A combination of various factors has a role in the success of Qarabag: “Player choices, level of players, tactical requirements, preparation and discipline."
Idman.biz reports that this was said by Andrey Lunev, the goalkeeper of Qarabag and the Russian national team.
In an interview with the Russian press, the experienced goalkeeper explained the secret of the success of the Azerbaijani champion: "We play modern football, we quickly move from defense to attack and vice versa. We have quite a few high-level players. This also gives results. My friend played in Qarabag and I followed the team until my transfer. I also watched their matches with Freiburg last season. I liked the style of play."
Andrey believes that Russian fans have a wrong idea: "We have a stereotype that teams from small countries like Azerbaijan cannot play good football. Enough examples though. It was not easy for us even when we played against Malta during the time of the head coach of both Stanislav Cherchesov and Valeri Karpin in the national team. The so-called fisherman, postman have all learned to play modern intensive, high-pressing football. The players of "Qarabag" have experience in the European Cup, they have played against top opponents in the team and club. So I knew where I was going. Yes, the championship is non-competitive. But this was a chance to return to football."
Lunev thinks that Qarabag is strong enough to compete for gold medals in the Russian championship: I agree with Murad Musayev who said that Qarabag can compete for the championship in Russia. He would fight for the championship, at least for the three. The only point is the specifics of Russian football. It is more closed and rigid. It would be interesting to watch Qarabag in the fight against trips to long distances. Maybe it has changed now, when I played for Zenit, most teams gave the ball to the opponent and did not even try to control it."
Andrey also touched on the football shown in the Azerbaijan championship: "In Azerbaijan, they can't even take the ball from us, but they try. They try to get out of pressing and keep the ball. But they don't rely on long passes and standards. Here they try to press high, there are few teams sitting in the defense or in the half of the field. This surprised me. Sometimes it's 5:0, 7:0, but it's not easy for us with any team. Matches are full of interesting situations. It's just the level of the players and the tactical moves that show."
It should be noted that Andrey is the champion of the 2023/24 season in the team of Qarabag.
Idman.biz
