FIRST VICTORY FOR VOGTS

Azerbaijan's national football team finally have a small reason for joy. Having beaten Liechtenstein in an away match with a score of 2:0, the team moved up from the last line in the fourth qualifying group of the 2010 World Cup. So, Berti Vogts' team have scored four points before the final match against Russia which lost its chance of automatic qualification for the World Cup after a home defeat from Germany (0:1).

The "midgets" were put in their place

Victory was simply essential for Azerbaijani footballers, some of whom seemed to begin losing faith in their own strength and team. This is understandable, because when you cannot beat the "midgets" even at home, as it was in the first round, there is a reason to think about many things. Although our team is one of the outsiders of European football, the match against Liechtenstein had to answer many questions. Especially as throughout the history of qualifiers, our rivals have had only one victory - they beat Azerbaijan in the late 1990s. Naturally, our team was thirsty for revenge, especially as the match was their last chance to really increase their points and cheer themselves up at the end of the campaign.

In general, the result of our squad was a success, which cannot be said about their play. It still leaves much to be desired, and, in some periods of the game, our team demonstrated academic football, although the subtext of the match clearly did not mean this. In the end, everything was decided in the second half when Vaqif Cavadov drove the ball into the net after a sweeping combination and at the end of the match when Elvin Mammadov punished the rival team for the lapse in their defence. Elvin is the top scorer of the team in the current cycle of qualifiers, as he scored a goal against Finland. But if the goal did not help then, and the host team lost to the northerners, in Vaduz the picture was quite different. Of course, in terms of tournament prospects, this win is nothing, but it can give us confidence at the end of the tournament.

Of course, the result also plays into the hands of Azerbaijan coach Berti Vogts for whom the match was a kind of test. No wonder, because if the team had lost points in Vaduz, AFFA would probably have shown him the door, and now there is a chance that the contract will be extended until the next selection cycle. In any case, the German specialist hopes to continue his work in Azerbaijan where he is happy with everything but the performance of his team, which could be better. Only now, have the team begun to acquire some style, looking good in the matches against Finland and Germany. Liechtenstein were beaten with mediocre play, but the main thing in this case is the score on the scoreboard. And it was in our favour, and now we have to bring the tournament to its logical conclusion and to work flat out in the fight against Russia at the Tofiq Bahramov Republican Stadium on 14 October.

What to expect from the championship?

Meanwhile, six rounds have already been played in the national championship, so we can draw some interim conclusions. Four teams at once have settled at the head of the standings and are waiting for World Cup 2010 qualifiers to be completed in order to take a dive into the aura of the national championship again. So what are the surprises presented by the championship?

The main event is certainly the spirited start of Mugan. The Salyan team, which probably did not even think about a place on the podium before the contest, set the pace throughout the championship without even realizing it. And for the time being, they can maintain their pace despite their defeat in the sixth round from Xazar-Lankaran with a score of 0:2. This was the first failure of Kemal Alispahic's team in the season, but they still retained their lead in the standings. To be more precise, there are four leaders at the moment - Mugan is followed by Simurq, Qarabag and Inter, and the latter comes first according to additional indicators.

Xazar-Lankaran cannot boast of stability yet, as they tied twice and now have to catch up. In any case, the club still has a chance to catch up with its rivals, because the championship is just getting started. Another thing is that in recent years, the southerners have been playing unstably, often losing points in home games, which could haunt them in the current competition. So the pause in the championship should benefit Xazar, which traditionally pursues only high-level goals and will be fighting for the first place.

 In the meantime, Simurq looks cool. They started the championship vaguely, but then were able to win three times in a row. And, most importantly, they defeated the main contenders for the title - Qarabag, Baki and Neftci - and are firmly resolved to conquer the domestic Olympus in this season. So Roman Pokora's team caught an excellent game rhythm and can aim for the highest places. Especially as in contrast to the same Baki and Qarabag, the Zaqatala team failed to perform successfully in the European Cup, and they had time to focus on the vicissitudes of the domestic tournament.

On the other hand, attention is drawn to the current status of the national champion Baki. The team currently ranks third from the bottom, having only one victory in its account, so the "Capitals" still have to go a difficult way to improve their situation. In any case, the break in the championship should do them good, and then, the team will show the usual result once again. Especially as in order to be able to fight for awards, the team need to be in the top six in the regular championship.

On the other hand, as soon as Azerbaijan's football championship took a break, it was time to change coaches. Baki and Neftci decided to replace their coaches. Gjoko Hadzievski and Boyukaga Agayev were replaced by Bulent Korkmaz and Vaqif Sadixov respectively. But time will show whether they will be able to improve the performance of their teams.

First of all, attention is drawn to the changes in the "Capitals" camp which are holders of the title. The team led by Hadzievski won the title of national champions and successfully played in the European Cup, but did not get off to a good start in the next national championship. As a result, there were two defeats from Simurq and Qarabag, after which the management of Baki decided to make personnel changes at the club. As a result, Hadzievski resigned from his post and was replaced by Bulent Korkmaz who until recently was one of the key players in the national team of Turkey. The specialist worked in the Galataraseray and will now try to rectify the situation in Baki. The coach said that he needed more than one month to assess the potential of the team and inform them of his vision of play.

Be that as it may, Baki still have to defend their title, so there is responsibility for the outcome. Moreover, it is no secret that due to the turbulent policy of transfers the "Capitals" have a composition of champions. In any case, there is a big reserve and the coach can vary the composition. Another thing is that the club cannot yet demonstrate the results that are expected of it. So in this situation, it will be quite difficult to defend the title.

At the same time, the leadership of Neftci changed as well - Sadixov who won the national cup with the team in 1995 rejoined the team. In the recent period, the club has not really pleased its fans and has been unable to win anything in the internal arena for several years, although in this season, the fans got a glimpse of hope after Neftci got off to a good start in the championship and settled at the head of the standings. But then they lost to Mugan and Simurq, so the bosses of Neftci decided to use the services of Sadixov, who is also an assistant to Berti Vogts in the national team. Therefore, he is likely to combine these positions. In short, the first six rounds of the championship proved rich not only in a purely athletic component, and with each new game, the championship becomes even more interesting.