THE EXEMPLARY REFEREE

One of the most famous faces of Azerbaijani football, the former Neftchi player Asim Khudiyev turned 60 years old. Being a professional football player, Khudiyev has successfully continued his sport life as a referee. He participated in 212 matches of the Azerbaijan championship and represented our country abroad as a referee of the European Cup and national matches. Currently, Mr. Khudiyev works as a referee-inspector.

Undoubtedly, the most interesting years in Asim Khudiyev’s long career cover the period of his gameplay for Neftchi. So, let’s make a fascinating journey to the past along with player №22, who had played with the most famous players of the country.

- Congratulations on your anniversary. What do 60 years mean to you?

- The years pass real quick, and it is not possible to keep the pace with them. It seemed as if I was 40 or 50 yesterday… Sixty years are not much but not less either. I feel cheerful. I am very glad that I am still in football. As you know, I evaluate the work of judges in international matches as a referee-inspector.

- You probably cannot imagine your life without football, can you?

- I have tried once but I cannot. One devotes his youth to football and finds friends. Parting with football can be a tragedy for him. We all live with football in our hearts, we breathe it. Football makes our lives longer.

- Which day was the happiest one in your life?

- Each of us has both happy and sad days. I mostly had the happy ones. I was a good student at high school №100. That is where I took my first steps in football as well. I remember the day when I saw an announcement, which said that a football school was opened at the Department of Education. The first director of the school was the late Alakbar Mammadov. Back at that time, we did not know him well. Only later we learned that he was a famous football player. In 1973, when I was 16, I was nominated for the backup team of Neftchi. I had successfully passed trainings and was officially enrolled to the team. In those years, Neftchi had been playing in the first league of the USSR championship. After a few games, the Football Federation of the Soviet Union had canceled the games of backup teams playing in the first league due to financial difficulties. Following that several promising young players were transferred to another club, Motorist. We had played there for one season. In 1976, Neftchi became eligible for playing big league football. Me, Iskandar Javadov, Samedag Shikhlarov and others returned to Neftchi. I have played for the club from 1977 to 1986. During my career, I had also played for a while for minor league teams Kapaz and Goyazan. I stopped playing big football in 1985 but left the green field in 1989.

- Playing for Neftchi was a dream of every football player...

- That is true. That was our biggest dream. It was not easy to play in a team with such great players as Iskandar Javadov, and Samedaga Shikhlarov. In those days players were selected very carefully. Not everyone could play for this football club. When I meet with my friends, we often remember those years. Our dreams have come true, and we can consider ourselves fortunate.

- Why did you decide to retire as a football player earlier?

- That year, many players of Neftchi were fired for unknown reasons. The coaches were replaced, the players and experts from Moscow were involved. In fact, I could continue my career. Unfortunately, it did not happen. I played 180 official matches for Neftchi in the big leagues, and 30-40 times for the USSR Cup.

- After your retirement as a football player, you became a referee...

- We had such admired referees as Tofig Bahramov, Eldar Azimzade and Rustam Rahimov. They insisted that I become a referee. As a former football player, it was easier for me to officiate the matches. In 1989, I was involved in the championship of Azerbaijan as a chief referee. It was interesting. After officiating a few matches in 1990, I was sent to the training camp of young Soviet referees, where I successfully passed the exams. After that I was chosen to judge a candidate in the first league championship of the USSR. But in 1991 the Soviet Union collapsed, and there I was able to judge few matches. After the restoration of independence of Azerbaijan was established Football Association and the Referees Committee was formed under it. I tried the first matches of the championship of Azerbaijan. In those years it was not easy, as we are going through a transitional period. Young referees rendered trust, and we have tried to express ourselves, to develop. In late 1993, I became a referee of the Republican category.

- For a long time, you have received appointments for international matches as a FIFA referee...

- In 1994, when Azerbaijan became a member of FIFA and UEFA, the high-ranked football association requested a list of our best referees. Tahir Suleymanov, Khagani Mammadov and I were included in this list. Since 1995, we have been regularly appointed to officiate international matches. I completed my career as a referee in 2002. In those years, the maximum allowed age for referees was 45 years. Of course, I was thinking about my future before the retirement. In 2002, I officiated my last match for FIFA. I was the chief referee of the match between San Marino and Latvia played for the qualifying round of the world championship. After that, I decided to retire. In 2003, before the final match of Azerbaijan Cup between Neftchi and Shamkir, I had a farewell party.

- Later you began to work as a referee-inspector in international matches...

- When I was a FIFA referee, referee-inspectors of the European football organization advised me to continue my job in this capacity. It is not so easy, to be honest. It is not enough to be a former referee. One of the criteria is a good command of the English language. Even at school, I had a good command of English. This knowledge helps me now. In 2004, I was appointed as a referee inspector of group tournament matches of the UEFA Cup. And now, after 14 years, I am a member of the group of referee-inspectors of the European football organization. Eeach year, I am invited to be a referee of about 8-10 games. I try to objectively assess the performance of referees. In December, I passed the exams for referees in Denmark. The contract with me has been updated, and I was allowed to get appointments for the next three years.

- Do you regret that you completed your career early?

- One must take into account luck in sport as well. Of course, we had bad luck in the past too. When completing a career in the power of non-football issues with me from the team were eliminated and several other players. Meanwhile, they were the best years of my career. There was even brought to the USSR Olympic team. He delivered in several friendly matches. In 1984 he was a candidate for a compound that would go to the Olympic Games. Nevertheless, the Soviet Union boycotted the Olympics in Los Angeles.

I regret that I retired from football early. Many of you do not know that I have worked as a coach for some time. In 1989, I was offered to work for Neftchi as an assistant coach. I have assisted Agasalim Mirjavadov for three months. Neftchi has demonstrated good results ranking somewhere in the 3^rd or 4^th place. It was just playing unstable. Once Mirjavadov had called me and said that he was parting the team. We had met and talked a lot. He instructed me to return to the team and said that the new coach could leave me in the team. By the way, he was replaced by Ruslan Abdullayev. The next day, the head of the team asked me to write a resignation letter. He said that I was transferred to another job. I replied that I would never work as a coach. I did not like such attitude towards me at all.

- For sure, you will never forget the years spent with Neftchi…

- We had a very friendly team. The life of a football player is interesting. We had unusual trips full of interesting events. In 1981, we travelled to the Seychelles, where we had to play three friendly matches. After the first of these matches, there was a coup d’etat, and instead of seven days, we had to spend 14 days on the island. Of course, our family and friends were very excited. There were neither cell phones nor a reliable connection at that time. The Soviet Union dispatched warships with almost 500 soldiers onboard. During the first 3-4 days, none of us was able to leave the hotel. After the arrival of military, a curfew was declared. We could spend a couple hours daily for shopping. Then, we were told at the Soviet consulate that an aircraft en route Moscow would land on the island, and it would take us onboard as well. Soldiers escorted us to the airport on the way back. We then saw the destroyed airport. As soon as the Tu-154 landed, we immediately boarded the plane and took off. In Moscow, we met a lot of Azerbaijanis. Our relatives and friends in Baku did not believe we were safe and sound.

- Would you like to be a football player now?

- Why not? Azerbaijan pays greater attention to football now. However, we do not have much success so far. In the last season, two of our clubs had a chance to play in group tournament of the Europa League. The national team also had a good start in the qualifying tournament. However, we could have more victories. We have more stadiums now. In the past, we had only the Tofig Bahramov Stadium. But now we have Shafa (currently Inter Arena), Bayil Arena, Dalga Arena, the Olympic Stadium, etc.

- If you were a football player again, which club would you like to play for?

- Karabakh because they play consistent football. They became eligible to play for European championships in three consecutive seasons. The players feel comfortable on the field. Therefore, it would be nice to achieve success with this team. Above all, I like their style too.

- Once again, please accept our congratulations on your jubilee. And thank you for interesting interview.