From Uvil Zajmi
Second part
Memorie.al / Although today, June 5, 2023, 35 years have passed, that afternoon of Sunday, June 5, 1988, known as the “Revolt” or “Hejseli” of Kučova, (“Stalin City” as it was known before the 90s), an enigmatic shadow still remains over that event. Yes, because, after the “Naftëtari” – “Dinamo” meeting, held three and a half decades ago, a large crowd of fans attacked the referees, threw stones, burned cars, etc. An unprecedented revolt in an Albanian stadium before the 90s. What was the atmosphere like on the eve of the double survival showdown? As the goalkeeper Bozhiqi remembers, an “ex”, when his father told him; not to play and Ben Vila, when he scored the only goal, which stunned the stadium? From the main referee Besnik Kaimi, radio-chronicler Fatmir Mneri, operator Naun Lasku, manager of the “Naftëtari” team, Fatmir Ismaili, footballer Koçi, etc., how they remember the 90-minute event and the event that shocked, no only one city, one state, but the whole Albania of that time.
Continues from last issue
Arben Vila and the goal that stunned the stadium
He is the author of one of the goals with history, of a game left in the memory for what happened. Former football player of “17 November”, the national team, the triumphant Hope in Germany’s Tierra, and one of the talents in the role of winger, in 1984, “abandoned” the blue and white, to transfer to “Dinamo”, where he stayed four seasons. He even ended his career there. Today, over 60 years old, this is how Vila tells the moment when Birçe introduced him to the game, and the goal he scored with the shoes of another bench player.
Mr. Vila, a “Dinamo” towards the second category?
I remember that season, after a match in Turkey for the Balkan Cup, on the way back, at Kapshtica customs, during a check, wrist watches were found hidden in the bus seats. A serious campaign began, players were taken from Convaleshenca where they were gathered and called to the Durrës investigation, even Burhan, the bus driver, was accused. A silent orientation was given to the destruction of the team, the departure of several players considered veterans.
From the bench to the pitch, even said to have borrowed shoes?
I was sick, I didn’t want to go to Kucovo, but Coach Bejkush Birçe insisted, at least, to stay with the team to give them courage. Suddenly, in the middle of the game, in “infidelity”, he says to me: “Vila, get up, you will get in, the boys need your experience, because they are giving up the game”. I took the football player Bisha’s shoes, with number 43, (when I have 41 foot number) and entered the field, replacing Topçi, when there were about 30 minutes left to play.
And the spectacular goal comes…?!
It was the end of the match, in a quick counterattack, with three passes on the sideline, from the opposite sector, Tahiri to Jançe, who puts the ball in the center parallel to the 16-meter line, and from a distance of about 25 meters, I shot with the right, a surprising full triple, “a shot like a pistol, because with nothing else you can score that goal”, and the ball ended, in the lower corner, to the right of the goalkeeper from the goal of the dressing rooms. It was a goal that stunned everyone. It was also the last in my career. After Kuçova, I played a match for the Balkan Cup, and that’s where I left football, when I was 28 years old.
Why all that revolt?
Something had started during the game, when the fans were banging rocks together, along with “death to communism”. While behind her, they threw slingshots with stones, and one of them even hit the head of the Order of Berat. The windows of the dressing rooms, bathrooms and showers were broken. Luckily, the windows were barred and you couldn’t get in. On the ceiling of the building we could hear footsteps, of people who had managed to enter through the tiled roof, but could not communicate with us. We heard words that; they would take gasoline from the cars to set the building on fire, so that the athletes, referees, etc., would get out.
The local players were allowed out and left, leaving us alone there. The fans tried to get into the locker room, but the police tried to protect us, because we could die, when coach Birçe said: “We won’t get out of here alive.” We have seen horror with our eyes. Until midnight, we stayed like that, then with a covered military car, we left and until the “Vajgurore Bridge”, we stayed lying down, with the soldiers who were ready with machine guns in their hands.
Do you remember the team?
Yes definitely, it was Ilir Bozhiqi, Edmond Kela, Stafa, Kove, Pjerin Noga, Rudi Vata, Agim Canaj, Ndreu, Ibro, Sul Demollari, Jançe, Topçiu, Ermal Tahiri, Eduart Abazi, and Coaches Bejkush Birçe and Ilir Luarasi, who passed away a few years ago. I must have forgotten some others, for sure!
Ilir Bozhiqi, the former Kuçova goalkeeper of ‘Dinamo’: “The whole stadium cursed me in chorus”
He considers it the most difficult and delicate match of his career, when that day he was forced to play against his former team, the people of the city that raised him. Kuçovari Ilir Bozhiqi, former deputy coach of the National Team and “Skenderbeu” of Korça, tells us in detail how he experienced the revolt of his city.
Mr. Bozhiqi, what happened with “Dinamon” and why did you stay in Berat before the match?
This happened to avoid the atmosphere. “Dinamo”, traveled the day before, settling in the “10 Korriku” hotel, annex of Tourism in Berat. That day, my father came during the morning hours and asked me: “Will you play?” – “I’m telling you”, as I had received the trust from Coach Bejkush Birçe.
How did he react?
It was the second time since ’85, that with “Dinamon”, I would play in my hometown. “Don’t play,” he told me, “today you will have all of Kuçova against you, because they are irritated and sure that they will come out on top”! “I will play,” I answered, “since at “Dinamo” there are Vlonia, Shkodra, and it is up to them not to play against their cities…”! But he had my problem that I didn’t clash with the fans.
And how did the match go…
The whole stadium cursed me in unison, throughout the meeting: “Death to the traitors, Bozhiqi, sold to “Dinamo”. I didn’t have any concerns with the footballers on the field, because we had good relations. Often, as a bully, I intervened to defuse situations. Although they had it with the referee, I told him that; “if they wanted to favor ‘Dinamon’, they would have done it in Tirana, the second match”.
During the time you were “stuck” in the dressing room, is it true that your family came?
I couldn’t go out; even my worried parents didn’t come, because it was impossible. Only one of my neighbors brought two large loaves of bread, cheese and tomatoes. I remember that they also cut our electricity. Then at midnight, they helped us leave accompanied by the General Director of the People’s Police, Fadil Cani.
When did you return to Kucovo?
After four days. On Friday, we played with the Romanians of “Corvinul” (1-1), for the Balkan Cup, after which I returned to Kučovo. Although the situation was calmer, my mother told me: “Be careful, they are angry.” But, no reaction, even the fans met me saying; “Bozhiq, ‘Naftëtari’ has nothing to do with you, you didn’t take us out of the category.”
The testimony of the former telecronist and well-known journalist, Fatmir Mneri
The well-known journalist, Fatmir Mneri, was the radio reporter of the match “Naftëtari” – “Dinamo” 0-1. He shows how they left the stadium with great difficulty and claims that; it was an extremely electrified atmosphere in Kucovo.
“We left around 9:00 a.m., with the blue minibus “Nysa” of television. We did not stop anywhere, consuming some food on the way, which we had with us. In the broadcast, in the booth, I was together with my colleague Agron Kaja. From that match, I don’t have the formations, the referees, the observer, etc., (because years later when the newspaper “Koha Jonë” burned down), I lost the block, a ten-year work, full of statistics and among them, those of that the meeting”, says Mneri, the radio chronicler of that unforgettable 90-minute show.
Mr. Mneri, what situation did you find in Kuçovo?
We didn’t realize how electrified the situation was. I ask for understanding, if I express myself wrongly, but I judge that; the first meeting should be played in Kuçovo and the second in Tirana, to avoid any situation. I remember that the road from the main boulevard to the stadium was being repaired, paving it with gravel, and that was the “first thing” that the fans attacked.
Even today, claims for arbitration continue?
I remember that, while the hosts were waiting for a goal, to take the game to extra time, on the contrary, around the 82nd minute, Vila scored for “Dinamon”. When the 90th minute has arrived, I talk to my watch, an ordinary wrist watch, when I have taken the line and said the result; it took at least three or four extra minutes. Before finishing the sentence, the referee Besnik Kaimi shouted for the end of the meeting.
I gave the final result, without comment, as there was nothing to comment on with Shqarri. It was enough for one or two people to cross the ring in front, a scene that I have seen well, after which a total rush broke out and the referees headed for the dressing rooms, which, unfortunately for them, was a long distance , almost 70 meters, but managed to get inside.
The revolt broke out and everyone entered the field, didn’t they…?!
Of course, the fans were in tension and lost all hope after the “Dinamo” goal. I say that this situation served as a cause. I’m still fixated on those scenes. The crowd of people who, with stones, began to hit the dressing rooms, where the players and referees were trapped. The police were in trouble, because, on one side, the crowd and on the other, the players with the referees…! He was not coping properly with the situation.
How did you leave the stadium?
Our car was close to that of “Dinamo”, whose windows were broken and the steering wheel was removed. They were both parked in a small square, near the dressing rooms, in the northern part of the stadium. With great difficulty, Ganiu, the driver reached under the car and managed to get in from the other side.
I don’t know how he got through the crowd, but after we passed the oil wells, we waited for him along the road, when he came very late. Sitting in the first seat, I had a sweater with me, which I put on my chest, because the front window was broken. I remember that the traffic police stopped us and asked for our documents…!
The post-match was also accompanied by a lot of noise. Why?
Even today I have the question that; I don’t give an answer and I didn’t understand the magnitude of that event. For me, the interpretation that was given to him had a political color, more than it should. It was considered a revolt against the regime. During the match, I did not hear at least one call against the system, the government or the state.
Well-known operator of RTS, Naun Lasku: “We escaped secretly from the oil wells, but they couldn’t take the tape from me”
The operator of that meeting was the well-known cameraman and VAT veteran, Nuan Lasku. “They assigned me, because no one was going. I was 40 years old and I had a passion for sports. With referee Kaimi, Shapllon and Tomin, we used to be footballers at “Dinamo”, coached by Gole Sheshin. I saw everything that happened that day”, begins Lasku’s narration.
You arrived there and found Kuçova with the fever of a match. What was the first impression?
We went to the stadium two hours before the match, when the gates had not yet opened. Every now and then we heard expressions like; “Today it will be nami, alive or dead we will win”. I had a “Beta” camera and placed it on top of the central stand. The moment the doors opened, within minutes, the stadium was full. I watched the police force more than other times.
Was there tension in the stands before the match started?
Yes of course. Fans that I had by my side, both during the game and during the break, for suspicious cases, threatened me: “Take this, take this and give it to me at dinner, because we will break the cameras and you will not come here again…”! After the goal, in the ten minutes the last one, the irritated people, were standing, however, I didn’t mind, although I had the feeling and the fear for the camera, not for myself. If the crowd of fans could react, no one knew what would happen. My mind was telling me to leave, leave the game, but what will I do on television if there are no goals and chances?!
What happened there, do you remember?
When the final whistle sounded, the players of “Naftëtari” rushed to the referees, while in the stand below me; there was a fight between the officials of “Dinamo” and the local fans. Then, suddenly, from all four sides, but more from the one in front, stones were thrown, which collided in the air, with each other. I closed the camera and crouched, when someone from the city who knew me, Agim Meta, shouted at me: “Naun, what are you doing there? Run away because they will suffocate, we have become excluded”!
I went down, meanwhile I see two police cars, turned upside down, burning. In those situations, where everyone ran away to save their heads, the only way out was through the oil wells. We walked for hours, towards the Vajgurore Bridge, on the highway, walking and turning my head back, until the VAT car arrived, and meanwhile it was just getting dark.
The tape of the match, how to store it?
I had an experience, when for voting in Skopje with the journalist Afërdita Sokoli, the police stopped us and asked for the tape. I had hidden in the chest the one with footage and I had put a blank in the camera. I handed it over and we were released. This is how I acted in Kuçovo. “Haven’t they taken the tape”? Someone had said…?! “There’s no way, when they didn’t get it in Skopje, they can’t get it here in Lask”, answered the director, Edi Mazi, who was waiting for us on television.
Vladimir Grillo took the tape from me and told me that they would give me a new one, that they would put it in the archive. The footage was seen the next day in the “Sports Column”. After delivering the tape, together with the technician Dhimitër Todi, (who is currently in Germany) and the driver Gani Xhaferri, who unfortunately is not alive, we went home, almost after midnight.
The former head of the “Naftëtari” Sports Club, Fatmir Ismaili: “They sent me a worker to the Brick Factory”!
“So many special police forces had not been seen in Kucovo, that dissatisfaction and injustice on the field fueled the situation in the stadium that turned into a revolt. No stones were spared on the police, that e forced to withdraw and enter the old building of the stadium, together with us. The enraged people did not leave, destroying everything: burning cars, among them the destroyed one of “Dinamo”. Police forces from Berat, Fieri Lushnja, as well as from Tirana came urgently. Only after 5-6 hours the situation returned to normal.
What happened the next day, in “Stalin City”?
The morning of June 6 was accompanied by terror, which started after midnight. That day was full of anxiety and uncertainty, with continued arrests that had increased the panic among the people. In work centers, schools, by Party organizations, to analyze the event, meetings were organized where the punishment of acts of violence and calls against the Party were openly demanded. With dozens of young people picketed by the police, they filled the isolation rooms and their parents were crying at the police doors. They took the film of the match from the city photographer, displaying the scanned photos of the rebels on the wall, that’s what they called them. In the Party Committee, they were called into groups; coaches, managers, athletes, while this event also received attention from many foreign media
After those meetings, how was that incident handled and what measures were taken?
They treated it as a sports revolt, not a political one, and there were many sentenced to 3 and 6 months in prison, among them Naim Halilaj, with the motivation; as its instigator. Two football players from our team were also imprisoned, while I, as the club boss, was taken as a worker, for six months, to the Brick Factory. “Naftëtari” was suspended for 5 years by the Albanian Football Federation and almost half of the team, not yet finished, by order of the Party would represent “Tomorri” of Berat. Thus, a tradition was lost and destroyed, a continuity, for which it took new years to rise, but never again at the high levels.
After the 90s, was this event ever commemorated in Kucovo?
With the initiative of Petri Balli, former Director of the Labor Office, in 1993, this event was commemorated by placing a plaque near the “Bashkim Sulejmani” stadium. But, during the 1997 riots, unfortunately, along with everything else, it was also removed and damaged.
Aleksandër Koçi, the former main striker of ‘Naftëtari’: I was sentenced to prison, together with several other footballers”. Aleksandër Koçi, the main striker of “Naftëtari”, among the outstanding scorers of Albanian football, today from Greece, where he has been living for years, returns to the event and after three and a half decades, tells his version.
Mr. Koçi, how would you summarize that meeting?
A “Dinamo” favored before the matches started. The arrival of law enforcement from other cities, creating such an atmosphere, then arbitration. I remember that, a few hours before the start, the doors were closed and the passionate fans, who have not rested during the entire match. After “Dinamo” scored the goal, I asked the referee, saying; why did you end the game early? Then the game was constantly interrupted, people protesting and trying to enter the field. Then, stones, people on the field, a total chaos, while we footballers and referees, under the protection of the sampistas, hurried to enter the dressing rooms.
And after that, a public trial for all…?!
Along with many fans, football players were also arrested, including me. The trial took place in the city’s cinema hall, an open trial and the main accused were: Halilaj, Ajet Dume, Gazmend Mema, S. Meta, R. Makashin, who were sentenced to imprisonment.
Do you remember the team that day?
Yes definitely, there were: Y. Vrusho, Hoxha, A. Dume, R. Makashi, M. Bonjaku, S. Meta, G. Gega, B. Fraholli, E. Voda, A. Meta and me, A. Koçi. The coach was P. Angjeli, but the team was led by Fatbardh Deliadhisi. B. Dyli and K. Haxhiraj did not play due to punishments from the first match, while V. Skurro played with “Tomorri”, F. Xhyberi with “Bylis”, while A. Prifti and M. Korroveshi had left the sport.
“The Great Peace Match”, in January ’90
When the trio of referees with Arsen Hoxha, L. Vasil and B. Guri, together with the football players of both teams, came out on the field, the enthusiasm exploded. We are only two years after the dramatic match of June 5, 1988, and from “Naftëtari”, as a result, many players have left, and the team plays in the second. Similarly, from “Dinamo”, the champion in that season, there are not some of the protagonists of 1988. It is about Wednesday, January 14, 1990, when a friendly meeting was organized in Kuçovo, “Naftëtari” – “Dinamo”, which, apart from the result 4-4 (A. Meta, A. Haxhiraj, B. Fraholli, Edmond Abazi and Rudi Vata, authors of the goals), the end of the 90th minute, was accompanied by endless applause, in an overflowing stadium. Such have been the reports, the historical relations, and the two clubs, unlike what happened at noon on Sunday, June 5, 1988…! Memorie.al
