SLOVAK SUCCESS OF FUTSAL PLAYERS

Although the national football team of Azerbaijan does not indulge us with successes, futsal players please us with victories with regular consistency.

The last winning news came from Slovakia – the Azerbaijani national team made it to the final of the European Futsal Championship for the third time in a row.

In the group stage for the finals of the European Championship, the Azerbaijani futsal players won all three matches: they beat Norway 6-0, Bosnia and Herzegovina –3-2 and Slovakia – 2-1. Thus, the Azerbaijani team took first place in the group and made it to the European Championship, which will take place from 28 January to 8 February 2014 in Antwerp, Belgium.

The successful performance of the Azerbaijani team also affected its ranking – the team led by Jose Alesio da Silva moved two steps higher, settling in 13th place. Of course, no one was surprised by the fact that the Azerbaijani national team made it to the final of the continental championship as the winner of the group. On the contrary, everyone was waiting only for the best result. Only in this way, could we leave the bitter experience of failures at previous world and continental championships in the past.

At this group stage, the victory of the Azerbaijani national team in all three matches attracted attention. In the successful performance of the national futsal team, a special role belongs to its leaders, especially Biro Jade. Like the 41-year-old Brazilian, Alves also became a nightmare for his opponents. Alesio’s compatriot, whom the coach did not particularly trust in recent years, gained experience in the Georgian team Iberia. It is not by chance that the tactics of the head coach in the starting lineup were based on the Brazilians, and the success in Slovakia confirmed the correctness of this move. Another important component of the success was that all conditions were created for Alesio before the tournament. The friendly match with Georgia a week before the race gave a lot of support to the Azerbaijani team.

The president of the Futsal Federation of Azerbaijan (FFA), Zaur Axundov, told R+ that before the European Championship, the team will be trained at a high level.

"We will organize two training camps for the national team. We need, first of all, to enhance the physical fitness of the futsal players. To do this, we are in talks to bring a specialist in physical training. This coach will hold practices without the ball in summer and 10-12 days before the European Championship. In futsal 60-70 per cent of games are decided by speed, and everyone prefers fast play. We will invite 15-20 players for the training camp. Of course, the national team will be formed directly before the continental championship. Our goal is to return home with a successful result," Axundov said.

According to him, the main secret of the success in Slovakia is the good atmosphere in the team and the training of the futsal players. "The Azerbaijani national team held all the matches at the highest level. They won the first match with Norway quite easily. But Bosnia and Herzegovina and Slovakia were saving their forces for our team and fought relentlessly. But the skills of the Azerbaijani futsal players allowed them to complete both games in their favour," the FFA president said.

He noted that the Azerbaijani team was a clear favourite in the group. But at the same time, Zaur Axundov was not entirely happy with the team's performance. "Even though we made our way to the European Championship with the maximum result, I am not entirely happy with the team's performance. We still have 8 months to the continental championship. Of course, there will be changes. With the consent of the head coach, we will involve 4-5 young futsal players in the training camp and prepare them for the World Championship. The basis of the national team is players older than 30 years. For them it is difficult to hold three games in a short period of time. Sometimes a player can make such a mistake that everyone is surprised. Our failure at the last continental championship in Croatia should not be repeated in Belgium. But I am proud to say that in Europe everyone knows and respects the Azerbaijani futsal team," Axundov said.

After the failure in Croatia, there were rumours about the possible dismissal of the head coach José Alesio. Even Slovakia could be the last chance for the coach. For the time being, the fate of Alesio has not been defined. The job of the head coach will be discussed at AFFA and then a final decision will be made. But the results of the futsal team, which has made it to the final stage of the continental tournament three times over the past five years, mean that it is worth extending the contract with Alesio.

The fact that the Azerbaijani futsal team made it to the European Championship is just the beginning of a long journey. The main success of the team will be making it to the "Final Four", especially as the Azerbaijani team achieved such a result in 2010. In the group stage for the finals of the European Championship, the Azerbaijani futsal players won all three matches. In Europe everyone knows and respects the Azerbaijani futsal team.