An event took place today at the Centre for Openness and Dialogue (COD) at the Prime Minister’s office in Tirana to commemorate one of the greatest Italian football legends of all times.
The special event was organized under the auspices of the Prime Minister Edi Rama in collaboration with the Italian Embassy in Tirana.
Another famous personality in world football, Arrigo Sacchi and representatives of the Paolo Rossi foundation attended the special event. The launch of a rare exhibition on January 26, 2024, was announced during the event, with the display featuring a collection of photos and personal items of the Italian football legend, Paolo Rossi, who was admired also by the Albanian football lovers in the 70s and the 80s.
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Prime Minister Edi Rama: I will deliver my remarks in Italian, since I don’t trust the translation; I don’t trust an interpreter in the presence of a perfectionist, who is more than just a Mister, that is, a football legend, because it is about a personality that I really appreciate a lot.
I am neither a former football player nor football coach, yet I try to figure out things concerning management of a team and Mister Sacchi, one of the most acclaimed managers, has always been a point of reference in the sense of ambition, but also in the sense of the great will to run courageously towards a seemingly impossible objective and that he achieved and it is and will always be a privilege to welcome and have him among us here in Tirana.
In the meantime, it is a great privilege that Tirana will host the exhibition and the collection of a great player of a team that has been a reference point of a world that was forbidden to us in the dark days for Albania. When Fabrizio shared his memories, his experience in that World Cup that has already gone down in Italy’s history, I member that when Italy won the final game against Germany, a group of young people, who were part of the large, countless community of Italian fans in Albania, took to the streets to celebrate victory holding the Italian national flag. This was an act of heresy back then, at that time, and we learned about it a day later as they were arrested and tried for an act of let’s say a “high irresponsibility and propaganda against the people power.”
However, let’s focus on the exhibition, which also somehow stirs curiosity as it showcases Rossi’s football boots, jerseys and his personal items. This exhibition is more than just an exhibition, as it is about an exhibition of historic ethos, because it has been a history overwhelmed with memories and teeming with life, since football goes on and history continues teeming with life through football. In addition to this, the exhibition also showcases the history of a man I have been lucky enough to meet with when he visited Tirana along with the former football players of the Italian national side. I had the privilege to meet and stay with the legends of Italian football as I used to serve as Mayor of Tirana back then, if I am not mistaken, and I remember that Paolo Rossi was the one who made jokes and his humour did make us all laugh. In other words, he was somehow the type of the player that Mr. Sacchi would always consider and pick out whenever he coaches a squad.
The exhibition will definitely be an honor, an important commemoration of this football history, as well as history of politics, because, in some ways, politics has divided us, although this is seen as the most normal thing nowadays. This exhibition that has also been opened in Zurich – if I am not mistaken – as well as in various Italian cities and in Belgrade is now being opened here in Tirana. The exhibition in Tirana will display not only Paolo’s personal items, but also items of other international football legends like Maradona and Pele or other great world football legends. As such, the exhibition will definitely attract the interest of the young people.
Mister Sacchi will attend opening of the exhibition and many others will join us and therefore we will have another opportunity, another occasion to talk and exchange positive energies, so to say, as well as our thoughts and opinions, because what makes Mister Sacchi unique in the world in sport – since football is also a realm of tremendous profits and earnings and rushing to profits has now become fierce – but he is the best messenger of the relation between football and culture, because it is a hard message to be conveyed to the younger generation.
I would like to conclude by saying that Paolo Rossi and Mister Sacchi have something in common, something that differentiates all the stars of this world and who stand out from normal people, who do not make any compromises and who do not give in to any difficulties before achieving a dream with their eyes open. I would like to avail myself of this occasion to thank Federica too. I apologize for daring to call Mrs. Rossi by her name. She showed readiness to come and attend this event. I would also like to thank the Italian Ambassador Fabrizio Bucci and let’s meet again on January 26, when we will inaugurate the exhibition dedicated to Paolo Rossi, the great legend of the Italian football, who was just a dream for the Albanian football fans, and it is an exhibition about a very courageous personality.
Thank you!
