"On August 5, I turned 38. At this age, the risk of injury is quite high. That’s why from the new season I will continue as a player-coach. Of course, I still want to take the field and play, but we have to take the realities into account. It’s now time to create maximum opportunities for the younger players."
According to Idman.biz, “Gabala” midfielder Asif Mammadov said this in an interview with Sport1.az.
The experienced member of the “Gabala” also shared his thoughts on the restriction of Gabala Academy’s activities and the reduction of funding: "There are no problems with the functioning of our academy. Everything is going as usual. However, our scouts will now focus not on finding talented kids from outside, but only on identifying those in Gabala and its surrounding villages who are interested in football. Let’s be honest, although our academy has been operating for over 15 years and has produced many talented footballers, there are almost no players from Gabala itself. For example, going to Barda, selecting 5–10 talented kids, bringing them to our academy, providing their education, meals, accommodation, and so on, requires considerable expenses. The club management wants to avoid such costs and is more interested in finding children from Gabala itself."
Idman.biz
