Interview of Vugar Aliyev, head coach of the MAA (National Aviation Academy) consisting of female volleyball players, to the Idman.biz website
- The first match of the national championship was between "Azerrail" and "Absheron". The first defeat at the start did not surprise you?
- The victory of "Absheron" in the opening match surprised most experts. "Azerrail" came into the match very confident. They thought they would win 3:0. "Absheron" strengthened its team with 2 Dominican volleyball players. Before the meeting, I had a conversation with the head coach of the winning team, Famil Agayev. He was in doubt about who to field. But in that match, the local volleyball players of "Absheron" performed very well. The opening match showed once again that volleyball is a real team game. Although "Azerrail" surpassed its opponent according to the individual indicators of these volleyball players, it could not reach its opponent in the team game. It doesn't matter what kind of sport you play, you have to respect your opponent.
- "National Aviation Academy" will make its debut in the championship today. Are you ready for the season?
- I think I made a good team. I am very happy that we have legionnaire volleyball players who play in the local and national teams. I think our young locals will be very useful to the national team.
- What difficulties can the new creation of the club cause for you?
- Of course, we have some difficulties. We were the last team to gather. It is difficult to find players in August and September. Volleyball players usually want to sign a contract a little before the season. I thank Faig Garayev for being in volleyball today. He has been very supportive of me. I have worked in many clubs. Now I will try to apply my experience in my new club. We don't have our own hall. This is expected to be resolved soon. We should move to the National Aviation Academy. Repair work is going on there. "Murov AZ Terminal" has organized a hall for us to practice. Although we have difficulties, we work until the end and want our team to be in high places in the championship.
- What are the main goals of the "National Aviation Academy" in the season?
- Our first goal is to take place in the "four". We will try to show a great game to experts and fans who come to watch our game. One of our main goals is the development of volleyball in our country. We have to fight in such a way that the parents who come to watch the matches are motivated and let their children play volleyball.
- What do you think about the opponents in the High League?
- There is no limit this year. There can be 6 local players or 6 internationals on the court. This will increase the competition. It should be a very strong championship. The season will be somewhat difficult for the UNEC team. Unlike other collectives, they are composed only of young volleyball players. The first match showed us that there will still be many surprises. Of course, I expect the same from our team. Experts think that some collectives are stronger than us.
- Then volleyball fans will watch a tense and interesting season...
- It goes without saying. The federation wants the number of teams to be 8 next year. Of course, each of the participants wants to become the champion this year. But above all, we should try to attract fans to the arena with our beautiful game. From 2002 to 2004, fans could not enter the halls. At that time, the games were held in the Baku Sports Palace. Volleyball fans were fighting for tickets. I want those days to return, volleyball to develop again. I wish our nation to participate in the European and world championships and the Olympic Games. I think it is good if the head coach of the national team is a local specialist. I hope my wishes will come true.
Emin Aga
Idman.biz