THE LONG ROAD TO THE TOP

Football fans have less than a month left until the beginning of the next championship, which is to take place in Brazil. For the moment Azerbaijan's footballers are strangers to this festive event. For the fans of Azerbaijan's football championship, the current win in the "Topaz premiere league" was marked by tense matches, the resignations of private coaches and also the gold medals won by Agdam's "Qarabag" club, which was previously the champion back in the remote past in 1993.

One of the country's best coaches, Qurban Qurbanov, who is in charge of the "Qarabag" club, was able to get together a team whose performance is consistently good. The championship won by representatives of Agdam was achieved by the efforts of all the footballers, but the Brazilian Reynaldo occupies a particular place. Having been a striker in the championship for 22 years, he has been a real headache for all his rivals. It is no accident that most of the experts are in favour of the Brazilian becoming a naturalised Azerbaijani, so that he can join the national squad of Azerbaijan. Besides him, [Portuguese Hugo] Almeida, [Brazilian] Chumbinho, Rasad Sadigov, Vuqar Nadirov and other "Qarabag" players showed their best side.

 "Inter", the silver prize-winner in the championship, made a worthy spurt in the championship, but six defeats at the start, however, did not allow the "bankers" to achieve their goal. The Kakhaber Tskhadadze team was able to pull itself together in time and gain second place, although it was at the end of the tournament table in the results of the first round.

 "Neftci" have changed their trainer twice in this season. After their unfortunate performance at the European Cup, Boyukaga Haciyev resigned, after which his assistant Tarlan Ahmadov was put in charge of the team for three months. But he conceded his post to Nazim Suleymanov last autumn. But the well-known veteran only managed to hold onto his post for three months too and in the winter he handed the reins back to B. Haciyev.

Having failed to consolidate the team during the winter transfer period, "Neftci" did not manage to get into the championship. The only consolation for the "black and whites" at the moment is that they will be able to play in the country's cup.

"Qabala" had its best season. Besides its successful performance in the championship, Yuriy Semin's team managed to get through to the final of the cup as well. The outcome of the current season was that Qabala's players won the right to become members of the League of Europe. If the team is able to win the Cup of Azerbaijan, then Semin's contract may be extended.

The "Baki" [Baku] club was one of the unlucky ones of the season. Although it has the best conditions in the country, it was not able to bolster its aspirations to attain high places. "Baki" went out of the championship race in the early stages and could not even gain a place among the medal winners. In the 35th round moreover the capital's footballers refused to play against "Qabala" as they had not been paid their wages. As a result, the team remained on the side-lines in the European cup.

The season was also an unsuccessful one for "Xazar-Lankaran" [Khazar Lankaran]. In their anniversary tenth season the "southerners" changed their coaches twice. After tearing up their contract with the famous John Toshack in December, "Xazar-Lankaran" offered Mustafa Denizli the job. But the Turkish expert could not achieve any tangible improvement and also resigned.

Zaqatala's "Simurq" club took seventh place in the country's championship. The team's poor performance was connected with problems in its make-up, since most of the budget had been spent on the club's infrastructure, and not on transfers. As a result "Simurq" waged a struggle for the right to retain its place in the first league and was able to attain its goal.

Although it made a good start, the "AZAL" club only came eighth in the final results of the championship. In the spring the club's management pensioned off Vaqif Sadigov, and the new coach, Tarlan Ahmadov began training for the forthcoming season.

The "Ravan" and "Sumqayit" clubs were outsiders in the championship. In an attempt to cultivate young footballers, "Sumqayit" has been forced to open the doors to league players. The replacement of Sahin Diniyev by the Turkish expert Guvenc Kurtar did not prevent "Ravan" from coming last.

The "Araz-Naxcivan" club, which managed to break into the premier league in its starting season, was the supreme leader in the first division of the championship of Azerbaijan

In accordance with the results of the championship, in a few months' time, Agdam's "Qarabag" club will start to play in the League of Champions, and will also battle against the "Inter" and "Neftci" clubs, in the European League. 

"Qarabag's" head coach Qurban QURBANOV shared his worries regarding the championship and the plans for the forthcoming season with R+.

- We congratulate you on winning the championship! What does Qurban Qurbanov feel about this?

- That's a difficult question. It is hard to put it into words. To be a champion when you are a player is one thing, but it is quite a different matter when you are a coach. "Qarabag" has become the winner of a long marathon. Over this period we have won matches against strong opponents, and have shown with our important victories that we are worthy of the gold medals.

- What played the most important part in your victory?

- The way the team played. Each of our footballers fought for the championship. "Qarabag's" strength lies in its unity and selflessness. The management has created splendid conditions for us, and we have done everything that we possibly could. It is splendid to be the champion. But it is more important to develop Azerbaijani football. I give every footballer my thanks.

- To whom are you dedicating your victory?

- "Qarabag's" success comes from its fans. They were by our side in every one of our wins and defeats. Most of all, this victory belongs to our internal migrants who have been forced to abandon their homeland. Their support gave us strength.

- Is it difficult to be "Qarabag's" head coach?

- Of course, this is not an easy club to be with. Nagornyy Karabakh is a sore point for us. To be in charge of the team bearing that name is both a difficult and a worthy task. I always tell the footballers that "Qarabag" should occupy the top place on the tournament table. It doesn't suit us to be at the bottom. 

- Are serious changes going to be made in the make-up of the squad? Do you intend to boost the team with new players?

- New players are going to join the team. At the present time, we are holding talks with several league players. Some people will be leaving. This is quite normal in football. The old players give up their places to new ones. We need to strengthen the team before the League of Champions.

- For several years now "Qarabag" has remained at the play-off stage in the European cups. Can we expect it to get through to the group stage in the current season?

- It is too early to talk about that yet. We are doing everything we can to make sure the club is successful. There hasn't been a draw yet. The players are taking a rest at the moment. We shall begin training in June. But I do have one request to make. Don't praise the players too much, don't blow this championship out of all proportion. We only did our job.

 - You let a number of players go home after you had enrolled for the championship. Does that mean that the last rounds in the tournament were not so important?

- It was my decision to let Reynaldo, Chumbinho and Almeida go. I didn't have to let them go. But Reynaldo had cracked a rib in the game with "Inter". He even asked for a replacement in the second half, but I made him stay on the field, as a result he scored two goals. But by the morning the pain had become more intense. Therefore, in those circumstances it would not have been right to keep him in the team. Chumbinho had also worked hard enough. According to the statistics, he had played in more games than anyone else. And there's a long road to Brazil. I think that we have taken the right decision. I gave him the right to take a rest, since that is very important after a hard season.

- It is very pleasing that "Qarabag" is to be represented in Europe. Would you like to tell us what you think about that?

- The name "Qarabag", which represents Agdam and Azerbaijan, came up in the draw. This makes us proud. We shall try to play worthily. We shall battle to please our fans once again.