Interview of Elvir Bolich, the living legend of Bosnia and Herzegovina football, to Futbolxeber.az
- It was a pleasant surprise to see you at the mini-football world championship held in Baku.
- Thank you. I am the director of the Bosnia and Herzegovina mini-football national team. I am here to support the team. Also, my company is one of the sponsors of the mini-football national team.
- You played in big clubs at one time, you are a famous football player. Do people in Baku know you?
- Even though I played football 20-25 years ago, there are still people who know me. I was surprised that people recognized me in restaurants and hotels.
- Because Turkish football is very popular in Azerbaijan, and Fenerbahçe also has many fans...
- Yes, I didn’t know that (laughs). As I said, it was a pleasant surprise that people recognized me in Baku. As far as I can see, Azerbaijan and Turkey are very close. There were also Turkish channels on the TV in the hotel.
- Although you played for a short time at Galatasaray, your main successes are related to Fenerbahçe. What do you think is the reason for the Istanbul club's failure in recent years?
- It's very difficult to say. Yes, Galatasaray has been dominating in recent years. It's not easy to knock them off the top. That's how it is in football, one season is one thing, the next season is another. I believe that Fenerbahçe will soon achieve great success. But it won't be easy.
- Although you worked as a coach for the Bosnia and Herzegovina national team for a short time after finishing your football career, it didn't work out. Why didn't you want to work as a coach?
- As you said, I didn't work as a coach later. I wanted to spend more time with my family. Coaching is very difficult. But I wouldn't say that I'm completely out of football. I follow the local championship, the Turkish and Spanish championships closely. My son has also started playing football.
- In recent years, fantastic money has been circulating in world football. Players are paid 100, 150, 200 million dollars. If Elvir Bolich were playing football today, how much would his transfer fee be?
- It would be very different (laughs). I remember that I scored 24 goals in my first season at Fenerbahçe, and 23 in my second. They said, why did you score so little this year? However, now I see that they score 15-16 goals in total. Football is a little different now, everything is more about business. What can be done? This is how it is now. If you want to play in the Champions League final, you have to spend a lot of money. Money is very important in modern football. I think the prices are a little inflated.
- Do you know anyone in Azerbaijani football?
- I don't know anyone specific. What can I say about lying. But I have general information. One of my goals in coming to Baku is to get to know Azerbaijani football better. I know that the country is working to develop football. I saw the city and liked it very much. Everyone speaks positively about Azerbaijan and Baku.
Idman.biz
