"I will have time to talk about the general process."
This was said by Fernando Santos, who was appointed as the new head coach of the Azerbaijan national football team, as Idman.biz reports.
At the presentation ceremony, the experienced Portuguese specialist thanked AFFA for trusting him: "It was interesting for me to know their thoughts about the future. Such issues were important in my decision. Of course, this mutual contract was important in terms of implementing future projects. If I am here, AFFA leadership chose me."
- The Azerbaijani national team is not even in the Top-100 in the rating table. How attractive was AFFA's offer and did you accept it?
- From the beginning, the offer was attractive. That's why I'm here to be ahead. That's why I accepted it.
- What should we do to see Azerbaijan in the European Championship? What are Santos's plans for this?
- Georgia's participation in EURO-2024 is a motivation for us. Kazakhstan was also close. There are all conditions to qualify for the European Championship in 2028. Not only my support, but also your support is important. We need people's trust and support. Success does not fall from the sky. It is a pity that Azerbaijan made a mistake in the previous qualifying rounds and did not win. The main motivation for me is to change that. I believe that we will get it. Let me also mention that I will live in Azerbaijan together with my team. To implement this project, we will get to know your culture. My family will also stay here.
- Can you explain the project related to assembly?
- It does not end with preparing the team for games and participating in the match. It was similar when I signed with the Greek national team in 2010. The main goal here is not to play football. Here, our practice is also related to younger age groups, we have ideas.
- You have not signed a 3+1-year contract. Do you have that much energy? The point we criticized in our coaches was the defensive game. Will we be able to see attacking football under your leadership?
- I am full of energy. I have enough motivation. We are completely focused on this project. No problem. The main goal is to win. For this we have to attack and defend. I have been to Azerbaijan before. Even before I came here, I had ideas about your nation. The main thing is to combine these two factors and keep our goal intact by scoring goals. In order to win, we must be able to show a good game. We need the support of the fans. They want attractive football as well as victory. We will do everything to attract them to the stadiums.
- You have worked with Besiktas before. Did the leadership of the Turkish club play a role or mediate in your arrival in Azerbaijan?
- In terms of adaptation, the fact that Turkiye is a neighboring country to Azerbaijan will help me. Proximity to culture and food, etc. these are all important. When I came to Azerbaijan in 2020, my assistants and I did not expect the country to be so modern and we were very surprised. We were fascinated by your city.
- But you didn't mention the role of Besiktas management...
- We have a good relationship with them. The club had no role in my selection of the Azerbaijan national team.
- When you don't get the result you want, will you blame journalists as Gianni de Biasi did?
- Don't worry, I won't blame you. Because if there is an unsuccessful result, it is the coaching staff and the players who bear the responsibility. So you are here and doing your job. We may or may not agree with your opinion, but we have to respect it. We came here to do business. I think we will reach our goals.
- How would you evaluate Turkiye's chances in the group with Portugal in EURO-2024?
- This is not the reason we gathered here. I think that Turkiye will have a successful performance in the European Championship. I worked with national teams for a long time. I will lead the new team. But it is not nice to talk about other countries’ national teams.
- Are there any football players in our team that catch your attention?
- I cannot name any player. In football, the result of 90 percent of the games is normal if the team work is good. From June 28, we will come to Azerbaijan and watch the games of the national championship. We will try to get results as soon as possible. It is a harsh reality that you must consider all the circumstances. If we take it as an interest rate, we want to earn a good result quickly. Even if we say that we will win tomorrow, it will not be true. But we will do everything to get results as soon as possible.
- Will 4 years be enough for the strategy you want to apply to the Azerbaijani national team?
- During the negotiations with AFFA, we decided that the period until 2028 is sufficient to implement our strategy. For us, these 4 years will be enough.
It should be noted that Santos has the goal of a successful performance in the qualifying round of EURO-2028.
Idman.biz
