Xhulio Zeneli
Senior Journalist
With more than a decade of experience in football, Xhulio Zeneli has built a reputation for securing exclusive interviews and uncovering compelling stories. Based in Albania and fluent in English and Italian, Xhulio combines his work as a journalist with experience as a youth coach. His growing catalogue of interviews for Football Presse includes respected figures such as George Boateng, Alberico Evani and Marco Sanna.
Articles by Xhulio Zeneli
→Davide Petrucci exclusive: Turkey makes you feel like a footballer
Mohamed Salah is discovering Turkish football for himself now. The Egyptian arrived at Trabzonspor with a career that has already taken him through some of the biggest stadiums in Europe, but Turkey has given him a different kind of football experience.
23 September 2026
→Antonio Simões exclusive: Cristiano Ronaldo v Eusébio — the question nobody asks
For more than 60 years, Antonio Simões has had a front-row seat to Portugal's football history.
22 September 2026
→Nando Rafael exclusive: The Arsenal dream that took him to China
Nando Rafael had already built a career in the Bundesliga when he made a decision that, at the time, was all about getting to the Premier League.
22 September 2026
→Antonio Simões exclusive: The José Mourinho qualities he spotted before the rest of football
Antonio Simões knew José Mourinho before the trophies, the Champions League titles and the touchline theatrics made him one of the most recognisable figures in football.
20 September 2026
→Davide Petrucci exclusive: I prepared my Man United pal Pogba for Juventus without knowing it
Davide Petrucci and Paul Pogba were teenagers together at Manchester United, sharing a house, a dressing room and the strange experience of trying to grow up in a foreign country while chasing a place at one of the biggest clubs in the world.
20 September 2026
→Nando Rafael exclusive: Klopp and Germany’s lost football identity
Nando Rafael spent much of his professional career in Germany, arriving at Hertha BSC Berlin as a young player before representing Borussia Mönchengladbach and FC Augsburg.
17 September 2026
→Exclusive: Carlos García Badías on the Unai Emery who always demanded more
Carlos García Badías had already experienced Unai Emery as a demanding coach before he understood how much those demands would influence his own career.
17 September 2026
→Exclusive: Paolo Poggi on the Udinese attack that changed everything
Paolo Poggi, Oliver Bierhoff and Márcio Amoroso were three very different forwards. That, Poggi believes, was precisely why they became such an effective attacking unit at Udinese.
16 September 2026
→Nando Rafael exclusive: The missing piece behind Augsburg's rise
By the time Nando Rafael arrived at FC Augsburg, he was no longer the young striker who had emerged from Ajax and made his Bundesliga debut with Hertha BSC Berlin.
15 September 2026
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Nando Rafael exclusive: How Ajax taught me second place was failure
Nando Rafael arrived in the Netherlands as a child from Angola and eventually found himself inside one of the most celebrated football academies in Europe.
13 September 2026
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Nando Rafael exclusive: From Angola to Ajax and back again
Nando Rafael's football journey has taken him from Angola to one of Europe's most famous academies, through the Bundesliga, Denmark and China, and eventually back to the country where his love of football began.
10 September 2026
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Paolo Poggi exclusive: Italy's World Cup failures are an organisational problem
Paolo Poggi has spent more than two decades inside Italian football, first as a Serie A striker with Torino, Udinese and Roma and later working in technical and youth development roles with Udinese and Venezia.
10 September 2026
→Maurizio Franzone exclusive: Why Edmundo surprised me more than Batistuta
Maurizio Franzone was a goalkeeper in Serie A when Italy's top flight was packed with some of the best players in the world.
9 September 2026
→Carlos García Badías exclusive: Iniesta was already playing at another level at 10
The former Spanish centre-back came through the youth system at Espanyol and represented Spain at youth level, where he played alongside Iniesta before either had established a professional career.
8 September 2026
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Paolo Poggi exclusive: From Venice to Serie A history - and back again
Paolo Poggi's football career began in Venice and took him from his hometown club to Torino, Udinese, Roma and back again, while bringing a Serie A record that stood for 19 years.
6 September 2026
→Ex-Napoli coach Andrea Agostinelli exclusive: Those who doubt De Bruyne are crazy
Andrea Agostinelli believes Napoli have the midfield quality to challenge at the top of Serie A, insisting those questioning Kevin De Bruyne’s value to the champions are “crazy”.
4 September 2026
→Gordon Hill exclusive: How America helped make a Man United star
Gordon Hill's American adventure was supposed to be a pre-season experiment. Instead, it helped turn a promising Millwall winger into a Manchester United player.
4 September 2026
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Exclusive: Poggi recalls his eight-second Serie A goalscoring record
For 19 years, Paolo Poggi held the record for the fastest goal in Serie A.
3 September 2026
→Exclusive: Poggi slams Mancini's Italy return and hails "clean" Maldini
Paolo Poggi believes Italy's problems run far deeper than whoever occupies the national-team dugout, warning that the country must address the organisation of its football if it is to recover its place among the game's elite.
2 September 2026
→Exclusive: Jong Ajax coach Carlos García examines Spain youngsters Cubarsi, Asensio and Huijsen
Carlos García Badías has spent his first weeks as Jong Ajax head coach working with the next generation of players at one of Europe's most famous academies.
2 September 2026
→Exclusive: Massimo Donati insists more to Como than big spending
Massimo Donati believes Como's remarkable rise is down to far more than the money behind the club.
31 August 2026
→Amedao Mangone exclusive: Ronaldo was just on another level
Amedeo Mangone spent nine seasons in Serie A during one of the richest eras for attacking talent.
30 August 2026
→Massimo Donati exclusive: Gasperini made me understand why and how things were done
Massimo Donati's relationship with Atalanta began long before Gian Piero Gasperini arrived in Bergamo.
27 August 2026
→Exclusive: Roel Coumans reveals the Van Marwijk lessons that shaped his coaching career
Roel Coumans has spent much of his coaching career working in the shadow of one of Dutch football's most respected managers.
25 August 2026
→Maurizio Franzone exclusive: Vicario faces his biggest test yet at Juventus
Maurizio Franzone knows what it means to come through the Italian goalkeeping school.
24 August 2026
→Bruno Baltazar exclusive on coaching influences: I take the good and the bad from everyone
Bruno Baltazar has spent his coaching career crossing borders, changing environments and absorbing ideas.
22 August 2026
→Lars Friis exclusive: From Midtjylland to Cercle, a coach shaped by development
Lars Friis has spent almost three decades moving through the different layers of football.
20 August 2026
→Andrea Agostinelli exclusive: Chinaglia was Lazio, but Giordano was one of the best
Andrea Agostinelli played with Giorgio Chinaglia and Bruno Giordano during his Lazio career, but when asked to compare the two great forwards, he makes an important distinction.
20 August 2026
→Exclusive: Massimo Donati still chasing his next coaching chapter
Massimo Donati has spent almost three decades moving through different versions of football.
19 August 2026
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Bruno Baltazar exclusive: After Vardy and Rochester, I want to work in MLS
Bruno Baltazar arrived in the United States with a clear ambition.
19 August 2026
→Amedeo Mangone exclusive: Recalling Roma's Scudetto-winning team - ‘It was incredible’
As Roma prepare to begin another Serie A campaign, 25 years have passed since the club last lifted the Scudetto.
18 August 2026
→Andrea Agostinelli exclusive: When you are a coach, you live the same emotions everywhere
Andrea Agostinelli has spent more than five decades inside Italian football.
16 August 2026
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Massimo Donati exclusive: Why AC Milan was too much, too soon for me
Massimo Donati had already reached Serie A with Atalanta when Milan came calling. He was only 20, and suddenly found himself sharing a dressing room with some of the biggest names in world football.
13 August 2026
→Exclusive: Agostinelli saw Man City manager Maresca’s coaching qualities 24 years ago
Enzo Maresca is preparing for the biggest challenge of his managerial career, but Andrea Agostinelli remembers the Italian long before Leicester City, Chelsea and Manchester City.
12 August 2026
→Exclusive - From Brentford to Tottenham: Lars Friis on Thomas Frank
Lars Friis knows Thomas Frank better than most.
12 August 2026
→Lars Friis exclusive on Rasmus Højlund: Man United was the wrong place
Lars Friis had watched Rasmus Højlund’s generation emerge from Danish football long before the striker arrived at Manchester United.
11 August 2026
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Bruno Baltazar exclusive: When you work at Forest, you become a Red for life
Bruno Baltazar arrived at Nottingham Forest expecting a challenge.
11 August 2026
→Jamie Day exclusive: Coaching abroad gives you a strong mentality
Jamie Day has spent much of his coaching career learning what happens when a manager steps outside the familiar.
9 August 2026
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Bruno Baltazar exclusive: Mbappé’s Caen project impressed me
Bruno Baltazar arrived at Caen believing he was joining a club with an ambitious future.
8 August 2026
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Exclusive - From Midtjylland to Brentford to Cercle: Lars Friis on developing winners
Lars Friis has spent much of his coaching career arguing that developing young footballers and winning football matches should not be treated as competing objectives.
8 August 2026
→Jamie Day exclusive: There is so much football potential in Bangladesh
Jamie Day arrived in Bangladesh at a time when the national team had hit a low point.
6 August 2026
→Exclusive: Evani reveals how Sacchi's AC Milan learned to stop Maradona
Alberico Evani faced Diego Maradona during one of the most extraordinary periods in Italian football, when the Argentine could seemingly decide matches by himself.
5 August 2026
→Jamie Day exclusive: My Bournemouth teammate Eddie Howe always had the qualities to be a top manager
Jamie Day believes Eddie Howe's qualities as a player gave early clues that he could become an outstanding manager.
4 August 2026
→Exclusive: Jamie Day reveals how Arsène Wenger transformed Arsenal forever
Former Arsenal academy midfielder and Bangladesh head coach Jamie Day has told Football Presse how Arsène Wenger revolutionised Arsenal's culture, changing everything from diet and discipline to the mentality that fuelled the club's greatest successes.
3 August 2026
→Exclusive: Gavin Rae relives Cardiff City adventure alongside Fowler, Bellamy and FA Cup dream
For Gavin Rae, a move to Cardiff City represented more than a fresh start.
27 July 2026
→Exclusive: Gavin Rae explains what makes Rangers unique as Derek McInnes begins new era
A new manager. Fresh investment. Renewed optimism.
22 July 2026
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Exclusive: Roel Coumans warns Saudi Pro League must protect local talent as he assesses Cristiano Ronaldo's legacy
Few European coaches have witnessed the transformation of Saudi Arabian football as closely as Roel Coumans.
22 July 2026
→Exclusive: Roel Coumans reflects on Bundesliga journey and why Tah and Çalhanoğlu were destined for the top
Few coaches have had the opportunity to work alongside future stars before the rest of football recognised their potential. Fewer still have done it at one of Germany's biggest clubs.
20 July 2026
→Italy’s crisis - exclusive: A football nation searching for its lost identity
Italian football has reached a defining moment.
20 July 2026
→Italy's crisis - exclusive: Marco Negri says Azzurri’s striker shortage a symptom of deeper problems
Part five of Football Presse's exclusive series: Italy's Crisis
17 July 2026