UNEXPECTEDLY, YET CONFIDENTLY!

The first decade of June were rich in sporting events in many countries. But the present the national futsal team of Azerbaijan brought to its fans was not only the greatest, but also the most unexpected. The Azerbaijani team defeated Romania (1-0) in the final match of the EMF miniEURO 2022 continental tournament held on June 11. Thus, the national team became European mini-football champion for the first time in its history.

Bare facts

In fact, the European Futsal (one of the types of indoor football) Championship was held for the tenth time. Slovakia hosted it for the second time on June 4-11, 2022 in Kosice. Although the tournament is not organised by UEFA or FIFA, the European futsal championship still attracts considerable interest from fans.

The Romanian national team has traditionally been regarded as the favourite of the championship (six-times champion). The championship in Kosice was held at the Steel Arena and featured 24 teams divided into six groups. The Azerbaijani team initially was part of the  group that included teams from Albania, Spain and Romania. The top two group runners-up and the four best third-placed teams qualified for the second round of the tournament.

Azerbaijan beat their opponents in the preliminary stages with confidence. After defeating Spain (5-1) and Albania (1-0) in the group, in the play-offs it left no chance against Israel (3-0), and then defeated the host of the tournament – Slovakia (1-0). In the semi-finals, the Azerbaijani national team defeated Kazakhstan (3-2), while Romania defeated Bulgaria (4-0). The final match against the Romanian national team was tense and the author of the only goal was Seymur Mammadov, who did this in the 25th minute of the match.

This is the first time in history that the Azerbaijani national team wins the continental championship and only the second participation in the tournament. The previous championship held in 2018 was unsuccessful for the national futsal team.

To Kosice for first place

Interestingly, the team itself was almost certain to win the championship in Slovakia.  That's what the author of the winning goal, the forward of the national futsal team Seymur Mammadov said in his interview with azerisport.com: "We were confident that we would become champions. Even before the championship we stated that we were going to Slovakia only to be the best team of the tournament. Our head coach said about it too. If you ask me how I feel about being a European champion, for the first time I am experiencing this feeling, which is impossible to express with words".

As to the secret of success, Seymur Mammadov said: "We were successful because we are a very friendly team. Also, being a team that consists of local players only creates a completely different atmosphere. Thanks go to our coaching staff who put together such a team.

“As to my goal in the final match, perhaps it is a dream of every footballer to score such a goal at a continental or world championship, especially in the final stage. We played a one-two with Bakhtiyar Soltanov. I don’t even need to think when playing with him. Bakhtiyar can play football with his eyes shut," Mammadov said.

Against six-time Euro winners

David Kerimi, the tournament's best goalkeeper, also shared his opinion on the championship: "My team played well, and that's the result.” He said the initial challenge for the team was the qualification stage for the tournament, but then "it played better with each match, thanks to the country's support". The game in quarterfinals against Slovakia (1-0) was the key match of the championship. "Our opponent was strong, but so were the fans that supported them from the arena. Referees also supported them at the end of the game. After that victory, we believed we could win the tournament too," Kerimi said.

Speaking about the decisive match against Romania (1-0), the goalkeeper said: "We played against the six-time Euro winners. They have reached the final stage of various tournaments seven times before that. But we remained united enough and we had nothing to lose. It was our second tournament anyway.”

Kerimi also commented on the interest of several European clubs in him after winning the title: "Like you, I have only heard about it. There is nothing concrete for now.” When asked if he was ready to play for foreign clubs, Kerimi said: "Everything depends on funding. If it is the same as here, I will stay home. Minifootball in Azerbaijan will develop further".