Report.az
Gabala's head coach Kakhaber Tskhadadze gave an interview to Report. The Georgian specialist spoke about securing a place in the Premier League for the 2025/2026 season. He also touched upon the ambitions of his team in the new "football year" and the abolition of the legionnaire limit to be applied next season.
- You secured a place in the Premier League by defeating Baku Sporting 5:0 away in the XX round of the I League. What are your impressions?
- We are very happy that we have achieved our goal. However, the season is not over yet and we have a few more rounds ahead of us. This means that in order to fully achieve our goal, we must leave those matches with points. In this case, we can finish the I League as champions. Of course, we are happy that we have secured a place in the Premier League.
- When you started working in the I League as the head coach of Gabala, did you expect the season to be so easy for you?
- This is a very difficult question for me. No one can say in advance that their job will be easy. After all, how can you know at the beginning of the season that you will be in the top three? Who says that the current situation is easy for us? Everyone suffers in this job. We built a team consisting mostly of new players. Every point earned in every game is hard-won. Because the opponents play against us with special motivation. The opposing teams try to get points from the match with Gabala.
- Can the fact that an ambitious specialist like you works in the lower league be an example for well-known Azerbaijani coaches?
- Yes, maybe it can be as you said. Before starting work, we decided to put aside our personal ambitions and help the club. Then we worked together to form a new team and achieve success. I am glad that our activities in the I League were not unsuccessful.
- Is it possible to compete in the Premier League with the current squad of Gabala?
- We have good players in our squad. However, we will have to strengthen the squad a bit more for the Premier League. We are thinking about this day now. Our goal is to win the I League. After the season ends, we will sit down with the management and talk about it. There will definitely be new transfers. But I can say with certainty that we will keep the core of the team.
- Starting from the 2025/2026 season, the limit on legionnaire players in the Premier League will be abolished. In your opinion, what benefits can this decision bring to Azerbaijani football?
- It is difficult to say now how much this decision can benefit Azerbaijani football. There are some issues that time will tell how to solve. The abolition of the legionnaire limit is one of those issues.
- You have previously worked in Azerbaijan with Standard (which has ceased operations) and Inter (now Shamakhi). As a specialist who is familiar with the Premier League, what can you say about the current championship?
- I can say with certainty that the level of the Premier League has increased. The championship is especially different in a positive sense this year. It should be noted that from the new season the number of teams will increase to 12. This means that competition will increase even more. After the legionnaire limit is abolished, I believe that high-level players will visit Azerbaijan. After that, we will see how the abolition of the limit will affect Azerbaijani football.
- What kind of Gabala will the fans see in the new season?
- I talked about this a little earlier. I stated that the core of the team will be preserved. But we also want to get stronger as much as we can. Which legionnaires will be attracted to the club? What will be the level of the newcomers? The answers to these questions will be determined at the end of the current season. Our main goal is to strengthen in the Premier League. You can be sure of that. We will go to the games to collect maximum points and show ourselves in a good light. The rest of the work - budget, new transfers, etc. - will be clear after we come together before the new season.
