"Araz-Nakhchivan" football player Tiran Manafov's interview to Idman.biz website
- You participated in all the games in "Araz-Nakhchivan" in the 17th round of the Azerbaijan Championship. Can it be said that he experienced the peak of his career?
- The coaches at "Araz-Nakhchivan" trust me. I do my best to prove that I deserve this trust every game. I don't think I'm at the peak of my career. Because I can be better than that. When I look at my statistics in every game, what I did wrong and what I did right, I am satisfied with my game 70-80 percent.
- This is the season when you scored the most goals. All 3 goals were from free kicks. Are you specially preparing for this?
- No, I am not preparing specially. I never specifically work on it in training. I do not build a living barrier and strike. Before that, when I played in "Sabail" I had a goal from a free kick. But there were not so many opportunities. This often comes from the coach's philosophy. Aftandil Hajiyev entrusted me with free kicks when I played in "Sabail". But there was no chance to strike in the directions I wanted. Most of the time, the coach wanted me to pass. Azer Bagirov always assigns standard situations to me. He says knock on the door regardless of the distance. I shoot believing in myself.
- You scored impressive goals from free kicks against "Sumgayit", "Gabala" and "Sabah". Which of the 3 goals do you think is the best?
- In my professional career, I scored 6 goals, 5 of which were from free kicks. In general, the goal I was most happy and happy about was the goal I scored against "Qarabag" with the "Sabail" jersey in the 2021/2022 season. At that time, the opponent was stronger than now. I missed an episode. I then scored and put the finishing touches on the win. I was very happy in the match we won 3:1. But the free kick I scored against "Sabah" in the last, XVII round of this season was the most difficult. The percentage of goals from the left side was very low. Most people thought that I was not hitting the goal, I was just passing. But it is not so. In that episode, teacher Azer said to hit the door directly. I asked once again, "directly to the door?" I received the answer "yes" and hit. I shot thinking. He became my best-kept and most beautiful arm.
- You are a left winger. This position is very important in modern football. You have to defend as well as support attacks. Isn't it tiring?
- I played in the right and left midfield until I was 19 years old. After the age of 19, I played here at the insistence of my coaches because there were few players in this position in our country. Of course, my position carries a lot of responsibility. There was fatigue in the first games of the season. But I am very comfortable in the last matches. The main thing is to run correctly and adjust the power correctly. After playing 90 minutes in the match against Sabail, if they told me to play another 90 minutes, I would have really played.
- You were an International footballer once. Why did your career fail at Olympiakos Volou in Greece?
- If I knew what I know now, I would not have gone to Greece at that time. In my opinion, it was a wrong decision. I didn't play in "Sabail" for 1 year, and I didn't play there for 6 months. The reason why my career was not taken was the pain in my back when I was going from "Sabail" to Greece. Although I received treatment for a short time, I did not go through full physiotherapy. I played there in the first rounds. The stadiums were so bad that I started having pain again. I asked them to treat me. But they didn't help me. Moreover, there were financial problems. Salaries were not given and I returned because I did not play under duress.
- What happened, would you like to live as an international again?
- Actually, I want to. If there is a favorable place for my career advancement, I will go. Of course, the club I go to should have good conditions.
- How do you see "Araz-Nakhchivan" at the end of the season?
- I can't say anything exactly about the place. If we continue like this, we can play for higher ranks and medals. We must make the most of the opportunities that come our way. If we can do that, I believe we will even be second.
Emin Aga
Idman.biz
