Rama Rezart’s hometown of Piraeus, Greece is impossibly picturesque, is ancient—it was founded as a major seaport in the 5th century BC—and as he describes it, “Soccer has taken me to many places in the world but it’s the most beautiful one.
“The best people, the best food. I love everything about the place I grew up.”
But he also loves a much newer city—forged out of the 19th century Industrial Revolution—where he grew up in a different sense: in soccer knowledge and personal maturity.
The 25-year-old Forge FC fullback who returned last January for a second stint with the team he helped to CPL titles in 2022 and 2023, learned English, his third language, mostly in Hamilton, met his wife here, nurtured his nascent leadership skills and showed so much in-game improvement that he earned a richer contract to sign last season with a top side in Albania.
He first arrived in Hamilton four years ago as a rough-hewn 21-year-old who had been considered a major elite-league prospect by two renowned international organizations: Nottingham Forest of the English Premier League and its corporate cousin (they have the same owner), Greece’s legendary Olympiacos. He flew to Canada in May of 2022 to meet with Bobby Smyrniotis, who had briefly coached Rezart’s older brother two decades earlier in the Olympiacos youth academy. It was his first trip across the Atlantic and he wasn’t fully committed to Hamilton….until he got here. It didn’t hurt that he discovered Greek being spoken by Smyrniotis and some of his coaches, giving him the mild comfort of a whiff from home.
“But it just looked so different from Europe,” he recalls. “Going from Greece to England was a big difference but coming to Canada, wow that’s very different, it looked a bit like the America I saw in the movies I watched when I was young.
“I came in and was surprised about everything we have here, the facilities, and saw right away that the group was really good with good coaches and staff.
“I liked that and that’s why I stayed.”
Rama’s presence is an important step in the Hammers’ evolution along the backline. With Day One Daniël Krutzen for Forge returning from the U.S., and retirement for his 2.0 stint, the arrival of France’s Antoine Batisse, and last year’s signing of Defender of the Year Dan Nimick, the rearguard is experienced, offence-savvy and versatile. It should be a core strength again this year even with the departure of Alexander Achinioti-Jönsson for his native Sweden.
And they’ll be ruggedly full-body aggressive. Rama, particularly, doesn’t know any other way.
“I was always physical, that was one of my strengths, always,” he said. “At Olympiacos you learn to become an important player but tactics is the most important part. You should be a smart player to be in that academy. But when I went to England tactics was the second most important thing. First was physicality, where in Greece it was the opposite.
“Even though I was good physically when I got to Nottingham Forest, I had to get better by getting stronger and sharper. The first few months were really hard because all the players were so strong but I built up that part, got to the same level and then it was easier.
“The intensity of the game is unbelievable. Next level. I think not many leagues can compare to even the second division of English football. Every league is good and has similar things but it is the intensity that is different in England.”
He had moved north after 10 years of Olympiacos development to seek a first-team senior job when his Greek side wanted to keep him at the U-23 level. Nottingham had pegged him among their leading three or four prospects likely to eventually graduate to the top squad and had him with the senior club during training camp and for a number of friendlies, while also bringing him up to train regularly with the main team. But Forest was also battling to regain promotion from the Championship to the first division-EPL so had loaded up and playing time was hard to come by.
Through a web of Nottingham contacts, Forge management knew Rama was looking for significant senior team minutes and they had also known of him since his youth in Greece.
Rama grew up in Piraeus, which is five miles outside of the capital city on the Athens Riviera. Both his parents are from Albania but in 1993—“a tough time in Albania” he says—his father moved to Greece for better employment opportunities and two years later Rama’s mother and his two brothers, who are eight and 10 years older than Rezart, also emigrated to Athens. Rama and his twin were born there and all four boys played soccer, one of them professionally.
“He was a really good and talented player,” Rama says. “He made some mistakes and I learned from them, which helped my own soccer. He wasn’t mature as a teenager; and perhaps had to bring more work into it with all his talent. Seeing that, I learned and didn’t make that mistake and have always worked hard.”
Rama played U-15 for Greece but his passport application had stalled so when Albania called he went up to their U-15s, then U-17s, becoming captain of both teams.
“I’m half-and-half,” he says of his dual heritage. “I grew up as an Albanian and am very proud of that. Greece is my favourite place to be and I’m so happy and so proud about being in that country for 18 years. I got the opportunity to be a soccer player and my family got the opportunity to be where they are today. I don’t know how things would be if Greece wasn’t there for us.”
After he’d been an integral part of Forge’s repeat championship in 2023 he returned to his family’s roots and signed a two-and-a-half-year contract with Egnatia, one of the leading clubs in Albania’s elite division. He made more money and the club won the treble last season: league title; national club championship; and the Supercup.
He had time left on his contract and could have stayed, making a higher wage, but decided “It’s not always money that’s the most important. Things weren’t how I expected. It wasn’t anything crazy but people know that in the Balkans there’s always some corruption and that was hard to get used to. I talked a bit openly about things I thought were wrong in the team and league and you can’t talk about those things and continue to be there. It was a bit of everything, really.”
He’d kept in touch with his former teammates and Smyrniotis, even dropping in to see a game on his way to a New York vacation. So Smyrniotis suggested he return to the Hammers and Rama was happy to accept.
He says he wants to reach another Champions Cup, string together an even longer undefeated streak than last year’s 24-gamer, capture another title and add a little moderation to the most noticeable part of his skill set.
Although he has never incurred a red card since he was about 15 years old, he had 19 yellows in his first two years in Canada, after never having more than six in an English season.
“The good thing for me is that I’m a very aggressive player but that also costs me too,” he says, conceding, “Sometimes I go over the line. I’m real aggressive until I get a yellow and then I try to be smart. The other team knows I’m a bit aggressive and they try to pull me to a red card but I know that. I don’t think I changed my game from England to here, but the leagues are different.
“The referees want me to play softer but I don’t think I can do that.”