“The reason for Azerbaijan’s U-21 national team’s defeat to Portugal in the European Championship qualifiers is the players’ lack of experience.”
Idman.biz reports that AFFA Coaches Committee member Shakir Garibov stated this in an interview with Report news agency.
The expert emphasized that despite the loss, good players have been brought into the national team: “Of course, such results are disappointing. Although defeating a team like Portugal doesn’t seem realistic today, they have always been superior to us in terms of both level and results. However, I think good footballers have been recruited for the national team. In a year or two, they could be called up to the main national squad. One of the main reasons for the defeat is that these players play very little in their clubs and lack experience. They mostly appear in reserve teams and lower age groups. Then suddenly they face strong opponents. I don’t blame the players or say they are weak, they just don’t get enough playing time.”
The AFFA official also believes that head coach Aykhan Abbasov should be given time: “Since Aykhan Abbasov came, the team’s situation has improved. They have held training and friendly matches. Aykhan is a young coach with club experience. I believe things will get better in the future. Every coach needs time to achieve results. We must trust him. He needs to build and strengthen the team and establish tactics. It’s not right to judge everything solely by results. What we need is to develop Azerbaijani players.”
He also mentioned that the removal of the foreign player limit in the Misli Premier League played a certain role: “A decision on the limit was made at the AFFA Executive Committee meeting. We had to prepare for it. I agree that many players don’t get chances because of the limit. But at the same time, the strongest players should play. In teams like Shamakhi and Qarabag, local players always get chances. Players like Bahlul Mustafazada, Elvin Jafarguliyev, Toral Bayramov, Badavi Huseynov, and others always play. I still think the main reason for the national team’s results is that these players play too little. They should get playing time in friendly matches.”
The Portugal vs. Azerbaijan match, held yesterday, ended with a 5-0 victory for the hosts.
Idman.biz
