"I DIDN'T THINK ABOUT THE MONEY"

Azerbaijan's national football team started out with a new head coach in 2015. After Berti Vogts resigned, the management of AFFA [Association of Football Federations of Azerbaijan] appointed the Croatian Robert Prosinecki in that post.

It may be said that Prosinecki is completely different in character to his predecessor. Unlike the German trainer Berti Vogts, he spends most of his time in Azerbaijan and has travelled to Lankaran and Qabala to watch the national championship games. After meeting with the Council of Trainers recently set up by the AFFA, the Croatian expert set off for Antalya [Turkey] to observe the winter training of the country's clubs. Having forged friendly relations with the press, Prosinecki is glad to reply to questions put by journalists, even taking part in public discussions sometimes. 

Regionplus spoke to Robert PROSINECKI about his life in Azerbaijan, training the clubs and the Azerbaijani national team's prospects.

- The Bosnia and Hercegovina team was also interested in you. Precisely why did you choose Azerbaijan?

- The AFFA general secretary, Elxan Mammadov, and I became acquainted in Paris. That was the first time that we had spoken to each other. A few days later we talked in greater detail. Then the variant came up with Bosnia and Hercegovina. But I preferred the Azerbaijani team. I foresee a splendid future. You can work in Azerbaijan because all the conditions have been created for it. Bosnia and Hercegovina have good football players, who play in the top championships in Europe. But I found working with the Azerbaijani team more attractive. Many people may think that it was the money that decided it, but this is absolutely wrong. In general, in football it is not just about money. There are more important factors at play. Naturally, the fact that the Azerbaijani team was interested in me before Bosnia and Hercegovina did play a big part in making the decision.

- What tasks has the AFFA management set you and what are you hoping for?

- It is a great pity that the Azerbaijani team has not been able to score a single point in the qualifying stage matches for the Euro-2016 championship. This is why the players are feeling rather down. Now the main aim is to raise their spirits. We must encourage in them a desire to win and a belief in themselves. Failing to score any points is not necessarily an indicator of the Azerbaijani team's strength. Sometimes a team does not manage to play well. I agree that the team does have some problems. I simply believe in studying them and eliminating them.

We hope to get as far up the tournament scoreboard as we can in the qualifying stage. Yes, that will be extremely difficult. But we have young players with great potential. After signing the contract with the Azerbaijani team, I had the opportunity to observe a number of players. Several of them attracted my attention. I am not going to name them, but I believe in them.

- Will we be aware of any changes in the remaining games of the qualifying stage?

- You want everything straightaway. The coaching body will demand that the team demonstrate new techniques in their game. The final state of the team will become clear in the training sessions in February.

- You are Croatian. Therefore the players are impatiently waiting for the Azerbaijan-Croatia match. Will your team be able to do something sensational in this game?

- I am the chief coach of the Azerbaijani team. This means that I need to strive for the success of this team. There is still a long time to go before that game. We shall try to play a worthy game against Croatia. That team has high-class players. We shall have to train particularly well for the game with them on home ground.

- You have many times stated that you prefer offensive tactics in football. Does the Azerbaijani team have the potential to play that kind of game?

- I'll start by saying that it is easier to play a defensive game than an offensive one. When it comes to changes, these will affect both the organisation of the game and the players. We have the potential to make the forwards' game better thought-out and varied. Football players should not just run forwards, but should demonstrate good technique. Naturally, it will not be easy to do this, but we shall try.

- We saw you at the stadium right from the very first day. You even managed to visit the provinces. Was this stipulated in your contract or did you want to see everything for yourself?

- As the chief coach of the Azerbaijani team, I am obliged to get to know all the clubs and all the players. I did not have comprehensive information on your football game. Therefore I considered it necessary to check out all the matches in the country's championship. There are three or four sufficiently strong teams in Azerbaijan's premier league, for example the "Qarabag" club whose progress was halted in the run-up to the play-off stage. A sufficiently large number of top professional footballers are playing for the strongest clubs in the premier league. "Qarabag" has Reynaldo and Richard Almeida. When local players play alongside these players, they gain experience and become stronger. On the whole, I am satisfied with the limit on top professional footballers that exists in Azerbaijan (there should be a minimum of five local players on the pitch, moreover one should be under 21 years of age). In these circumstances, local players will develop and grow more quickly.

- In Antalya you checked on the training of our clubs. Were you satisfied with what you saw?

- I watched the training and the games played by all the clubs which had been trained in Antalya. After a break, of course the teams are not as fit as they should be. They attain that fitness gradually. For the moment I am satisfied with what I saw. The players are enjoying the training and the matches. They are trying to show everything they are capable of.

What I have seen forms the basis of my conviction that we can improve the quality of the team's game. Although I have not managed to watch the game of some players playing abroad, I do have an idea about most of them. I know what the players are capable of, since I have all the necessary information.

I would like to touch upon another issue. The age of the players offered a place in the team does not matter to us. I offer both young and already experienced players the opportunity to show what they can do. The main thing is not a player's age, but how fit he is. I am satisfied with the games I watched in which "Neftci" and "Qarabag" played. Maksim Medvedev, Qara Qarayev, Rasad Sadiqov and Badavi Huseynov attracted my attention in the "Qarabag" team, but all the members of the team played well.

- The team's captain was Rasad Sadiqov when Berti Vogts was manager. Who will be the captain now you are manager?

- For me the choice of captain is not such an important issue. No matter which team I have worked with, the captain remained in his post. If they have chosen him, it means that they believe in him. This is the decision I came to with the Azerbaijani team, leaving Rashad Sadiqov in the post of captain. Don't forget that the captain should be the team leader. Sadigov is a good football player. He stands out in the "Qarabag" team too.

- In February the Azerbaijani team will conduct its first training session under your management. Will there be new names in it?

-In February the team will be together for six days. But the "Neftci" players and the top professional footballers playing abroad will not be taking part ("Neftci" will be playing a postponed championship game - R+). We shall have two matches. Perhaps we shall play against foreign clubs. Since this training session is not on the FIFA calendar, it is difficult to find a team for a control game.

- Would you like to tell us what your impressions of Azerbaijan are?

- I like Azerbaijan and Baku very much. Baku is a splendid city. The architectural monuments are especially interesting. The city is developing rapidly. The huge investments being made in it say a lot. The fact that I have come to Azerbaijan with my family is the main indicator of my attitude to this country. My daughters will study in Baku. Here there is everything you need to lead a normal life.