v ALBANIA

 

v Albania 

Games won:	6
Games drawn:	0
Games lost:	0

Date	Match	Result	Score	Competition
08 Mar 1989	Albania v England	W	0-2	FIFA World Cup
26 Apr 1989	England v Albania	W	5-0	FIFA World Cup
28 Mar 2001	Albania v England	W	1-3	FIFA World Cup
05 Sep 2001	England v Albania	W	2-0	FIFA World Cup
28 Mar 2021	Albania v England	W	0-2	FIFA World Cup
12 Nov 2021	England v Albania	W	5-0	FIFA World Cup
21 Mar 2025	England v Albania	see below		FIFA World Cup

Although it never played any matches, the Albanian national football team existed before their Association was created on 6 June 1930. Albania joined FIFA during a congress held between 12 and 16 June. Albania was invited to play in the 1934 World Cup, but did not take part due to logistical problems. Albania played its first international match against Yugoslavia in 1946, which ended in a 3–2 home defeat at Qemal Stafa Stadium. In 1946, Albania also participated for the first time in the Balkan Cup, in which Albania won by beating Romania 1–0 in the final. In 1954, Albania was one of the founding members of UEFA. Albania waited until 1962 to compete in a Euro Cup competition, and the reason being Albania got past the first leg against Greece, for political reasons forfeited the game. At the end of the tournament Albania ranked 9th in Europe. Albania participated at the 1964 Summer Olympics in the Men's qualification tournament, and closely lost both matches against Bulgaria in the preliminary round. They would participate for the second and last time at the 1972 Summer Olympics in which they faced Romania at the European qualifiers in the playoffs. Albania would lose both matches narrowly, 2–1 in the first leg and at home in the second leg.

Albanian stamp honouring EURO 1984.

Albania participated for the first time in a qualifying phase of the1966 World Cup. The team was drawn in the Group 5, finishing in the last position with only one point from six matches. 

In the 1968 UEFA qualifier, Albania drew 0–0 against West Germany, denying the Germans a chance to participate in the finals. Albania did not participate in World Cup 1970, UEFA Euro 1976, World Cup 1978 and UEFA Euro 1980 qualifying for unknown political reasons.

After six years without playing any international matches, Albania entered the 1982 World Cup, finishing second-to-last in the qualifying stages. For qualifying for the World Cup four years later, Albania beat Belgium in Tirana 2–0 as well as drawing Poland in Mielec 2–2.

The football rivalry between Albania and Serbia is partly due to historic tensions between the two countries. It has been described as "one of the fiercest rivalries in the world". During the Euro 2016 qualifiers with Portugal, Denmark and Armenia, the Serbian crowd were chanting "kill, kill Albanians" and were throwing flares at Albania, after which there was a clash between the two teams.

Both countries were drawn in the same group for the 2026 FIFA Qualifiers with England, Latvia and Andorra. BY THE WAY...no new England manager has lost his first game since ALF RAMSEY lost to France in 1963; Wednesday 27th February 1963 2-5 at Parc de Princes EURO 64 Rd 1 2nd Leg...3-6 on aggregate....England did not progress!!! FIFA 2026 World Cup

European Qualifiers  Group K Friday 21 March 7.45PM WEMBLEY  eNGLAND WON 2-0.

•  

HE CROSSED THE BORDER

In 1954, Dynamo Dresden was "uprooted" to Berlin by Erich Mielke, the head of the Stasi, the East German intelligence network, who decided that East Germany's capital city should have the best team in the land. That team was named Berliner FC Dynamo or better known as Dynamo Berlin. Desden scraped around in the countries lower leagues with reserves and youth players that Mielke had deemed to be surplus to requirements.

Dresden regrouped and won promotion to the top flight in 1962. Then, between 1971 and 1978 they won five titles. At this point, Mielke ordered the best players from the state to turn out for Dynamo Berlin, a club that won ten titles from 1979 to 1988. Dresden came second in six of those seasons and relief was provided in European competitions when the club would regularly perform better than Mielke's Berliners. So it seems somewhat harsh that despite the indignities visited upon them at home, Dynamo Dresden's greatest humiliation would be suffered on the European stage!

Dresden had a fabulous squad in 1985-6 including Ulf Kirsten, Ralf Minge and Matthias Sammer boosting a side that won the first leg of their Cup Winners Cup quarter-final against West Germany's Bayer Uerdingen 2-0 and were 3-1 up at 58 minutes of the away tie at Uerdingen's Krefeld Stadium. So at 5-1 up on  with three away goals in the bag, the club looked home and dry! At this ;point the roof fell in! Uerdingen scored FIVE goals in 21 minutes to make it 5-6 on aggregate. Wolfgang Schafer hammered in the final "nail" to Dresden's coffin with a seventh goal five minutes from time. 

Dresden striker Frank Lippmann, above, snapped and fed up with being "hounded" by the Stasi after a drink-driving incident the year before, he defected to West Germany that very evening!! HERE IS ANOTHER MORE FAMOUS DEFECTOR! who defected during the 1956–57 European Cup in Madrid, Spain. Below: 

Ferenc Puskás

Football player

Hungary

1956

 

AJAX CLEANS UP

Floris Stempel, Carel Reeser and the Dade brothers, Han and Johan founded AFC Ajax in Amsterdam, Holland on this day in 1900. 

In "modern day", manager Rinus Michels, encouraged "Total Football" with the inspirational Johan Cruyff, leading the players on the pitch, as they won just about every trophy in their country and also the European Cup (as it was called then), three times in a row between 191 and 1973.

Ajax plays in the Eredivise, the top tier in Dutch football. Historically, Ajax (named after the Greek Hero, who played an important role in the Trojan War, and is portrayed as a towering figure and a warrior of great courage), is the most successful club in Holland, with 36 Eredivise titles and 20 KNVP Cups. It has continuously played in the Eredivisie, since the League's inception in 1956, and along with Feyenoord and OSV Eindhoven, it is one of the country's "big three" clubs.

Amsterdamsche Football Club Ajax, also known as AFC Ajax, Ajax Amsterdam, or commonly Ajax, is a Dutch professional club that plays in the Eredivisie, the top tier in Dutch football. Historically, Ajax (named after the Greek Hero) is the most successful club in the Netherlands, with 36 Eredivisie and 20 KNVB Cups. It has continuously played in the Eredivisie since the league's inception in 1956, and along with Feyenoord and PSV Eindhoven, it is one of the country's "big three" clubs.

Ajax was one of the most successful clubs in the world in the 20th century. According to the International Federation of Football Statistics, Ajax was the seventh-most successful club in the 20th Century and The World's Club Team of the Year in 1992. According to German magazine Kicker, Ajax was the second-most successful European club of the 20th century. The club is one of five teams that have earned the right to keep the Europen Cup (as it was known then) and to wear a multiple-winner badge. In 1972, they completed the continetal treble by winning the Eredivisie, KNVB Cup, and the EGuropean Cup. They also won the first (albeit unofficial) European Super Cup against Glasgow Rangers in January 1973. Ajax's most recent international trophies are the 1995 Intercontinental Cup, 1995 UEFA Super Cup and the 1995 Champions League, where they defeated Milan; they lost the 1996 European Cup on penalties to Juventus. In 1995, Ajax was crowned as World Team of the Year by World Soccer magazine.

Ajax is also one of four teams to win the continental treble and the Intercontinental or Club World Cup, in the same season/calendar year; this was achieved in the 1971–72 season. Ajax is one of five clubs to have won all three major UEFA club competitions. They have also won the Intercontinental Cup twice, the 1991-2 Uefa Cup, as well as the Karl Rappan Cup, a predecessor of the UEFA Intertoto in 1962. The 1961–62 International Football Cup was the first Intertoto Cup, a tournament for European clubs that would otherwise not have a European competition to compete in. The inaugural tournament was won by Ajax, who defeated Feyenoord in the final. The competition was contested by 32 clubs, almost exclusively from central Europe – Austria, Czechoslovakia, East Germany, the Netherlands, Switzerland and Sweden entered four clubs each; Poland entered two; and West Germany entered six clubs. Eventually the final became a clash between Dutch rivals Ajax and Feyenoord.

Ajax plays at the Johan Cruyff (above)Arena, which opened as the Amsterdam ArenA in 1996 and was renamed in 2018. 

They previously played at De Meer Stadion and the Amsterdam Olympic Stadium (for international matches). Throughout their history, Ajax have cultivated a reputation for scouting, spotting and developing young talent, and have remained focused on developing a youth system.

HISTORY AND FORM

 https://baileyfootballblog.blogspot.com/2015/03/butter-wouldnt-melt.html 

The blog above was written on March 16th 2015, 10 years ago. 

My first blog was written on the 22nd of March 2014, encouraged and "set up" by an old uni friend, who worked successfully in the media. This first offering wasn't a proper blog, just a statement that I was off to watch Everton and Swansea City in a Football League match, as part of my celebrating the anniversary of the founding of the Football League, matches first played in 1888. The journey took me eventually to all of the 12 original members. Of course the Football League, First Division, became the Premier League in 1992.

On Saturday March 16th 2002 saw a unique abandonment of the First Division fixture between Sheffield United and West Bromwich Albion, which became known as the 'Battle of Bramall Lane'. 

9 minutes in to a league match, Sheffield United's keeper Simon Tracey was sent off for handling the ball outside the penalty area, United manager Neil Warnock using his first substitution by replacing an outfield player with the sub goalkeeper. 

Warnock later used his second and third subs and amazingly one of those, George Santos, was sent off in the 65th minute for a foul on Andy Johnson while the other sub, Patrick Suffo, received his marching orders in the skirmish that followed the Santos sending off. 

That left United with 8 players and no substitutions left. So when Michael Brown had to leave the pitch with an injury in the 80th minute and Robert Ullathorne followed him a couple of minutes later for the same reason it left Sheffield United with just 6 players. The minimum number a team must have is 7 players, so ref Eddie Wolstenholme, had no option but to abandon the game in the 82nd minute with visitors WBA leading 3-0. Letter of the law!

West Brom's manager, Gary Megson, said after the match..
'There will be no replay. If we are called back to Bramall Lane we shall kick-off and then walk off the pitch. I've been in professional football for a long time, I've never ever witnessed anything as disgraceful as that. There is no place for that in any game of football, let alone professional football.'

Megson also accused Warnock of faking the injuries to end the game, but an investigation cleared the Blades' manager of that accusation, although United were fined £10,000 and yet the result was allowed to stand.

Today, Liverpool play Newcastle Utd in the English League Cup. Meetings between them, previously, include 164 matches, Liverpool has won 81, Newcastle Utd 42 with 41 drawn. 

In previous "recent" scores between the two, (25/2/2025) Liverpool at home won 2-0 on Feb 26th. On Dec 4th with Newcastle at home a draw 3-3 and on 1st January 2024 Liverpool won 4-2. The form guide in their 5 previous matches Newcastle has won 2 and lost 3. Liverpool won 4 (including a 0-1 win away at PSG) and lost one to PSG at Anfield 0-1 in the Champions League.

40 YEARS AGO? MARCH 13, 1985

David Pleat would tell you that this day in 1985, was the worst of his footballing life....a terrible evening! At the final whistle of the FA CUP 6th Round tie between Luton Town and Millwall, at Kenilworth Road, hundreds of "visiting fans" stormed the pitch. These hooligans had spent much of the match tearing the seats out of their connections in The Bobbers Stand. These metal and wooden pieces were used as weapons, ammunition against the stewards, police and opposition fans..... as they charged across the pitch...lines of police tried to restore order!

David Pleat, Luton manager, both sets of players, all the coaching staff, officials dashed for the "tunnel", leaving behind them, violent chaos. Pleat said that he looked back on the violent chaos, 100% scared, the tunnel was like a war field hospital, cuts and bruises, probably "breaks", it was horrendous.

This was the "darkest Spring" in English football history, following the FA Cup semi-final at Goodison Park, when Manchester United and Liverpool played a match "pockmarked" with violence. On May 11 came the Bradford Fire at Valley Parade; do you remember where you were when that came over the radio? I do!!! 54 died in an inferno, started by a discarded cigarette butt. On the same day, in a match between Birmingham City and Leeds United, hooliganism killed a fan and then came Heysel; 39 fans crushed in a stampede by Liverpool supporters.

Football fan and politician, David Mellor said "That Spring became very difficult, for those of us who enjoyed the game of football, to defend it against those who regarded it as some kind of abberation." Evening kick offs gave fans more time to drink. In the Luton case, the timing of the match prevented it from being all ticket and a pay at the turnstiles was the only way to control the crowd.

George Graham, the Millwall manager tried to plead with "his" fans to return to their section but they were hyped up and clearly going to be a nuisance from the start from their alloted seats, spilling onto the pitch and into the opposition areas. As the match started, Millwall fans spilled from the overcrowded away stand and onto the pitch, leaving the officials no choice but to take the players away to the changing areas. Despite messages about clearing the pitch and the threat of abandoning the game, although things seemed calmer, Luton scored the first goal (and the only goal!)...the referee blew the finals whistle and the players, staff and officials dashed for cover down the tunnel. Millwall fans were determined to confront the police, who in those days did the crowd control "job" that club staff do today. The crowd was determined to challenge them and concrete pieces were thown at them.

On March 14th 1954, Brazil wore their new kit, following on from their uninspiring all white, which was blamed for their poor performance in the 1950 World Cup. The next colour of all-blue wasn't regarded as inspiring either, so in 1953, a competition in the Rio newspaper, Correio da Manha, in association with the national Sport Confederation, published that they wanted a new kit which must contain colours of the national flag; yellow, blue, white and green! Easy. Second prize was produced by the man who created the 1950 Brazilian World Cup "poster", which had it won would have had Brazil running around in green shirts, white shorts and yellow socks!

BUT.... thank goodness, the newspaper chose a style from Aldyr Garcia Schlee, a 19 year old newspaper illustrator, from the south of the country-he offered a yellow shirt, green trim, blue shorts, white socks!

The kit had a happy debut at the Maracana on March 14 1954, against Chile, in a World Cup qualifer, which Brazil won 1-0.  Baltazar da Silva scored the winner; the Selecao's first ever goal in yellow.

Schlee, a Brazilian, lived near the Uruguayan broder, which brought back memories of Brazil losing to the Uruguyans in the 1950 World Cup, a moment laced with irony.

When Brazil won the World Cup in 1958, the irony was that they had to change colours as Sweden, their opponents that day, wore yellow and blue-a clash! The blue kit came from a local shop in host city, Stockholm! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3vUpZgzj-3I    Sweden in "light" shirts!!! 2-5 WIN

QUEEN'S PARK

No, not Rangers or "of the South", this was the first club to be formed in Scotland and naturally with little opposition, they found life a little lonely. They took part in the English FA Cup and reach the finbal twice! There was not much opposition at tghat time, so maybe they had a false sense of security? Keen to remedy this, the club managers put an advertisement in the local newspaper and they were joined in the Dewar's Hotel by Clydesdale (River Clyde?? you know about that?), Vale of Leven, Dumbreck, Third Lanark, Eastern and Granville.

Kilmarnock sent their apologies, but those that said YES, formed the Scottish Football Association on this day, March 13th in 1873.

Queen's Park Football Club is a Scottish professional football club based in Glasgow, which plays in the Scottish Championship, the second tier of the Scottish Pyramid. Queen's Park is the oldest association football club in Scotland, having been founded in 1867, and is the 10th oldest in the world.

The club was fully amateur for the first 152 years and has played in white and black hoops as shirt colours for the vast majority of its existence. For many years, the club was the only fully amateur club in the Scottish professional leagues, until its membership voted to end that status in November 2019. The club's amateur status was reflected by its Latin motto, 'Ludere Causa Ludendi' – 'To Play for the Sake of Playing'.

Queen's Park is also the only Scottish football club to have played in the English FA Cup Final, achieving this feat in both 1884 and 1885. With 10 titles, Queen's Park has won the Scottish Cup the third most times of any club, behind only Celtic and Rangers, although their last such win was in 1893. Having also been the first winners, Queen's were the record holders of the Scottish Cup for 51 years until Celtic claimed the trophy for the 11th time in 1925.

For over a century, the club's home has been Hampden Park, in south-east Glasgow, a Category 4 stadium, which is also the home of the Scotland National team. The club alternate playing games there with playing at their previous reserve and training ground adjacent to the main stadium, Lesser Hampden, with plans to fully redevelop it into a 1,774-seat stadium.

The club badge since 1928.

The Queen's Park Football Club was founded on 9 July 1867 with the words: "Tonight at half past eight o'clock a number of gentlemen met at No. 3 Eglinton Terrace for the purpose of forming a football club."^[8]

Gentlemen from the local YMCA took part in football matches in the local Glasgow area which gave the club its name. During the inaugural meeting, debate raged over the club's name. Proposals included: 'The Celts'; 'The Northern', and 'Morayshire'. Perhaps such choice of names suggest a Highland influence within the new club. After much deliberation, 'Queen's Park' was adopted and carried, but only by a majority of one vote. Although Queen's was not the first club in Britain, that honour going to Edinburgh's Foot-Ball Club, formed in 1824, they can certainly claim to be the first Association club in Scotland. Opposition first came in the form of a now defunct Glaswegian side called Thistle FC. and Queen's won 2–0 on 1 August 1868.

On 30 November 1872, Scotland played England at the West of Scotkand Cricket ground, at Hamilton Crescent. For the one and only time, all eleven Scots players were from Queen's Park and they wore blue jerseys, as those were the current colours of Queen's. 4,000 spectators watched.

Remember, Queen's Park formed the Scottish FA on 13 March 1873, with eight other clubs. The match against Dumbreck on 25 October, was the first match to be played at Hampden Park. It was also the first match which saw Queen's Park players wear their custom black and white hooped jerseys, which lent the club the nickname of 'The Spiders'. Dabvid Wotherspoon, a Queen's Park player and committee member, has been credited with the introduction of the black and white hoops. Most importantly, it was the first Scottish Cup tie and Scottish competitive match for the club and Queen's won 7–0. In the final, Queen's defeated Clydesdale 2–0 at Hampden.

CHAOS IN NEPAL

Ever heard of the Nepalese Football, Tribhuvan Challenge Shield? It was contested for by two of the nation's clubs; Janakpur, based at the city's Cigarette Factory and  Bangladesh's Liberation Army, Muktijoddha Sangsad KC? On March 12 1988, the two clubs met at Nepal's national Dasharath Stadium, hoping to decide a winner, in front of 30,000 in the crowd. It was a big occasion!  

Firstly, a sudden and tragic hailstorm broke out during the match and the crowd dashed for shelter towards the back of the stands. With the doors and exits locked, fans became crushed under the covers and there was no escape. Instead of helping the people in the stadium get out safely, the police resorted to baton charging. The melee resulted in 93 people dying with over 700 fans injured.

Witnesses said that the stadium staff and police refused to open the stadium gates without orders and of course the police blamed the stadium officials and vise versa. It is believed that at least 25,000 match tickets were sold in a stadium with a capacity of 20,000; thousands more were desperate to get into the see the big match, without tickets. 

In the aftermath, chaos continued into the streets of the city, in Katmandu as fans protested about the organisation and of course were disappointed to not enjoy their club's spectacle finale. Priests burned the dead on huge funeral "pyres", there were anti-police riots and the Nepalese Chief Justice had his car pelted with rocks. Entertainment in the city was banned for 24 hours and the Government announced csh grants to the families that suffered losses.

OLD TRAFFORD BOMBED

On March 11, 1941, MANCHESTER UNITED'S home ground of Old Trafford was badly damaged during Nazi Germany's brutal bombing campaign on the UK during World War 2. The Manchester Blitz still remains one of the most sobering memories of the war, with the German Luftwaffe’s reign of terror, lasting for months on end. Ordered by Adolf Hitler, the German bombardment of the English industrial city killed an estimated 684 people almost half of those killed in,  Manchester during the war and injured more than 2,000. 

The Old Trafford Stadium was hit by a bomb that was aimed at the industrial complex of Trafford Park. Seats were wiped out and the main roof collapsed. Another photo shows the entire concourse obliterated, the roof caved in and windows smashed. The stadium was not rebuilt until after the war, reopening in 1949, so United played at Manchester City's Maine Road stadium until then. 

Among the buildings hit in the heart of the city were Manchester's Free Trade Hall, the Royal Exchange, Smithfield Market, Chetham’s Hospital, the Gaiety Theatre and St Ann's Church. Local Manchester lad, Robert John Alexander, was only a teenager when he witnessed the attacks on Trafford Park in 1940, but his memories are relived in the Imperial War Museum’s sound archives. He said: “We all had shelters, ours was built in the backyard, about two by six foot and an escape part of it three-foot square tapered to the outside so you could push it out, if you were buried in.  We had a paraffin stove and lamp, tea and blankets, flasks of tea and coffee ready, sandwiches and blankets and that’s where we were on the first night of the Manchester Blitz. “It was the first time the Blitz was made of incendiaries, you’d never seen fires like it.” Detailing the devastation, Mr Alexander continued: “The firefighters and locals were not trained to fight fires like that, and they’d never seen anything like it.  During the night, an incendiary fell on our house. It burnt itself out in the backyard, we doused it out with the sand. “Everyone had to have a bucket of sand in their house for this very reason." Mr Alexander revealed how the fires raged on overnight. "The first night we reckoned was the firebomb night when everything was burning."  The first match at the "repaired Old Trafford stadium" was played on August 245 1949 with a 3-0 "Derby" victory over Bolton Wanderers.

CROSS CITY RIVALS-THE ATHEN'S DERBY

2004 European Championship?? I remember it well. Greece, the "poor relations" in European Football, ruffled a few feathers in the tournament and were crowned European Champions. Olympiacos, pretty much the country's most famous and successful club, was founded on this day in 1925. Badge below.

Located in the Piraeus suburb, the club is known locally as Thyrlos, meaning "Legend". The club played against rivals, cross city, Panathinaikos ...........

......in the gloriously named city "Derby of the Eternal Enemies!" known locally as the "Mother of all Battles". 

Founded	3 February 1908; 117 years ago as Football Club of Athens

Domestically, Olympiacos is the most successful club in Greece, having won a record 81 major official titles compared to Panathinaikos' 44 titles and also being the most successful in their head-to-head fixtures.

Official honours won
Competition	Olympiacos	Panathinaikos
Super League Greece	47	20
Greek Cup	28	20
Greek Super Cup	4	3
UEFA Conference League	1	0
Balkans Cup	1	1
Total	81	44

Not official
Competition	Olympiacos	Panathinaikos
Greater Greece Cup	3	1

Head-to-head

	Olympiacos wins	Draws	Panathinaikos wins
Panhellenic Championship (1927–1959)
At Olympiacos home	10	4	4
At Panathinaikos home	6	5	7
At Neutral Field	1	1	0
Total	17	10	11
Alpha Ethniki / Super League Greece (1959–present)
At Olympiacos home	31	24	15
At Panathinaikos home	19	30	22
Neutral field	1	1	0
Total	51	55	37
Greek Cup
At Olympiacos home	12	4	1
At Panathinaikos home	7	7	4
Neutral / Common field	1	2	4
Total	20	13	9
Greek League Cup
At Olympiacos home	0	1	0
At Panathinaikos home	0	1	0
Total	0	2	0
Total
225	88	80	57