"I wanted to come to Baku last year to play against Azerbaijan, but I got injured. Now, I am eagerly looking forward to this match. I have very good memories from that time."
Idman.biz reports that Sergei Zenjov, a member of the Estonian national team and a former Gabala player, expressed his feelings ahead of the UEFA Nations League match against Azerbaijan. Having played for Gabala for two seasons, the 35-year-old striker considers this game special as he returns to the city where he once played.
In an interview with Soccernet.ee, Zenjov recalled his experiences in Azerbaijan:
"We only played one Europa League match at Gabala City Stadium. The rest were held in Baku. I don't know how they agreed to host the game in Gabala. It's a beautiful place, but there’s nothing around. The shops are very small. Whenever we returned from Baku, we would do a week's worth of shopping. We trained in the capital and played games in Gabala, which made travel quite challenging. I have no contact with the Azerbaijani teammates I had during my time there due to the language barrier. Many didn’t speak Russian, especially those born outside Baku."
Zenjov also mentioned the disparity between the development of club football and the national team in Azerbaijan:
"In Azerbaijan, they were always worried about the national team's failures. This was frequently discussed. They tried different solutions, such as naturalizing Serbian players. Now, they search for players with Azerbaijani roots in various European countries. For example, Murad Valiyev from Estonia was invited to Azerbaijan's youth team."
The Azerbaijan vs. Estonia match will take place tomorrow at 18:00.
Idman.biz
