BERTIE VOGTS EARNS TRUST

The qualification campaign for the 2010 World Cup is now history for the Azerbaijani national team. The team picked up five points, four of them from the last two games against Liechtenstein (2:0) and Russia (1:1). The match against Russia in Baku demonstrated that the team is not at all without hope and can count on positive results if the team's game is well-organised.

Aiming for the future

The team's performances in most games were pretty bleak and they only really began to play in early autumn. This laid the foundation for a successful finish to the campaign. To some extent this was connected to good performances by Azerbaijani clubs in European cups this season, especially by Qarabag, who advanced all the way to the third round of the Europa League. Vaqif Cavadov, Vuqar Nadirov, Elvin Mammadov and Maksim Medvedev showed up well in those matches, convincing national team coach Bertie Vogts to select them for the final qualification matches. And this paid off - Elvin Mammadov and Vaqif Cavadov ended the campaign by scoring two goals, while Vaqif's goal against Russia deserves special mention. 

It is also worth mentioning that, despite its underdog status, the national team did not suffer a single heavy defeat, except in the game against Germany in Hanover, when the favourites put four goals past Azerbaijan. In all other games the national team conceded a maximum of two goals. Leaders have appeared in the team now and they can develop further in the next qualification campaign. The performances of goalkeeper Kamran Agayev, defender Mahir Sukurov and forward Vaqif Cavadov deserve commendation. 

On the other hand, Vogts has begun to engage younger, promising players, including Maksim Medvedev and Ruslan Abisov, who played very well in the final games. In other words, the German specialist is already building a team for the Euro-2012 qualification, in which Azerbaijan hopes to achieve much better results. Besides, Vogts is likely to stay on as national coach after winning increased trust from AFFA. Although a possible extension of his contract is still to be discussed, it is believed likely that he will stay in post, especially as AFFA managers have indicated that they are generally happy with the coach's performance. Besides, Vogts is already aware of the situation in Azerbaijani football, while a new coach would need some time to reach the same position. The national team players also support the German. 

Fifth place in the qualification group does reflect reality. While we do look superior to sixth-paced Liechtenstein, we cannot yet say that about Wales and Finland, who stand a bit higher in the table. This campaign, however, has given a new generation of players invaluable experience. We only need to wait for further development.

Foreign scouts show interest…

Meanwhile, interest in Aze-rbaijan's international players has increased considerably since the 2010 world cup qualification campaign. This is understandable, as the team gave some good performances and attracted the attention of a number of scouts. Thus, some key players may soon leave Azerbaijan.

One of the most likely candidates for transfer is Vaqif Cavadov, who looked very impressive in the second half of the season, for both Qarabag in the Europa League and for the national team. The goal scored against Russia was a milestone in his career. Vaqif started his career in CSKA Moscow's junior team, while he is now a focus of attention for Dutch club Twente, Qarabag's opponents in the third qualification round of the Europa League. The Azerbaijani club offered stiff resistance to the Dutch side, while Cavadov impressed the most. It cannot be ruled out that Twente will make a concrete offer during the next transfer window.

At the same time, keeper Kamran Agayev has been one of the biggest surprises of the qualification. It is largely thanks to him that the team managed to avoid heavy defeats. The keeper has been actively wooed by Cologne and several other German clubs. However, his current club Xazar-Lankaran are unlikely to let their first-choice goalkeeper go. Although Agayev does need to grow professionally, it is not certain that he would be a first-choice goalkeeper abroad. At the same time, the experience of playing abroad could certainly take his career to a higher level. 

Also quite popular is skipper Rasad Sadixov, who missed the last qualification games through injury. Despite this, he is being seriously considered by several Russian clubs, including Lokomotiv Moskva, not to mention a queue of teams from Turkey who know Rasad very well from his performances in the Turkish league. Sadixov himself is in no hurry to make a choice - before the start of the season he had apparently decided to continue his career in Turkey and signed a temporary deal with Qarabag, just for the Europa League matches. But, considering the club's wonderful performances in Europe and their claim to the national title this year, Rasad decided to stay. Time will show for how long.

Stadium for Olimpik 

Clubs have used the break in the national championship in different ways. Some took it easy after the intense start to the season, others were bracing themselves for a push towards the top of the table, while still others are busy building stadiums. The last holds true for Olimpik-Suvalan, who have initiated the construction of their own arena. Until recently the club played at Safa Stadium and have now started building their own ground. This is understandable - it is far more pleasant to play on one's own pitch than on a leased one. Besides, the licensing of clubs by UEFA and AFFA has become a lot more rigorous and the availability of a home stadium is now a mandatory requirement to obtain a licence. Construction started in August of last year and completion is expected soon. Construction details have been changed several times, while the latest changes were made to meet UEFA standards. 

The stadium will be quite small but cosy. There will be 3,000 seats and stands will be built on only two sides of the pitch. The stands will be five metres from the pitch, which will certainly make it enjoyable to watch football there. In other words, another nice stadium will appear in Azerbaijan soon. A hotel, training pitches and a fitness centre are also to be built around the stadium - everything that usually comes with a decent stadium.

Meanwhile, Olimpik-Suvalan is eighth in the table. This season the championship is conducted in accordance with new regulations - at the end of the regular season the six best teams will compete for medals in a two-round tournament. Thus Asgar Abdullayev's side will have to do its best to qualify for the top six. Last season Olimpik fell back slightly from the position it had achieved in the previous season, when it topped the table for a long time and only gave way in the final match.  

As for stadium construction, stadiums are also being built by Qarabag and Neftci. When their arenas receive the necessary certificates, they will be able to host European-level matches if their teams qualify. The main thing, however, is to start work - progress will follow.