DILEMMA

It's no secret that the Azerbaijani team is constantly in search of top players. In various competitions, our countrymen living abroad and foreign players in Azerbaijan have been brought into the national team.

However, in recent years we have been particularly unlucky with our countrymen living outside Azerbaijan in this regard. First, efforts to involve Aleksandr Samadov, who hails from Ganca, in the national team failed. Now the same story is repeating itself with Emin Mahmudov.

The former Azerbaijan head coach, Sahin Diniyev, who worked in the Russian Premier League alongside three Azerbaijani players, has stressed the need to bring Emin into the national team on several occasions. Diniyev highlighted his patriotism, as well as his great promise as a young footballer. However, later the local media reported that Emin Mahmudov did not want to play for the national team of Azerbaijan.

- We decided to ask Sahin Diniyev, who has long campaigned for this cause, what is hampering the recruitment of our compatriots who play overseas for the national team.

Everything depends on how you formulate the question. Every footballer wants to get into the national team. You just need to approach it professionally. You need to clarify to the footballer his prospects if he is involved in the team. At the time, we wanted to bring Aleksandr Samadov into the national team of Azerbaijan. It didn't happen. He even came to Baku, but then some strange problems emerged. 

- And what can you say about Emin Mahmudov?

When I worked in Terek, we spoke several times by phone. He comes from Saatli. His father was born there. We met when he played for Saturn. He is a young man attached to his country and loyal to our mentality. Then I said in my interview that we need to pay attention to Mahmudov. I even offered my services to recruit him for the national team. However, nobody was interested. A friendly was held between Xazar-Lankaran and Saturn in Antalya at the time. If you remember, Saturn won 1:0, and the only goal was scored by Mahmudov.

- Is it possible to invite Emin to Azerbaijan now?

You know, this issue is unclear right now. We did not call Mahmudov up when he played for Saturn reserves. Then he became a member of the first team, and now plays for Moscow Spartak. Spartak is a famous club. In addition, he has been called up to the Russian national youth team (under 19s). Therefore, it wouldn't be right to just call him up to Azerbaijan. More attractive conditions are needed to attract Emin Mahmudov to the Azerbaijani national team. A football player should know clearly what prospects await him in Azerbaijan. After all, if Mahmudov becomes a citizen of our country, he will be considered a foreign player in Spartak. And in Russia, there is a limit of six foreign players. In this situation, it's difficult to presume what decision the footballer himself will make.

- Perhaps, the Azerbaijani national team is not so attractive to our fellow countrymen?

Great attention is now being paid to the team, and it enjoys full support. The head of state is personally doing everything to develop sport and support athletes. We have great achievements in all sports. It's just that things are a little different in football. In this sport, you need years to achieve tangible results. However, a footballer cannot wait. Years go by. Besides that, the national team doesn't make us happy with victories so often. For a footballer who lives in Russia, the result is very important.

- Maybe, we should pay more attention to children's football? Incidentally, real efforts have been made in this direction in recent years.

The best solution is linked with children's football. We must act consistently. We must choose one option: either to look for good players abroad or to make efforts for the development of children's football. If you pay enough attention to children's football, you can find one or two top-class players in the next five to 10 years. To create a reserve for the future, we must begin with this. With regard to foreign players, we have no problems here. In Brazil and Argentina, all doors are wide open to us. In these countries, there are so many top-class players that they can't even get into ordinary clubs, not to mention the national team. Therefore, having received an interesting offer, they immediately agree to play in another country. We just need to ask ourselves: should we take this path? The best way out is to act wisely and work on a specific system.

- Perhaps, systematization should begin with the clubs?

Sure. The children's teams of the clubs represented in the Premier League should strengthen their activities. If they start to offer teams one or two 17-year-old top-class players each year, everything will be fine. In turn, if among the 17-year-olds, there emerges a couple of talented players by 19 years, it can be considered a success. If you get into the national youth team, you can expect a call-up to the national team. The appearance of just two promising young players each year will increase competition. I think that in this way we will no longer need our fellow countrymen playing abroad.