Rovnag Abdullayev, the 3rd president of AFFA, said goodbye to his post yesterday.
Idman.biz reports that the functionary who held this post from March 14, 2008, led our football for 5863 days.
The former president of the institution, which was established in 1992, held this position for half of AFFA's history. Abdullayev, who was elected head of the association on the eve of his 16th birthday, remained in this post for 16 years. I wonder how the second half of the history of our independent football went?
6 Steps in 16 Years
The main mirror of our football is the national team. The Azerbaijan national team was 119th in the world in the FIFA ranking published on March 12, 2008. There were no serious changes in the national team during the time of Abdullayev, who took over the football of the country that has such a team. Our team has progressed 6 steps in 16 years. Our team is 113th in the last list. The last table before the handover in AFFA indicates this.
11 Failed Attempts
Our main national team has had 11 serious tests during this period. Our team, which competed in the qualifying stage of the World Championship four times and European Championship four times, also participated in the Nations League three times. Our team failed to advance to the final stage in any of its 11 attempts. The team, which did not please Abdullayev with serious success, won only 16 victories in 16 years in 92 matches in official tournaments. The team with 23 draws has lost 53 times. Apparently, the national team managed to collect only 71 points. Five of the 16 victories were recorded in the qualifying round of the world championship, five in the continental championship, and six in the Nations League.
From Lithuania to FIFA Series
If we take into account all official matches, not only the qualifiers and the Nations League, the main national team won 37 of 159 games. During Abdullayev's tenure, the national team with 44 draws lost 78 times. The 0:1 defeat in Lithuania on March 26, 2008 was the former president's first national match in this position. The finish on the eve of his farewell was a draw with Bulgaria in Baku within the framework of the FIFA Series - 1:1.
Eternal Pessimist Tomorrow
The youth team, which is the future of our nation and football, has not been remembered for 16 years. Abdullayev watched only three matches from the presidential post at the end of the EURO-2009 qualifying round. He left his post before the qualifying games of EURO-2025 were completed. In the last 7 cycles, our team not only did not qualify for the final stage, but did not even come close to it. U-21 has won 12, drawn 12 and lost 49 times in 73 qualifying matches.
Three Joys
Our U-19 national team participated in the qualifying round of the European Championship 15 times during the presidency of Abdullayev. Our team managed to get past the first round only three times. During this period, the team played 54 matches and was remembered with 12 wins and 9 draws. The other 33 matches ended in defeat.
National Team that Saw the Final Stage
Our U-17 national team experienced the thrill of the final stage, different from other teams. Although our team participated in the tournament held in Baku with a direct qualification, nothing was remembered. The team advanced to the next round in two of the 14 qualifying stages. Our national team, which has 8 wins and 8 draws in 51 matches, has lost 35 times.
100 Games without Defeat
Under the 3rd president of AFFA, both the first and the last game of the national team was played by U-21. On March 25, 2008, our youth team was defeated Italy with a score of 0:2. 16 years and 1 day later, Ukraine was happy with 3 unanswered goals in Baku. During this period, the main, U-21, U-19 and U-17 teams played a total of 270 games within official tournaments. In these encounters, only 100 times were undefeated. Our teams have lost 170 times with 48 wins and 52 draws.
Face of the King and Kingdom
Abdullayev's 16-year-kingdom, who said in his farewell speech "The king is dead, long live the new king", of course, does not consist only of these 4 nationalities. Women's football, futsal, beach football, as well as various tournaments of other national teams - the championship of U-23 in Islamiada, the world championship of the military and other large and small competitions of this type coincided with the period of Abdullayev's kingdom. Moreover, AFFA can be mentioned in the successes of the clubs in the European Cups. In any case, the organization of the championship, and the PFL created during Abdullayev's time, had an impact on the development of independent clubs as well. Moreover, if earlier clubs and teams could not find a stadium, now there are more sports facilities than clubs. But all these mentioned points, the rapid development of the infrastructure, are not other teams and clubs, but the face and mirror of our main national AFFA, Abdullayev's kingdom. U-21, U-19 and U-17 are the tomorrow, unity and future of the main national team.
Vugar Kheyrullayev
Idman.biz
