WHEN TOMORROW COMES?

Sabah is a football team playing in the Azerbaijani championship. It has recently drawn attract the attention of specialists with its new style of play. In May 2023, Murad Musayev's team became the silver medallist of the domestic championship for the first time. It is also known for its successful debut in European cups. The club joined the UEFA Conference League from the second qualifying round thanks to two victories – over RFS (Latvia) and the Serbian FC Partizan (2:0) in Baku.  The team then suffered a setback on the away match after a penalty shootout with the Serbs, who set the same score with which they lost in Baku. Thus, the Azerbaijani club completed its debut in the Conference League at the third qualifying stage.

Specialists pay attention to the fact that Partizan's budget is four times higher than that of Sabah, although the Serbs faced financial problems in the third qualification stage. Sabah is also lucky to be the first Azerbaijani club to ever defeat Partizan.

Despite Sabah's lack of experience in European Cups, which was sensible in the return match, Murad Musayev (40) managed to add intrigue to the Azerbaijani championship and win the sympathy of the fans.

Below is our interview with Murad MUSAYEV about the prospects of Sabah and football in general.

"What is the first thing one needs to succeed in football?"

"I believe in discipline only. It is very important. As soon as I arrived in Azerbaijan, I said that I would impose hard discipline within the team."

"How long did it take you to get used to Azerbaijan?"

"Every country, every nation has its own specific features. One has to be delicate with Azerbaijanis. Sharp criticism can upset or even offend them.  You have to find a golden mean between praise and criticism."

"You've been known as a quick-tempered person since your tenure in Russia. We can see your character in Azerbaijan as well. Do you blame yourself after the games?"

"In some matches I get not satisfied with the referees. I have seen a lot of things in football, I understand many subtleties. In Russia, if they don't want your team to win, they do it more carefully. I realise that I am behaving wrongly, but the referees should also treat my team with respect. You can't show a single episode in which one of the referees helped Sabah. In a number of decisive matches their verdicts were against us. I understand that my actions harm both myself and the team - I get a red card, we are fined, I am nervous, I cannot sleep at nights. But I cannot remain indifferent to what I see. We need to improve refereeing."

"What is the progress at the Sabah academy?"

"There is a coordinator from Croatia working at the academy. One of the reasons he was appointed to this post is our knowledge about the high level of Croatian football in general. Last season I maintained closer ties with the youth teams. We met with coaches, exchanged opinions. I am ready to support the academy if necessary. I am currently leading a seminar there, for example. However, so far my communication has been limited to the youth squad."

"What can you say about Sabah's performance in the current European Cup season?"

"We could perform better."

"Why did your team lose to Partizan in the away match?"

"The game did not run the way we wanted it to. We gave the opponent a free hand on the field. They were rushing forward with all their potential, which allowed us to launch swift counterattacks. But we failed to take advantage of the situation.

"Four European Cup matches gave us a lot of experience, which many of our players did not have. Of course, it was disappointing to lose because of the penalty. But we need to work on our mistakes and move on."

"In the current season, we saw that your team was on par with Garabagh in the games against the Aghdam club. How would you describe your weak sides during the season?"

"We need to concentrate on the quality of games in the first place. If we succeed, the quality of training will improve accordingly. This season we have made a step forward in terms of the gameplay. Although the match with Besiktas was a friendly, Sabah showed aggressive, fast football. If we can build on that and strengthen the team with a few transfers, I think we can do better."

"Will you leave Sabah after the end of your contract or do you plan to stay for some more time?"

"I like Baku very much. I can say the same about the players I work with, the management and staff of the club. I have met many good people here. If the players and management of the club did not trust me, it would be impossible to guarantee the success we have achieved so far. The management does a lot for the club.

"There was not a single day that I regretted visiting Azerbaijan. I like everything here, my family is comfortable. We have plans for trainings and transfers. I do not know what will happen later. I can suddenly get an offer, which I will not be able to refuse. I cannot promise anything. But Sabah is all I can think of now".