Sport24.az
"Right now, we need to win every game." These words were said to Sport24.az by Afran Ismayilov, the former football player of the Azerbaijan national team.
The 36-year-old former midfielder shared his thoughts on the friendly match that the national team will play against Latvia today:
"The period of testing some players and preparing someone is over. The head coach knows enough players. Now we need results. There is no motivation in the players because we cannot win. Defeat also makes us sad and we cannot prepare seriously for the next matches. Therefore, it is imperative to win in the meeting with Latvia. We need to raise motivation so that we can enter official matches normally."
Ismayilov recalled that the national team's last victory was recorded 1 year ago:
"This is really a very sad situation. Therefore, we only think about victory. The main factor for victory may be that the team gathers together and thinks about all this. They should think that we won for the last time a year ago. Latvia is also a suitable opponent. We must definitely show one of our best games today. The next opponent is Hungary. No matter how strong they are, we must try and fight. At least we can get a draw. With such an approach, we can slowly come to our senses."
The former member of the national team said that the leaders in the team also play an important role: "If there is a leader, he must take the lead. He must gather the team. The coach is on one side, the players themselves can take the team further thanks to their motivation and desires."
It should be noted that the Latvia-Azerbaijan match, which will take place in Riga today, will start at 17:00 Baku time.
