A SHOOT TO THE CONFLICT ZONE

Despite the high attention Azerbaijan is paying to the development of sports, Azerbaijani sportsmen unfortunately rarely participate in continental and world tournaments in team sports. In this case, women's volleyball can be considered an exception.

In the recent past, Azerbaijani volleyball players delighted their fans with the European Cup, became world champions at club level and demonstrated excellent performances at the European Championships. This year, the women's volleyball team of Azerbaijan won a ticket to the continental championship once again (for the fifth time in a row). We talked with the vice-president of the Volleyball Federation and head coach of the Azerbaijani women's team, Faiq Qarayev, about the result the team expects, the level of the athletes' preparedness and the situation in women's volleyball in general.

- Your charges have become permanent participants in European championships. Did you believe from the beginning that you would pass this time too?

- Every coach believes in his team. Despite the difficulties, we consolidated our right to perform at the European Championships for the fifth time in a row. We played in the continental championship for the first time in 2005 when we finished fourth. In those years, Azerbaijan had only one volleyball club - Azerrail. All volleyball players played as one team. They prepared for the games of the Champions League and national team on the basis of one and the same system. Accordingly, it was also easier to coach the national team, as the athletes came to the team in the good shape. Now volleyball is booming in the country. The number of clubs has grown, and three teams are playing in the Champions League. There are difficulties associated with the fact that the national team players do not play in the national championship. To achieve bigger goals, clubs recruit prominent foreign athletes and the local ones are used as substitutes. This creates problems for the national team. If a volleyball player is not playing, his performance in prestigious competitions is impossible.

- And yet, does the influx of foreign players into the country hinder or help the development of local volleyball?

- Spending a lot of money on foreign players, clubs are not interested in keeping these expensive players in reserve. It is thanks to the foreign players that the championship of Azerbaijan is currently one of the leading championships in Europe. In our time, foreign players are needed. But we cannot forget about our own players. When the England failed to get to the World Cup, head coach Sven-Goran Eriksson explained the failure as follows: "Owen did not play, and that's why we lost." Therefore, if in football one of the 11 players is not playing, this immediately makes itself felt. In our volleyball team, 6 people are playing, and 4 of them were injured before the qualifiers. Imagine our state. Because of problems with the first team, we had to rely on youth. And they spend the Azerbaijani championship on the bench.

- Maybe it is time to think about a limit on foreign players?

- We will discuss this issue at the Presidium of the Federation. We want to apply the limit from next year. I know about the desire to strengthen the team. But for the future of Azerbaijani volleyball, two local volleyball players should play in each club. Two players in each of the seven clubs - that's 14 athletes. And if they play in the local league, it means that they will come prepared to the national team. The best volleyball players of the world come to Baku today to play in our clubs. In this case, we have to learn from them. Young people should have a lot to learn from foreign players.

- 7-8 years ago, you wanted Azerbaijan to have a strong championship. But now, as you said, it is a reality ...

- In martial arts, we have a lot of success. But it is hard to succeed in collective sports. 10 years ago, Azerbaijan had no normal volleyball hall or even professional balls. Thanks to the great attention of President Ilham Aliyev, we have reached the current level. You are right, our desire was to have a strong national championship, and today the Azerbaijani championship is no inferior to the championships of Italy or Spain. In some cases, we are even ahead of them. Currently, our clubs are among the best teams of the continent. There have been big achievements: we won the European Grand Prix, two clubs won the European Cup, and Rabita became a world champion. This year, the team will perform at the Club World Cup again. We wish them to retain their title.

- Azerbaijani volleyball was not represented only at the Olympics. How do you assess the prospects of our team's participation in the 2016 Games in Brazil?

- In volleyball, even world champions sometimes cannot get to the Olympics. We want to increase our ranking by performing in the finals of the European and world championships. We are going to go to the Games with a high rating. But we must not forget that the new leader of world volleyball was recently elected. It is possible that he might change the system.

- On the way to the European championship, your charges scored confident victories. Obviously, psychological training was at the appropriate level as well.

- It is no accident that we won a place in the European Championship. Previously, we had no substitutes. Now there is no problem with the substitutes. I was very pleased with the victory 3-0 in six games in a row. If we get a chance to heal the injuries of the volleyball players, we can achieve success in the continental championship. But before that, we want to win the World Cup qualifying stage. We have a good team, in which two volleyball players are about 2 metres tall. This is a very important factor. But winning a place in the championship is not everything. We still have to represent Azerbaijan with credit.

- What results is the team focused on?

- The draw is not cast yet. Predictions can only be made after the draw. But I must say now that we have ambitious plans. There are no weak teams at the continental championship. Our minimum goal is to get into the top six and maximum - to win a medal.

- What can you say about the preparedness of the club, which will compete in the European Cup? We won the European Cup, and can we now expect to win the Champions League?

- As you know, we had no such successes before. Now we want to win every game. I am confident that in the coming years, we will win the Champions League. Azerrail and Rabita are experienced teams and go to the competition with high hopes. Locomotive also has a good team. We are waiting for success from all three teams.

- In conclusion, we would like to learn about the federation's plans for the immediate future...

- As I said, in women's volleyball, a limit on foreign players is going to be introduced next year. This will help the team. Attention to men's volleyball has also increased. We invited a specialist from Ukraine. I think the championship will be interesting from the new season. Men's volleyball clubs will get stronger. The development of women's volleyball will affect men's volleyball. I am glad that in all clubs, local coaches are helping foreign specialists. Specialists who gain experience from strong coaches are the future of our volleyball.