourselves with Espanyol and I don’t want to lose any kind of mental energy. Then at the end of the season I will think about my future.”
A future in which there is also the dream of the World Cup with Albania?
“Of course, in fact it is more than a dream. Already making the European Championship was important, but the World Cup is something even bigger. The qualifying group is quite difficult (England, Serbia, Latvia and Andorra the rivals ed.), but each of us wants to do everything to succeed in getting this great prize.”
Did he act as a bridge in negotiating your transfer to Barcelona?
“No, because maybe he didn’t even have the time. It only took me one day, since the call came, to decide. Then, when we met again for the first time after I had arrived at Espanyol, he told me he was happy with the choice he had made.”
You grew up in Italy but have always played for Albania. Can you explain this choice?
“Albania called me from the very beginning, since I was 14-15 years old, and then I went through the whole trafila, and after also playing in the under-21 team I went to the senior national team. The connection with our land is very strong for all Albanians scattered around Europe, and I saw it clearly at the last European Championship last year in Germany.”
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The coach of that Verona was Ivan Juric, as Balkan as you are. An energetic guy who gets straight to the point.
“Yes, he is the classic Balkan who maybe speaks little, however, when he speaks he is direct, without mincing words. Obviously I am very close to him because he is the coach who made my debut, made me play my first season in Serie A, and I consider him a great coach.”
Was he unlucky at Roma or did he come at a bad time?
“Both, since he came after De Rossi’s exoneration, something difficult for the fans to accept. And also the fact that De Rossi left for no real reason. Then, for me, he was also unlucky.”
