Meet the Albanian striker who hails from... Berkshire
ONE Albanian will speak English as fluently as any of the players called upon by Gareth Southgate for their World Cup qualifier.
Teenage striker Armando Broja was born and raised in Slough, 1,600 miles from today’s venue Tirana, and has been a Chelsea player since he was 10, spending this season on loan with Vitesse Arnhem. Broja, whose Albanian parents settled in England, won his fourth cap in Thursday’s 1-0 win against Andorra but meeting his ‘home’ country will be special on many levels.
‘I am British but also Albanian. Most of my family are still over there and it’s my blood,’ he says.
‘England wanted me for the Under 19s but Albania gave me a chance to be a full international. I’m happy with the choice. We’ve got talented players. They qualified for Euro 2016 and we can go to a major tournament again.
‘I know England’s Chelsea players quite well. I trained with Mason Mount and Reece James for six months last season and we speak regularly on Instagram. We’ll talk after the game, which will be nice.
‘People call Mason a manager’s dream, and he is. They can put him in any position and he’ll work really hard and do what they ask. A team can rely on him to get them out of the mud when needed.’
Broja, 19, grew up in England with his two sisters. His parents had come to the country as young adults and he recalls speaking Albanian in the house as he learned English from school and television.
‘Knowing the national anthem or talking to my team-mates is no hassle,’ he says with a smile.
Spurs spotted him playing in a junior tournament aged eight. After two years with them, Chelsea wanted him too. As a boyhood Blues fan, it wasn’t a difficult decision. ‘It had always been a dream to play for Chelsea. My mum’s cousin Mirel was crazy about them and would take me to Stamford Bridge for games,’ says Broja.
‘Didier Drogba was my favourite player — I remember him scoring one goal with this great turn and left-foot volley — and I saw a lot of the home games when they won the Champions League in 2012. I went to cup finals at Wembley as well.’
Broja, who was named in honour of his dad’s favourite player Diego Armando Maradona, is tall and rangy like another Chelsea forward, Tammy Abraham, although pacier.
The family have moved home to near Chelsea’s training ground in Cobham and he made his senior debut as a substitute against Everton last season. He’s currently following in the footsteps of many other Blues players including Nemanja Matic and Mount by developing in Holland.
Broja has scored nine goals in the Eredivisie. He hopes to return to preseason with Chelsea before deciding with the club and his family and representatives where he should play in 2021-22.
In the meantime, facing England will be special.‘I’ll have a few emotions. It is a game you don’t want to miss,’ he says. ‘It should be an interesting game and hopefully we can come away with the win.’