With the Albanian league newly expanded from ten teams to 12, KS Shkumbini are leading the early running with two wins and one draw in three games.
New format
Under the new format, the 12 sides will play each other once home and away before an additional round of play-off games in which they will all meet once more. Shkumbini and Partizani have made the brightest start to the new season with 7 points in three games.
Bici hired
Having taken over from Faruk Sejdini, new Shkumbini coach Vasil Bici promised to build a side to battle for the title, and it seems he has been true to his word. They won their opening match 2-1 against KS Flamurtari and then overcame defending champions KS Elbasani 3-0 while drawing the third match 0-0 away against Kastrioti.
Emotional return
KF Tirana opened their league season with a 2-2 draw against Elbasani but then thrashed newcomers KS Kastrioti 7-3 with hat-tricks from both Hamdi Salihi and Vioresin Sinani. The two players will hope to be in similar form when they take on their old side, KS Vllaznia, at the weekend. “It will be very emotional, but we are professionals and we have to do our job,” said former Vllaznia captain Sinani. They draw the their third match 1-1 against Vllaznia while playing with nine men for more than 30 minutes.
Hysi fired
The usual flood of coaching changes started early with KS Luftëtari coach Mustafa Hysi being dismissed after a 1-0 opening day defeat at Vllaznia. His replacement, Ilir Spahiu, led the club to a 2-0 win against KS Dinamo Tirana in his first game and a 3-1 loss against Partizani in Luftetari’s third game.
Xhafaj shines
Forward Daniel Xhafaj has returned home following trials with clubs in Switzerland and Finland to sign for his old side, KS Teuta. He scored twice on his league return in a 3-1 win at Dinamo Tirana.
Dede back
Nevil Dede is also back at home with Tirana, and he made an immediate impact on his return. A week after his new side had overcome Elbasani 2-0 in the Albanian Super Cup final, Dede scored Tirana’s first goal as they clawed back a 2-0 deficit to earn that aforementioned 2-2 draw against the same team. Full standings for the Superleague teams are shown below.
