Their 18-yard box should plastered with warning signs: “Proceed with Caution;” “Enter at Your Own Risk.”
As Forge FC prepared for its seventh season—and first instalment of Bobby Smyrniotis’s next three-year roster cycling —there were suggestions in the world of CPL punditry that the Hammers could suffer on the back line, where stalwart home-developed contributors Dom Samuel, Garven Metusala and Malcolm Duncan, have now moved off the team. You could throw midfielder Ali Hojabrpour in the “we’re concerned” mix too because he so ably helped fortify the rearguard as a defensive midfielder.
But on the verge of facing the deeply talented CF Monterrey in Wednesday night’s home leg of the Concacaf Champions Cup opening round, the Forge’s backline is now projected as a definite strength, with the earlier addition of proven CPL star Daniel Nimick and today’s announcement that Rezart Rama has rejoined Hamilton from Egnatia. The right-back joined the Albanian premier league side last season after spending the previous two years with Forge, each time resulting in a CPL title.
Rama is big (6-foot-1) and very aggressive and played that way when he was here, endearing himself to local fans. Nimick is not only a passer and scorer, but he is also antagonistic in his defending role at centre-back. And then, of course, there’s team legend Alex Achiniotti-Jönsson, whose tackling excellence and combative nature need no introduction. And 6-foot-2 left-sider Malik Owolabi-Belewu has grown into a CPL stalwart entering his fourth league season.
Plus, Elimane Cissé will be available when he returns from injury and Daniel Parra is still officially on loan from Monterrey. The suspicion is that the Hammers will eventually bring in another helpful backline veteran as player availabilities—and their own needs—become more apparent.
“The players who left had a massive impact on the last few years for Forge, they all had important roles on the team,” Rama says. “But coming up to the new team, the guys who are here are very, very confident and I’m very happy I’ ’ll be with those guys in the back and I know we can do very well.
“We are physical guys and the guys in the centre are very physical, they’re great quality players and they have experience. So I know they will help a lot in the way the coach wants to build.”
While he can play several positions including some midfield, Rama feels right back is his most natural spot.
He wasn’t getting enough playing time in Albania over the final few weeks of his term there, so agreed to come back to Hamilton:
“I had two more options at the time Forge was talking to me but I could not say no to Forge. I feel like here is my family; I felt so close with the guys, the staff, people in the city, the fans. So when I got in touch with Forge, there was not much to think about it, and I said yes.
“I was here for two seasons and both were good for me individually and as a team too, successful with two championships.”
He agrees that his work here, and the exposure Forge receives, particularly for its history of big international and domestic moments, helped him earn his contract in Albania. He’s only 24, has matured as a player and a man, and he hopes this second stint in Hamilton will serve him just as well professionally.
“Of course,” he says. “It’s one of the reasons for coming back, showing myself. And the best place to show myself is Forge, where I feel so good, where I know the coach and what he asks from me. And I know what I can do to help the team and help the coach’s instructions.”
While his principal assignment is defence, Rama can venture up the right side to help with the attack, then swerve in to bolster the centre.
“Whatever the coach asks,” he says. “But I’m more comfortable coming over the middle, overlapping, and doing more rotations on the right side like I used to with David (Choinière) when I was here before and whatever midfielder will be there.”
Rama’s parents were born in Albania but moved to Athens, where he was born, so he’s eligible to play for both Greece and Albania. He was an integral part of Albania’s U-17 and U-19 national teams and captained both of them. After spending the ages of 11-18 in the Olympiacos system, where Smyrniotis began his coaching career with two years in their academy.
From there, Rama went to Nottingham Forest’s youth system, playing regularly with their U-19 and U-23 clubs before Forge, suffering injuries in the backline, obtained him in May of 2022.
“When (he and Smyrniotis) met each other for the first time when I came to Forge three years ago he said he even coached my older brother for a few months 20 years ago,” Rama says. “Greece gave me a lot of opportunities and one of them was to become a professional soccer player and I got the chance to go to England.”
While physicality is a big part of his resumé, Rama says he’s not happy that he incurred 19 yellow cards over his previous two years here. He’s a more mature player now but also recognizes that Canadian referees wanted calmer conduct.
“But of course, I came here from Nottingham Forest and English football is tougher so I came with this mentality, being tougher in the game.”
Fewer yellow cards, perhaps, but no less toughness.