• Challandes became manager of Kosovo in March 2018

• The Swiss guided the team to Euro 2020 qualifying play-offs

• His stint also witnessed a 15-match unbeaten run

Jayanta Oinam

Kosovo, a small Balkan country of 1.8 million people, is still struggling to get a foothold on the global football stage. The country declared independence in 2008 from Serbia; but it took more than eight years for its national football federation to get global recognition – mirroring the country's plight. It's hard to miss the unanswered 'Kosovo question'. But in a short period of time, without really climbing the global charts, Kosovo, or the Dardanians, have won accolades for punching above their weight. Ranked 107 in the world, at the time of writing, they are now chasing a maiden qualifying for an international competition, for the 2024 European Championship. Placed in Group I, they were unbeaten in two outings, with draws against Israel and Andorra. Alain Giresse's men will need to finish in the top two to seal to play in the Germany Finals next summer. And they will also need to contend with the likes of Switzerland, Romania and Belarus – the favourites in the group. Kosovo gained UEFA and FIFA recognition in May 2016, and in less than five years, they almost sealed the qualification for the continental showpiece with a certain Bernard Challandes at the helm. The Dardanians, however, failed to pass the North Macedonia test in the play-off semi-final, losing the match 2-1 away in Skopje in October 2020.

Following a poor showing in their first competitive outing, the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifiers – in which they managed to pocket a single point – Kosovo won their UEFA Nations League D group to earn that play-off spot for the subsequent Euro. It was the biggest game in the fledging history of Kosovan football.

Challandes didn't last long, though. But by taking the team from a war-torn country to the brink of European Championship qualification, the former defender who had played lower-league football in his native Switzerland, left his mark on Kosovan football. After losing his post in October 2021 following poor results in their 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifying matches, the 70-year-old Bernard Challandes said: "The initial goal was to build a real and good team... I was happy with this work and proud of the road we have accomplished. I had a lot of fun working with this team, which is why it saddens me to have to leave." Despite the failures in big matches, Challandes still left with a win percentage of 42.50 – 17 wins, eight draws and 15 defeats in 40 matches. The former Zurich FC manager was indeed the tour de force behind Dardanians' sensational 15-match unbeaten run that started with a 4-3 win over Latvia in November 2017 (under interim boss Muharrem Sahiti).

During that streak, they completed one of the biggest shocks in the European qualifiers, a 2-1 triumph against the Czech Republic on September 7, 2019. The run, however, ended in Southampton against England during the same qualification campaign. Kosovo did lose the match, but they kept the moniker 'Brazil of the Balkans' intact.

It was a period in which, Kosovo also registered some memorable wins against Burkina Faso, Albania, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, and others. Bernard Challandes is still considered Kosovo's best-ever coach, one who helped the Dardanians blossom.

“I know the coach has to have results and the pressure from the state has not been easy for the Federation to manage. The results might have been important (for the leaders), but for me, it was essential to create a team,” Challandes told the Kosovo broadcasters RTK matter-of-factly. "However, I think we have managed to play good football. I hope to return to see Kosovo matches in the future. We have already taken the first step, and the second will not be easy. But I hope that Kosovo will succeed because I feel a little Kosovar.” An outspoken figure, Bernard Challandes was appointed as the manager of Kosovo on March 2, 2018, as Vardan Minasyan's replacement. He was already an established figure in Swiss football, having guided Zurich to the 2008-09 Swiss Super League title and FC Sion to the Swiss Cup win in 2011. But it was an altogether proposition to manage a national team, let alone one which only began playing official matches only a few years ago. To his credit, Challandes successfully managed to instill a winning habit in the team. He was so confident in his team that before the England game, he said that he should quit if he did not believe Kosovo can beat their hosts. Then, Kosovo were ranked 120th in the world, and Gareth Southgate's Three Lions were on a high after thrashing the Czech Republic (5-0), Montenegro (5-1) and Bulgaria (4-) in their first three matches.

“If I say we come for winning, I think a lot of people think he is pretentious and if I say it is not possible to win England I must change job," he told the media on the eve of the match. “It is in my philosophy that if we don’t dream it is not necessary to play such a game. We must do all what is possible for the game in England. I will see tomorrow with Kosovo." He even cared to spell out his tactics to 'disturb' England, saying "It's tactical pressing... In a crazy game, it's go, return, go, go, go, go, go! Perhaps they lose the ball and we score, because gegenpressing is not only defence, it's preparation for a goal for us." For him, it was "crazy pressing." And crazy it was. Kosovo conceded five goals in a crazy first half. Yet, Bernard Challandes and his boys lost the match by two goals (5-3) against a side featuring the likes of global stars Harry Kane, Marcus Rashford, Raheem Sterling, and more. He has been succeeded by former France midfielder Alain Giresse.

Before Challandes's arrival, Kosovo had taken just one point from ten games in their first qualification campaign, for the 2018 World Cup. Now, they have four wins and seven draws in 29 qualifying matches for World Cups and Euros.