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The sun rises in the east - Eastern Fitba

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    #1

    The sun rises in the east - Eastern Fitba

    Guys, as you know I'm a lazy cunt so my updates on Ekstraklasa thread have been rare. Ad Hoc also says something about Romanian football far too rarely. We've got nowt regular on Balkans, Hungary or worst of all that Baltic States and former Soviet Union. So I decided to put any details on football behind the curtain here from now on.

    First of all it's Ukraine. Top tier will have only 14 teams in new season with Shakhtar Donetsk playing their home games in Kharkiv while Zorya Luhansk in Zaporozhiya.

    The league's opening fixtures:


    After two round of games teams 1-4 will play for championship, 5-8 i don't know what for, while the rest will end the season which will kick off in a week with a Super Cup game in Lviv.

    Here's a promo for that game: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WXojDeH665E&app=desktop
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    #2
    The sun rises in the east - Eastern Fitba

    I'm mildly surprised there hasn't been an exodus from the Ukranian league given the situation there.

    Lots of Brazilians over there, and I saw some suggestion Bernard was unhappy. Konoplyanka looks like he might move, but I'm unaware of anyone else scarpering. What's the mood?

    Comment

      #3
      The sun rises in the east - Eastern Fitba

      I know this is mostly about club football, but at the national level this really is a low point for eastern Europe, usually there is always one or two countries that are fairly competitive at the global level, but latelyI'm not sure if there is a bona fide top 15 side.

      Comment

        #4
        The sun rises in the east - Eastern Fitba

        Yes, international football entries also welcome. To be honest with you eastern europe countries have more important problems than establishing a top15 side like youth leaving for western countries where they can lead easy life. And I'm not talking about plumbers and carpenters but doctors etc. Its estimted that around 100k doctors straight after the uni left Poland and will possible never come back. And this is one of region leaders, there are countries which are even worse off.

        But lets get not too depressed, lets talk football. Yesterday evening Steaua Bucuresti lost v Astra Giurgiu on penalties in Romanian Super Cupa.

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          #5
          The sun rises in the east - Eastern Fitba

          I somehow missed my default Extraliga side Zawisza Bydgoszcz winning both the Polish Cup last season and their equivalent of the Super Cup last week defeating Legia Warsaw.

          In the former competition, none of the traditional "big" clubs seem to be in the latter rounds, do they not take it that seriously.

          Comment

            #6
            The sun rises in the east - Eastern Fitba

            Yes, you can say that.

            In the meantime they also changed their club crest. Radical innit?

            From this:



            to that:

            Comment

              #7
              The sun rises in the east - Eastern Fitba

              I'm happy to offer a regular update on the Albanian Superliga.

              This season, the numbers have been cut from 12 teams to 10 - four teams (Besa Kavaje, Bylis Ballsh, Kastrioti Kruje and KS Lushnje) relegated and two (Apolonia Fier and KS Elbasani) promoted. This will be a 36 game season, each team playing each other twice home and away.

              First fixtures 23/08.

              KF Tirana - Apolonia
              Laci - Partizani (Tirana)
              Flamurtari (Vlore)- Teuta (Durres)
              Elbasani - Skenderbeu (Korce)
              Vllaznia (Shkoder) - Kukesi

              Skenderbeu will be hoping they can hang on to the league title - they have won it for the past four seasons. They also play BATE Borisov of Belarus in the 2nd qualifying round 1st leg of the Champions League on Tuesday.

              In the Europa League, Kukesi were beaten 1-0 on aggregate by Kairat of Kazakhstan in the 1st qualifier. Flamurtari beat Sioni Bolnisi of Georgia on away goals and will next play Petrolul Ploesti of Romania. Laci beat Rudar Velenje of Slovenia on penalties and will next play Zorya Luhansk of Ukraine.

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                #8
                The sun rises in the east - Eastern Fitba

                Are you now in Albania?

                Long-term posting?

                Comment

                  #9
                  The sun rises in the east - Eastern Fitba

                  ursus arctos wrote: Are you now in Albania?

                  Long-term posting?
                  No - I last worked there in 2003, but I still keep in touch with all my old footy mates and I've been back most years since. My daughter had her first 18 months in Tirana and it was probably the most child-friendly place we have ever been. I became friends with most of the players and staff at KS Tirana, and played football with a few ex-internationals there too.

                  Comment

                    #10
                    The sun rises in the east - Eastern Fitba

                    Ah, had no idea of your history there. Certainly looking forward to your reports

                    It is one of the few European countries that I have yet to visit.

                    Comment

                      #11
                      The sun rises in the east - Eastern Fitba

                      Albania is great. Been there 7 years ago, need to come back. Looking very much forward to your updates VT.

                      Comment

                        #12
                        The sun rises in the east - Eastern Fitba

                        Count me as also interested in your Albanian updates, VT. It's one of my proudest boasts that pre-revolution I saw Dinamo Tirana at home.

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                          #13
                          The sun rises in the east - Eastern Fitba

                          Immediate question, VT - how come KF Tirana don't seem to be in the top division?

                          Comment

                            #14
                            The sun rises in the east - Eastern Fitba

                            Furtho wrote: Count me as also interested in your Albanian updates, VT. It's one of my proudest boasts that pre-revolution I saw Dinamo Tirana at home.
                            I'll be interested in this whole thread but particularly the Albanian element, and any news of Kukesi - I saw them last year playing a Europa League qualifier against Trabzonsor. In a bending of worlds, an ex-Carlisle player played a part in knocking them out this season.

                            Comment

                              #15
                              The sun rises in the east - Eastern Fitba

                              The build up to that Kukesi game from last year looked like this:

                              Comment

                                #16
                                The sun rises in the east - Eastern Fitba

                                Furtho wrote: Immediate question, VT - how come KF Tirana don't seem to be in the top division?
                                Tirana are still in the Premier, it's Dinamo that have dropped into the first. It always depended on who could get the best sponsorship deal, or if they could sell the first leg of a Champions League tie. When I arrived in 2000, Partizani were in the second , after the president ran off with all the cash. It seems like the new money has been taken into the provinces (there has been a bit of an economic upturn, with many newly rich Albanians who like the idea of owning a football club), with the Tirana clubs all struggling for money.

                                Kukes is way up north - real Gheg country. They do things differently up there. They still have blood feuds and stuff.

                                Comment

                                  #17
                                  The sun rises in the east - Eastern Fitba

                                  And very briefly, for anyone interested. Partizani were the army team, Dinam were the police team and KF Tirana were the team of the municipality

                                  Comment

                                    #18
                                    The sun rises in the east - Eastern Fitba

                                    The fixtures for the top flight in Turkey were drawn today, I've been told that the season will start a little later than normal this year. I believe they've finally realised that August in Turkey is a little bit hot.

                                    Comment

                                      #19
                                      The sun rises in the east - Eastern Fitba

                                      After shooting down the malaysian plane by russians there's already talk in Poland about boycotting WC in 2018 in Russia.

                                      Comment

                                        #20
                                        The sun rises in the east - Eastern Fitba

                                        Romanian season kicks off this coming weekend. Hard for me to get very excited about it as it's just a bunch of corrupt bald men having a scrap over a comb (much like Romanian society in general). But it will come down to a straight fight between Petrolul Ploiesti who have put money in, signing up Razvan Lucescu (Mircea's lad) as coach, and, amongst others, Adi Mutu as wasteful and ball hogging frontman; and Steaua. Steaua will be without the coach who has won them the league for the last two years (in a miraculous period of stability, coincidentally coinciding with Gigi Becali being in jail) Leurentiu Reghecampf who has gone to Al Hilal in KSA (which appears to be a common destination for Romanian managers and players alike)

                                        Comment

                                          #21
                                          The sun rises in the east - Eastern Fitba

                                          Shakhtar Donetsk win Ukrainian Supercup after beating Dynamo Kyin 2:0 in Lviv.



                                          If twitter is to be believed Shakhtar will play all their home games in Lviv, while the headquarters will be based in Kyiv this season.

                                          Comment

                                            #22
                                            The sun rises in the east - Eastern Fitba

                                            Not about football but about Warsaw.

                                            Comment

                                              #23
                                              The sun rises in the east - Eastern Fitba

                                              Some suggestion today that Monaco want Shakhtar's Douglas Costa and Alex Teixeira for 65m Euros (some of the Rodriguez cash).

                                              But I've seen a couple of other tweets saying Shakhtar's CEO wants 100m Euros (I've only just read about how minted their somewhat dodgy owner is).

                                              Comment

                                                #24
                                                The sun rises in the east - Eastern Fitba

                                                The owner's predecessor, Alik the Greek, was blown up by a car bomb in 1995.

                                                Comment

                                                  #25
                                                  The sun rises in the east - Eastern Fitba

                                                  Sad news. Andriy Bal, a classy midfielder for Dynamo Kiev during the second Lobanovskiy era in the 1980s, died today of a stroke while playing in a veterans' match, aged 56.

                                                  His one solitary international goal for the USSR was fairly memorable (at 2.15 in this clip).

                                                  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ecITF16fYg

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