Florentina Kuqi receives news at home in Fredrikstad. She has just been selected for the Albanian national football team for the first time. The first task with the Albanian flag on the chest will be the EC playoff against Norway. That she would be there today, one would perhaps not have believed in the summer of 2019. She was then 15 years old and a promising football talent. She bagged goals and was selected for age-specific national team meetings for Norway. But then her life changed that summer five years ago. At a soccer cup, Florentina began to notice that her legs were getting very heavy. The back had also been hurting for a while. – I didn’t think much about it. I just drove on. FOOTBALL THAT APPLIES: In this place right outside her home in Fredrikstad, Florentina could spend three to four hours every day with a football. Photo: Roy Kenneth Sydnes Jacobsen / news At this time, Florentina played for the Moss club Ekholt. At the same time, she hosted another Moss club, Rapid Athena. In addition, she visited both the national team and circuit teams. – The most I was up to was nine games in one week, says Florentina. – Should have listened to mum and dad – Mum and dad were very against it. They tried to stop me, but it was impossible to stop me. I was supposed to be involved in everything. When you’re 13, 14 and 15 years old, you think it’s cool when everyone wants you. It’s hard to say no when older people want you. – I should have listened to mum and dad. Because the heavy legs only got heavier. – I had to walk on crutches. My legs just stopped, says Florentina. – Full sprint was jogging in the end. Then Florentina realized that something was wrong. She went to her GP and had blood tests. Then she went home again. Nothing more to think about for now. Photo: Roy Kenneth Sydnes Jacobsen / news Rushed to the hospital A couple of weeks later, Florentina’s father was called. The blood tests had shown that she was anemic. Then it was just a matter of getting to the hospital as quickly as possible. – I was 15 years old, so I didn’t really understand much. Dad understood more than I did, and took it a little more seriously. At the hospital, Florentina took new blood tests. The doctors couldn’t get it to work. “You’re not anemic,” they said. Florentina explained why she had gone to the GP in the first place. She took several tests at the hospital. “You’ve been lucky”, was the message from the doctors. – A really strange stroke of luck Initially, Florentina was not supposed to go to the hospital until November, but when the doctors discovered the anemia and she was rushed to the hospital, it was still September. She can thank a mix-up of blood tests for the two months difference. – They mixed my blood samples with an 80-year-old man, says Florentina. – It’s really weird luck, but I couldn’t imagine anything better than that luck. If that mistake hadn’t happened, I might not be sitting here in Sarpsborg 08 clothes. I might not have stood either. – It was bad luck that I am very happy about. It has saved a lot. – Can you say that it saved your football career? – Absolutely. It literally saved my entire life. Sarpsborg Arbeiderblad has previously mentioned the mistake that saved Florentina. Photo: Roy Kenneth Sydnes Jacobsen / news – Everything was heavy At the hospital, Florentina was told that she had contracted Guillan-Barré syndrome. It is an acute inflammation of the nervous system that leads to a greater or lesser degree of paralysis. She probably got the disease after overexertion as a result of too many training sessions and football matches. – Things were turned around. It was crazy, says Florentina about what it was like to receive the news that she had Guillan-Barré syndrome. – It is a disease that takes your nerve roots. For me it started on the hands. When I stretched out my hands, it tingled. Eventually the disease took her legs. – I was fast, but when I sprinted, it went so slowly. I didn’t have the ability to run fast. – It was an intense few weeks. I ended up in a wheelchair for a week when I couldn’t walk anymore. Everything was heavy. – Fortunately, we were able to take it before the disease took my lungs, she says. – You could become permanently paralyzed? – Yes. There are people who die from it too, unfortunately. They are the ones who are a little older. It is a disease that affects most men over the age of 50, so it was very bad luck that I got it as a 15-year-old girl. It was a lot at once. This is Guillain-Barré syndrome: Guillain-Barré syndrome is a rare condition that can cause nerve damage, muscle weakness and paralysis. Most people will still be completely fine with treatment. Guillain-Barré syndrome is probably an autoimmune disease. The immune system is the body’s defense against infection by bacteria and viruses. When you get an infection, antibodies attack the bacteria and kill them. In Guillain-Barré syndrome, the person’s own antibodies begin to attack the person’s own nervous system by mistake. It can happen to people of any age, but it seems to be slightly more common in men and boys. In many people, Guillain-Barré syndrome appears a few weeks after an infection, for example after a pneumonia or communicable disease (gastroenteritis). Guillain-Barré syndrome has also been linked to the Zika virus in recent years. It can also be a rare complication of covid-19 infection. The symptoms of Guillain-Barré syndrome usually start in the arms and legs, with tingling and numbness in the hands and feet, followed by weakness and difficulty bending the joints. These symptoms may worsen over the next few days. Symptoms usually come on quickly. Other symptoms can be pain in the legs and back, breathing difficulties, difficulty with clear pronunciation, weak facial expressions, difficulty swallowing and double vision. Some people experience a dramatic development with almost total paralysis of the body. This can last for several months. About 30 out of 100 people with Guillain-Barré syndrome need ventilator support. Some people die from Guillain-Barré syndrome. This is seen more frequently in the elderly and people with more severe symptoms. About 85 out of 100 people who get Guillain-Barré syndrome recover. For those with muscle damage or who need ventilator treatment, the probability of making a full recovery is lower. Source: Helsenorge Florentina describes the medication she was given as harsh, and that she was completely done on the days she was given it. – I couldn’t stand, because then I felt that the blood exploded up to my head. I had to go straight down. Otherwise I would have passed out every time. – Just had to lie down. The only thing she wanted in that period was to be on the football pitch and at school. – So I tried out at school while I was being treated, and then I went straight to the ground and passed out after 40 minutes. – I just had to lie down. It was the only thing I managed during that period. Florentina has received many questions in the years that followed about how she managed to keep her motivation up. – The thought of stopping playing football did not cross my mind when I was in the hospital. The only thing I thought was “when will I come back?”, says Florentina. Photo: Roy Kenneth Sydnes Jacobsen / news – It has been a tough period. There have been difficult years after that, but fortunately it has gone well in the end. – We are out of the danger zone. I am fully recovered now. I am in top shape and train like everyone else. – Very grateful Football and family were obviously important to Florentina in the most difficult periods, but she also highlights Sarpsborg 08. The year before, i.e. 2018, she had received an offer from the club which she turned down. She wanted to be in Ekholt a little longer. In the summer of 2019, she accepted Sarpsborg 08. A month later, the problems with the disease came. – Then I was a little afraid that they wouldn’t want me. There was a lot that had to be built up. Things didn’t go as fast anymore, says Florentina. – But then they had faith in me. I was visited by then coach Mike Speight in the hospital. They have followed me up ever since, and I am very grateful for that. AT HOME IN FREDRIKSTAD: Sarpsborg 08 photo on the wall at Florentina Kuqi’s home. Photo: Roy Kenneth Sydnes Jacobsen / news Sarpsborg 08 became Florentina’s new club. In September 2020, she played her first match for the club’s U20 team. This season she was joint top scorer for the A team with ten goals in 19 games. The forward envisions staying in Sarpsborg 08. Next year, the goal is promotion to the 1st division. Within a few years, the club wants to be in the Toppserien. – It is a dream to be able to live at home in the city you grew up in and play top football in the same county, she says. – We have started a journey that will take us to the Toppserien at one point or another. The person Florentina is very difficult to replace. She is extremely important as a carrier of culture and a carrier of continuity, says Sarpsborg 08 coach Thomas Johnsen. Florentina Kuqi at Sarpsborg 08 training with coach Thomas Johnsen in the background Photo: Roy Kenneth Sydnes Jacobsen / news – The tears flowed The achievements for Sarpsborg 08 have now led to a place in the national team for Albania, which was an opportunity for Florentina with her Albanian parents. This summer, the Albanian national team coaches came to Norway to look at several Albanian girls in Norway who could be relevant for Albania. After a training session, Florentina was taken aside, and the message from the national team coach was that they wanted her on. – I remember the tears flowed. It was emotional, says Florentina. – The first thing I did was call dad. It has been a dream for the whole family. It’s big for my mum, dad and my brothers that I’m going to play with the flag on my chest. Photo: Roy Kenneth Sydnes Jacobsen / news Florentina was born and raised in Norway, but still has strong feelings for Albania. At home with the family in Fredrikstad, the conversation is in fluent Albanian, and every summer Albania is the holiday destination. – Now that I’m older, my friends go on holiday together in the summer. I wouldn’t trade my family holidays to Albania for anything else. Shocked by the national team A couple of weeks ago, the final confirmation came that Florentina had been selected for her first national team squad for Albania. Coach Thomas gathered the whole team, called Florentina, put the speaker on and gave her the happy news. IMPRESSED: Sarpsborg 08 coach Thomas Johnsen. Photo: Roy Kenneth Sydnes Jacobsen / news – I was so shocked. It was a wonderful experience, says Florentina. – You noticed that it was a proud moment. That was it for all of us, says the coach. – What do you think that she has been down, fought back and will represent Albania? – It is an extreme mental regime. When it comes from a distance, she can use it to her advantage. I think many people would have given up in the same situation she was in. Fortunately for both her and us, she didn’t. Has opted out of Norway What makes Florentina’s first selection for the national team extra special is that the international matches are against Norway. – I watched the draw this summer. I waited and waited, then I realized that there were two teams that had not been drawn, says Florentina. – There were a lot of emotions at the time. Thus, she can make her national team debut with role models such as Ada Hegerberg and Caroline Graham Hansen as opponents. – It’s fucking cool to play against a person who has won the Ballon d’Or previously as the first woman, she and Hegerberg say. – Graham Hansen has become the top scorer and named one of the best in Spain. ILLUSTRATIONS: Ada Hegerberg (left) and Caroline Graham Hansen for Norway during the 2023 World Cup. Photo: Lise Åserud / NTB Florentina has thus also opted out of Norway as her national team. – It is a choice that has actually been quite natural. I don’t regret my choice. – It’s the country mum and dad were born and raised in. It’s always been an emotional thing for me, so I really want it. It feels very right after I first got that opportunity. There were no other thoughts. – A dream The matches against Norway are played over two matches, where the winner goes to a decisive playoff match for a place in the football European Championship 2025. The loser has to watch the European Championship from the sofa. The teams first meet in Albania, before the second leg is played at Ullevaal on Tuesday 29 October. Florentina acknowledges that Norway are favourites. When the teams met in WC qualification a couple of years ago, Norway won 7–0 and 5–0. – As everyone says, it is the most likely that Norway will win, but each match lives its own life. You should never underestimate. You never know what will happen, so the opportunity is there. – Is it strange to be able to destroy Norway’s EC dream? – Of course it’s a dream! THE ALBANIAN EAGLE: Florentina Kuqi proudly displays the Albanian flag. Photo: Roy Kenneth Sydnes Jacobsen / news
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