Memory Lane
18. September 2008, 16:37 Uhr
Hello Fans,
in just a little while I’ll be sitting on a plane to Copenhagen – Denmark, here I come again!
I am really looking forward to our UEFA Cup match against Bröndby IF. I have so many good memories from my time in Denmark and I hope to see some of my old friends again. Even more important for me is that we get a good result down in Copenhagen. In my last match in Denmark I scored two goals for AC Horsens – against Bröndby IF!
To play for Albania again was a great feeling. And we are top of our group! Of course, it may turn out to be a brief moment of glory, but for now we are there and someone else will have to try to knock us off the top. Our next game is against group favourites Portugal, but they have already lost one match at home – against Denmark, of all people. So this group looks to be full of surprises.
On that note, bye for now
Bes
Dream Debut
12. August 2008, 12:53 Uhr
Hi fans,
once again quite some time has passed since my last entry here and in the meantime quite a lot has happened.
For the last few days I have been proudly wearing the shirt of Rosenborg BK! Yes, another transfer, but I think it is for the better. After my long injury period I could sense doubt in the minds of some of the officials at Burnley as to whether I would immediately be at the top of my game. But I didn’t really want to wait around any longer because I feel fit and healthy and I am dying to play!
In the talks between my agent and Rosenborg BK last week, a consensus was reached pretty swiftly. Also, the negotiations between the two clubs went smoothly and as a result I will be on loan here at Rosenborg BK in Trondheim until December 31st.
Why this club, you may ask? Firstly, I know the coach Erik Hamrén from my time at Aalborg BK and I hope to gain the trust I now need from him. Apart from that I am familiar with Scandinavia and the local football scene from the time I spent at Aalborg BK and AC Horsens in Denmark, both of which I enjoyed tremendously. Finally, Rosenborg BK is well-known throughout Europe because of their frequent appearances in the Champions’ League and their rich football tradition. In that sense I am extremely proud to be playing here.
A question that I have had to answer several times during the last days is whether I came here solely to make myself fit for Burnley. I would like to answer this question for once and for all: I am already fully match fit and besides, the Norwegian Tippeligaen is not some Mickey-Mouse reserve league – the standard of play is simply too high.
I am not naïve enough to believe that just because I have played at an English club or in the Bundesliga, football here will be just a walk in the park for me. I am ready to work really hard over the next few months and to give all I have for the team and for the club so that together we can achieve the targets the club has set for the season.
Only a few hours before yesterday’s match against Molde I received official clearance to play and was told that I would be in the starting eleven. It was exhilarating to finally run out onto the field again after such a long time! At this point I would like to thank all the fans who immediately gave me such a warm welcome!
I would also like to thank the officials at the club who worked very hard to obtain the right for me to play and gave me time to acclimatize. Still, we won the first game 3:1 and I scored two of the goals! I am really overjoyed, but I won’t be resting on my laurels!
While I’m busy thanking those who have helped me, I would like to express my gratitude in two further directions: Firstly, a great number of Burnley fans have contacted me in order to wish me well. This makes me very happy and proud and even though I am currently far away, I will be wishing everyone at Burnley well for the season ahead.
Last, but definitely not least, I would like to thank my physiotherapist at Burnley who worked with me so well. He is simply a great guy… thanks mate!
All the best
Bes
Summer Break
2. Juni 2008, 15:21 Uhr
Hi fans,
it’s already been six weeks since the last sign of life from me and now the season is well and truly over. I really don’t want to spend any more time looking back, I’m just looking forward to the new season!
The coaches and physios back in Burnley have equipped me with a complex personalized fitness programme for the summer break, which I am following to the letter. I’m already all fired up for the first test matches and I can’t wait to wear the shirt of the Mighty Clarets again.
Until then, all the best
Bes
Bes is back!
18. April 2008, 12:10 Uhr
Hello fans,
After a long period of pain and troubles and tough but great physiotherapy, at long last I’ve been back in training together with the team for the last two weeks. An incredible feeling! Opponents—beware!
I’d like to take this opportunity to say “thanks a million!” to the medical team over here at Burnley and of course to my fans, who have cheered me up and helped to motivate me this past year. By now I feel fantastic and I can once again give 100% in training.
During the past months I have worked very hard and prepared for my comeback with swimming, jogging, fitness exercises, workouts for legs and body, weight training as well as technical exercises for tackling and dribbling. I think I can rightfully claim to be fitter, better and stronger than I have ever been.
I’m buzzing with energy and motivation and looking forward to my future with Burnley and Albania!
See you back here again soon,
Bes
New Year’s greetings
10. Januar 2008, 12:11 Uhr
Dear fans,
I’d like to first wish all of you (a bit belatedly) all the best for the year 2008.
You’ve probably wondered why things have been so quiet here lately. It’s true that you haven’t heard too much from me lately but the fact is that a football player would prefer to report on his matches and goals rather than his injuries.
Meanwhile, though, I can say that I’ve really made good progress. The rehabilitation program for recovery from my cruciate ligament rupture is going well and here in Burnley I am being taken care of in the best possible way. I’m working hard to make my comeback a reality.
Our Albanian national team now has a new trainer, Arie Haan from the Netherlands. I’m really looking forward to the World Cup qualifiers that are coming up; our group, with Portugal, Sweden, Hungary, and Malta promises interesting matches.
I’m especially looking forward to playing against the Danish team, having played for one-and-a-half wonderful and successful years with Aalborg BK and AC Horsens.
But that’s enough for today. I hope I’ll be back here more often from now on to keep you posted.
Take care,
Bes
Injured!
7. September 2007, 12:12 Uhr
Hello fans!
After a short summer break, I’m back and I’ve got some news for you.
First, I want to tell you that, meanwhile, I’ve settled in here in England really well. At first, I had to adapt and get used to English football but, in general, the quick and aggressive style of playing here on the island suits me well. You always have to look for the straight line forward and you don’t have much time to think it over. With my dribbling and my speed, I’ve got some advantages here.
Burnley is a great club, and I feel really comfortable here. I get on really well with my team mates and with the other people here. We respect each other and the team spirit is really good. I think our bunch is capable of achieving a lot this year, and I’m going to do my best to play a successful season.
Unfortunately, I’ve suffered a serious injury—now, when I was just about to capture a slot on Burnley’s first team. It happened during the international match against Malta, in which I not only scored the second goal for our 3:0 victory but also hit the post once. After battling over a header, I suffered a cruciate ligament rupture in my right knee without any involvement of a member of the opposing team. It looks like I’ll be on the bench for quite some time. What awful bad luck!
This whole business isn’t easy for me. So far in my career, I was never seriously injured and to tell the truth, I find it not very easy to take. Especially the fact that the timing is really a catastrophe is a big problem for me. But you know me: I’m a fighter, and I’m going to fight my way back for certain and give all I can, so that I can play football again.
At the same time it’s important that I wait until the injury is completely healed. These are going to be hard weeks for me, because I go crazy without football!
Keep your fingers crossed, I’ll report back soon.
All the best,
Bes
Do you speak English?
13. Juli 2007, 12:14 Uhr
Hello, here I am again,
Since I’m now playing for Burnley, my website will soon change a bit. Expect some surprises!
But don’t worry. I won’t leave my German fans in the lurch; in future, I’ll try to “talk” to you in two languages, German and English.
I’ll get back to you soon,
Bes
————-
Hi fans,
Soon the design of my website will be changed in order to reflect the fact that I am now a Burnley player.
Also, much of the contents of my website will be available in both English and German.
Bye for now,
Bes
England, here I come!
13. Juli 2007, 10:15 Uhr
Hello Fans,
I wanted to report back to you again at last after a long break. Many of you have probably wondered why you didn’t hear from me a lot sooner. Well, for one thing, I needed some time to think over my situation with HSV. And then I thought it would be better to not risk botching up a possible transfer by talking too much. It’s better to hold back with any commentary until a deal is all wrapped up.
Well, I’m on my way now to England, to Burnley FC. I am really looking forward to this new challenge. A new country, a different mentality, and so on. But first I want to explain to all my loyal fans from HSV, why I didn’t stay.
I love Hamburg and HSV is a fantastic club, one that really helped me in the past in a difficult phase of my career. But I’m not 18 years old anymore, I’m about to turn 22 and I really want to play, come what may. I never ran away from a challenge; I always tried to give my all in training, but ultimately, I couldn’t really convince the trainer. That is, unfortunately, a fact. At sooner or later you reach the point, where you ask yourself whether his opinion of you will ever change.
I was top goal scorer in the German A junior national league, ahead of Aaron Hunt of Werder Bremen. Later on, in the first Danish league, I scored a lot of goals and set up many others. Meanwhile, I’ve been selected for the Albanian national team, a fact that I’m very proud of. But in spite of all the offensive problems that HSV had last year, I hardly ever played a role in the coach’s plans. Well, anyway, in the end things turned out very well: we not only managed to stay in the league, we even reached the U1 cup. And now a new job is waiting for me.
From the very first meeting with the Burnley representative, I could feel that they really wanted to have me. When I played in England for the first time in late May with the Albanian team, I experienced the special atmosphere in an English stadium; it was terrific. I hope you Burnley FC fans will support me just as much as the HSV fans always did when I was in Hamburg.
From now on, I’ll be giving all I’ve got for Burnley and my new team. I wish my old team mates from HSV a really great season.
All the best, yours truly,
Bes
Rumours, rumours, rumours…
4. Mai 2007, 12:16 Uhr
Hello Fans,
First of all I want to thank you for all the feedback in my guest book. I truly appreciate your support.
I’m pretty good at predicting the future, aren’t I? The dream I wrote about last time almost came true, except that it wasn’t me but José Paolo Guerrero who scored the winning goal in Munich. I’m really happy for him and, of course, for our fans. Nice shot!
And now, a word on the report printed in Kicker magazine yesterday. Referring to the HSV’s plans for transfers, it said that it was improbable that “striker Besart Bersiha (22) would stay until 2009, although he has a contract”. All I can say to that is that, so far, no representative of HSV has spoken to me or my advisor about my future.
As far as I’m concerned, I have a valid contract with HSV that goes until 2009. I also know my skills and I firmly believe that I can prove my worth in the Bundesliga, if I get a chance.
Furthermore, as a young player, I think that I don’t have to be completely dissatisfied with my first year in the top German league playing with such a great club as HSV.
All the best from
Besart
My dream
26. April 2007, 12:17 Uhr
Hello fans,
I have a dream. In one of the next games the coach calls me over, I’m told to put on my jersey, go onto the pitch, mange to fight my way free, take two more steps, and then I shoot the ball in, right under the crossbar. Final whistle, cheering crowds, we stay in the first league! That would be great, wouldn’t it?
The team is just burning up to show their stuff in the last four games and is ready to give it everything they’ve got to end the season so that HSV will still be the last remaining Bundesliga dinosaur next year and so the clock in the stadium can keep on ticking. But till then there’s a long and stony path to take.
By the way – thanks a lot for your many tips and ideas. All of them really helped me a lot.
Stay on our side and support us,
Besart
A sign of life
30. März 2007, 12:17 Uhr
Hi fans,
Sorry that you haven’t heard anything from me in quite a while, but my situation was difficult and dissatisfactory recently, and I had to drop out of sight for a while and see how I could deal with things. But nonetheless I really appreciated your many contributions here on my website; they give me strength and are a true inspiration for the future.
As you may know, I have played in two more games in the meantime – for the Albanian national team. In one of them, the European Cup qualifier against Bulgaria, I played almost the full 90 minutes and we came out of it with a point. That was a great feeling!
As far as my situation here at HSV goes, I honestly don’t much know what to say. You all know that I haven’t even been on the team recently. It’s fantastic to see how the guys are fighting their way up bit-by-bit, and I think our coach has found a very appropriate system to play in our current situation.
But personally I am, of course, totally disappointed that I haven’t been given a chance in the last couple of weeks, even though I successfully played for Horsens last season with exactly this system with a single attacker. Gee, there I was one of the top scorers, even though I was playing for a team that was in the relegation zone. When all of a sudden you have to go to the back of line, even though you’re giving it all you’ve got, it makes you think and sooner or later, you just have no idea where things are going.
So, here’s my request to you: write your tips, ideas and suggestions for me in my guest book. But there’s one thing I have to ask you not to write, just in case: please, no irrational criticism of my fellow team mates or the coaches. We are all HSV, after all!
Get back to you soon,
Besart
Things are looking up
19. Februar 2007, 12:18 Uhr
Hello everybody,
I am still really overwhelmed by your support and the interest in my new website! You can be sure that I read every single thing you write and I’ll make an effort to keep these pages updated as best as I can.
At last we’ve shown that we can still win. And two games, one after another, with no goals scored by our opponents – first we beat Dortmund, our most feared opponent at home, and then in Bremen! You can imagine how relieved I was, even though we still haven’t achieved anything and we still have a long road ahead of us. Nevertheless, things are looking up for HSV and at last we are no longer in last place. I’m convinced that, with your help, we’ll be sure not to end up in the second league.
For me personally, the situation is not so rosy. For the last two games, I wasn’t even on the squad and had to watch nervously from the stands. Of course, I’m really sad about it but I’m still working full throttle during training and hope to be back as soon as possible, to show the coach that there’s no doing without me. Why I’m not playing? At any rate, I didn’t break any rules…
Recently, I played my second international match for Albania, sixty minutes against Macedonia, who, I might remind you, played a 2:2 tie against England a while back. From that perspective, our 0:1 defeat was not a disgrace, although I naturally would have much rather won and scored a goal.
Last but not least, a word on “Jacqueline”. The way you described her in my guest book, I really would like to meet her. But I’m afraid she doesn’t exist; somebody misunderstood something. ;-)
New Pictures
16. Februar 2007, 12:19 Uhr
There are new photos in the Gallery section – really great ones from the Champions’ League match against CSKA Moscow (and naturally, from my goal) and a lot more form our training camp in Dubai and from the preseason games against Hansa Rostock and Bayern Munich.
See you again soon!
Thanks a Million!
1. Februar 2007, 12:19 Uhr
I wasn’t actually planning to write here again for a few weeks but since the last time so many fans have visited my new website and written something nice into my guest book. Of course, I read everything and I want to thank everyone a lot.
At the moment, the situation is very difficult for you fans, for all of us players, and for the whole club. That’s why I especially appreciate the fantastic support I’ve been getting from you. The way thousands of you shouted my name yesterday was just unbelievable and really motivated me. What a shame we didn’t manage to score the winning goal.
I want you to know how proud I am to play for your club and that I’ll do my very best to make sure we get out of the basement very soon.
Looking Ahead to the Second Part of the Season
26. Januar 2007, 12:20 Uhr
Today I’d like to look ahead to the second half of the season, upon which so much depends for our club. It would be terrible to be in the first team to be relegated with the Bundesliga’s Dinosaur. We’re going to be giving all we’ve got to win in this fight and not be relegated to the second league.
Of course, I’m hoping that in the second part I’ll be given more opportunities to play and can even shoot a few goals to contribute to staying in the first league. At any rate, I intend to be a real fighting machine during training and give those who are playing the matches instead of me a hard time of it and make the coach’s decision as difficult as possible, as well.
It would be really fantastic if I would get selected for the next games played by the Albanian national team, as well. I’m dying to succeed with Albania. One of my dreams is to play at a World Cup or European Cup for Albania.
But what’s most important at the moment is HSV, the seventeen “final games” of the second half of the season and staying in the first league. I hope we can count on your support.
Together we can and we will do it!
Welcome
25. Januar 2007, 12:21 Uhr
Hello and welcome to my new website! I hope you all like it. From now on, I’ll be telling you about my life as a professional football player for Hamburger SV and (hopefully) the Albanian national team right here.
My first six months in Hamburg were very eventful, both for me personally and for the club and, of course, for the fans, too. Unfortunately, we didn’t play well in the first half of the season and we’re now in the midst of fighting to avoid being relegated. But I am confident that in the second half we’ll fight our way out of the basement and get back into a secure mid-chart position.
In the first part of the season, I tried to push myself forward during training and to close the gap to the first team. Fortunately, I was rewarded with some chances to play in the Bundesliga and the Champions’ League and was able to justify the trust placed in me by scoring against Moscow and Aachen. I also played for the first time for the Albanian national team in a European Cup qualifier against the Netherlands – and had to prove myself playing against people like de Jong, Mathijsen, and Boulahrouz!
After the wonderful and successful time I spent playing for Aalborg and Horsens in Denmark, a famous and big club like HSV is a special challenge form me. The atmosphere in the AOL Arena is fantastic and the HSV fans love for their club is impressive. I am proud to wear your jersey with the number 22 and will do all I can to be successful with the HSV!
