Loro Boriçi, the extraordinary figure of Albanian football!

Loro Boriçi (August 4, 1922 – April 25, 1984)
The Greatest Albanian Footballer ; the coach with a large baggage of knowledge, experience and production of ideas….

Many epithets belong to him, not only of the great football player and of “some” rare super-elite with special characteristics of the magical game, the coach with a large baggage of knowledge, experience and production of ideas, which brought several results of European rank and World, but he was also the symbol of an extraordinary man.

Loro Boriçi represents the symbolism of football and Albanian sports. Here’s what the former footballer and his former colleague, “Merited”, “Master of Sports” and Honorary President of the FSHF, professor Dr. Miço Papadhopulli, says about him: “Loro Boriçi was an extraordinary figure of Albanian football, but not only of football, but also of Albanian sports. He was a tireless, altruistic man, a man with a great soul, very communicative and kind. As a player he was a universal player, the player who was declared the best in the Balkans in 1946, the captain who received the Balkan Champions Cup.

He was a special type of centre-forward, Pele-type, who organized the game, passed beautiful balls, shot hard and brilliantly, played with the head very well, since the game at that time was played with crosses. As a coach, in Loro I saw an excellent pedagogue, who hardly made you play with brilliant communication methods. He stood out as a coach in the technical-tactical aspect with deep knowledge, a polyglot of foreign languages.

He was the extraordinary man of knowledge. He was both a “soldier” and an “officer”. He communicated with the footballers, like brother to brother. His passion, his life, was football. I saw him playing against Bulgaria and Romania for the “Balkaniade” and he was in very good, great form. His biggest match is the Yugoslavia-Albania match, played in Belgrade in 1948, which ended 0-0. I saw the match in Belgrade at the “Havala” stadium. Played great.

All the Yugoslav newspapers asked the question: “Bobek or Boriçi- Who was the best of the match, the Albanian or the famous Yugoslav-” Loro Boriçi is the man of shkodran football, where he won the first two post-war championships, in 1945 and 1946. He is among the few Albanian footballers who played with an Italian “Serie A” team, such as Lazio in the championships of 1941, 1942.

Captain Boriçi led the Albanian representative team to the historic victory of the 1946 “Balkaniade” in Tirana, defeating teams with name like Romania and Bulgaria.

He is the emblem of the great Partizan team in the years 1949 to 1957, where in the role of the central striker who bombarded the opposing gates and the coach, he brought the capital team a series of cups of the Republic Cup champion. His name in the field of training is associated with the winning of silver medals in the Hanoi tournament, in winning the Balkan Cup with Partizan in 1971. He is the great coach of the Albanian representative team, which sealed the sensational results with Northern Ireland 1-1 in Tirana in 1965, tie against Helmut Shën’s FRG in 1967, which brought the runner-up’s elimination from the finals of the European Championship in Rome in 1968.

Or the heavy 3-0 victory over the representative team of Turkey in 1971. Boriçi is the man of China, in the mid-1970s, where he gave a great help in the development of Chinese football with training, lectures and management of Chinese teams. And the Chinese give the day to the lecturer, the pedagogue of the man who melted everything from his life in those years. They were surprised at the many hours he worked throughout the day.

What is the story of this genius of Albanian football? From the beginning of adolescence, Loro was distinguished for his footballing qualities, which he reflected with his neighborhood friends and in the neighborhood championships that took place in the birthplace of Albanian football, in Shkodër. Seeing his height stature, the high technique he possessed and the powerful shots on goal, Shkodra`s leaders of that time put him in the adult lineup at the age of 15.

In the pre war national championships of Albania, he plays his first match with Vllaznina against Dragoj of Pogradec, on June 6, 1937. Borici is irresistible and in the winning result 5-0 for Vllaznia, where he scores four goals in the minutes of 60, 70, 75` and 82`! The Shkodran giant, 186 cm tall (the tallest in the history of Albanian football, perhaps), is described as follows by fellow player of the time, Ibrahim Dizdari: “Boriçi told me , it would have been better, because every goal has been scored suddenly and hit quite hard in the corner. Superiority belongs to Vllaznia, deep, in the 15` Boriçi starts the bombs in the corner, he scored the second goal from 20 meters. A minute later, Boriçi hits the top post twice in a row… In the 25′, Boriçi scores a beautiful and wonderful goal from 7 meters away, bringing the number of goals to three. For five minutes, Vllaznia goes beautifully, Dervishi returns Boriçi’s balls, he doesn’t miss , from 30 meters he gives a shot in the corner of the goal at ground and , 4-0 for Vllaznia. But the most beautiful goal of the day was scored by Boriçi in the 37th minute from 35 meters away in the corner of the top goal. But Loro would not play in the championship, apparently due to the rule of not playing for students, but Vllaznia included him in matches or friendlies, where he scored spectacular goals.

In the years 1941-1942 he went to Rome for studies and played with Lazio. In 1941 he played four games, while in the championship he played 14 games and scored 4 goals. And he played in a team with the famous Piola of the Italian representative.

The greatest post-war success for Albania is winning the Balkan Championship in 1946, when Loro played with the country’s champions, Vllaznina of Shkodra. Here is what the Special Bulletin of the Balkaniad, which was published in two languages, French and Albanian, wrote in 1946 about the match Albania-Bulgaria (3-1) and for Loro “Exactly at 30` Boriçi scored the most beautiful goal of the day with a wonderful shot. After the break in the second half of the game, the home team took control of the game and attacked with all their energy to win, until the 18` a penalty shot by Boric, due to a serious foul committed by the Bulgarian player Radoef, hit the ball in Kastof’s net, bringing to light the second goal for the victory of the Albanian team”.

Captain Boriçi raises the cup high with laurel leaves around his neck and is cheered by the many fans in the stadium and on the boulevard “Dëshmorët e Kombit”.

In 1949, he went to Partizan and remained his lifelong follower. The red club becomes his first home. Partizan is declared the champion of the country and Boriçi the best scorer of the championship with 12 goals. He plays and manages Partizan at the same time in the years 1954-1957, where he is crowned with cups and championships. Borici plays the most representative matches in a span of 7 years (24 matches), where he scores six goals, against Yugoslavia (2-4 in Tirana in 1946), Bulgaria (2-1, June, 1950 in Tirana), Czechoslovakia (2-1, December 1952, Tirana), Poland (2-0, November 1953, Tirana) as well as two goals in the 1946 “Balkaniade”. As coach of the representative team, he played 20 official matches, where he was not spared several dismissals, after defeats with the Danes and Germans (1963, 1981) from 1957 to 1981.

He is second in terms of the number of matches played and accumulated points (8 points) together with Shyqyri Rreli. After two big matches between Albania and FRG in 1967 (0-0) and 1971 (0-1), the coach of the German representative would say: “I want to pay a very big compliment to the Albanian team and the coach of it, my colleague Loro Boriçi. Once again, compliments to Albania and Albanian football and to his good team.” (February 17, 1967, Tirana). “I want to give the best compliments to my colleague Boriçi, who has raised his team. Although we won, but a draw would have been fairer, so I would agree with the 1-1 result. (February 17, 1971, Tirana).

This was a part of the glorious history of the symbol of Albanian football Loro Boriçi on the occasion of the 14th anniversary of his death on April 25, 1984. Of Albanian rarity.

“Why Loro Boriçi left Lazio to play with Vllaznia?”

Sotir Seferaj, close friend of the Albanian football legend: We know that the Albanian football legend, Loro Boriçi had managed to play in Italy with the Lazio team. We know that he then returned to his homeland, where he played for “Vllaznia” of Shkodra and the Albanian National Team. But Sotir Sefereaj, one of Loro Borici’s close friends, reveals the reasons why Loro left Lazio team. According to Seferaj, it was the request of Loro’s mother, Marija, that, after the capitulation of Mussolini and fascism in Italy, her son should return to his homeland to continue his life in Albania. But in the interview given to “Tirana Observer”, Sotir Seferaj, the close friend of the Albanian football legend, confesses another secret. According to him, Loro had gone to Italy not to play football, but to pursue higher studies in the Faculty of Law at the University of Rome.

Borici among Lazie`s player in Serie “A”

Borici in Serie “A”

Loro Borici with the great Silvio Piola in Serie “A”

Who was Loro Borici? Loro Boriçi was born on August 22, 1922, in the city of Shkodra. He came from an old family from Shkodra and very well known in the city of Shkodra. The family consisted of six children, three sons, Marku, Loro and Pjerini, as well as three daughters, Angjelina Margarita and Klarinda.

How was Loro discovered as a talent?

From a young age, Loro would play football alongside his brother, Mark, who was three years older than him. They usually played in their neighborhoods, where his brother Mark was the goalkeeper and Loro the striker. But Loro stood out more as a talent when he played in the “Don Bosco District” of Saverian College. But Loro had his prominence at the age of 15 on June 6, 1937. In the old field of Shkodra, the match of the 7th day of the 7th Pre-War National Championships, between “Vllaznia” and the “Dragoj” team of Pogradec. The match started at 4 p.m., and the Shkodran team consisted of great players of that period such as Osmani, Shala, Gjeloshi, Fakja, Dizdari, Koliqi, Halepiani, Dervishi, Hoxha. But in the multitude of these great players of that time, the Shkodran coach had not left out the two Boriçi brothers, who played one as a goalkeeper and the other as a striker. Mark was 18 years old, while Loro wanted another 68 days to turn 15 years old.

In the first half, the Shkodrans had difficulties with the defense of the Pogradec team, although they would score in the 21st minute through Koliqi. But in the second half everything changed. This is due to the game of debutant Loro Boriçi. The 15-year-old managed to score four goals in that meeting, one more beautiful than the other, and he even scored the last two goals from a distance of 30-35 meters from the goal.

Everyone in that stadium was amazed by the play of the little boy and applauded him throughout the match. But that match would actually be Loro’s last with the “Vllaznia” team in that period. This is because he was no longer allowed to play in the fields of the country by his mother, Marija, who demanded that he study and finish school with high marks.

When did Loro start playing football again?

Despite the fact that his mother, Marija, did not want Loroja to become a footballer, he still found time to secretly play football with his friends. But he would start his career as a football player 5 years after his first debut. But this time not in Albania, but in Italy.

How did Loro Boriçi become active with the Italian Lazio team?

In 1941, Loro Boriçi went to study at the Faculty of Law in Rome. But during his stay in Italy he could not stay without playing football, as he was very passionate about this sport. Therefore, no longer having the obstacle of his mother, he turns to the offices of the sports club of Lazio. After a short meeting, the leaders of the Italian club decided to try the Albanian boy, and first activate him with the B team of Lazio. During the control matches, Loro developed a beautiful game, which made him catch the eye of the Lazio specialists. He stood out for the maneuvers he made with the ball, the galloping step as well as the shots he could make with both feet at different distances. It didn’t take much evidence to convince Lazio’s technicians to bundle Loro into the first team. He played 18 games with Lazio in 1941-1942. Loroja played alongside the best footballer of the time, Silvio Piola. What remains the most beautiful memory of Loros with Lazio is the match for the Italian Cup between Juventus and Lazio in 1942. The match was awaited with great interest due to the fact that two Albanian footballers and both played the role of counter-attacker.

Riza Lushta with Juventus and Loro Boriçi with Lazio. Before the meeting took place, the football player Lushta had gone down to the field and was waiting for Loro to go down to the field as well. As soon as he saw the latter, Lushta ran and hugged his longingly and wished his success. The game was very interesting, at the beginning the “Juventus” team took the lead with two goals, but later the Lazio team managed to equalize and the climax came when Loro Boriçi managed to score the third goal, making Juventus’ victory in possible, as well as the elimination of the latter from the Italian Cup.

Even today, the reasons why Loro Boriçi returned to Albania, at a time when he was playing for a big team like Lazio, are not well known.

As far as we know, Loro returned to his homeland in 1943, this was done only for family reasons. As the country at that time was engulfed in war, Loro together with his brother, Mark, saw fit to return to the family and be by their side in those difficult moments. This was the reason why Loro returned to Albania. Loro was very attached to his family and could never stay outside the country while their lives were in danger. Meanwhile, his mother Marija wanted to have her two sons by her side during that difficult period.

How did Loro’s career continue as a footballer?

Loro appeared again in Albanian football after 9 years. He returned again to play for his team “Vllaznia” in 1945 after the liberation of the country. In 1945, he was called for the first time as a reinforcement by the “Tirana” team in a tournament that took place in Belgrade, Yugoslavia.

Borici in Serie “A”

The team “Ylli i Kuq” from Belgrade, the team from “Tirana” and the team from “Sofia” took part in it. This would be a triumphant tournament for Loro, not only would he score in both games, but he would also be declared the best player of the tournament.

On September 2, 1945, the 1-st national football championship began in the country. It was divided into two groups A and B with 6 teams each. The teams of “Teuta” from Durres were part of the “Vllaznia” group. “Besa” of Kavaja, “Tomorri” of Berat, “Ismail Qemali” of Vlora and the military team “Liria” based in Korça. The team from Shkodra manages to win all the matches in its group and then meets the winner of the other group, which was the team from “Tirana”. “Vllaznia” manages to win both meetings with the team from Tirana, making it declared national champion.

This was also the first championship title for Loro. In the 2th championship, Loro plays only one match in which he will seriously injure his knee, and therefore he is sent for treatment to Yugoslavia, where he stays for almost 6 months. He would return to his homeland to play again in September 1946, just one month before the start of the 1946 Balkan Championship, which was then held in Tirana. This championship would also be the glory of Loros. The longest-lived and most successful coach of the Albanian national team had to quit his job more than a few times because of sympathizers or non-sympathizers in the leadership ranks.

Sotir Seferaj, the friend and athlete of the Albanian football star, says that Loro was removed from the role of coach several times, as he was not preferred by a high-ranking supporter. But on the other hand, he was put in that position again, as he was the idol of another functionary. “I remember that, when Loro Boriçi was leading the National team during the World Championship qualifiers, he was removed unjustly just because of the desire of a politician”, he recalls, without wanting to name names. Following his interview for “Tirana Observer”, Sotir Seferaj also tells how Loro became the coach of the Chinese national team. Why he did not marry and what brought about his untimely death at the age of 62.

What is Loro’s role in the Balkan Championship? The Balkan National Championship of 1946 was also the first event that made it possible to create a national football team, which participated in an international competition. The Albanian team was created and led by the Yugoslav coach, Lubica Brocic, who is also the first coach of the Albanian national team in the history of Albanian football.

The Balkan National Championship took place from October 6 to 13, 1946, and the teams of Romania, Bulgaria, Yugoslavia and Albania participated in it. Due to the political situation at that time, the Turkish and Greek teams were absent. In this championship, Loro Boriçi is the captain of the national team. Although coming after a serious injury, Loro manages to make an excellent performance, giving a great help to Albania to win the championship title. As the captain of the team, he is awarded the championship cup and a crown of laurels is placed on his head.

It is said that Loros made a “hut trick” to attract him to “Partizani”, describing him as a late soldier. Is that really what happened?

Loro’s game could not fail to catch the attention of the leaders of the “Partizani” team, which at that time had just been created. It is true that in order to make Loro their own in 1949, they drafted him into their team as a late soldier. And from that time Loro became an integral part of this team, even after leaving football he became active as its coach.

The results that “Partizani” had with Loro were great. In his first year as a player in this team, Loros “Partizani” won both trophies, both the championship and the Cup of the Republic. There he had his peak.

In the years 1950-1956 he was one of the best players of “Partizan” and at the same time he is also one of the best “goleadors”, along with Refik Resma, Panajot Pano and Ilir Përnaska.

In 1964, ’66, ’68, ’70 he would become the winner of the Republic Cup. But he also won international trophies, such as the Balkan champion among clubs with “Partizan” in 1970 and the silver medal (second place) in the Spartakiade of the Eastern Countries’ Armies in Hanoi (Vietnam, 1963).

With “Partizan”, Boriçi would also participate in the European Cups. It is enough to remember that he led the national team in 24 games with some interruptions, for a period of 25 years. He participated in the qualifiers of the European and World Championships.

Loro’s biggest success is the game that has been commented on the most, the one on December 17, 1967 against the representative of Germany, when our team managed to stop the German team by drawing 0-0 and removing it from the 1968 European Championship, when it came as world runners-up. Loro, without a doubt, for me and I believe for everyone, is the longest-lived and most successful coach of the Albanian national team.

Then he became the coach of the Chinese national team. How successful was Loro Borichi there?

Loro actually made history as the coach of the Chinese national football team. He managed to create a very good team there, and he did it with great passion. But he has not only managed the national team, but also several other teams in the country of one billion inhabitants.

Did Loro have any problems with the communist leaders of that time?

I don’t know how to say anything precise about this, as Loro was not a conflicted person. But I can say one thing accurately, that Loro often fell prey to the wishes of one or another politician of that time. By this I mean that it happened that Loro often left his job as a coach, not because of the results, but because of the desire of a politician, who for no reason did not like him. I am very sure of this, I even remember that, when Loro Boriçi was leading the National team during the World Championship qualifiers, he was removed without right just because of the desire of a politician, although Loro had achieved very good results. Even if we look carefully at the history of the Albanian national team, we see that Loro has been removed and placed many times in the middle of these international events.

Returning to the private life of the Albanian football star. Why didn’t Loro Boriçi get married?

In my opinion, Loro failed to create a family just because of his passion for football. He sacrificed so much for football that I can say that this was also the reason for his non-marriage. Loro gave up all the privileges of his youth because he was too attached to football. Even when we went out, if we all cared to buy any clothes to wear, Loro only bought balls for the neighborhood kids and whistles for the match referees.

Loro Boriçi died in 1984, at the age of 62, which for a sportsman can be called an untimely death. What were the causes that led to the end of his life?

Loro died of a serious illness, although he was not very old. For me, his illness may have been greatly influenced by his mental state, but also by the many cigarettes he smoked. I say the state of mind, as Loro was a very sensitive type and experienced both moments of joy and sadness a lot. In fact, Ramiz Alia himself intervened for his treatment abroad, who, being the Shkodran that he was, ordered that Loro be given all possible care to improve his health. But although he was sent abroad for treatment, he could not be saved.

Loro’s “strange” goal

In the “Dinamo” – “Partizani” derby in 1954, when the match was ending in a 0-0 draw, an episode happened that had never happened before. One of the players of Partizan crosses the ball in the area of the goal of “Dinamo”, which was defended by the master Qemal Vogli, who jumps high and owns it. But there was a physical intervention against him by football player Merja. Qemal glanced at the referee, who did not signal a foul. Irritated, he drops the ball to the ground and goes to the referee to protest. This action was seen by Loro, who was 6-7 steps away from the ball, he runs and takes the ball into the net. The referee calls this action regular and asks for the ball to be placed in the center of the field, calling it a regular goal. This goal was called the goal of ingenuity, of Boriçi’s perfect knowledge of the football rules. That goal declared Partizan the champion of Albania.

Panajot Pano: This is how I met the great Loro Boriçi

Panajot Pano, one of the students of the former coach of the national team, remembers full of nostalgia the first moments of meeting Loro Boriçi in the late 50s. “At that time, Loro Boriçi had just left football and took over the helm of our representative team”, said in an interview for the “Tirana Observer” newspaper, Master of Sport, Panajot Pano. He also remembers the days and nights in training with the Albanian national team under the direction of Loro Biriçi.

How did you know Loro Boric?

There wasn’t a footballer of my time who didn’t want to look a little like Loro Boric. He had been among the few who had played abroad in Italy and among the few who had been able to play with successful teams of the time such as Vllaznia and Partizani. He gathered me in the team in the match with Bulgaria and from that moment there was a kind of spiritual connection between us, even though he tried to hide his true feelings due to the seriousness he had.

He is the only long-term coach that the Albanian national team has had…

Yes, it is very true. Such a fact should not be related to the fact that there were no football specialists in Albania, but everyone could easily see Loro’s great desire to dedicate himself to football. He dedicated everything to this game. It was not without reason that the Chinese chose him in the 70s to go and give his experience there as well.

Do you remember anything from the gatherings with the Boriçi national team?

Yes. Loro used to go from room to room the night before the game to calm down all the players. We had already become a ritual and we did not lie down to sleep without him coming to the hotel room where we slept.

Loro Boriçi has become almost a myth. Do you think he is irreplaceable?

I say that Boriçi is unique and there will not be a person who does so much for the sport. What is the truth, we played with all our heart for the national team, as we had football in our blood and we liked it a lot. But he was always one step ahead of us not only on the field of play, but also off it.

Bejkush Birçe: “Loro Boriçi, this teacher of our football”

One of Loro Boriçi’s followers, Bejkush Birçe very kindly reveals parts of the character of the Shkodra player who wrote a good part of the history of our representative team. “Loro Biriçi is definitely for me one of the most dignified people our football has had. I don’t want to dwell on his special moments to describe a life dedicated only to football, since only the fact that he was one of the first and few footballers to be active in the Italian football championship and the fact that he was the longest-lasting coach of our representative team, tells about the appreciation given to Loro Birić. He was typical for the way of playing, correctness, very friendly and very serious at work”, says the former coach of the national team, Bejkush Birçe.

FILE

Name: Loro
Surname: Boriçi
Date of birth August 22, 1922
Place of birth: Shkodër

Sports titles: “Merited Master”, “National Coach”, “Honor of Albanian Sports”

Teams he played for: “Vllaznia” team (1937-1945, 46, ’47, ’48), “Partizani” (1949 – 1956), “Spartacus” of Tirana (1956), Lazio (1941-1942).

The clubs he has coached: “Partizani”, “Spartak” of Tirana, “Flamurtari”, “Lokomotiva”, “Kombëtarja e t’njve”, the “Shpresa” team, the Albanian National Team, the Chinese National Team.

International matches played:
He played 80 matches, 20 of which he played with the National Team. He scored 38 goals.

Trophies won:
National Champion as a footballer: “Vlaznia” (1945), “Partizani” (1949, 1954).
Republic Cup: “Partizani” 1949,
Balkan Champion as a footballer (1946),
6 times the country’s best scorer.
As a coach: National Champion with “Partizani” (1962 / 63, 1963/ 64, 1970/71.
Republic Cup: “Partizani”, 1964, 66, 68, 70.
Balkan champion between clubs, “Partizani” 1970, Balkan champion with U21 (Shpresat). Silver medal at the Eastern Army Games (Hanoi) 1963. Winner of the “Sporti Popullor” survey.