NEFTCHI BID FAREWELL TO EUROPEAN TROPHIES

The European Cup tournament got off to a good start for Neftci, which wrote a new page in the history of Azerbaijani football. Until recently, our teams did not do very well in the international arena and we can count on our fingers the teams that made it into the second round of European cup competitions. Anatoliy Demyanenko's team got through two rounds of the Intertoto Cup, losing to Romania's Vaslui over two games at the third stage.

Vaslui turned out to be too strong

Neftci are in fact bearing the brunt of Azerbaijani representation in the European Cup this season, although our team lost its leading goal-scorer, Branimir Subasic, ahead of the tournament. He signed a contract with Crvena Zvezda. However, the Baku team are outstanding for their teamwork and, in the absence of the Serb carrying an Azerbaijan passport, midfielders Elnur Allahverdiyev and Rasad Sadiqov, as well as striker Giorgi Adamia they struck goalscoring form. After their victory over Slovakia's Nitra, Neftci managed to overcome Belgium's Germinal, playing high quality football. So the team played well and was close to making it into the UEFA Cup. The last obstacle standing in their way was Vaslui, whom Neftci beat at home (2-1); but they lost the away match by a greater margin (2-0), ending their European Cup campaign.

Meanwhile, Inter passed the first qualifier of the Champions League. After a goalless draw at home with Macedonia's Rabotnicki, Valentin Khodukin's team drew in Skopje (1-1), which allowed them to make it into the next round to play Partizan. Thus the team became the third club, after Samkir and Neftci, to get through the first stage of this prestigious European competition and given hope to our fans.

Azerbaijani clubs are gradually beginning to break the away syndrome and are learning to win. In the case of Inter, the draw in Baku significantly reduced their chances of survival in the tournament, while the goal that they conceded to Velkoski in Skopje aggravated the situation. However, the Azerbaijani champions managed to launch a fruitful attack, scoring through Branislav Cervenka. The draw turned out to be salvation for Inter and now the team face much more serious opposition in the shape of Partizan. In any case, our team can be pleased with its first season in high European society, although they still need to work to improve their goal-scoring performance.

One stadium for everyone

On the other hand, European Cup matches involving Azerbaijani teams have been held at the Tofiq Bahramov Republican Stadium for many years. The lack of the necessary football infrastructure does not allow a number of clubs to host games in their own stadiums, which is why the country's main stadium is always chosen as the venue for such fixtures. The current season is especially revealing because "Bahramov" was picked by four teams at once - Neftci, Inter, Xazar-Lankaran and Olympic.

The lack of good stadiums has always been a distinguishing feature of our football. The lack of really green pitches creates a sort of surrogate play, which neither fans nor teams enjoy. In Baku, stadiums are the biggest problem. There is only the Tofiq Bahramov Republican Stadium and the Safa stadium, where international fixtures are held quite rarely. None of the other pitches are suitable and, when you visit them, you do not actually experience a festive football mood. The quality of the grass has long been a talking point - players have to concentrate not just on technical elements of play, but also on other factors. This is what teams have to put up with year after year, torturing their fans as well. Even the green cover at the Republican Stadium is far from perfect, but this shortcoming is compensated for by the large capacity of the stadium.

Thus, "Bahramov" is becoming a kind of "magic wand" for European Cup participants and works without a hitch, including for Inter and Olympic who play their home league matches at Safa and European Cup fixtures at the Republican Stadium. Although the AFFA leadership thinks that every club should play in its own stadium, which is quite logical. This is a problem because our football infrastructure is significantly underdeveloped. Xazar-Lankaran, for example, would be happy to play their UEFA Cup match against Lech at their own stadium, but the lack of an airport in the district makes it impossible.

Meanwhile, UEFA, which issues licences every year, is toughening its requirements of clubs. Besides, the director of the country's main sports arena, Akif Ismayilov, also intends to impose a limit on home games in the new season and restrict their number to those of two clubs. One of them is Baki, which has a contract until the end of next season. The other team will probably be Neftci, who at first wanted to hold home games at the Ismayilov Stadium in the settlement of Bakixanov, but then decided to play their first round games at "Bahramov".

What will be the result of lifting the limit on foreign players?

Meanwhile, Azerbaijani clubs' participation in the new season may undergo significant change as the AFFA executive committee has lifted the limit on foreign players. This move will raise the level of football in Azerbaijan and create a healthy competitive atmosphere between local and foreign players. So the clubs can now use an unlimited number of foreign players, and time will show the result. What is more, UEFA President Michel Platini, who recently visited Azerbaijan to familiarize himself with the pace of construction of the football academy, is clearly not happy with the association's decision. He said that the limit is the internal affair of the association, hinting that UEFA has a slightly different view of the situation. This is clear because in this case, the team may prefer a "cheap" work force from abroad and promising local talents will find it difficult to promote themselves.

In general, AFFA's decision to lift the limit has been one of the hottest topics of discussion in Azerbaijani football for the past week. This move untied the hands of many clubs which can now become stronger with the help of foreigners. This means that home-grown players will find it more and more difficult to develop, because in order to get into the teams their level will have to be higher than that of incomers.

But it is exactly these foreign footballers who are beginning to play a greater role in the national championship and we can cite myriad examples of successful performances. Specifically, Brazil's Junivan, of Olympic, attracts a lot of attention because, thanks to his goals, the team successfully led the last national championship, missing their chance to win gold in the last round. One of the leading footballers in the Lankaran camp is the master penalty taker, Juninho, who is often compared to his namesake from Lyon.

Meanwhile, the lifting of the limit on foreign players is meant not just to raise the level of the championship, but also reduce the prices of local players, which many specialists think are too high. This partly explains the slow outflow of our players abroad, although they can only experience a true school of football abroad. MKT-Araz defender Sasha Yunisoglu, who signed a contract with Poland's Groclin last year, developed as a footballer in six months, although he is not a regular member of the first team there. The national team will also benefit from international transfers as their coaches have to employ naturalized foreign players due to the lack of good local aspirants to the team.

It is notable that recent years have seen three changes in the limit on foreign players in the Azerbaijani championship. First, the limit was five playing at the same time, then the regulation became 3+2 (three on the pitch and two in reserve) but, under pressure from many clubs, the football body had to return to the previous limit of five players. Before making its decision, AFFA studied foreign experience in increasing the quota for foreign players. The example of the "Big Five" countries - England, Italy, Spain, Germany and France - is not suitable for us, given the higher level of their football infrastructure. For this reason, the association looked first of all at the situation in the championships of CIS and Eastern European countries and made quite a revolutionary decision.