About Vokrri and the profiteers from Andorra

Written for Kosovo Online by Muharem Bazdulj

On the official UEFA club football ranking list, among the 55 member countries, Andorra is, as the saying goes, fourth from the bottom. Only Belarus, Gibraltar, and San Marino are behind it. Kosovo is a UEFA member and ranks 33rd on the same list, while Bosnia and Herzegovina is in 38th place. Thus, the media in both Pristina and Sarajevo were overjoyed when in the draw for the first qualifying rounds of the Champions League and the Conference League, Balkani from Suva Reka and Velez from Mostar were paired against clubs from Andorra: Santa Coloma and Inter. Both Balkani and Velez fans considered their passage to the next round guaranteed, as did the betting odds.

However, it was shown once again that expectations and odds are one thing, but the field is something else entirely. Balkani played away in the first match and actually achieved a solid result: a 2-1 victory. They probably thought that if they could win by one goal away, they would win by at least two or three at home. However, in Podujevo, Santa Coloma won 1-0 in regular time, with both sides scoring in extra time, leading to a penalty shootout where the Andorran team emerged victorious. There was great celebration in Andorra as no team from there had ever reached the second qualifying round of the Champions League. Santa Coloma had previously played in Europe seventeen times and lost all seventeen matches. If it's any consolation, Balkani didn't embarrass themselves, which can't be said for Velez. The Mostar team played 1-1 at home, which could be interpreted, and mostly was, as a bad day. The result before the return match was active, and the trip to Andorra was made with optimism that qualification was still not in doubt. But there, an unprecedented embarrassment occurred. The Andorran amateurs defeated Velez 5-1. Across the Balkans, much was written about Velez's disgrace. This is not surprising, as Velez was a strong Yugoslav first division team in the eighties and also achieved good results in European competitions. They played in the UEFA Cup four times and the Cup Winners' Cup twice; in the 1974/75 season, they even reached the quarterfinals of the UEFA Cup. Velez eliminated Spartak Moscow, Rapid Vienna, and Derby County before being unfortunately eliminated by Twente due to a goal scored in the penultimate minute of the second leg. The famous "Rodjeni" were supported throughout Yugoslavia, and the sentiment towards this club is still present among many.

A friend of mine, long based in Belgrade but originally from Mostar, was unusually upset by the defeat in Andorra. He told me, "For a long time, our favorite victory was 4-1 against Derby County, and the worst defeat was that 6-1 in Belgrade, but now this 5-1 is much worse, those 6-1 were not a humiliation, but this 5-1 is."

I didn't need to ask which 6-1 he meant. I knew it was about the final of the Marshal Tito Cup played on May 10, 1989, when Partizan and Velez faced off at the JNA Stadium. I remember that match well. Partizan was indeed the favorite, but that generation of Velez was "terrifying" and no victory against them was guaranteed. All their positions were well-covered: from Vukašin Petranović in goal to Semir Tuce on the left wing. That Velez was "dismantled" by Partizan to win the Cup after thirty-two years. The fourth goal for Partizan was scored by Fadil Vokrri (1960-2018). It was only fitting that Vokrri would crown his three seasons at Partizan with a trophy. In an interview, he said, "Those were the most beautiful three years of my career, I will never forget them. I had the best opinion of Partizan even before I came to Belgrade, and what I experienced was much better than that. We parted as friends, and I am one of the few who went abroad without the mediation of a manager. The dearest trophy of my career was won with Partizan in 1989 when we won the Yugoslav Cup, the first in 32 years."

Clubs at the level of those from Andorra could only be cannon fodder for teams that qualified for Europe from the First Federal League of Yugoslavia. Now, we are in a situation where clubs from that area, even those that once defeated real giants in Europe, are becoming cannon fodder for clubs from Andorra, perhaps the only possible scenario. For clubs from San Marino or Gibraltar, it couldn't be said that they would be cannon fodder in clashes with teams from Andorra.

And yes, for the end, one coincidence: Fadil Vokrri was born in Podujevo, the same Podujevo where Balkani lost to Santa Coloma from Andorra. If you had asked someone a year ago, for example, what would happen first: an Albanian from Podujevo playing again in Partizan's jersey or the Andorran champion eliminating the Kosovo champion in the Champions League qualifiers, it would probably have been more rational to bet on the first option.