They never met before but for one night in 2017 Besart and Valon Berisha came together as part of a fledgling football country’s first steps, writes Tom Smithies.
It’s safe to assume the A-League Men doesn’t have much of a foothold in downtown Shkodër, even around the Loro Boriçi Stadium whose eye-catching, gap-toothed grandstand is a feature of the Albanian city’s skyline.
And yet, if you mentioned the name Berisha locally, it might start to explain a one-off meeting that leads from one of the world’s newest footballing countries direct to this Saturday’s Melbourne derby, via the A-League’s greatest goalscorer and the aftermath of the Balkan Wars some two decades ago.
When Melbourne City signed Valon Berisha last month, the name of course caused a collective double-take – even though Valon is no relation to Besart Berisha, scorer of 142 goals for Brisbane Roar, Melbourne Victory and Western United.
But five years ago the shifting political plates of Eastern Europe brought Valon and Besart together for one game, a World Cup qualifier that meant both everything and nothing. And the 90 minutes on the turf of the Loro Boriçi Stadium are part of the reason why we have another Berisha in the A-League.
After centuries of competing claims on what is now the Republic of Kosovo, FIFA recognised it as an independent country in 2016. The hunt began for players of Kosovan heritage who might be keen to pull on the shirt, even if they had already represented another country.
Besart Berisha had played 17 times for Albania, while Valon was something of a star in Norway’s side and had played 20 times. And yet both felt the emotional pull of a phone call asking if they would switch nationalities to reflect their heritage.
“I had always been Kosovan,” Valon tells KEEPUP now. “I had been raised all my life in Norway and was very proud for what it gave me. But when the opportunity came to play for Kosovo, just because of my family and what my country had been through, I had to.
“It is a country with a lot of heart and to be part of a new national team, I wanted to give the next generation some hope.”
Kosovo joined the qualifying for the 2018 World Cup and literally hours before the first game Valon’s clearance came through from FIFA. A 1-1 draw away to Finland – in which he scored his country’s first ever goal – sparked euphoria; and by the time of their fifth game against Iceland, Besart had been called up for the first time.
“Look, it was a bit different because I had played for Albania for a long time and it was not really normal to play for two countries at football,” Besart tells KEEPUP now. “But Kosovo was my birthplace and they really needed help.
“FIFA had told me that I can make only one change because (then) Kosovo did not exist. Once Kosovo was officially a country, they told players who born there that they can make a change – so I decided to help them.”
By that stage four straight defeats meant qualification was impossible. But when Besart and Valon lined up against Iceland together on March 24 2017, it was still in front of what felt like a full house in the Loro Boriçi Stadium, being used as no venue in Kosovo itself met FIFA standards at the time. “We knew it would be difficult, Iceland had done well at the Euros (the year before),” adds Valon. “We played a good game but in the end we lost again.”
In some ways though the 2-1 scoreline mattered less than usual. “It was (still) a very special moment for me to play for Kosovo and to try to help them,” said Besart, who was on the bench for the subsequent game and ended his international career months later. “I was very happy but also sad because it (would only be for) two games, as I was at the end of my career. But still I’m proud to play for Kosovo and Albania, for both countries.”
Valon recalls Besart enthusing about life in Melbourne. “He talked really well about life there in the city, he’d been in Australia for a long time by then and was very successful, scored a lot of goals. Coming from the same country I was proud of him – it was fascinating, but to be honest I wasn’t thinking about me playing there then.
“Once I had decided to join Melbourne City (five years later), I called him and he offered to show me round Melbourne, offered to help me.”
Besart had already taken note of his new compatriot’s ability in camp in Kosovo. “I remember him in that team, he was a very technical player – he still is,” says Besart.
“He has big experience playing in big teams in Europe, and him now playing in the A-League is a big win for City I believe. They did great work signing him. I believe that he can still make it in Europe (again) if he stays fit.
“I told him, when we spoke last time, one thing – to keep the name Berisha in Australia proud!”
