An interview with Sumgayit goalkeeper Mehdi Jannatov given to Sportnet.az after their 1–1 home draw against Shamakhi in Round III of the Azerbaijan Premier League.
– After two wins, you drew today. How would you evaluate the match?
– Basically, it was a tough game. Both teams had good chances to score. I think a draw is a fair result. We left the pitch with a “peaceful” outcome. We’ll keep working and prepare for the next match.
– Your team leads the championship with 7 points after 3 rounds, and today you conceded your first goal. However, you were not called up to the Azerbaijan national team for the World Cup qualifying matches against Iceland and Ukraine. How did you take head coach Fernando Santos’ decision?
– I was preparing for our own match as usual and wasn’t thinking about the national team. First and foremost, all my focus was on the game against Shamakhi. The national team’s coach gave his explanation. I have nothing to add. In this situation, I can only wish my compatriots success in the upcoming matches and hope they make us happy.
– Santos said you had a problem with your passport. Is that true?
– Honestly, it’s hard for me to comment on that. So I’d rather refrain from commenting. The best thing is for me to find out the situation myself.
– So does that mean the national team coach gave an incorrect explanation?
– I don’t know. I can’t comment on that.
– Do you have any issues with your documents?
– I haven’t heard of any.
– Don’t you think the national team list was prepared even before the Premier League started?
– The head coach decides who will be in the national team. He follows the championship and surely knows who needs to be called up and who can be useful. So, I can only wish the national team success.
– AFFA explained that your name was not on the initial list, and when they later wanted to call you up, there wasn’t enough time to obtain a visa. Has the national association contacted you at all?
– My passport is with AFFA. I don’t know the rest. It’s possible they really didn’t have enough time. I can’t figure that out myself, so I have no comment.
– Your foreign passport hasn’t expired, has it?
– Probably not (laughs – ed.).
– Among the called-up goalkeepers, Shahrudin Mahammadaliyev lacks match practice, while Aydin Bayramov and Rza Jafarov aren’t playing at their clubs. With such a goalkeeper lineup, what can we expect?
– I think all three of them deserve to play for the Azerbaijan national team.
– But Santos has said he won’t call up players without match practice…
– It’s hard for me to comment on that. He knows better and sees everything himself. His assistants also help him in this regard. I believe those called up to the national team will be able to play without problems.
– How might the international break affect Sumgayit?
– I hope it will have a positive effect. Because the whole team will be together in training camp. We’ll have enough practice and prepare for our next away match against Imishli. I think it should be beneficial for us.
Idman.biz
