Marked for Erisjon Balla
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Match24 Nov 2027
A 3‑0 win over Kukësi, a place in the next round, and the quiet arithmetic every supporter does on the walk home: how many more until a final?
Player ratings29 Nov 2027
A brace, and Ramiz Ndoj takes the afternoon — 8.38
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Ramiz Ndoj provided it, and the 8.38 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
Market29 Nov 2027
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Teuta Durrës is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad29 Nov 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Teuta Durrës this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The dugout29 Nov 2027
This is not rotation. Erisjon Balla has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Teuta Durrës is pretending otherwise.
Squad29 Nov 2027
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Florjan Përgjoni was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The terraces29 Nov 2027
The crowd has taken to Ergis Arifi
At 20 he is being sung about by people twice his age, which is an affection a signing has to earn over years and a local kid gets for turning up. It is also the hardest thing in football to live up to.
The dugout29 Nov 2027
The manager makes an example of Pedro Martelo
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Match24 Nov 2027
Teuta Durrës settle it inside twenty minutes
2 goals before the ground had finished arriving. Kukësi spent the rest of the afternoon playing a match that had already been decided, and everybody in the stadium knew it.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Player ratings22 Nov 2027
Two goals and a mark of 8.92 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
The dugout22 Nov 2027
This is not rotation. Gentian Selmani has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Teuta Durrës is pretending otherwise.
Squad22 Nov 2027
Vagner Gonçalves Nogueira was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Match20 Nov 2027
6 goals. Both benches spent the second half looking at each other rather than at the pitch. Purists will complain about Teuta Durrës and Skënderbeu Korçë in equal measure; everybody else had a wonderful time.
Player ratings22 Nov 2027
Marked 8.33 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Squad22 Nov 2027
Words at Teuta Durrës training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Artan Jazxhi is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Squad22 Nov 2027
A goalkeeper’s error has no defender behind it to tidy it away. He knew before the ball crossed the line, the crowd knew a second later, and there is nothing anybody can say tonight.
The dugout22 Nov 2027
The view from the dugout
“We controlled it. There were spells I did not like and we will look at them, but the group showed me something.” Aleksandro Hoxha, on a 4‑2 win that he was already picking apart on the walk to the press room.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market1 Nov 2027
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Teuta Durrës can pretend not to have heard.
Market1 Nov 2027
Only the photograph left for Harallamb Qaqi
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Harallamb Qaqi will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Teuta Durrës the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad1 Nov 2027
Gentian Selmani was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
The dugout1 Nov 2027
This is not rotation. Erisjon Balla has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Teuta Durrës is pretending otherwise.
Looking ahead1 Nov 2027
Two sides from the top of the table, one afternoon, and a month of talk decided in ninety minutes. Teuta Durrës will not use the word title this week and will not stop thinking it.
Squad1 Nov 2027
Ardit Toli falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
The dugout1 Nov 2027
The manager makes an example of Ramiz Ndoj
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
The dugout1 Nov 2027
“It is not the end of the world and it is not good enough. Both of those are true.” The manager, after a 0‑0 draw, said the honest thing and then went to say it again inside.
The dugout1 Nov 2027
Clubs make promises constantly and the page usually only hears about them when they are broken. This one was honoured, and the dressing room noticed that faster than any supporter did.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad4 Oct 2027
A shoot-out is remembered by its ending, and this one ends with Gentian Selmani: 2 kept out, and a set of supporters who will describe every one of them for the next twenty years.
Match29 Sep 2027
A 2‑2 win over Dinamo City, a place in the next round, and the quiet arithmetic every supporter does on the walk home: how many more until a final?
Market4 Oct 2027
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Teuta Durrës is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Player ratings4 Oct 2027
A midfielder is measured on whether the team functions when he is on the pitch, which is nearly impossible to see and completely obvious in retrospect. 15 actions, 7.52, and a manager who will not be substituting him again in a hurry.
Squad4 Oct 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Teuta Durrës this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match2 Oct 2027
Hard to beat is not the same as winning, but 6 matches without defeat is a foundation Teuta Durrës did not have in the autumn.
The dugout4 Oct 2027
This is not rotation. Erisjon Balla has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Teuta Durrës is pretending otherwise.
Squad4 Oct 2027
Florjan Përgjoni falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Match2 Oct 2027
Three points for Teuta Durrës, 2‑1 the final word against Bylis in a contest settled by the finer margins.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market6 Sep 2027
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Teuta Durrës can pretend not to have heard.
Boardroom6 Sep 2027
Deadline passes with 0 signed and 7 gone
That is the business done at Teuta Durrës until the window opens again. Whether it was enough will be answered on Saturdays rather than in a column, and the first Saturday is close.
Market6 Sep 2027
Harallamb Qaqi has one foot out of the door
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Teuta Durrës they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad6 Sep 2027
Gentian Selmani was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad6 Sep 2027
Words at Teuta Durrës training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Florjan Përgjoni is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
The dugout6 Sep 2027
This is not rotation. Erisjon Balla has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Teuta Durrës is pretending otherwise.
Squad6 Sep 2027
The manager has re-ordered his thinking and Abdurraman Fangaj has come out of it lower. He will be told it is temporary, and the players who have heard that before will avoid his eye.
The dugout6 Sep 2027
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Sherif Kallaku is on it.
Squad6 Sep 2027
Player of the week, judged against every other man in the division. A small award, and one most careers never collect.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad9 Aug 2027
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 21 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Market9 Aug 2027
Terms done: Elton Vata is going
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and Apolonia Fier waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Teuta Durrës is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
Market9 Aug 2027
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Market9 Aug 2027
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Teuta Durrës is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad9 Aug 2027
“Some mornings you wake up and you are still a long way from everything you know.” It is not the football and it never was; Teuta Durrës are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
Squad9 Aug 2027
Gentian Selmani was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad9 Aug 2027
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Florjan Përgjoni was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout9 Aug 2027
This is not rotation. Erisjon Balla has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Teuta Durrës is pretending otherwise.
The dugout9 Aug 2027
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad12 Jul 2027
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 49 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Market12 Jul 2027
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Teuta Durrës have lost him in all but the paperwork.
Market12 Jul 2027
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Teuta Durrës can pretend not to have heard.
Market12 Jul 2027
Harallamb Qaqi has one foot out of the door
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Teuta Durrës they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad12 Jul 2027
Gentian Selmani was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad12 Jul 2027
Florjan Përgjoni falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Market12 Jul 2027
The interest is real enough to have reached print. Teuta Durrës have said nothing, which in a transfer window is its own kind of answer.
The dugout12 Jul 2027
This is not rotation. Erisjon Balla has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Teuta Durrës is pretending otherwise.
The dugout12 Jul 2027
Clubs make promises constantly and the page usually only hears about them when they are broken. This one was honoured, and the dressing room noticed that faster than any supporter did.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad14 Jun 2027
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Teuta Durrës will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Market14 Jun 2027
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Teuta Durrës have lost him in all but the paperwork.
Market14 Jun 2027
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Teuta Durrës can pretend not to have heard.
The dugout14 Jun 2027
Ergis Arifi: that is not what I was promised
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Teuta Durrës have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Market14 Jun 2027
Harallamb Qaqi has one foot out of the door
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Teuta Durrës they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad14 Jun 2027
Gentian Selmani was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad14 Jun 2027
Florjan Përgjoni falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
The dugout14 Jun 2027
This is not rotation. Erisjon Balla has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Teuta Durrës is pretending otherwise.
The dugout14 Jun 2027
Clubs make promises constantly and the page usually only hears about them when they are broken. This one was honoured, and the dressing room noticed that faster than any supporter did.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad24 May 2027
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 98 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Match19 May 2027
2‑3 against Dinamo City, and the road stops here. Cup exits are quick deaths — no second leg, no next week, just the league from now until May.
Market24 May 2027
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Teuta Durrës, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad24 May 2027
Gentian Selmani and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Squad24 May 2027
Florjan Përgjoni falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Player ratings24 May 2027
A performance of 8.11 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
The dugout24 May 2027
The manager’s verdict
“That is on me. I pick the team and I picked wrong.” Managers say that when they mean it and when they need to be seen to, and after 2‑3 Aleksandro Hoxha left the room before anybody could ask which.
The dugout24 May 2027
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Vagner Gonçalves Nogueira is on it.
The dugout24 May 2027
Clubs make promises constantly and the page usually only hears about them when they are broken. This one was honoured, and the dressing room noticed that faster than any supporter did.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad17 May 2027
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Teuta Durrës will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Market17 May 2027
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Teuta Durrës is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad17 May 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Teuta Durrës this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The dugout17 May 2027
This is not rotation. Erisjon Balla has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Teuta Durrës is pretending otherwise.
Squad17 May 2027
Ardit Toli falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
The dugout17 May 2027
The manager makes an example of Aristidi Kolaj
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
The dugout17 May 2027
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
Market17 May 2027
The name of Sherif Kallaku keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Teuta Durrës say nothing, which says plenty.
Squad17 May 2027
The language is coming and there is somebody to talk to in the dressing room. A footballer who feels at home plays like one, and it never shows up in a scouting report.
From our football correspondent
Steady
The dugout19 Apr 2027
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Teuta Durrës may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Market19 Apr 2027
Only the photograph left for Harallamb Qaqi
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Harallamb Qaqi will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Teuta Durrës the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad19 Apr 2027
Gentian Selmani and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
The dugout19 Apr 2027
This is not rotation. Erisjon Balla has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Teuta Durrës is pretending otherwise.
The dugout19 Apr 2027
Clubs make promises constantly and the page usually only hears about them when they are broken. This one was honoured, and the dressing room noticed that faster than any supporter did.
The dugout19 Apr 2027
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
Squad19 Apr 2027
Words at Teuta Durrës training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Samuel Xhafkollari is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Market19 Apr 2027
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Sherif Kallaku signs something — a contract at Teuta Durrës or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
Market19 Apr 2027
Teuta Durrës have let the market know Vasilis Zogos can be had. No price in the advert, but everyone in the trade knows roughly what it says.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market22 Mar 2027
Harallamb Qaqi has one foot out of the door
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Teuta Durrës they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad22 Mar 2027
Vagner Gonçalves Nogueira and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad22 Mar 2027
Words at Teuta Durrës training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Florjan Përgjoni is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
The dugout22 Mar 2027
This is not rotation. Erisjon Balla has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Teuta Durrës is pretending otherwise.
The dugout22 Mar 2027
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Sherif Kallaku is on it.
The dugout22 Mar 2027
“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
The dugout22 Mar 2027
The manager makes an example of Ergis Arifi
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Market22 Mar 2027
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Sherif Kallaku signs something — a contract at Teuta Durrës or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
Squad22 Mar 2027
A call-up flatters the player and the club that produced him in the same breath. Teuta Durrës would like him back in one piece and know they will not be consulted.
From our football correspondent
Steady
The dugout22 Feb 2027
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Teuta Durrës may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Market22 Feb 2027
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Teuta Durrës is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad22 Feb 2027
Gentian Selmani and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
The dugout22 Feb 2027
This is not rotation. Erisjon Balla has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Teuta Durrës is pretending otherwise.
Squad22 Feb 2027
Ardit Toli falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
The dugout22 Feb 2027
Sherif Kallaku has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at Teuta Durrës will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
Market22 Feb 2027
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Sherif Kallaku signs something — a contract at Teuta Durrës or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
Market22 Feb 2027
Teuta Durrës have let the market know Aristidi Kolaj can be had. No price in the advert, but everyone in the trade knows roughly what it says.
The dugout22 Feb 2027
Muço Boçi knocks on the manager’s door
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Muço Boçi trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market1 Feb 2027
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Teuta Durrës, and it is not being withdrawn.
Boardroom1 Feb 2027
Teuta Durrës close the window on a squad of their own making
0 in and 1 out, and no more changes for months. The manager has what he has, the supporters have their opinion of it, and the table will have the last word.
Squad1 Feb 2027
“Some mornings you wake up and you are still a long way from everything you know.” It is not the football and it never was; Teuta Durrës are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
Squad1 Feb 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Teuta Durrës this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad1 Feb 2027
Abdurraman Fangaj falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
The dugout1 Feb 2027
The manager makes an example of Gentian Selmani
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Market1 Feb 2027
The interest is real enough to have reached print. Teuta Durrës have said nothing, which in a transfer window is its own kind of answer.
The dugout1 Feb 2027
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Vagner Gonçalves Nogueira is on it.
Squad1 Feb 2027
Nothing is announced when this happens and everybody knows. He is a bigger part of the plan at Teuta Durrës than he was a month ago, and the training ground worked that out before the team sheet said so.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match20 Jan 2027
A 4‑2 win over Besa Kavajë, a place in the next round, and the quiet arithmetic every supporter does on the walk home: how many more until a final?
Squad25 Jan 2027
3 goals in one game. The first was taken well, the second was taken greedily, and by the third the crowd were simply waiting for him to get the ball.
Market25 Jan 2027
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Teuta Durrës can pretend not to have heard.
Squad25 Jan 2027
Gentian Selmani and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Player ratings25 Jan 2027
A performance of 9.38 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
The dugout25 Jan 2027
This is not rotation. Erisjon Balla has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Teuta Durrës is pretending otherwise.
Player ratings25 Jan 2027
Successful dribbles: 16. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
The dugout25 Jan 2027
“The players deserve the credit. My job was easy today.” It was not, and everybody in the room knew it; after 4‑2, Aleksandro Hoxha could afford to be generous.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad16 Nov 2026
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Teuta Durrës will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Squad16 Nov 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Teuta Durrës this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad16 Nov 2026
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Florjan Përgjoni was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Loan watch16 Nov 2026
“I did not go to Besa Kavajë to sit and watch. I want to come back to Teuta Durrës and fight for my place.” 0 appearances in 13 matches say the rest.
Squad16 Nov 2026
Somebody watched every match in the division at the weekend and decided he was the best thing in any of them. A small honour, and most careers end without one.
The dugout16 Nov 2026
The manager makes an example of Muço Boçi
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
The dugout16 Nov 2026
Esat Mala has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at Teuta Durrës will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
Looking ahead16 Nov 2026
Egnatia Rrogozhinë next, and one man in the Teuta Durrës dressing room knows their training ground better than his own. The reception will tell him what they thought of him.
Market16 Nov 2026
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Teuta Durrës know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad21 Sep 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Teuta Durrës this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match19 Sep 2026
Beaten 0‑1, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
The dugout21 Sep 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Artan Jazxhi, and the manager let it.
Loan watch21 Sep 2026
“I watch every Teuta Durrës game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Besa Kavajë runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
The dugout21 Sep 2026
The manager’s verdict
“That is on me. I pick the team and I picked wrong.” Managers say that when they mean it and when they need to be seen to, and after 0‑1 Aleksandro Hoxha left the room before anybody could ask which.
Player ratings21 Sep 2026
Successful dribbles: 14. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad21 Sep 2026
Words at Teuta Durrës training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Samuel Xhafkollari is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Looking ahead21 Sep 2026
He used to wear the other shirt. On Saturday he plays against Dinamo City in this one, and whatever he says this week about it being just another game will be untrue.
The dugout21 Sep 2026
The shape wanted a different profile against this opponent, which is a real football answer and no comfort at all to the man it is about. He did nothing wrong and he did not play.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad14 Sep 2026
7 saves, and a scoreline the ten men in front of him had no right to. Goalkeepers only get noticed on the bad days; this was one of the other ones.
Squad14 Sep 2026
Words at Teuta Durrës training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Florjan Përgjoni is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Match12 Sep 2026
It finished 2‑0, and it was Pedro Martelo’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to Teuta Durrës.
The dugout14 Sep 2026
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Squad14 Sep 2026
Melos Fangaj was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
The dugout14 Sep 2026
“The players deserve the credit. My job was easy today.” It was not, and everybody in the room knew it; after 2‑0, Aleksandro Hoxha could afford to be generous.
Player ratings14 Sep 2026
Successful dribbles: 12. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Looking ahead14 Sep 2026
He used to wear the other shirt. On Saturday he plays against Partizani Tirana in this one, and whatever he says this week about it being just another game will be untrue.
The dugout14 Sep 2026
The plan did not have a place for Aristidi Kolaj
Nobody at Teuta Durrës is suggesting he is out of form. The manager simply wanted somebody with a different set of qualities for ninety specific minutes, and there is nothing a player can train to fix that.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Boardroom7 Sep 2026
Deadline passes with 4 signed and 4 gone
That is the business done at Teuta Durrës until the window opens again. Whether it was enough will be answered on Saturdays rather than in a column, and the first Saturday is close.
Squad7 Sep 2026
Florjan Përgjoni and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad7 Sep 2026
Words at Teuta Durrës training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ardit Toli is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Squad7 Sep 2026
8 new faces, and Teuta Durrës are still learning each other
A squad rebuilt inside one window pays for it in a currency nobody budgets for. The football is not worse than the sum of the players; it is worse than the sum of the players who have played together before.
Looking ahead7 Sep 2026
Vllaznia Shkodër next, and one man in the Teuta Durrës dressing room knows their training ground better than his own. The reception will tell him what they thought of him.
Squad7 Sep 2026
A year in and the city has not opened up, the language has not come, and lunch is eaten alone more often than anybody at Teuta Durrës would admit. It shows on Saturdays.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market17 Aug 2026
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Squad17 Aug 2026
Gentian Selmani was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Market17 Aug 2026
Luftëtari paid $15.0K and Teuta Durrës took it, which is the whole story in one sentence. The longer version involves a wage budget and will be told all season.