"There will be no such strong rivals in the League of Nations, at most 1 strong team can be".
Former midfielder of the Azerbaijani national team Ramazan Abbasov said in an interview with futbolinfo.az.
We present that interview:
– How do you assess the away matches in which our national team lost to France (0:3) and Ukraine (1:2)?
– France's strength is known to everyone. We were facing an extremely strong opponent. The goal in the game with the French was only to concede few goals, and our team succeeded in this. It was impossible to play against France, and this is understandable. As for the match with Ukraine, it was one of the best games our team has shown in recent years. Our players were not afraid of the Ukrainian national team, and fought without hesitation. We were able to score a goal, and we had other episodes as well. We can look to the future with optimism.
– Do you think Aykhan Abbasov was able to convince us of future success with his first matches in the national team?
– Of course, the local coach factor plays a big role. The local coach knows our players, and our players know him well and do their best for each other. The main thing is that the coach knows the players well. Today, the Azerbaijani national team does not need a foreign expert. The most important thing is that our national teams in the lower age groups give results first. As this happens, it will also be useful for our main team in the future. Today, the shortage of local players puts the national team in a difficult situation. The abolition of the legionnaire limit in the championship means that our clubs will not give young people much chance, and they do not – this is obvious. Our young football players must play in the main squad in Premier League clubs in order to be useful to the A national team in the future. Previously, 99 percent of the children playing in U-21 were children playing in the main squad in the top division.
– Next month we will have home games with Iceland and France. What results do you expect in these meetings?
– What is the most important thing in the national team? If you have come, you must give your all. Today, the children are really fighting to the end. It seems that there is a desire. Therefore, good results can be expected.
– After the national team's last 3 games, most people believe that the current national team will perform successfully in the League of Nations. Do you also have this belief?
– There will be no such strong rivals in the League of Nations, at most 1 strong team can be. It seems to me that it is possible to get out of the group in that tournament. We all want our national team to give results. We hope that everything will be fine.
– Before Aykhan Abbasov, foreign coaches led our national team for many years. We wasted years by bringing them. Isn't that so?
– Of course it is. The foreign coaches who came and went to our national team for many years did not benefit Azerbaijani football at all. If the money spent on them had been spent on lower age groups in time, perhaps there would have been more choice of players in our national team today. Hopefully, things will go well in this direction from now on.