"Victory against Turkey on Tuesday evening would bring them to their first World Cup finals—a sentence that simply felt unthinkable 12 years ago, when Ujkani and his teammates slogged through a sodden goalless draw against one of the few nations prepared to visit."
"It gets emotional thinking about the conditions we faced. Kosovo would often train on a rutted pitch at the crumbling Kek stadium outside Pristina, directly beneath the belching Obiliq power plants that have been listed among the most polluting in Europe."
"We didn't care, we did it all and nobody complained. And I'm so proud of what the team are achieving now."
"This is a country where public matches were banned by Serbian authorities in the 1990s after the breakup of Yugoslavia. It is a place where football became the most luxurious of afterthoughts as a brutal, appalling war wrought unimaginable trauma."
In March 2014, Kosovo's national football team, formed from players with diverse backgrounds, faced Haiti in their first official match. Goalkeeper Samir Ujkani, with Serie A experience, recalls the initial struggles of team cohesion and recognition. The team has since transformed, with a potential World Cup qualification against Turkey. Ujkani reflects on their challenging training conditions and the emotional journey from a war-torn past to achieving international success, highlighting the pride in their accomplishments despite historical adversities.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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