Azerbaijan women's national volleyball team assistant coach Ziya Rajabov has assessed the team's performance at the European Championship and highlighted problems with the development of young players.
"The team's level of preparation for the European Championship was good both psychologically and physically, and the overall result can be considered satisfactory. However, our performance against Türkiye in the round of 16 was poor. Especially in the first and second sets, the points gap was quite large. We should have competed better," Rajabov told İdman.Biz.
The Level II international coach noted that head coach Faig Garayev regularly works with every player representing the national team, emphasizing responsibility and team spirit.
"Volleyball countries such as Italy and France also bring players from abroad into their national teams. Four players in the Türkiye team that faced us in the round of 16 are naturalized. This is an accepted practice around the world, and there is no need to be concerned about it," he said.
Commenting on Polina Rahimova's retirement from international volleyball, Rajabov admitted that there are reasons for concern.
"There are no young players coming through who can replace volleyball players like Polina. The bench is weak, and we need to work on this. Parents' attitudes towards volleyball must change. They should not be afraid to send their daughters to training. I should note that parents have already changed to some extent in terms of mentality," Rajabov said.
The Azerbaijan assistant coach also highlighted the shortage of qualified specialists working with younger age groups.
According to Rajabov, Azerbaijan needs more volleyball coaches capable of working with children, and foreign specialists should be brought in if necessary.
Azerbaijan ended their European Championship campaign after losing to Türkiye in the round of 16. Faig Garayev's team were defeated in straight sets - 25:14, 25:16, 25:22.
