Azerbaijan women's national volleyball team head coach Faig Garayev has urged his players not to rely on past achievements ahead of the start of the European Championship in Baku.
As reported by İdman.Biz, Garayev made the comments in reference to Azerbaijan's performance at the previous European Championship hosted in Baku in 2017, when the national team finished fourth.
"We cannot live in the past, and our players understand that very well. If we perform successfully, it could give Azerbaijani volleyball a new boost. As a coaching staff, our task is to bring the players' psychological, tactical and physical preparation to a high level. The team understands that serious matches lie ahead," Garayev said.
According to the head coach, Azerbaijan's first objective is to successfully navigate the group stage. Garayev believes the current squad has enough experience to achieve that goal, while playing at home should provide additional motivation.
Azerbaijan attacker Yelizaveta Ruban also stressed that the main part of the team's preparation has already been completed.
"I am really looking forward to the start of the European Championship. We tested ourselves in several friendly matches, identified our weaknesses and worked on them. Every one of us understands how important this tournament is. We are very happy that Azerbaijan is hosting the championship. As they say, home walls give you strength. We hope to receive the support of our fans and all volleyball lovers," the 31-year-old said.
Middle blocker Abdullazimova also noted that playing at home in front of Azerbaijani supporters should give the team extra motivation.
"Of course, it also means greater responsibility. But the home-court advantage and the support of our fans should help us a lot. Our main goal is to perform well in the group and advance to the next stage. We will do everything we can to achieve that," Abdullazimova said.
Azerbaijan will face the Netherlands, Belgium, Romania, Spain and Portugal in the group stage. The national team will play its opening match against Portugal on August 21.
