![Aftandil Hajiyev: \We look optimistically to the future, it would not be right to demand more from U-19\](https://sportnews.az/storage/photos/2025/10/23/706199f7-1fb1-4e09-87fc-5d8e6d18a61a.webp "Aftandil Hajiyev: \We look optimistically to the future, it would not be right to demand more from U-19\")
Idman.biz
"We look optimistically to the future".
These words were said to "Report" by Aftandil Hajiyev, the coordinator of "Qarabağ" academy.
He shared his thoughts on the match in which the team lost to the "Athletic" team of the corresponding age group from Spain (0:3):
"The team fought until the last minute. It was obvious that a good lesson had been learned from the previous matches. At least the players fought well. "Athletic"'s U-19 team is considered one of the ambitious teams in the UEFA Youth League. They have shown maximum results in three games. They defeated "Arsenal" (England) 3:1 at home and "Borussia" (Dortmund, Germany) 4:0 away. They have fast and technical players".
A. Hajiyev emphasized that the players gain experience over time and fight well:
The meeting with "Athletic" was quite tense. The players spent a lot of energy. It would not be right for us to demand more from them. If we compare both academies, our opponent is far ahead. At least we could see the spirit and the fight. We need to increase attention to young football players in order to compete head-to-head with such teams.
Our players have little experience in such matches. But we look optimistically to the future. Such meetings will be very useful for our football players and coaches. We thank the players. At least we saw how they fought. They tried to resist the opponent. We will try to perform better in the upcoming games".
It should be noted that the team, coached by Rashad Sadygov, previously lost to "Copenhagen" 0:5 in Baku. In the first round of U-19, they lost to Portugal's "Benfica" team 1:7 away.
