"Preparations are going well. But time is very short. We have 1 week after the end of the national championship. On May 9, we are leaving for Slovenia."
Idman.biz reports that Faig Garayev, the head coach of the Azerbaijan women's volleyball team, said this.
The experienced specialist said in his briefing today that the preparations for the Golden European League are at a high level: "There is a reason why I returned to the team. It is the development of volleyball in Azerbaijan. We also have some experience. We have started preparations. You can see how young he is in the national team. The players we need in 2026 will be invited. Many of them have not finished their championships yet. That's why we decided to start training young people. But it is too early to talk about victory. Our players are young. Most of them don't always play in their clubs. But we should not be afraid of losing. Because our goal is the European Championship to be held in 2026."
He said that there is still some time to become stronger: "We need to return our young volleyball players who play in foreign clubs. They should play in Azerbaijani clubs next season. The main goal of the Federation is to bring the young people living the legionary life back to Azerbaijan. Training is going well. But they need at least 1 year to grow. This is my 5th or 6th generation. We will do our best to develop volleyball in Azerbaijan. Most of them say teacher Faig when they need help now. But we have other coaches. They grow too. We are getting old. They will take our place. I just wish success to the coaches and volleyball players. My wish is that volleyball finds its place in Azerbaijan."
The 64-year-old specialist said that when the squad for EURO-2026 is assembled, none of the strong players will be left out: "I am such a person that I have no problem with anyone. I also like Odina Aliyeva very much. I raised them. Whichever player is needed will play. Polina Rahimova, Liza Ruban, Ayshan Abdulazimova are also there. All these volleyball players are gold. We gathered young people to make them a complex with these young people for EURO-2026. This is our goal. The Golden Europa League is a strong tournament. Croatia, Slovakia, Sweden, Romania are very strong competitors. But you should not be afraid to fight and lose. The goal is to bring these young people together with experienced people. Probably, a good team will emerge."
It should be noted that our national team will face Croatia in the first game on May 17.
Banuchichek Huseynli
Idman.biz
