{"id":75899,"date":"2025-08-04T07:03:08","date_gmt":"2025-08-04T07:03:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kosovapress.com\/eng\/admin\/?p=75899"},"modified":"2025-08-04T13:23:36","modified_gmt":"2025-08-04T13:23:36","slug":"shkendija-player-reveals-how-they-eliminated-steaua-offers-advice-to-drita-players","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kosovapress.com\/eng\/admin\/shkendija-player-reveals-how-they-eliminated-steaua-offers-advice-to-drita-players\/","title":{"rendered":"Shk\u00ebndija player reveals how they eliminated Steaua, offers advice to Drita players"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h2>After the historic achievement in European competitions, specifically the Champions League, one of the key figures of the Tetova-based club Shk\u00ebndija, Mevlan Murati, has reflected on the journey toward this success, which he says has been anticipated for more than a decade.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Shk\u00ebndija player reveals how they eliminated Steaua, offers advice to Drita players\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/ljxFMRum1kk?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>In an interview for KosovaPress, Murati commented on past challenges, expectations, reaction to statements from the opposing camp and the next goals \u2013 including a big dream: qualifying for the Champions League group stage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Shk\u00ebndija eliminated Steaua Bucharest in the second qualifying round, showing their strength and seriousness against high-level opponents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cTo be honest, we\u2019ve been waiting for this success for nearly ten years. Every year there were the same ambitions to reach the group stage, and this year was the key to our success\u2026 I believe the trust was huge from everyone\u2014the team, the coach, the owners, and the club leadership\u2014and finally, we achieved our goal,\u201d Murati said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Murati emphasized that Steaua were favorites on paper, but the players&#8217; sacrifice on the field made the difference across both matches.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThere wasn\u2019t more pressure, no. From the first match we were focused, game by game, because these European games are delicate. With the experience we had, I believe we were better\u2014speaking of the first round. Then, in the second round, we faced a very strong team, and the expectations were even higher. The self-confidence was greater too, because they were a very big team. Even though they were the favorites on paper, we proved that anything can happen on the field,\u201d Murati continued.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>To secure a spot in the Champions League group stage, Shk\u00ebndija must now defeat Qarabag in the playoff, something Murati says they are ready to give their best.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019ve achieved our main objective. Now we\u2019re one step away, and why not make an even bigger one\u2014to enter the Champions League group stage. I believe Qarabag is at the same level as the team we just played, Steaua, and we\u2019ll give our best in that match, of course, to secure qualification,\u201d said Murati.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Murati also responded to the statement by Steaua\u2019s president, Gigi Becali, who said after the match that his team was eliminated by a very weak team like Shk\u00ebndija.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI do have a response, but first let\u2019s mention that even before the match there were such statements. But on our side, we didn\u2019t bother with them at all, with what they were saying. To be honest, we focused on our work, and the result speaks for itself\u2014the field showed everything, regardless of their statements,\u201d Murati emphasized.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Murati also offered advice to Drita players, as the team from Gjilan will face Steaua in the Europa League.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cOne piece of advice I\u2019d give: play football and don\u2019t show too much respect to the opponent, because in the end, football is equal for everyone. The field shows everything, and they can take some motivation from us having eliminated them\u2014anything is possible\u2026 Drita definitely has quality, and they showed it against Copenhagen in the first match and in the second match. I believe and hope they succeed, and I wish them the best of luck in advancing further,\u201d Murati concluded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Shk\u00ebndija will face Qarabag in the Champions League on August 5, starting at 20:00. \/A.Byty\u00e7i\/<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>After the historic achievement in European competitions, specifically the Champions League, one of the key figures of the Tetova-based club Shk\u00ebndija, Mevlan Murati, has reflected on the journey toward this success, which he says has been anticipated for more than a decade. In an interview for KosovaPress, Murati commented on past challenges, expectations, reaction to [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":75900,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[301,306,296,3131],"tags":[6491],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kosovapress.com\/eng\/admin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75899"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kosovapress.com\/eng\/admin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kosovapress.com\/eng\/admin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kosovapress.com\/eng\/admin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kosovapress.com\/eng\/admin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=75899"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/kosovapress.com\/eng\/admin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75899\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":75928,"href":"https:\/\/kosovapress.com\/eng\/admin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75899\/revisions\/75928"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kosovapress.com\/eng\/admin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/75900"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kosovapress.com\/eng\/admin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=75899"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kosovapress.com\/eng\/admin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=75899"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kosovapress.com\/eng\/admin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=75899"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}