THE UNREALIZED DREAM

The national football clubs have finished the games in the UEFA Europa League. Like last year, Garabagh and Gabala have managed to raise to the group stage having kept the fans in suspense until December. Unfortunately, both teams left the competition at this stage and could not realize the dream of fans about playoffs.

The champion of Azerbaijan and the holder of Azerbaijan Cup, Garabagh, joined the fight in the Champions League during the hot summer days. After the successful second classification stage, Gurban Gurbanov’s team lost to the Czech club Victoria. Unable to keep the winning score in Baku, the representative of Aghdam missed the chance to reach the playoffs of the Champions League after a missed goal in the last minute. Garabagh made its way to the Euroleague after a draw (1:1) in the second match but failed to take advantage of the first game although the opponent was in the minority. For the third time in its history, the champion of Azerbaijan managed to raise to the group stage of the Euroleague after winning the fourth stage of the classification in Gothenburg.

For the first time in the history of Azerbaijani football, Garabagh had two victories there and gained 7 points. They won one opponent at home and on away match, and was the best by the number of goals scored. Garabagh was close to be in 1/16. It was necessary to win Fiorentina in the last meeting to guarantee this. But they lost at home with the score 1:2 and could not leave the group.

 In this season, the champion of Azerbaijan has demonstrated more entertaining football in European competition. The main objective was the group stage of the Champions League. But they could not reach it. They also failed to get into the playoffs in Euroleague. After demonstrating highest play spirit in matches with PAOK, Gurbanov’s team scored 6 points. And in a duel with the Czech team Slovan, which was considered as an outsider after the draw, Garabagh got only 1 point. It was this draw with the Czech team in Baku that was the main reason of failure to play in the playoffs. They had to win Slovan in Baku to be able to leave the group.

Another interesting moment was the unexpected victory of PAOK over Fiorentina in Italy in the penultimate round. Winning with a score of 3:2 thanks to a last-minute goal, the Greeks made everybody doubt. It is no secret that Greece has close relationship with Italy. The fact that PAOK’s controversial president, one of the richest men in Greece, Ivan Savvidi, has business in Italy gave good reasons for these doubts. In addition, mistakes in Fiorentina’s defense line visible at the last goal scored by PAOK made the game look like a pre-planned “scenario”...

But the main reason of stopping the fight in the group stage should be sought internally. Garabagh has not solved the problems in defense and attack in this season of. The team had not no strong forwards or defenders. Reynaldo, who was promising two years ago, could not save the team in European competition. The problem were clearly felt in most of the games. On the other hand, it is illogical to demand yet another expensive transfer from Garabagh under current circumstances. The presence of eight clubs in the Premier League, lack of worthy opponents, limited number of foreign players in the team do not allow Gurban Gurbanov to carry out reforms in team composition. The matches played in European competition identified the need for at least one new forward in Garabagh. It would be nice to make this transfer in the winter and in the summer to be fully prepared for the European competition. The team’s captain Rashad Sadigov, as well as Maxim Medvedev, Badawi Huseynov, Dani Quintana and Dino Ndlov have proved to be the best players in Euroleague matches.

One cannot consider Gabala a loser either. For the second time in a row, the club is playing in the Europa League. Undoubtedly, the Ukrainian specialist Roman Grigorchuk is the best coach in club's history. Under his leadership, Gabala, as in 2015, joined the fight in the first classification stage of the Euroleague, overcame all tours and won a ticket to the group stage. In addition, for the first time in Europe, Gabala managed to make it to two consecutive seasons. Another success was the dismissal of the fight in the third stage of the classification of the famous French club Lille. The victory over this team put an end to the fear syndrome of Azerbaijani clubs in Big Five Team. Winning tickets for the group stage of Euroleague demonstrates stable performance, which is a positive side of Grigorchuk’s work.

However, the game in the group was not successful for the coach. No points earned in the group games was anti-record in the history of Azerbaijani football. In addition, among the 48 teams fighting in the group stage of the Euroleague, only Gabala failed to score any points. Perhaps as an excuse, it would be appropriate to refer to the fact that the opponents were too strong. However, the adventurous methods of Grigorchuk in most of the matches, losses in matches where the team was in the lead, serve as a basis for serious reflection.

As for the composition of Gabala, the foreign players lead in the team. Unfortunately, none of our nationals has an ability to fight on the level of European club players. Among the distinguished Azerbaijani players, we can indicate Rashad Sadigov and the new transfer - Ruslan Gurbanov only.

Thus, the Euroleague ended for both Garabagh and Gabala. Now the clubs will focus on the championship and the Country Cup. The real battle for these titles will be between these two teams. In this regard, the activity of clubs during the winter transfer is important. If they focus on winning the title only in Azerbaijan, there is no need to make changes in the compositions. If one intends to write a new page in the history of the Champions League and the Europa League, then we need to strengthen the teams and to remove the weak players.

COACHES ABOUT THE EUROPA LEAGUE

Gurban Gurbanov, Head Coach of Garabagh: “In the European Cup, we have gained a lot of experience. Matches with the strongest teams of the continent played a peculiar role in the development of our players. We really wanted to go to the playoffs. But we failed. It should be noted that the rivals were strong. Today, Italian football is much stronger than ours. Although in the last match we wanted to win as a team, we did not have enough experience. To strengthen our development is necessary in the national championship. We are not looking for reasons on the side. We just want to have more powerful clubs. Then we can play safely on European stadiums as well”.

Roman Grigorchuk, Head Coach of Gabala: “I thank our players. We had a very difficult match. We are sorry that remained in the group with no points. I remember the matches in which we were in the lead. We lost them because of our mistakes. It should be emphasized that our rivals in the group were also strong. Gabala has been among the weakest of these clubs. For the team, this season is a history. To pass the new season in European competition further, it is important to work hard”.