Forbidden Faces From Albania

Four hours to the kick-off in a game Romania vs. Albania. I'm on the tram heading to Lyon Football Stadium from St. Exupery Airport. The tram seems to be floating. There is nothing wrong with the vehicle or the driver it's all because of the Albanians who have already started their game.

Chanting and singing isn't stopping even for one second. The tram isn't floating, now it's flying. Many of my Albanian companions won't remember anything from the match which is taking place tonight. This will become one of the most memorable moments in Albanian football, but not for them. Alcohol is reaping its harvest.

We still have seven stops to go. Driver has to stay adamant and wait for my Albanian colleagues vomiting outside or maybe only marking their territory in France. I don't know. Every bin has signs of the leftovers coming from their sick stomachs. Driver quickly gains my sympathy by showing great patience and understanding. Finally all of them are coming back to the tram to continue their journey. Soon after that we are approaching stadium. To precise we are about one kilometer
away from it.

The Police are waving towards us to indicate that they want us to change for another tram. This time we don't have to buy any tickets. I've managed to escape from the crowd and I'm changing for the underground to avoid dying from boredom. Being at the stadium in France three hours before the kick-off is not a good idea, because there is nothing to do out there and the beer is extremely expensive.

After another ten minutes I'm in Lyon city centre. Albanians wearing read shirts are everywhere. Even fancy cars on Swiss plates are completely taken over by bloody red colour. I don't feel comfortable in this crowd because I'm wearing yellow shirts that takes after like Romanian. It's not the smartest thing to be here, especially when Albania play against Romania. My decision is simple - I'm heading back to the stadium.

Albanians with the great numbers are out here, playing, dancing, celebrating the day. There is no trace of Romanians. Many of Albanians wear  traditional hats called "qeleshe."

I love these bastards. They are making circles to get into squat for a while. Next step is to quickly stand up and chant like nutters. It looks absolutely awesome. I'm afraid there is no chance to do something like this during the game.


Albanians have strong involvement in politics. You don't have to speak their language to notice that. I see flags of Albania and Kosovo all over the place. It makes me wonder if they want to carve part of Macedonian land to make Albania even bigger.
One of the fans is wearing shirt with the sign "Dardania." As far as I remember it was Roman territory that matches with the land where now Kosovo is.

Albanian women look amazing. Their demonstrate their patriotism by showing double headed eagle - the symbol of Great Albania. It's a bit different but still looks amazing. In my personal ranking of fans Albanians were on the top of the standing.