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Josip Kuze To Lead Albania For Euro 2012 Qualifiers

The Albanian FA have given Kuze a vote of confidence...

Nov 2, 2009 2:54:43 PM

EC Qualifier: Albania - Slovenia, Bogdani - Jokic (AFP)

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EC Qualifier: Albania - Slovenia, Bogdani - Jokic (AFP)

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Josip Kuze will be the man in charge of the Albanian national team for their EURO 2012 qualifying campaign. Kuze took over following the departure of Dutch coach Arie Haan, leading Albania through their final three FIFA World Cup qualifiers.

His side earned only a draw and two defeats from those fixtures, but he will be given the chance to make improvements in the next qualifying campaign, for which the draw is made in Warsaw on February 7 2010.

"We got what we deserved in the toughest group we have ever played in. The defeats against Hungary and the point we dropped in Malta stopped us from taking a step towards our objectives," Armand Duka, president of the Albanian FA, was quoted as saying on uefa.com.

The emergence of young talents like goalkeeper Samir Ujkani as well as midfielders Jahmir Hyka and Emiliano Vila, along with the continued improvement of striker Hamdi Salihi suggests that Kuze is looking to bring in a new generation of talent in the run-up to the start of Albania's next qualifying campaign.

Stefan Coerts, Goal.com