COMFORTABLE SENSATION

The qualifying tournament of the Euro-2020 does not run well for the national team of Azerbaijan. After four consecutive defeats, the team received at home the Croatian national team, the silver medallist of the 2018 World Cup. Although everyone expected that Croatians win the game, the Azerbaijani team won their first point by tying a draw.

After the recent defeats from the national teams of Hungary (1:3) and Slovakia (1:5), the number of fans of the national team has significantly decreased. Since the Azerbaijani football players could not get points after the first four games of the qualifying round, their fans did not expect heroism from the team even at the meeting with Croatia. However, our players successful showed their potential to Croatians.

The start of the match was not promising for Azerbaijani team after it was fined with a penalty when the ball hit the hand of Anton Krivotsyuk in the penalty area. Forward of Real Madrid Luca Modric successfully scored a goal. But the missed goal sobered the Azerbaijani team encouraging it to throw a punch against the opponent.

In fact, that day the Azerbaijani team could lose with a crushing score if not the superb performance of Emil Balayev, a young debutant of the Azerbaijani national team. As a goalkeeper of the team, he prevented 7 real scoring chances during the match, violating all the plans of the opponent. It is no coincidence that after the match, the Croats expressed that they were impressed by our goalkeeper. Another hero of the match was Temkin Khalilzadeh, a footballer of the local football club Sabah. Khalilzadeh entered the penalty area by beating four players in Messi style, and hit the gate of Croatians with an accurate blow.

In each qualifying round, the Azerbaijani team achieves a sensational result with one of the strongest teams in its group, which apparently a sign of an unstable game. We should definitely pay tribute to the high performance of goalkeeper Emil Balayev and defender Bahlul Mustafazadeh. During the first half, the young goalkeeper saved the team from four scoring chances. We should also thank the Gabala FC for Bahlul Mustafazadeh's performance. His movement around the field, choice of position, and self-confidence are beyond praise. It is also worth to mention a beautiful goal from Temkin Khalilzadeh. Before that he had made a similar raid into the opponent’s penalty area, but had to hit the ball with his idle right foot, after which the ball bounced off the Croatian player. The second attempt was more successful. By the way, we should also mention a positive performance of Ramil Sheydayev, who continues his sports career as a legionnaire in one of the Russian clubs. He deserves all the good words for his choice of position on the field, speed and dribbling.

The head coach of the Azerbaijani national team, Nikola Yurchevich, expressed an interesting opinion after a draw with Croatia in Baku: “I am happy for the result and the performance of my team. I am proud of my players. We played against the second strongest team in the world. I am a Croat, but today I am an Azerbaijani from the bottom of my heart. Recently, we have not been able to achieve results, despite good games. But today we did it. The whole team and the fans deserve it. I'm too emotional, it's hard for me to talk. I express my gratitude to our fans. I especially want to note their support during the second half of the game.”

Yurchevich said that there are two options for the Azerbaijani team: “I am open to criticism. It is impossible to predict the outcome of the game if we played with other players. Our stance against the national teams of Hungary and Slovakia was week indeed. Our main problem is that the level of physical fitness of the team is low. Today we have two options. First, achieve results at all costs. Secondly, think about the future. Today we have Ramil Sheydayev, Omar Buludov, Anton Krivotsyuk, Mahir Emreli, Renat Dadashov and others. They will become the backbone of the team in the future."

One point earned in the match with the Croatian national team does not change the position of the Azerbaijani team in the standings, which remains in last place, but it helps to assess the future situation. According to the results of the Euro 2020 qualifying round, Maxim Medvedev and other experienced players will end their career in the next few years. Therefore, it is important to give priority to young athletes. Emil Balayev plays in Kazakhstan, and Ramil Sheydayev plays in a Russian club. Therefore, it is necessary to support the transfer of Bahlul Mustafazadeh to a foreign team. It is impossible to nurture players of European level in the national championship with eight competing clubs only. Therefore, along with Bahlul, the life of a legionnaire can help and benefit Mahir Emrali.

Given the young age of Emil Balayev, Ramil Sheydayev, Mahir Madatov and Bahlul Mustafazadeh, a more confident game can be expected from the team. The current cycle is actually over. Young players should be given a chance at games with the national teams of Hungary, Wales and Slovakia. It is urgent to form the backbone of the next qualification round.

Another point concerns the stadium of the national team. Baku Olympic Stadium is magnificent. It is considered one of the best stadiums in the world, although it is not successful for the national team. The arena, which can accommodate 68,500 fans, is rarely empty. But the voices of the fans do not reach the field. In this sense, a large arena is an excellent stadium for rivals, but a problem for us. Historically, the team held home games at the Tofig Bahramov stadium. It takes time to get used to the new arena. Therefore, it would be advisable to hold the remaining matches at the 8th kilometre stadium.

Any game is good with its results, especially football. At the club level, the country is represented by Garabagh, which, with its stable achievements, every year seeks to enter the group stage of European competitions. Unfortunately, this situation cannot be seen in the national team, because only local football players play here plus several naturalised legionnaires. In this sense, the lifting of the limit on the number of legionnaires in clubs will contribute to more local players working and getting experience as legionnaires in foreign clubs.