Vidadi Rzayev, one of the well-known veterans of Azerbaijani football, turned 58 yesterday. During his career, he played for our country’s clubs “Kapaz,” “Turan Tovuz,” “Neftchi,” “Shamkir,” “Karvan,” “Olympic Baku,” “Qarabag,” and abroad for Chechnya’s Terek Grozny, Iran’s “Mes Kerman,” and Turkiye’s “Erzurumspor.”
The experienced specialist, who is currently unemployed, gave an interview to Teleqraf.
Mr. Vidadi, how did you celebrate your 58th birthday?
To be honest, I don’t really like celebrating birthdays. You get older… Honestly, I spent it working at my child’s house in the village, didn’t celebrate it in any special way. Friends remembered and reached out. Our football friends, and Tofiq Mustafayev, my coach at “Neftchi,” congratulated me. There are also people who didn’t remember, and I understand that. To those who did remember, I say “thank you very much.”
And did you receive congratulations from AFFA?
No. In general, no one from AFFA has ever congratulated me on my birthdays.
Have you ever received a significant gift while playing football or working as a coach?
The last time I had a grand birthday celebration was at “Shamkir” (2002–2004). At that time, Shamkir’s Executive Head Aslan Aslanov and the club’s sponsor, Shahbaz Suleymanov, known by the nickname Sasa, congratulated me in a special way. One gave me a gold ring, the other a gold bracelet. May God have mercy on both of them; these have been my best gifts…
Around your birthday, looking back now, was there any match that held special significance for you?
Honestly, the worst part was having to play a match on someone’s birthday. Whoever’s birthday it was, it was never convenient… On August 31, 1996, the Azerbaijan national team played against Switzerland, and my birthday was four days later. After our 1:0 victory, they congratulated me. Later, we went to the “Neftchi” base and celebrated there. In the national team, my birthday never coincided with a time suitable for a grand celebration.
Does celebrating your 58th birthday as an unemployed specialist outside football bother you? Do you see it as unfair to yourself?
No, I’m not upset with anyone. We’ve come this far seeing injustices. In football, those who speak the truth aren’t listened to. Those who say “I don’t have connections” move from one place to another. I think, I also don’t have connections, so why am I not working? Unfortunately, that’s the way it is.
I’ve gotten used to this situation. When I turned 55, someone asked me why I wasn’t working. I replied that most of the current club managers never played football, but they are good at managing it.
Looking back at your football career, is there any mistake you cannot forgive yourself for?
I never accepted any of the offers I received from abroad and didn’t leave Azerbaijan. Perhaps that’s my biggest mistake, because I had so many offers…
But you did play for several foreign clubs…
I experienced life as a foreign player at “Erzurumspor.” I got injured there and was sidelined for four months. During a friendly match against Bulgaria, I tore a muscle in my leg. Even now, there’s still swelling. One of the three muscles in my leg was torn, it’s gone. Since I couldn’t play for four months, I returned from Turkiye and played at “Shamkir.” They didn’t let me go from there either. Then I went to the Chechen club “Terek.”
When I left Azerbaijan, I said I wouldn’t return, I left in frustration. The management of “Turan Tovuz” came to Sochi, I didn’t go back, then they came again to Grozny. The club official, Vidadi Ahmadov, and my parents insisted that I return. I had no intention of coming back to Azerbaijan, but my parents wouldn’t give up, so I returned.
From there, I could have gone to many places. Even at Iran’s “Mes Kerman” club, they didn’t let me play in the starting lineup. Once, we were preparing for a game against “Tractor,” and Kanan Karimov, who is left-footed, had to play on the right. He’s a forward and didn’t understand the coach’s requirement to play on the right. I intervened, explaining to him how they wanted him to play. After that, the head coach had a principle issue with me. Even if I played afterward, I would only come on as a substitute. I told Kenan, “You got me into this” (laughs).
It’s true, that head coach eventually left, but I didn’t stay with the team. I thought, whatever, I’m not staying here. I returned to Azerbaijan and quit football for 5–6 months.
You played again after turning 34?
“Neftchi” called and asked me to come help the team. At that time, they were in 6th place. I said, I weigh 85 kilograms, I’ve gained weight. Since I hadn’t been playing, I had put on some pounds. Kazbek Tuaev was the head coach, and Ramiz Mirzayev was the club president. As soon as they saw me, they said, “Wow, how tall you’ve gotten…”
It was an international break at the time, so I said, “Wait, let me get back in shape.” I couldn’t get below 72 kilograms. Then I noticed that the new head coach of “Kerman” had somehow come to Baku and was watching our game. After the match, he said, “I’m taking him to Iran.” I said, “God willing, I won’t be going back. Either I play here, or I quit football.”
Then “Neftchi” management said, “How much money do you need? We’ll pay it and won’t let you go.” So I stayed, and that year we became champions. We won the championship in the 2002/2003 season. I ended my career at “Azal” in 2007.
But they didn’t hold a farewell match for you?
No. Why lie? They didn’t. What could I have said? We played like men, and we ended football like men.
If you were young now, would you want to play in the current era?
Nowadays, there’s a lot of corruption. If you beat someone, they pay thousands. Back then, we didn’t even know how much money came from a draw… That didn’t exist. We would have a training camp and get $70. Even going to a training camp once a year was a big deal. The farthest place we went was Buzovna. Rarely, we went to Cyprus or Bulgaria.
Those were tough times. But if we drew one game, we would win five. The current national team, even with large training camps, proper meals, and finances, can’t get results.
People still find fault with us, saying we didn’t achieve much. But we had no money, it was scarce. Now there’s money, but no results. Nowadays, money solves everything.
What would you wish for our current players?
I wish them all success! As long as they’re young, they should go and play abroad. We know the state of Azerbaijani football. The conditions exist, but very few Azerbaijani players play abroad. Then we ask why the national team fell to Division D. Development is necessary, and that’s what I would wish for.
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