STATISTICS FOR THE GERMAN MACHINE

One of the most important matches of the World Cup 2010 qualifying tournament against Germany ended quite predictably for the Azerbaijani team. It was important, not in terms of competitive strategy, given that our team no longer aspires to high places in the group, but in terms of confrontation with the three-time world champions. There was no surprise - the match at the Tofiq Bahramov Republican Stadium was marked by a 2:0 victory for the Bundesteam.

Goal-scoring chances, but no goals

Our team has not yet scored a goal against its opponents in the current campaign and head coach Berti Vogts, as well as fans, believed that his team would distinguish itself in this game, especially following the recent successes of Azerbaijani clubs in European cup competitions. Karabakh, in particular, have made everyone to talk about them in enthusiastic tones. Thus the coach did not re-invent the wheel and gambled on players from the Agdam club, using goalkeeper Farhad Valiyev, midfielders Elvin Mammadov and Vuqar Nadirov, striker Vaqif Cavadov and defender Rasad Sadixov. And, in fact, the team did very well; at least, it created goal-scoring chances, but could not convert them. The much-vaunted German defence was not so reliable either, but, in the end, it all comes down to statistics rather than chances - the Germans scored two goals, but did not concede a single one.

Admittedly, the hosts responded to their opponents' attacks with dangerous raids. Thus, the most active member of our team, Mahir Sukurov, was one on one with Robert Enke in the first minutes of the game, but did not shoot and decided to wait for the defenders. Ultimately, the chance was missed. But Germany were able to take their first goal-scoring opportunity. This episode was not even a full goal-scoring chance. Bastian Schweinsteiger received the ball in the penalty area, "swung" around the defender, and shot goalwards. Although the ball flew into the hands of the goalkeeper, he was unable to cope with the strength of Schweinsteiger's shot.

Once in the lead, the Germans did not concede territorial advantage, continuing to control the ball for lengthy periods. But there were no goal-scoring chances for a long time. Right at the end of the first half, Miroslaw Klose received a pass from the wing and headed towards the goalkeeper, but the ball hit the ground and bounced over both goalkeeper and goal. In the second half, the forward could have put the ball into the net when the ball landed on the crossbar following Mario Gomez's pass. The Germans eased off and gave the initiative to the home team, who could have scored an equalizer almost immediately. Sukurov beat two opponents in the centre of the pitch and organized a quick three-on-four attack, but was not able to make full use of the advantage.

On the other hand, as the game progressed, the visitors did not push themselves to the limit and we did not see any of Germany's original play. This was partly due to Schweinsteiger's early goal in the 11th minute, after which it became clear that the illustrious opponents would not miss out on victory. Besides, even before the match, Vogts made it clear that beating Germany was unrealistic. This is quite a strange view, given that, at the start of the campaign, the Bundesteam barely avoided defeat in Helsinki, drawing with Finland (3:3). It is clear that, as a former coach of Germany, Vogts found it difficult to prepare Azerbaijan for a game with his fellow countrymen. But there are also examples of the opposite being the case, in particular, nothing prevented Dutch Guus Hiddink, standing at the helm of the Russian team, from beating the "Orange team" in a European Cup quarterfinal. Yes, our team is not ready to beat Germany, but the whole problem is that the team do not put on a performance to be remembered in spite of defeat. Yes, our football players tried their best in the struggle with the Germans, but this was not enough to give Germany a rough time. In fact, the team did not deliver a coordinated performance, as in previous meetings.

Having won in Baku, Germany further strengthened their leadership of the group, going four points ahead of Russia, who lie second. However, Russia have a game in hand, so the winner of the group will most likely be determined in the game in Moscow.

Karabakh and Baki on the threshold of play-offs

Meanwhile, the Azerbaijani clubs which will participate in the League play-offs in Europe, could compensate for the failure of the national team. We would like to highlight Karabakh, who will play Holland's Twente. The team reached this stage of the tournament thanks to victory over Finland's Honka - after a minimum away victory, the Agdam team needed to avoid defeat at the Tofiq Bahramov Republican Stadium, and the home team met the challenge. Elvin Mammadov, who scored in Finland and opened the scoring in the return game, summoned up real courage to raise the team's play-off chances. Although Koskinen almost immediately restored the balance, all doubts about the winners were removed by Rasad Sadixov, with a powerful strike from the penalty area.

We would like to focus not so much on the sports component, but on the fact that Karabakh have been successful without having sufficient reserves. Injuries to leading players such as half-back Emin Imamaliyev who was not able to play in Baku, are becoming a real headache for the coaching staff. But, despite this, the club looks pretty confident in European cups. It is also important that Azerbaijani footballers make up the backbone of the team, and the sole foreigner was Albanian Admir Teli. So, Rasad Sadixov, Vaqif Cavadov, Vuqar Nadirov, Farhad Valiyev, Elnur Allahverdiyev and other Karabakh players could be a wonderful example to follow, especially given that there is no limit on foreigners playing in the national championship, where coach Qurban Qurbanov prefers to rely on local talent.

By the way, the young coach has shown himself in the best light, having formed a team which plays successfully in Europe. Particularly noticeable is the excellent physical condition of the players, who looked superior in the struggle with Rosenborg and in the games against Honka. The coach of this Azerbaijani team has completed his minimum task, now that the initial European Cup plans have undergone some changes, given the closeness of the group stages. However, the team now needs to dismiss Holland's Twente in the play-offs, which looks to be a difficult proposition. It was also unclear until recently whether the captain of Azerbaijan's national team, Rasad Sadixov, would remain in the team, as he agreed to help Agdam only at the start of the Europa League. It was possible that he would return to Kocaelispor, but the footballer reassured fans by saying that he will play against Twente.

Meanwhile, Baku failed to get through the third qualifying round of the Champions League. Having drawn with the Bulgarians Levski at home (0:0), Gyoko Hadjievski's team lost 0:2 in the return game in Sofia. They gave perhaps their worst performance in the current European Cup campaign, which, despite their defeat, continues. The teams knocked out in the third round of the Champions League, automatically go to the play-offs of the Europa League. At this stage, Baki will play with Basel.

In Sofia, Baki did not live up to their fans' expectations. Yes, the visitors fought for the ball in all parts of the pitch and tried to mount counter-attacks, but this did not really work. The ball did not stick to the feet of the Azerbaijani champions, and all attempts to combine ended in failure. As a result, the Brazilian giant, Felix, who was supposed to be Baki's trump card, was fed a starvation diet and had to fall back in search of the ball. Naturally, this played into the hands of the Bulgarian defenders, who did not let their opponents turn around. Yovova took advantage of the weaknesses in our defence. Although the Bulgarian goal did not change anything for Baki, given that a good draw would also take them to the play-offs of the Champions League, they failed to seriously threaten Petkov's goal. On the contrary, Levski were able to strengthen their advantage through Georgiy Khristov, who received a pass from the wing. In other words, Baki failed to make their way into the next stage of the Champions League and now switch to the Europa League, awaiting an encounter with Switzerland's Basel.