Marash Kumbulla Opens Up on ACL Injury, Move to Espanyol, and More
Zach Lowy spoke to Espanyol defender, Roma loanee, and Albania international Marash Kumbulla about:
Working alongside current Southampton manager Ivan Jurić: “Out of all the coaches who I’ve worked with, Jurić has had the biggest influence on me as a player. He took a chance on me when I was just 19. I will be thankful for him every single day because he helped change my life.”
Choosing to play for Albania over Italy: “I’ve been playing for Albania since I was 15, and when I was 19, I had to choose between representing Albania and Italy at the senior level. Even though Italy wanted me to play for them, I had no doubts: all my family is from Albania, I feel Albanian, and I wanted to play for them. The national team has grown a lot in recent years because of a lot of players who had the choice between playing for Albania and another nation and opted for Albania. Hopefully, this will motivate other kids to make that same decision in the future.”
Learning from current Fenerbahçe manager José Mourinho: “I grew up a lot under Mourinho in terms of my character and mentality – he tells you the truth to your face. He helps you see football in another way, and that makes it easier to play at a higher level.”
Leaving Italy for the first time in his career: “I had a lot of other teams interested in signing me, but after speaking with the club’s coach and director, I immediately wanted to go to Espanyol. They didn’t promise that I would play every game, but they made me feel very confident by the way they talked to me. At the beginning, I was a little afraid because this was my first time outside of Italy. However, after one week, it seemed like I had already been there for months.”
Recovering from his ACL injury: “Compared to where I was two years ago, I’ve grown up a lot mentally. I enjoy each day more, I go to training with a smile on my face, and I’m happy to be with my teammates and just laugh and enjoy everything even more. I was always playing for Albania before my ACL injury, but after that, the coach had no other choice but to play other people in my position. I had to get back to top form, so it was very important for me to play these three matches. I’m very happy to be playing for Albania again.”
His relationship with Espanyol manager Manolo González: “What I love about Manolo is he’s a very straightforward guy who always tells you the truth to your face, and he’s also very good in terms of tactics. Thanks to him, I’m a lot more calm when I have the ball, I’ve developed a lot in terms of driving the ball out of deep areas. He’s given me a lot of confidence, which I had been looking for, and it’s why I had no doubts about joining Espanyol. After every game, he analyzes the match footage with all of the players – if there’s something I did well, he’ll tell me, and if there’s something I did poorly, he’ll tell me.”
Read the full interview here:
By: Zach Lowy / @ZachLowy
Featured Image: @GabFoligno / NurPhoto