“I love Azerbaijan very much.”
Idman.biz reports that former Qarabag midfielder Richard Almeida shared his memories about Azerbaijan in an interview with Brazilian media.
The 36-year-old veteran emphasized the important role Qarabag played in his career:
“When I arrived in Azerbaijan in 2012, the FIFA rule hadn’t changed yet, right? I think back then you could get naturalized after one year. And after a year, I already had some stats because I had started to stand out in the league there. But in the end, it didn’t work out at that time because the rule changed. I had to play for four and a half years. If I played four years and then halfway through the fifth, they could start the paperwork.
And then, thank God, it was easy because it’s a country I love, right? It’s a country that welcomed me, a country that made my dreams come true, a country that gave me everything I have today, right? Thank God. So of course, they gave me that opportunity, and I gave back as well, in the same way, right?
Then one day, our coach, Gurban, called me into his office and said, “They want to naturalize you. What do you think? I think you should accept their offer to become naturalized, because everyone in this country likes you—not just at Qarabag, but in all the clubs, and all the people.”
So it was easy, because there were people like him behind the scenes giving me support. And I knew that after a year of getting naturalized, I’d be called up to the national team. So that’s another reason why I accepted. You get it?”
In February of this year, Qarabag parted ways with Almeida. He now continues his career at Primavera, a club in Brazil.
Aytaj Sahed
Idman.biz
