“Sabah” defeated “Petrocub” by a large margin in both matches. The team showed strength in all aspects.”
Idman.biz reports that these words were spoken by former Azerbaijani national team player Rahid Amirguliyev in an interview with AZERTAC, while discussing “Sabah,” which qualified for the third qualifying round of the UEFA Conference League, as well as “Araz-Nakhchivan” and “Zira,” who were eliminated from European competitions.
The 35-year-old midfielder said that the Bulgarian team “Levski,” Sabah’s opponent in the third qualifying round, is a strong squad: “Honestly, I haven’t watched their games. But Bulgarians have always performed well in Europe. ‘Levski’ is one of the most reputable clubs in the country. They are also stronger than ‘Petrocub.’ It was easy for ‘Sabah’ to play against the Moldovan representative, but the next round will be more challenging.”
According to him, “Araz-Nakhchivan” proved that the teams favored on paper do not always win by eliminating “Aris” from the competition: “Some people expected the Greek team to advance to the next round. For a debutant team to achieve this was a magnificent success. The Nakhchivan club fought worthy battles in both matches. Their next opponent will be Cyprus’s ‘Omonia.’ We know this team well. They have faced Azerbaijani teams multiple times. It’s a strong opponent. Elmar Bakhshiyev faces his second tough test. But after the match against ‘Aris,’ we should believe in our team.”
Amirguliyev said that despite Zira’s loss to “Hajduk,” they fought well: “After the draw, the most prestigious team was drawn against ‘Zira.’ They played well at home and away. Ricardo Martins Guimaraes’ red card affected the match. Without that, we might have seen a different result. ‘Zira’ had the strength to overcome Hajduk.”
The first legs of the UEFA Conference League third qualifying round will be held on August 7, and the return legs on August 14.
Idman.biz
