Report.az
If we had won against this team now, perhaps we would have experienced different feelings.
Former "Neftchi" midfielder Vidadi Rzayev said this in his statement to "Report", while sharing his memories of the match against the Armenian club "Pyunik", which they faced in the 1/4 finals of the "Commonwealth Cup" held in Moscow, the capital of Russia, 20 years ago.
The veteran football player said that the team was promised a reward before the game against the Armenian representative:
"We were excited before the game, but no special instructions were given. Because we had only one goal - to win. Nothing else could happen. Thankfully, they promised a good reward. We just had to win. Football was already secondary, the game was approached with special political considerations. Because our lands were under Armenian occupation. We couldn't sleep at night because of excitement, we couldn't get any sleep, we were just thinking about the morning game. Nerves were at their peak. Because they had also reached that stage and if they won, they would qualify for the semi-finals."
The former member of the national team emphasized that the victory they achieved was sweet:
"At that time, 20 percent of our lands were under occupation and we were facing the enemy. That's why the victory was sweet. Thank God, we also won in the 44-day Patriotic War. If we had won against this team now, perhaps we would have experienced different feelings. May God have mercy on our martyrs and give health to our veterans."
V. Rzayev said that if they had lost, he would have thought of returning directly to Ganja from Russia and ending his career:
"I was 37 years old, I was approaching the end of my career. Imagine, I could end my career by losing to Armenians. After playing football for almost 25 years, saying goodbye to the green fields in this way was like death, it would be a disgrace. It would remain as a black mark on my career. Believe me, I had even planned a route for myself. If we lost, I would not return to Baku, I would buy a ticket directly to Ganja and end my career. I had told the children this too. At that time, 6-7 football players of "Pyunik" were playing in the Armenian national team. It wasn't a bad team. God made it happen, I scored the second goal. After that, the interest in the "Commonwealth Cup" was gone. "Pyunik" was again an opponent for "Neftchi" for the second time. But they didn't play, they withdrew from the tournament and ran away. They were received very badly for this defeat. Imagine what would have happened if we had lost."
It should be noted that the match held on January 19, 2005 ended with a 2:0 victory for "Neftchi".
