Ramin Musayev, who served as the president of the Professional Football League (PFL) from 2008 to 2022, has been observing Azerbaijani football from the sidelines for some time now. The 62-year-old former official continues to comment on domestic football through analysis and reflections based on his years of experience, keeping himself relevant in football discussions.
As reported by Idman.biz, Musayev gave an interview to Teleqraf where he commented on Azerbaijani clubs, the national team, and especially the current state of the Gabala Football Academy.
– The foreign player limit in the Azerbaijan Premier League will be lifted in the 2025/2026 season. Don’t you think the reduced number of local players in the starting lineups of clubs playing in European competitions is related to this?
– No one has the right to blame the head coaches. The only entity to be blamed here is AFFA. The decision about the foreign player limit wasn’t made by clubs but by the national association. If clubs knew they couldn’t use foreign players, they would rely more on locals in European games too. Now, teams are confident that they’re not obliged to use local players. Let’s think not only about clubs but also about the national team. The national team no longer exists, and it won’t exist. We shouldn’t expect any achievements from the national team in the next five years. Appoint anyone as head coach, even if all of them are local experts, it won’t help. If the national team players aren’t playing in the domestic league, they won’t perform for the national team either. We might as well say a prayer for our national team!
– There has already been a noticeable decline in the national team’s results this year...
– Don’t ask questions about the national team and don’t expect answers. Don’t expect anything good. However, clubs are achieving good results thanks to foreign players, and they will continue to do so. The league’s ranking will rise. But the national team is gone. Back in the day, I said about former national team coach Berti Vogts, “Swallows come and go.” They almost branded me an enemy of the people for that comment. Where is Berti Vogts now? He made millions and left. Did he support any of our players? Nonsense. The head coach must be local, only then can they be held accountable.
– Who do you see as a candidate?
– Today, someone like Tarlan Ahmadov remains on the sidelines. Why? Are the foreign coaches in Azerbaijan better than him? No! Ahmadov came to Neftchi twice and got results both times, yet today he’s unemployed. This is unfair. Where is AFFA looking? Why don’t they appoint him to any team? They should! Why don’t we use our local experts? Both local players and local coaches are sidelined. What’s next, are we going to wait for FIFA to change the rules so we can play anyone in the national team? That’s impossible.
– What can foreign head coaches bring to Azerbaijani football?
– Whether I worked in football or not, I’ve always said I’m against foreign coaches. They offer us nothing. The only exception I would make is Kakhaber Tskhadadze. I don’t even see him as a foreigner. He has been part of Azerbaijani football for years and made an impact even during his time at Inter (now Shamakhi). Aside from Tskhadadze, I don’t expect anything from other foreign coaches.
– The number of teams in the league has increased, but newcomers like Karvan and Imishli will be playing “on the road.” Do you think this expansion will be effective?
– If the foreign player limit hadn’t been removed, it would’ve been very beneficial. But without that limit, even a 20-team league won’t matter. Notice how every club thinks they’re playing for the title until the winter break? No one thinks logically: only one team will be champion. Focus on playing in the Europa League or Conference League, think about your players. Which head coach cares about academies, reserves, or youth football? None! They only start paying attention when the media reports there’s a talented player in the academy. Then maybe they send an assistant, or go take a look themselves. When the PFL was founded, the reserve teams had a spotlight. That played a significant role in developing local talent. This year I hear many clubs are dropping their reserve teams. Why?! Even if they don’t play in the main league, they should at least play in the reserves. If they don’t play at all, how can they become players? Should they just train at home behind a computer? They need playing time. We must consider our local players.
– Speaking of Gabala, the academy has reduced its operations. The club’s sporting director, Sabuhi Safiyarli, stated they asked the PFL to write off a 110,000 AZN debt after being relegated to the First Division, but the request was denied. As the former head of the PFL, what are your thoughts? Should Gabala have been shown leniency?
– I may sound biased, but I applaud the current PFL leadership for all their decisions. They’ve taken the right stance. But this question would be better directed to Gabala president Fariz Najafov. I’ve always said teams from the regions should be given special consideration, especially Gabala. Because the conditions they have are better than many of our other clubs. Look at the number of stadiums in Gabala, even Qarabag doesn’t have that. Gabala has excellent infrastructure.
– In fact, the Azerbaijan Cup finals in 2008/2009 (Qarabag–Inter), 2013/2014 (Neftchi–Gabala), and 2015/2016 (Qarabag–Neftchi) were all held at the Gabala stadium...
– Yes, we held the cup final there three times. In return, they didn’t take a single penny from us. We used their stadiums, training fields, and hotels. They even gave us discounted hotel rates and meals, so the teams wouldn’t have high expenses. Taking all that into account, they definitely deserve leniency. The dissolution of Gabala’s academy is a major loss for Azerbaijani football. I’ll share something, some may think I’m praising myself again. I’m not, it’s just about speaking on the work I’ve done. Those who know already know.
– Please go ahead...
– When I was working at Neftchi, after Ramiz Mirzayev (former AFFA president), Turan Tovuz was on the verge of collapse. At that time, our coach Gurban Gurbanov didn’t want five or six of our players, so we sent them to Turan Tovuz. We paid their salaries and kept the club alive. What was the harm? On the contrary, it helped Azerbaijani football. That support was 40–50% of the reason Turan Tovuz survived. There are people who appreciated it, when I visit the regions, they mention what we did. Nothing goes unnoticed. Some want to erase it, but you can’t delete history. Today, Gabala needs support, from the PFL, AFFA, and wealthy clubs. Because this club once helped others, you can’t forget kindness. Maybe their sponsor is weak now. Maybe it’s a test, maybe the sponsor is watching to see if their efforts are appreciated. But shutting down the academy is a huge blow to Azerbaijani football.
– Sabuhi Safiyarli said the situation arose due to a technical issue, a young Russian citizen named Elnur Ibrahimov was mistakenly thought to be local and included on the bench for the reserves, making him the 13th foreign player, which violated the rules...
– If I said they should be forgiven, the current PFL leadership might think I’m just praising myself again. So instead, ask Fariz Najafov what Ramin Musayev would’ve done in that situation. He would give a more convincing answer. But of course, leniency should be shown.
– Have you shown leniency before?
– Yes, I have, and I don’t deny it. I supported Gabala, Inter during their tough times, and also Keshla when their sponsor was struggling. I even helped Araz-Nakhchivan and have no regrets.
– What kind of support did you provide?
– I’ll say it without hesitation: I played the biggest role in the founding of Araz-Nakhchivan. After a tough fight with AFFA, the team was restored. AFFA didn’t want to cover travel expenses to Nakhchivan, and that was the issue. They didn’t want extra costs. I told Rovnag Abdullayev: “This team isn’t mine, it’s a regional team. Let our fellow citizens in Nakhchivan know they haven’t been forgotten.” But they told Rovnag that no one needed the team and claimed that traveling to Nakhchivan would cost 50–60 thousand. Why should it cost that much?! It didn’t, just as I said, and the team survived. You can even ask Azad Jabbarov, who was Minister of Youth and Sports at the time. What was the harm? The team stayed alive, and now they’re succeeding, playing great football. That’s why clubs should be supported when they face financial difficulties. Gabala made a technical error, they didn’t realize the player was a foreigner. What can you do? Everyone has their own way of doing things.
Idman.biz
