Idman.biz
Ilyas Gurbanov is a former football player who played for the Azerbaijan national team, Neftchi, and other clubs in the country. He is currently the head coach of the U-15 team at the Ulduz Football Academy.
In an interview with IDMAN.BIZ, Gurbanov spoke about the main problems in the development of Azerbaijani football. According to him, if our country lags behind Europe, the main reason is the lack of sufficient football academies.
"Their number is small even in Baku. It is impossible to train quality football players without academies. If a child lives and trains in one place, we can control their nutrition, rest regime, and recovery. All these points are a chain. The more academies there are, the faster sports will develop in the country," the head coach emphasized.
He noted that this is precisely what is lacking for systematic progress, because there are enough talented children in Azerbaijan and interest in football is growing. "Especially after the success of Qarabag, children started to show more interest in football. This is natural. Our task is to identify and develop talented young people in time."
The head coach said that promising players are identified through selection training: "We also go to the regions, select talented children there, and invite them to the club. In addition, we have a service that brings children to training." According to Gurbanov, talented children are everywhere, but in most cases young talents can be found in Ganja, Tovuz, Mingachevir, Yevlakh, and Sumgayit.
Gurbanov also drew attention to the stages of development of young football players: "Children can be directed to football from the age of 5–6 - this is a preparatory stage, like a school. It is important for a child to play in different positions, so that their potential can be better revealed. By the age of 15–16, it becomes clear in which position the player can perform better."
He also emphasized that when working with children and adolescents, it is necessary to be patient and not expect immediate results:
"Over time, if a child does not have the potential for a professional career, they should be directed in the right direction - to education or another field. If there is potential, serious preparation for big football starts from the age of 17."
The head coach noted that the conscription of promising players during their development period also creates a problem:
"If conditions were created for athletes to train and participate in competitions during their service, this would be a serious boost to the development of football players."
He added that as a result of all these factors, Azerbaijani football is mainly developing at the club level, while the results in the national team are not so successful:
"The most painful feelings are experienced when the national team loses. This applies to all of us, because we have also gone through this path. We want our team to win, but it is not possible to achieve this with words alone. We need to work - starting from the lowest level, from children's football."
At the end of the interview, Gurbanov said that players from his team are already being called up to the Azerbaijan U15 national team. He expressed hope that in a few years these children will show themselves and become new stars of Azerbaijani football.
Photo: Islam Atakishiyev
