Former Arsenal left-back Sylvinho is preparing for Albania’s second major tournament when he leads the Kuqezinjtë into Euro 2024 this month.
The Brazilian was appointed as Albania’s head coach in January 2024, steering them into this summer’s tournament in Germany after winning a qualification group that included the Czech Republic and Poland.
Chelsea’s Armando Broja will be one of Sylvinho’s key players when the team get their tournament underway against Italy on Saturday evening, with the 22-year-old coming off a season which saw him spend the second half of the campaign on loan at Fulham.
Although Broja turned out 13 times in the Premier League for the Blues over the first half of the season, he failed to complete a single 90 minutes. However, his time at Craven Cottage was restricted to cameos and he heads to Germany having played only a handful of minutes over the past three months.
Sylvinho, however, insists that he played no part in encouraging Broja to make the mid-season switch to get more minutes.
“Honestly, I don’t feel comfortable doing that,” the 50-year-old tells FourFourTwo. “As national team coach, I have a number of responsibilities but I’m not sure that’s one of them – I prefer to keep some distance from these issues. Having been a footballer in the past, I don’t believe I have the right to tell a player, ‘If you don’t feature more regularly, I won’t pick you’.
“Only he knows what’s best for him; what his dreams are; where he sees himself playing in the future. So, no: I didn’t have any conversation with him.”
After beginning their Euro 2024 tilt against Italy, Albania take on Croatia and Spain in Group B.
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