Sport24.az
Interview with Firuz Abdulla, Executive Director of "Sabail", to Sport24.az
- "Sabail" is in second place with 13 points after five rounds. Are you satisfied with the team's performance?
- As you mentioned, we are in 2nd place with 13 points. Although I am not always in favor of evaluating the quality of the work done only with numbers, it is inevitable in certain situations. The team's performance can be assessed as satisfactory. But we can do better. The team has the potential for this.
- After several years of Premier League experience, you are competing in a lower division. What differences do you feel?
- If we are talking directly about me, I am spending my second season in the First League. I was also represented in the club when "Sabail" was newly established and playing in the First League. As they say, the First League is my old-new acquaintance. If we are looking for similarities and differences, we can note various points in this and other senses. This can include numerous issues, from infrastructure to game quality. But regardless of the name of the league where the games are held, football never loses its status as a beautiful and attractive game.
- Have you faced any difficulties in the First League this season?
- The difficulties we face are issues that arise during the implementation of current work, and I would not want to associate this specifically with the First League. There is a saying that if there is work, mistakes are inevitable. I would change this expression slightly and say "if there is work, difficulties will arise". Solving difficulties is our job responsibility.
- Apart from "Sabail", there are other clubs in the First League that are vying for the championship. Which team do you consider your closest rival?
- Regardless of the goal set, the squad and the budget, each of the other 9 teams in the league is a serious rival for us. It should not be forgotten that regardless of the name of the opponent you face or the place it occupies in the tournament table, you get 3 points for the victory you will win. That is, games with the leader and the outsider do not differ in essence.
- It seems that First League teams are more motivated to play against "Sabail". What do you think?
- Yes, in all the games we played, our rivals fought more motivated and more determined against us. Of course, psychological factors play a special role here. "Sabail" played in the Premier League for 8 seasons, during this time it qualified for the European Cup once and set the task of rising to the Premier League again in the current championship. All these and perhaps any other nuances that I have not mentioned encourage our rivals to be more eager in games against us. This does not scare us, on the contrary, it is an additional incentive for the team.
- In the match against "Shimal" in the IV round, your team's goal was not counted and as a result you lost 2 points. In general, are you satisfied with the level of refereeing in the First League?
- Unfortunately, football is not a game free of mistakes, and all participants in this game make mistakes from time to time. Referees are no exception in this regard. I am of the opinion that the goal that was not counted in the match you mentioned was scored entirely within the rules. However, I cannot agree with the idea that the 2 points we lost in Shamakhi are tied to that episode. We must be more responsible and do things that can surpass similar mistakes in some cases, so that we do not have to "grab the collar" of a mistake later. But our referees should also be very careful. Because any mistake they make can play a very serious role in the fate of the teams. I should also note that we have played two away games this season and in both matches we have faced refereeing errors that affected the outcome of the game. You mentioned one point in your question. In the match with "Difai", an obvious penalty was not awarded in our favor in the last minutes of the game. True, we were able to score the winning goal in the end, but everything could have ended differently and we could have lost points. I hope that we will face as few refereeing errors as possible in other games.
- In the VI round, you will face one of your main rivals, "Shafa". What are your expectations from the game?
- In the next round, I would like to see an interesting game, a real football competition, a serious desire to fight in the faces of the football players of both teams.
