Kosovo’s champion Drita has only one mission this weekend: to keep a perfect record of Kosovan teams in the Champions League qualifying rounds.
The Kosovar champions will play in Switzerland in the Champions League preliminary round, and they are two wins away from reaching the first qualifying round.
FC Drita is in remarkable form, winning the championship twice in the last three years after a drought that began in 2003. The success is a result of an investment by two local businessmen, Valon Murseli and Flamur Bunjaku, who led the club the top of domestic football.
The race for the title in Kosovo was tight and affected by the coronavirus outbreak. The league was suspended after the 22nd round with Drita ranked in second place. The gap between the 3rd and 4th spot was only 3 points back then. When the league resumed, the rivalry remained tight until the end of the season, as Drita and other clubs were changing positions every week. Eventually, Drita won the title with one match left in the season, 3 points ahead of their rivals, Gjilani, with a better head-to-head record.
Drita was managed this season by the former Macedonian international Ardian Nuhiu, who was appointed in February 2019. With Drita, he won his first title as a coach. A key player for the squad was Kastriot Rexha, who scored 13 goals in 27 league appearances. Other notable players are Xhevdet Shabani, one of Drita's all-time legends, and Izair Emini, an experienced player from North Macedonia who previously won a title in his homeland and also in Albania.
Two years ago, UEFA changed the Champions League qualifying rounds format. A preliminary round was added before the first qualifying round. It was contested as a mini-tournament in a format of a knockout system. The participants are the four champions of the lowest-ranked countries in the UEFA rankings. It was a chance for teams from these countries to play in European competitions against teams from the same level. In both tournaments until now, the Kosovar champions won. Drita won the first tournament in the Summer of 2018, and Feronikeli won last season.
Unlike the previous tournaments, UEFA decided to avoid any coronavirus travel restrictions, and the competition will be played in a neutral venue in Switzerland. Without a home advantage for any team, Drita would like to keep the tradition and mark a third consecutive win for a team from Kosovo. It will also be an opportunity for Kosovo to win points that will position them outside the bottom four places in the UEFA rankings.
This year, there will be another new challenge in the tournament. While the champions of Andorra and San Marino will play again, Northern Ireland is new to the tournament. After being dropped in the ranking, their champion Linfield (one of the most experienced clubs in European football history) became the clear favourite of the preliminary round.
Drita will play on Saturday against the Andorran champions, Inter d'Escaldes. A victory will take them to the final against the winner between Linfield and the champions of San Marino, Tre Fiori. Losing this tournament is not the end of the road - the remaining teams will have to try their luck in the Europa League qualifying rounds.
Would Drita write another great episode in the growth of the Kosovar football?
