"D MINUS AGAIN"

The Azerbaijani football team has made a disastrous start to the 2010 World Cup qualifiers. They lost their first match away to Wales 1-0, then could not beat Liechtenstein at home at the Tofiq Bahramov Stadium, drawing 0-0. The result was a damning verdict on our national football and showed yet again where we really stand in the international football hierarchy.

Treacherous draw

Before the start of the qualifiers chief trainer Berti Vogts said he intended to win at least six points. But if things go on like this, our players risk ending up bottom of the qualifying group. In any case, the opening matches in the group have not inspired optimism, although we didn't look bad in the first game against Wales. But it was all cancelled out by the draw against Liechtenstein which is tantamount to a defeat.

If you look into things a bit further, then you won't be surprised at the draw. We could have lost, if hadn't been for Sasa Yunisoglu's goal-line clearance from a shot by Mario Frick. The team did not look like winning at all. Our organization was lame while our attack is a disaster. Although they had some positive moments, the team could not make the most of them and showed that they are not up to the job.

The statistics for Azerbaijan-Liechtenstein encounters were equal before the game in Baku - we had met only once before in a qualifying group and had both won at home. And football's minnows have got a lot better in recent years - they won seven points in the last qualifiers, which isn't bad at all. Unfortunately, we have nothing to boast about in competitive matches, especially recently. In recent history there's only our home win over Finland thanks to an excellent shot from Emin Imamaliyev. But that win is history and sport is also about the present and future.

So what's the reason for our recent failures? One is a lack of suitable players. You might object that Liechtenstein's players are not professional, but their top players do play in the Swiss and Austrian leagues and elsewhere. Mario Frick plays in Italy for Sienna and your blue eyes won't get you into Serie A. The only player with a foreign contract we can boast about, apart from naturalized Serb Branimir Subasic, is Sasa Yunisoglu who plays for Grotslin. So the coaching staff have had to turn to foreign players for help although they do not always produce the goods. For example, Brazilian midfielder Fabio Luis Ramim managed to get sent off against Wales for a silly foul. 

Kamran Agayev is the only player worthy of praise in the current squad. He was brilliant in Cardiff, several times saving what seemed to be certain goals, including Jason Koumas's penalty, and has nailed down his place in the starting line-up. But one game against Wales isn't conclusive and Kamran still needs experience of course. And we have games to come against Germany and Russia who will be the main contenders to lead the group.

Worthy or not worthy?

The draw against Liechtenstein has prompted a wave of discussion about the appointment of Berti Vogts as chief coach. We didn't sign him up in order to draw against these opponents. Local coaches would have been up to the job - Agasalim Mircavadov, Vaqif Sadixov, Sahin Diniyev, Asgar Abdullyaev and several other managers who have led the national team at some point. And it's not so much the draw against Liechtenstein that's depressing, since we're also a European backwater, as the performance. If we play like that against Liechtenstein, then what can we expect against Germany or Russia where we will really have to up our work-rate?

Not every foreigner can be successful in another country - it takes a special gift. Dutch manager Guus Hiddink, who is now coaching Russia, is a good example. It was under his leadership that Russia reached the European Championship semi-final. He has enjoyed success in Holland, Australia and South Korea, leading the national sides to excellent performances in the 1998, 2006 and 2002 World Cups respectively. There is no doubt about Vogts's professionalism, as he led Germany to victory in Euro-96. But he did not enjoy success with Scotland, whom he joined after Germany, or Nigeria. There may be various reasons for this but Vogts is unlikely to get impressive results in Azerbaijan, especially since there is a lack of the necessary footballing infrastructure, pitches and other essentials. The German coach does not have any of this so he has to work with what he has. So he said straightaway that it is not worth the team expecting serious results, meaning in the games against Germany and Russia. And now his charges have already brought him a minus by drawing with Liechtenstein. Of course, this was not part of the manager's or players' plans and their prospects are now rather bleak.

On the other hand, the Liechtenstein game confirmed that our team doesn't have any leaders able to take a game by the scruff of the neck. Everyone plays in his own position, answers for a specific part of the pitch, but unfortunately we don't have a captain capable of geeing up his team-mates. This has been a problem for years and still hasn't been resolved. The qualifiers for the 2010 World Cup, which will be held in South Africa, are no exception, although the team is a bit younger. New players have emerged but they need time to get to know one another and settle in to the national side.

Moreover, the lack of victories does not allow us to develop players with a winning mentality, able to perform well against strong teams. The limit of our ambitions in away matches is a draw and the players play with one eye on their own goal. When deciding tactics, every coach starts with the capabilities of his players and Azerbaijan is no exception. The coach's choice is limited, the squad is fairly predictable and there are no real alternatives to the current first-choice players. This is obvious when Branimir Subasic and Fabio Luis Ramim run out onto the pitch of the Millennium Stadium ready for the kick-off. Of course, naturalization is not because everything is hunky-dory, nor is the lifting of the limit on foreign players in the Azerbaijani championship. Many people have locked horns over this decision and several experts think it won't help Azerbaijani football. There are two sides to the coin - it's more profitable for many clubs to buy a fully fledged player than to develop their own. This is the way it is nowadays. A result at any price is what matters for the clubs. And the battle for victory today damages the prospects of the developing generation - not many make it to the first team.

The goalless draw against Liechtenstein was a serious psychological blow for the players who thought that victory over the minnows would not be too difficult. But it all turned out rather differently and we just weren't ready for that turn of events. Now it's clear that the battle for second-to-last place in the group will be between Azerbaijan and Liechtenstein. Because with that standard of play we can't hope for anything more and we need to face reality. We always want to hope for something better, but it doesn't look likely in this case. Anyway, the qualifiers have only just started. Let's see what happens.